| green beanie | 02 Jun 2017 11:12 a.m. PST |
Did Britain post any Indian units on the western front? |
| Wackmole9 | 02 Jun 2017 11:23 a.m. PST |
yes, They were the main assault troops during the battle of Loos and for the duration of the war. |
fredavner  | 02 Jun 2017 11:37 a.m. PST |
They arrived as a corps for Ypres, fought in 15, were sent to the Middle East, but also were on hand in the west, not sure how strong, but cavalry for sure |
| fredavner | 02 Jun 2017 11:47 a.m. PST |
Actually at Loos, the were not the main attacking troops but lost heavily in a subsidiary attack |
| willthepiper | 02 Jun 2017 11:49 a.m. PST |
Indian units were said to have been the first to introduce trench raiding, based on their combat experience on the North West Frontier. Good basis for skirmish gaming! |
| whitejamest | 02 Jun 2017 12:03 p.m. PST |
I think at this point I have heard every army, and almost every component thereof shy of the artillery and service corps, credited with introducing trench raiding tactics. |
| willthepiper | 02 Jun 2017 12:49 p.m. PST |
Me, too, whitejamest! Any of these claims need to be taken with a grain of salt. :^) The Indians claim to have started raiding enemy lines in late 1914, for whatever that's worth. |
| troopwo | 02 Jun 2017 12:59 p.m. PST |
A corps sized element went to France.
They spent nearly a year there. They were taken out and used more in the middle east and africa as more suitable both for climate and line of communication for logistical support and replacements. |
| monk2002uk | 02 Jun 2017 10:51 p.m. PST |
There is the beautiful Indian Memorial near Neuve Chapelle that commemorates the losses in 1914/15. Indian troops featured in the Race to the Sea, First Battle of Ypres, and Neuve Chapelle. Indian cavalry featured in the gallop to High Wood on July 14, 1916. Their action formed part of the Battle of Bazentin Ridge in the Somme Campaign. Cavalry continued to serve on the Western Front. Robert |
| M C MonkeyDew | 03 Jun 2017 3:22 p.m. PST |
John Masters wrote a very good novel on the subject: The Ravi Lancers. Well worth a look. |
| Ferozopore | 05 Jun 2017 10:55 a.m. PST |
When World War 1 broke out, the Indian army numbered 240,000 men and dispatched several expeditionary forces to East Africa, Mesopotamia and France. Force 'A' was composed of 2 infantry fivisions and 2 cavalry divisions. The first regiments to arrive were thrown into the Race to the Sea/First Ypres. There were occasions when the situation was desperate enough that the cavalry regiments were used as infantry. The infantry played a major role in the Neuve Chapelle offensive and a lesser role in the Loos attacks. They were ill-equipped (imagine Gurkhas in the trenches in November 1914). There was no mechanism for replacing casualties, especially officers. The infantry divisions were withdrawn to Mesopotamia (some regiments to East Africa) after Loos. The cavalry was not withdrawn until March 1918. An unknown story of heroism (IMHO). |
| monk2002uk | 06 Jun 2017 3:15 a.m. PST |
There is an excellent overview in: "Sepoys in the Trenches: The Indian Corps on the Western Front 1914-1915" (1999) By Gordon Corrigan Robert |
| Bowman | 11 Jun 2017 6:23 a.m. PST |
The Indians claim to have started raiding enemy lines in late 1914, for whatever that's worth Well in that case it's good that the Indians were sent to France at least for a year. That way they could teach the Germans the intricacies of trench raiding first hand, as the Germans, English and French would have never figured it out for themselves.  |
