Kristian Villadsen
P.H
29th of January 2009
India during world war one
During world war one many people thought that the whole war was fought out between European men; this is however untrue as the Indians and other colonial forces fought along side their white counterparts. The Indian army was a staggering 1.2 million men from many different portions of the great country however the Northern provinces had the majority of combatants with 224,000 volunteers. However not all soldiers fought and many were officers, nurses, doctors, railway personal, suppliers and transporters of arms and veterinary personal. The Indian forces were led by British officers. One important although unlucky British commander was Sir Charles Townshend.
Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend led the Indian force siege in 1915-16 before finally surrendering in humiliation on 29 April 1916. He came from a strong military family and had had much military training before the war and success commanding the garrison at Chitral in 1895. With the British declaration of war in 1914 Townshend was set to command the Sixth Indian Division in present-day Iraq in April 1915. He was ordered to lead the capture of Baghdad. Finding progress increasingly hard as his force was very poorly equipped Townshend's was defeated at Ctesiphon in November 1915 and forced to retreat to Kut.
After a long battle known as the siege of Kut were 23000 british forces dided and only 10000 ottomans died the British. After trying to negotiate with the ottomans Townshend failed and without hope of help from home. Finally his small force surrendered on 29 April 1916. Considered an honored guest by his Turkish captors Townshend was treated with abundant hospitality; meanwhile his 10,000 troops were largely subjected to terrible treatment. Only 3000 men made it to the end of the march into captivity.
Another general was Sir James Willcocks In 1914 he was given command of the Indian Army Corps in France. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1915 and was promoted General in May 1915, but resigned in September 1915 since he got in a disagreement with another general. In May 1917 Willcocks was appointed Governor of Bermuda, a post in which he served until 1922. After being awarded several awards for his war effort he returned to India and died at Bharatpur in 1926.
The Indian armies were also known for there elaborate uniforms. The uniforms were usually connected to the sepoy’s religious or ethnic background. A sepoy was an Indian soldier fighting for the British army much like a private. For example the Sikhs wore there tradition turbans and many wore there traditional clothes that they wore before the British occupation. However the Indians were poorly equipped and had a hard time fighting the Turks in the Arabian deserts.
When was broke out, India enduring a growing political unrest. The Indian National Congress had gone from being a group that merely talked about issues to a group that was pushing for self-government. Before the war started, the Germans had spent a great deal of time and energy trying to stir up an anti-British movement in India like the Zimmerman telegram in America tried to. Many shared the view that if Britain got involved in a crisis somewhere in the world, Indian separatists would use this as an opportunity fight for independence. “The moment Britain gets into trouble elsewhere, India, in her present temper, would burst into a blaze of rebellion,” said William Archer (author) before the war.
This was however untrue as the Indians did in fact rally to the cause in hope of freedom after the war. Offers of economic and military help were made from all over the sub continent. Many wealthy princes offered great sums of money, and even areas outside of British India offered help – Nepal offered help and sent 100,000 Gurkhas and the Dalai Lama in Tibet also sent 1000 troops to the help the cause.
After the war many Indians hoped for freedom but however that was not delivered. Instead the Government of India Act was introduced. A parliament was introduced in India. About 5 million of the wealthiest Indians were given the right to vote which is not a very large percentage and local governments could now be Indian. However British still controlled all taxes and still ruled the country.
Trueman, Chris Trueman. "India and World War One." www.historylearningsite.co.uk 29 jan. 2009.
"India in world war one." www.wewerethere.defencedynamics.mod.uk jan. 2009.
Tucker, C. Spencer. World War One. Santa Barbara. ABC, Clio, inc. 2005
"James Willcocks -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 03 Feb. 2009 .
"First World War.com - Battles - The Siege of Kut-al-Amara, 1916." First World War.com - A multimedia history of World War One. 03 Feb. 2009 .
