Sepoys in the Trenches

This title offers a stirring account of the two-division Indian corps, which arrived in Europe just in time for First Ypres. Regular soldiers all, they found themselves in a land they had never seen, fighting an enemy of which they knew little and in a cause not their own. Led by a few British officers, the regiments fought throughout the first 15 months of the war on the Western Front, being transferred to Mesopotamia in November 1915. The first modern account of the Indian contingent on the Western Front, which never received the recognition it deserved. Drawing from a wealth of unpublished sources, interviews and original material, the book examines how the Indians fought, and why they consistently went uncomplainingly 'over the top' following officers of a very different culture, religion and upbringing.The book examines, in detail, each of the battles fought by the Indian battalions and regiments, made up of Gurkhas, Sikhs, Pubjabi Mussalmans, Garwhalis, Dogras, Pathans, Rajputs and others, many of whom were not even domiciled in British India nor subjects of the King Emperor, and describes the contribution to the war efforts of the innovatory skills displayed by the Indian Sappers and Miners. Old canards are re-examined - inability to stand the cold, reluctance to fight, the prevalence of self-inflicted wounds - are shown not to be supported by the evidence. This study is vital in understanding how the old Indian Army worked, and how it made a major contribution to the Allied effort in the early days of the Great War, when it was the only source of trained regular reinforcements for the BEF.