British Indian Army

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See Indian Army for the post-independence (and post-partition) army of the Republic of India.
A group of Sikh Indian soldiers posing for volley firing orders. ~1895.
A group of Sikh Indian soldiers posing for volley firing orders. ~1895.

The British Indian Army, officially called simply the Indian Army (IA), was the army in British India at the time of the British Raj (1858–1947).[1][2][3] The Indian Army served both as a security force in India itself and, particularly during the World Wars, in other theatres.

Between 1903 and 1947 the Army of India consisted of two separate entities: the Indian Army and the British Army in India. The former consisted of Indian Army regiments originating in India, while the latter were British Army regiments originating in the United Kingdom which were sent to India on a tour of duty.

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[edit] Organization

A painting showing a Sowar (Sepoy), 6th Madras Light Cavalry. Circa 1845.
A painting showing a Sowar (Sepoy), 6th Madras Light Cavalry. Circa 1845.

The Indian Army was formed after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as First War of Indian Independence or Indian Mutiny in 1857 by the British when the crown took over direct rule from the British East India Company. Prior to that the Company had their own army units, paid for by their profits and these operated alongside British Army units.

The army of the British East India Company recruited primarily from Muslims in the Bengal Presidency (which consisted of Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh), and high caste Hindus recruited primarily from the rural plains of Oudh. These troops had been predominant in the Indian Mutiny allegedly due to crass and insensitive treatment by British officers evident in the rush to reinstate the Mughal king Bahadur Shah II at Delhi.

Post-Mutiny recruitment switched to what the British called the "martial races," particularly Rajputs, Sikhs, Gurkhas, Pashtuns, Garhwalis, Mohyals, and Dogras. Jats and Balochis also provided many soldiers.

The "Indian Army" is the name for the Indian Armed forces of India, and the meaning has changed over time:

1858–1894 The Indian Army was a collective term for the armies of the three presidencies; the Bengal Army, Madras Army and Bombay Army.
1895–1902 The Indian Army meant the "army of the government of India" and included British and Indian (sepoy) units.
1903–1947 Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large-scale reforms, including merging the three armies of the Presidencies into a unified force and forming higher level formations, eight army divisions, and brigading Indian and British units. Following Kitchener's reforms:
  • The Indian Army was "the force recruited locally and permanently based in India, together with its expatriate British officers."[4]
  • The British Army in India consisted of British Army units posted to India for a tour of duty, and which would then be posted to other parts of the Empire or back to the UK.
  • The Army of India consisted of both the Indian Army and the British Army in India.

[edit] Command

The officer commanding the Army of India was the Commander-in-Chief in India who reported to the civilian Governor-General of India. His command was known as India Command and his staff were based at GHQ India.

Indian Army postings were less prestigious than British Army positions, but the pay was significantly greater so that officers could live on their pay instead of having to have a private income. British officers in the Indian Army were expected to learn to speak the Indian languages of their men, who tended to be recruited from primarily Hindi speaking areas. Prominent British Indian army officers included:

[edit] Rank system

The rank system for the Indian army, with analogous modern-day British ranks. No equivalent to the Junior Commissioned Officer exists in the modern-day Brigade of Gurkhas; a Queen's Gurkha Officer is of the same status as other commissioned officers in the British Army.

A photograph, circa 1895 showing a Mountain Battery (Sikh soldiers and Muslim soldier to the far right) Hazara) listing the crew's ranks in the caption.
A photograph, circa 1895 showing a Mountain Battery (Sikh soldiers and Muslim soldier to the far right) Hazara) listing the crew's ranks in the caption.

[edit] Function

The main role of the Indian Army was seen as being defence of the North-West Frontier Province against Russian invasion via Afghanistan, internal security, and expeditionary warfare in the Indian Ocean area. The British Indian Army had a strength of about 150,000 men on the eve of World War I in 1914.

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 the First and Second World Wars. Recruitment was entirely voluntary; about 1.3 million men served in the First World War, many on the Western Front and 2.5 million in the Second. 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 Army established the Command and Staff College in 1907 at Quetta, in modern-day Pakistan to provide the army with staff officers who had knowledge of local Indian conditions. The college still continues to train Pakistani Army officers. While young British Indian Army officers were usually trained at Sandhurst, the Indian Military College at Dehradun was opened in 1932 to train Indian officers.

[edit] Operational history

[edit] Sikh Wars

[edit] Afghan Wars

The British Indian army took part in three Anglo-Afghan wars with the help of the Sikhs of Punjab.

See also: The Great Game and European influence in Afghanistan for a more detailed description.

[edit] Opium Wars

[edit] Internal Security

The British Indian Army provided armed support to the civil authorities, both for combating banditry and in case of riots and rebellion (the latter was a controversial measure not popular with officers).

[edit] North West Frontier

Main article: North-West Frontier (military history)

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.