"First World War.com - Battles - The Siege of Kut-al-Amara, 1916." First World War.com - A multimedia history of World War One. 03 Feb. 2009
P.H
29th of January 2009
India during world war one
During world war one many people thought that the whole war was fought out between European men; this is however untrue as the Indians and other colonial forces fought along side their white counterparts. The Indian army was a staggering 1.2 million men from many different portions of the great country however the Northern provinces had the majority of combatants with 224,000 volunteers. However not all soldiers fought and many were officers, nurses, doctors, railway personal, suppliers and transporters of arms and veterinary personal. The Indian forces were led by British officers. One important although unlucky British commander was Sir Charles Townshend.
Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend led the Indian force siege in 1915-16 before finally surrendering in humiliation on 29 April 1916. He came from a strong military family and had had much military training before the war and success commanding the garrison at Chitral in 1895. With the British declaration of war in 1914 Townshend was set to command the Sixth Indian Division in present-day Iraq in April 1915. He was ordered to lead the capture of Baghdad. Finding progress increasingly hard as his force was very poorly equipped Townshend's was defeated at Ctesiphon in November 1915 and forced to retreat to Kut.
After a long battle known as the siege of Kut were 23000 british forces dided and only 10000 ottomans died the British. After trying to negotiate with the ottomans Townshend failed and without hope of help from home. Finally his small force surrendered on 29 April 1916. Considered an honored guest by his Turkish captors Townshend was treated with abundant hospitality; meanwhile his 10,000 troops were largely subjected to terrible treatment. Only 3000 men made it to the end of the march into captivity.
Another general was Sir James Willcocks In 1914 he was given command of the Indian Army Corps in France. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1915 and was promoted General in May 1915, but resigned in September 1915 since he got in a disagreement with another general. In May 1917 Willcocks was appointed Governor of Bermuda, a post in which he served until 1922. After being awarded several awards for his war effort he returned to India and died at Bharatpur in 1926.
The Indian armies were also known for there elaborate uniforms. The uniforms were usually connected to the sepoy’s religious or ethnic background. A sepoy was an Indian soldier fighting for the British army much like a private. For example the Sikhs wore there tradition turbans and many wore there traditional clothes that they wore before the British occupation. However the Indians were poorly equipped and had a hard time fighting the Turks in the Arabian deserts.
When was broke out, India enduring a growing political unrest. The Indian National Congress had gone from being a group that merely talked about issues to a group that was pushing for self-government. Before the war started, the Germans had spent a great deal of time and energy trying to stir up an anti-British movement in India like the Zimmerman telegram in America tried to. Many shared the view that if Britain got involved in a crisis somewhere in the world, Indian separatists would use this as an opportunity fight for independence. “The moment Britain gets into trouble elsewhere, India, in her present temper, would burst into a blaze of rebellion,” said William Archer (author) before the war.
This was however untrue as the Indians did in fact rally to the cause in hope of freedom after the war. Offers of economic and military help were made from all over the sub continent. Many wealthy princes offered great sums of money, and even areas outside of British India offered help – Nepal offered help and sent 100,000 Gurkhas and the Dalai Lama in Tibet also sent 1000 troops to the help the cause.
After the war many Indians hoped for freedom but however that was not delivered. Instead the Government of India Act was introduced. A parliament was introduced in India. About 5 million of the wealthiest Indians were given the right to vote which is not a very large percentage and local governments could now be Indian. However British still controlled all taxes and still ruled the country.
Trueman, Chris Trueman. "India and World War One." www.historylearningsite.co.uk 29 jan. 2009.
"India in world war one." www.wewerethere.defencedynamics.mod.uk jan. 2009.
Tucker, C. Spencer. World War One. Santa Barbara. ABC, Clio, inc. 2005
"James Willcocks -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 03 Feb. 2009 .
"First World War.com - Battles - The Siege of Kut-al-Amara, 1916." First World War.com - A multimedia history of World War One. 03 Feb. 2009 .
"First World War.com - Battles - The Siege of Kut-al-Amara, 1916." First World War.com - A multimedia history of World War One. 03 Feb. 2009
