Asia
In Focus: The Indian Soldiers of World War I by Editorial Board
On 11th November of every year, Britain commemorates the fallen soldiers of the First World War. Over 4 million British soldiers fought between 1914-18, most of whom were conscripted.
But it was not only British soldiers that contributed to the war effort. 1.3 million Indian soldiers from the British Empire also found themselves fighting the Crown: four times the equivalent of recruits from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa combined. According to Field-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, the British “couldn’t have come through…World War I…if they hadn’t had the Indian Army.”
Behind the lens takes us back 100 years to consider the contribution of the Indian Army to the war effort, from soldiers and labourers to the leaders and team-players.
This article is part of Project Empire, an editorial series designed to explore the history of the British Empire. See the full collection here »
39th Garhwali Riflemen on the march in France, 4 August 1915 / H.D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Gurkhas charging a trench, 29 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Indian officers of 39th Garhwal Rifles on Estaire La Bassée Road, France, 4 August 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Meerut Cavalry Brigade on the march near Fenges, France, 1 August 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Indian infantry with gas masks in trenches near Fauquissart, 9 August 1915 / H.D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Indian soldiers evacuate wounded officer on stretcher near Ginchy, circa 1916 / author unknown
General Sir James Willcocks meets Indian officers near Merville, France, 29 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Indian troops en route to relieve French and American units in the German spring offensive, 21 July 1918 / French official photographer
The 2nd Rajput Light Infantry using a Benet-Mercier machine gun in Flanders, during the winter of 1914-15 / Indian Army photograph
15th Sikhs in Marseille on their way to fight the Germans, 1 January 1914 / National Army Museum
2/2 Gurkhas, 9th Gorkhas and 6th Jats who received honours or were mentioned in dispatches, Saint-Floris, 23 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
9th Hodson's Horse (Bengal Lancers) of the Indian Army charge during the Battle of Arras, April 1917 / © IWM / Ernest Brooks
King George V inspects Indian troops at Le Cateau, 2 December 1918 / David McLellan
The 2nd Kashmir Rifles marching through open country on the left bank of the Pangani River during the advance into German East Africa, the initial objective being Buiko, 27 May 1916 / G. H. Cooke
Indian anti-aircraft gunners at Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad, 1 January 1918 / Ariel Varges
120th Rajputana Infantry with machine gun and rifles, 1 January 1915 / Captain C O R Mosse
Indian troops guard Turkish prisoners captured at Sannaiyat, 1 January 1917 / British official photographer
In December 1916 the British commander in Mesopotamia, Lieutenant General Sir Stanley Maude, left Basra with an Anglo-Indian force of some 50,000 men, including two Indian Corps, for an offensive up the Tigris River to Baghdad. Maude spent two months eliminating Turkish detachments south of the river. On 17 February he commenced a series of manouevres against the fortress of Kut-al-Amara which forced the Turks to evacuate it eight days later. On 4 March Maude reached the Turkish defences on the Diyala River, 16km south of Baghdad. Here he deployed his men so skilfully that the Turks were forced to abandon their lines without a major fight, whereupon they withdrew to the north of Baghdad. On 11 March the British forces marched into the city / unknown author
Indian troops guard Baghdad Railway Station, 1 January 1917 / British official photographer / Imperial War Museums
Indian soldiers of the 7th (Meerut) Division man trenches in Mesopotamia. One of the sepoys is armed with a rifle grenade. Using a rifle as a launch mechanism greatly increased the effective range of the grenade. The Meerut Division had landed at Basra on 31 December 1915 and went on to join the attempt to relieve the besieged garrison at Kut al Amara before moving to Palestine in January 1918, 1 January 1917 / Lieutenant Kindom
Men of an Indian regiment from the 37th Indian Brigade, 3rd Indian Division, at Basra in Mesopotamia, 1 January 1916 / unknown author / Imperial War Museums
Indian Cameleer with full equipment on a camel, circa 1915 / unknown author
Jodhpur and Mysore lancers march through Haifa, during the Battle of Haifa, 1 January 1918 / unknown author / Imperial War Museums
Indian Army outside Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem, 1 December 1917 / Library of Congress
Sentry of 58th Vaughan's Rifles guarding the Dome of the Rock, Temple Mount, Jerusalem, between 1915-1918 / George Westmoreland
Indian Cavalry entering the central square in Damascus, Syria, 2 October 1918 / unknown author
