Indian Army during World War I

[2] While some divisions were sent overseas others had to remain in India guarding the North West Frontier and on internal security and training duties."[5][6] Herbert Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India in 1902 and after five years, his term of office was extended by a further two—during which he reformed the Indian Army.[9] The regiments and battalions of the new organization would be numbered in a single sequence and the old titles of the Bombay, Madras and the Bengal Armies would be discontinued.[8] The new regiments and battalions, instead of remaining at their home base, could now all be called upon to serve anywhere in the country, and a tour of duty on the North West Frontier would be an established posting.[11] It was regularly called upon to deal with incursions and raids on the North West Frontier and to provide garrison forces for the British Empire in Egypt, Singapore and China.[24] Before World War I, the Indian Army was deployed maintaining internal security and defending the North West Frontier against incursions from Afghanistan.Habibullah Khan abided by his treaty obligations and maintained Afghanistan's neutrality, in the face of internal opposition from factions keen to side with the Ottoman Sultan.[30] Between November 1917 – March 1919, operations were carried out against the Kuki tribes by auxiliary units of the Assam Rifles and the Burma Military Police (BMP).It soon became clear that the Ottoman Turkish Army was being mobilised and in August the Indian Government was instructed to prepare contingency plans to protect these strategic assets.As a contingency, the Indian Expeditionary Force D (see below) under command of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Barrett sailed from Bombay on 16 October 1914 for Bahrain.[37][38] Upon arrival in Marseilles on 30 September 1914, only six weeks after the declaration of war, they were moved to the Ypres Salient and took part in the Battle of La Bassée in October 1914.[39] The Expeditionary Force was hampered by a lack of familiarity with new equipment, only being issued Lee–Enfield rifles on their arrival in France and they had almost no artillery, relying on support from their neighbouring corps when in the front line.[39] They were not accustomed to the continental weather and were poorly equipped to resist the cold, leading to low morale which was further compounded by the reserve system, whereby reinforcements were drafted in from any regiment and had no affiliation to their new units.[47] The force re-embarked on 5 November 1914, having suffered 4,240 casualties and the loss of several hundred rifles, 16 machine guns and 600,000 rounds of ammunition.Force C with 4,000 men gathered near the border of British and German East Africa, commanded by Brigadier General J. M. Stewart.The large force of Indian infantry effectively resisted counterattacks, however, during the day the British attackers made no headway and suffered substantial casualties.[53] In 1917, the British force, under Frederick Stanley Maude, which now included one cavalry and seven infantry divisions from the Indian Army, in the III Corps (India)[35] advanced towards Baghdad which was captured in March.[clarification needed] The advance continued in 1918, and after the Battle of Sharqat in October, the Turkish forces surrendered and the Armistice of Mudros was signed.They were joined by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade, a unit formed by three regiments of Lancers from the princely states of Mysore, Hyderabad, and Jodhpur.[35] Consisting of three battalions of Gurkhas and one of Sikhs,[60] the brigade was dispatched from Egypt and attached to the British 29th Division which had been decimated in the earlier battles.The Brigade next took part in the Battle of Sari Bair, under cover of a naval bombardment the 1/6th Gurkha Rifles assaulted and captured the hill, which was then shelled by the Royal Navy.[67] The regiment had been employed to guard the captured crew from the German ship, SMS Emden and reportedly attempts were made to fan the discontent amongst the sepoys.[67] The regiment was under orders to embark for further garrison duty in Hong Kong, however rumours started that they were going to be sent to fight in the Middle East against fellow Muslims from the Ottoman Empire.The mutiny continued for nearly five days and was suppressed by local volunteer and British regular units plus naval detachments from allied warships, and with assistance from the Sultan of Johor.The honour of being the first Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) in any conflict went to Khudadad Khan, 129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis.[85] In 1921, the Indian government started a review of their military requirements with the protection of the North West Frontier and internal security their priority.[92] The India Gate in New Delhi, built in 1931, commemorates the Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting in World War I.