| British Indian Army |
Article Index for British |
Website Links For British Indian |
Information AboutBritish Indian Army |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BRITISH INDIAN ARMY | |
| british rule in india | |
| military of british india | |
| army, historical | |
| 1857 establishments | |
| 1947 disestablishments | |
|
The Indian Army in the time of the British Raj (1857–1947). ADMINISTRATIVE NAME The ''Indian Army'' is the name for the Indian Armed forces of India, and the meaning has changed over time: HISTORY The Indian Army was formed after the Indian Mutiny in 1857 by the British when the crown took over direct rule from the British East India Company which had their own army units, paid for by their profits. During the days of British rule, the Indian Army proved a very useful adjunct to British forces not only in India but also in other places, particularly during World Wars I and II. Recruitment was entirely voluntary, about 1.3 Million men served in World War I and 2.5 Million in World War 2. Initially the Soldiers and NCO 's were Indian, with British officers but later Indian officers were promoted as part of Indianisation (see King's Commissioned Indian Officer ). The Indian Military College at Dehradun was opened in 1932 to train Indian officers. Indian army postings were popular and prestigious with British officers who learnt to speak Indian languages primarily Urdu . Prominent British Indian army officers included:
Initially the army was organised into three presidencies; Madras, Bombay and Bengal. The army of the British East India company recruited predominantly from high Caste Hindus in Bengal and Uttar Pradesh . These troops had been predominant in the Indian Mutiny due to insensitive treatment by British officers. Post Mutiny recruitment switched to what the British called the "martial races" from the Punjab , particularly Sikhs , Mohyal s, Muslims and Dogra s. Pathan s and Beluchi s also provided many Soldiers. Rank System The Rank system for the Indian army is shown below with modern UK equivilents
KITCHENER'S REFORMS Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander in Chief India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large scale reforms including merging the three armies of the Presidentsies into a unified force. Forming higher level formations, 8 army divisions and brigading Indian and British units. The main role of the Indian army was seen as being defence of the North West Frontier against Russian invasion via Afghanistan, Internal security, and expeditionary warfare in the Indian ocean area. The Indian army had a strength of about 150,000 men on the eve of World War I in 1914.
These troops were provided by the semi-autonomous Princely States , about 21,000 were raised in Word War I, mainly Rajputs from Rajastan, such as the Bikaner Camel corps and Jodhpur Lances which had a prominent part in the Palestine campaign. Internal Security The British Indian army provided armed support to the civil authorities, both for combatting banditry and in case of riots and rebellion (the latter was a controversial measure not popular with officers) North West Frontier The main "conventional" warfare task of the Indian army was to prevent an invasion of India via Afghanistan. There was also a need to pacify warlike local people and prevent banditry. This involved numerous small scale actions. please see North-West Frontier (military History) for more detail Afghan Wars The British Indian army took part in three Anglo Afghan wars
See also: The Great Game and European Influence In Afghanistan for a more detailed description World War I In World War I the Indian Army saw extensive service including:
About 43,000 Indian soldiers were killed and 65,000 wounded during World War I World War II At the outbreak of World War 2 the Indian army numbered 205,000 men. Later during World War II the Indian Army became the largest all-volunteer force in history, rising to over 2.5 million men in size. These forces included tank, artillery and airborne forces. On October 18 , 1941 the 151st Parachute Battalion was formed from soldiers serving in the Indian Army. Later this unit was joined by the 152nd (Indian) and 153rd (Gurkha) Parachute Battalion. Indian soldiers won 30 Victoria Cross es during the Second World War About 87,000 Indian soldiers lost their lives during this conflict Particularly notable contributions of the Indian Army during that conflict were in the campaigns in:
''See also the Indian National Army '' which raised by the Japanese from Indian Prisoners of War captured in Malaya and Singapore in cooperation with Indian independence leader Subhash Chandra Bose and numbered up to 40,000 men Post World War II Following the war, the British formations that had been part of the Army of India were withdrawn. Upon independence the ''British'' Indian Army was split: most units went to the Indian Army , four Gurkha regiments were transferred to the British Army (they formed the Brigade Of Gurkhas and were stationed in Malaya ) and the remainder of the army went to the Pakistan Army . REFERENCES # Oxford History of the British Army # Mason, Philip, A Matter of Honour: An Account of the Indian Army, its Officers and Men, Macmillan 1974 # A bibliography # Alan J. Guy & Peter B. Boyden, Soldiers of the Raj, The Indian Army 1600-1947, 1997, National Army Museum Chelsea # Richard Holmes, Sahib the British Soldier in India, 1750-1914 SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|