A representative group of Indian sappers and miners of No. 3 Field Company in Tripoli, Lebanon during World War I. The horse is carrying two boxes on its back marked No. 3 Fld Coy 1st KGOS & Surveying No. 26. A tent camp is in the background, between 1914 and 1918 / unknown author
29th Indian Infantry Brigade landed at Gallipoli on 1 May 1915 having been shipped from Port Said in Egypt. Commanded by Major-General Vaughn Cox, it was sent to Cape Helles to support the British 29th Division's attempts to break out / 1 January 1915 / Lieutenant-General Sir Reginald Arthur Savory
An Indian Mountain Battery in action at the back of Quinn's Post at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, during World War I, between 1914 and 1918 / unknown author
Indian soldiers in the trenches, 1 January 1915 / Lieutenant-General Sir Reginald Arthur Savory
Indian and Anzac troops at Anzac Cove, 1 January 1915 / unknown author
29th Indian Brigade in the trenches. A bomb thrower, one of the earliest devices for projecting explosive charges short distances, can be seen in the centre of this photograph. It was in effect a miniature medieval-style siege engine which used coiled springs, rubber or torsioned wire as a catapult to hurl grenades. 29th Indian Infantry Brigade was one of the three brigades of the 10th Indian Division, which was formed in Egypt during November 1914. In April 1915 the brigade was detached from the division and sent as reinforcements to Gallipoli / 1 January 1915 / Lieutenant-General Sir Reginald Arthur Savory
Soldiers of a Gurkha battalion of 29th (Indian) Brigade moving through Gully Ravine, 8 June 1915 / Andrew Tresham
British, Indian and Japanese soldiers in Tsingtao, 1 January 1914 / Brig Banardiston
A fatigue party of slightly wounded Indians who have practically recovered from the effects of their wounds, getting fit for the front again by assisting in preparing the grounds at the Kitchener Hospital, Brighton, circa 1915 / H.D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
A football match between the 9th Gurkhas and Signal Company of the Dehra Dun Brigade, at St Floris, France, 23 July 1915 / H.D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
French farmer showing some of his farm implements to Indian troopers, Linghem, France, 28 July 1915. H. D. Girwood Collection / British Library
A group of wounded Native officers at Kitchener Hospital, Brighton, circa 1915 / H. D. Girwood Collection / British Library
A Gurkha canteen in St Floris, France, 23 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
A hero - Bal Bahadur, Brighton, England, circa 1915
A London motor bus carrying Indian soldiers in France, circa 1915 / H.D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
A musical party of 6th Jats near Merville, France; 26 July 1915 / H. G. Girdwood Collection / British Library
A post in the trenches held by Dogras and an Indian cavalry machine gun section near Fauquissart, France, 9 August 1915 / H. G. Girdwood Collection / British Library
A Punjab regiment on the march in Flanders, France, 6 September 1915
An Indian Cavalry escort to the C. in C. in Blendecques, France, 18 August 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
An Indian Cavy. Brigade signal troop at work in France, 25 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
An Indian convalescent depot in Merville, France, 31 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Arrival of mail at Brigade Post Office in Linghem, France, 28 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Baggage of a cavalry brigade on the march near Fenges, France, 1 August 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Baggage of a cavalry brigade on the march near Fenges, France, 1 August 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
British and Indian officers of the 57th Wilde's Rifles at Estaires La Bassée Road, France, 6 August 1915 / E
Card parties of wounded Indians at Brighton, England, circa 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Cigarettes being presented to wounded officers at Kitchener Hospital, Brighton, England, circa 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Convalescent sepoys at Brighton enjoying the sunny hours in the spacious grounds of the Pavilion in Brighton, England / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Dhol & Sarnai band playing the Marseillaise to a French audience on a farm in St Floris, France, 23 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Dhol & Sarnai band playing the Marseillaise to a French audience on a farm in St Floris, France, 23 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Electrical and Galvanic treatment room at the Kitchener Hospital in Brighton, England, circa 1915 / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
Gurkhas preparing an cooking food in St Floris, France] / H. D. Girdwood Collection / British Library
H.H. the Maharaja of Barwani in Merville, France, 31 July 1915 / H. D. Girdwood / Collection / British Library
India Gate commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the war, 1930s / Columbia University
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