Anzac and India: A shared but forgotten camaraderie
Posted on 10 March 2014
Anzac and India: A shared but forgotten camaraderie
“Before the war who had ever heard of ANZAC? Hereafter who will ever forget it?” …by saying this British Commander at Gallipoli, General Sir Ian Hamilton best summed up the spirit of Anzac.
Gallipoli was the strife of people of different races and it has had a special impact on Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, who have kept the spirit alive. What is not immediately remembered is that there was a significant participation by troops from India. A million Indian troops fought in the First World War, of them 700,000 were pitted against the Ottoman Empire. In Gallipoli they formed part of the Australia New Zealand Division. Of 5010 Indians who served in Anzac, 1926 died and 3863 were wounded, some more than once. The number of dead, although horrific, paled in comparison with the number that died in France and Belgium.
“This fighting force was complete only with the participation of troops from India. Several accounts of the campaign remember the Indian soldiers and the camaraderie they shared, which alas is not commemorated as much as it rightly deserves.” The Australian Imperial Force commemorating the Australia New Zealand Division.
Constraints
There were many constraints to the participation, not only to the British Empire but also to the troops. It was a time when the 1857 mutiny and the Afghan campaigns were still in the memories of the British and it influenced policy within the Indian Army. Around this time the Ottoman Empire had launched its pan-Islamic movements that held the Caliphate in Turkey in high esteem and Muslims in India were sympathetic to protecting it. This was also the time when an Indian Muslim League had formed with separate demands. The freedom movements in India were beginning to gain momentum. In 1903-4, Lord Kitchener, the C in C of the Indian Army, started re organizing the army into field formations under commands and divisions, preferring troops from new found regions and loyalties.
Contributions
The Indian contribution to the First World War was in the form of seven Expeditionary Forces (A to G), fighting in the Western front, East Africa Campaign, British East Africa, Mesopotamia, Sinai and Palestine, First Suez Offensive and the Gallipoli Campaign. The Mesopotamia Campaign was almost entirely an Indian one.
It was Expeditionary Force G that fought in the Gallipoli Campaign. It comprised the 29th Indian Brigade, which had under its command four Infantry Battalions, namely: 14th (King Georges Own) Ferozepur Sikhs, 1/5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force), and the 1/6th and 2/10th Gurkha Rifles. An artillery component: 7th Mountain Artillery Brigade with 21st (Kohat) and the 26th (Jacob’s) Mountain Batteries, equipped with breech loading 10-pounder guns. These mountain batteries were the first to be reluctantly Indian ised after the great mutiny of 1857. Further, except for the Gurkha battalions, all other units had equal components of Muslim troops. As the Ottoman Empire at that time held sway over the Islamic world and Indian troops were subject to Turkish propaganda, units with Muslim troops were quickly moved away to France, leaving mainly the Gurkhas to fight it out in Gallipoli.
There was also an Indian mule cart train of the Indian Supply and Transport Corps whose services were vital for the operations of the entire Anzac. The lone Indian muleteer who stayed back to provide logistic support to Kiwis is part of part of folk lore to date. All these units were further served by the 108th Indian Field Ambulance. In addition, 69 Punjabis and 89 Punjabis, on their way to France and Flanders as part of 7th Indian Infantry Division were rerouted and sent to Gallipoli.
The Battles
Anzac map
The Battle of Gallipoli had raged on two fronts, Anzac Cove and Cape Helles (see map on left), for three months since the invasion of 25
- See more at:
http://www.freeperception.com/anzac-....pVOp23jU.dpuf
Regards
RAJESH