[edit] World War I

A Benet-Mercier machine gun section of 2nd Rajput Light Infantry in action in Flanders, during the winter of 1914-15.
A Benet-Mercier machine gun section of 2nd Rajput Light Infantry in action in Flanders, during the winter of 1914-15.
This photograph shows an emaciated Indian army soldier who survived the siege of Kut following his release from Turkish captivity.
This photograph shows an emaciated Indian army soldier who survived the siege of Kut following his release from Turkish captivity.

Prior to the outbreak of the Great War, the strength of the British Indian Army was at 155,000. By November 1918, the Indian Army rose in size to 573,000 men.[1]

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.

Also serving in World War I were so-called "Imperial Service troops," provided by the semi-autonomous Princely States. About 21,000 were raised in World War I, mainly consisting of Sikhs of Punjab and Rajputs from Rajputana (such as the Bikaner Camel Corps and Jodhpur Lances). These forces played a prominent role in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.

[edit] World War II

Main article: India in World War II

At the outbreak of World War II, the Indian army numbered 205,000 men. Later on during World War II the Indian Army would become the largest all-volunteer force in history, rising to over 2.5 million men in size. These forces included tank, artillery and airborne forces.

Particularly notable contributions of the Indian Army during that conflict were the:


About 87,000 Indian soldiers lost their lives during this conflict. Indian soldiers won 30 Victoria Crosses during the Second World War. (See: Indian Victoria Cross recipients.)

The Germans and Japanese were relatively successful in recruiting combat forces from Indian prisoners of war. These forces were known as the Tiger Legion and the Indian National Army (INA). Indian nationalist leader Subhash Chandra Bose led the 40,000-strong INA. From a total of about 40,000 Indians taken prisoner in Malaya and Singapore in February 1942, about 30,000 joined the INA,[5] which fought Allied forces in the Burma Campaign. Others became guards at Japanese POW camps. The recruitment was the brainchild of Major Fujiwara Iwaichi who mentions in his memoirs that Captain Mohan Singh Deb, who surrendered after the fall of Jitra became the founder of the INA.

However, most Indian Army personnel resisted recruitment and remained POWs. An unknown number captured in Malaya and Singapore were taken to Japanese-occupied areas of New Guinea as forced labour. Many of these men suffered severe hardships and brutality, similar to that experienced by other prisoners of Japan during World War II. About 6,000 of them survived until they were liberated by Australian or U.S. forces, in 1943-45.[5]

November 9, 1945. Jemadar (junior commissioned officer) Chint Singh of the Indian Army at an identification parade in New Guinea, indicating a Japanese soldier whom Singh claimed had mistreated him, while he was a prisoner of war.
November 9, 1945. Jemadar (junior commissioned officer) Chint Singh of the Indian Army at an identification parade in New Guinea, indicating a Japanese soldier whom Singh claimed had mistreated him, while he was a prisoner of war.

[edit] Post World War II

Following the war, the British formations and units that had been part of the British Army of India were divided amongst India and Pakistan, with the British regular Army units returned to UK or other stations outside India or Pakistan.

The formations, units, assets and indigenous personnel of the British Indian Army were divided, with 2/3 of its assets retained by India, and 1/3 by Pakistan.[6] Due to shortage of experienced officers, several hundred British officers remained in Pakistan on contract until early 1950s.Equipment from most British units was retained by the Indian Army as only one infantry division was stationed in Pakistan before partition. The remainder of the army Muslim personnel proceeded to join the newly created Pakistan Army.

The new Indian Army and Pakistan Army were thus formed from previously British Indian Army units and both forces retain varying degrees of British Army traditions.

Four Gurkha regiments were transferred to the British Army, and formed the Brigade of Gurkhas, departng for their new station in Malaya).

Soon after the Partition of India, both the newly formed armies fought each other in the First Kashmir War from 1947 - '48 which begun the bitter rivalry that has continued into the 21st century.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

  • 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
  • Jon Latimer, Burma: The Forgotten War, London: John Murray, 2004.
  • John Masters, Bugles and a Tiger: Viking, 1956 (autobiographical account of his service as a junior British officer in a Gurkha regiment in the years leading up to WW II)

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Peter Duckers The British Indian Army 1860-1914 Pub: Shire Books, ISBN 978-0-7478-0550-2
  2. ^ Indian Army: History "the total strength of the British-Indian Army was 90,000"
  3. ^ Brig (Retd) Noor A Husain The Role of Muslims Martial Races of Today's Pakistan in British-Indian Army in World War-II
  4. ^ Oxford History of the British Army
  5. ^ a b Peter Stanley "Great in adversity": Indian prisoners of war in New Guinea website of the Australian War Memorial
  6. ^ Brian Lapping, 'End of Empire,' Guild Publishing, London, 1985, p.75-6, p.82: 'By comparison with the two great provinces [Punjab & Sindh] partition of the army and the civil service was easy, though by any other standard, it was difficult, wasteful, and destructive. ... The men were transferred in their units. Regiments of Sikh and Hindu soldiers from the north-west frontier had to make their way through Muslim territory to get out of what was to be Pakistan.'
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