INDIAN RE-EVALUATION

[David Filsell]

GEORGE MORTON-JACK, 'The Indian Army on the Western Front: Indias Expeditionary Force to France and Belgium in the First World War', Cambridge University Press, £60.00, 335pp., bibliog., index.

To subvert a review about a new book with lengthy comments from a 15 year old work on the same topic is almost certainly poor reviewers protocol. However since the shelf of new books about the Indian Army is virtually bare I will ignore polite convention

Like Gordon Corrigans highly praised 'Sepoys in the Trenches' published in 1999, George Morton-Jacks The Indian Army on the Western Front, seeks to, and succeeds, in placing the performance of the Indian Army in 1914 and 1915 in accurate perspective. Moreton-Jacks costs too much of course; but then its the offering of an academic publisher. That said, its But while £60.00 may seem an expensive corrective to history, new copies of Corrigans work are currently on offer at almost £90.00 and only two of some eight copies listed on abebooks are listed for less than £50.

The Indian Army on the Western Front has had a pretty raw deal from British historians. From study of the first two volumes of the official history one might remain almost totally unaware of the deployment of two Indian Divisions in October 1914 on the left of II Corps line. It seems clear that the imperious judgement of the Official Historian was, and remained, fairly negative. The reality was of course that the Home Army had always judged the Indian Army as inferior - early in his career in Spain Wellington was regularly described as a mere Indian Army Officer. Hence almost from anecdote alone it has become far too widely accepted anecdote that the deployment of Indian troops was a foolish error.

Both works, the new and the older effectively offer a corrective to the popularly established views that the Indian was a mere mercenary army which performed poorly in Europe, could not deal with the winter weather on the western front. To that you can add the judgements that it lacked tactical awareness of modern fighting, suffered a highly disproportionate rate of self inflicted wounds and that Indians were incapable of facing with shell fire.

Whist fully capable of defining the Armys true faults, Moreton-Jack and Corrigan alike show much of the received opinion to be little better than myth. The Indian Army was a different Army. Unlike the BEF the Indian Army was a home army. It was unprepared for an overseas war although long experience of warfare on the nations borders built valuable experience in small unit tactics (which it deployed with great success in Flanders). The supply of reinforcements was ineffective.

The Indian Army was no more a perfect thing apart than was the BEF - for whom such a claim was once made and which has been regularly repeated. Neither author attempts to defend the indefensible - leadership by a corps of over aged senior officers, placemen promoted through length of service rather than merit. The short sightedness of a stuffy and ineffective Viceroy, a organisational structure and method of reinforcement totally unsuited to a modern war in Europe.

Gordon Corrigan is the more compelling author; his knowledge of military matters is reflected on every page. Equally, barrister George Moreton-Jacks writing is accessible and rewarding. Corrigan, the ex officer of Gurkhas, writes of practicalities, Moreton-Jack arguably offers a more detailed evaluation of the Indian Army as a whole its strength, weaknesses and administration.

Not least both are equally important correctives to our lazy view of the Indian Army at war in 1914 and 15. That I prefer 'Sepoys in the Trenches' by some distance does not diminish the quality of 'The Indian Army on the Western Front' or its authors efforts to tell a fascinating story.

[Steven Broomfield]

David, hear, hear to that. As discussed elsewhere, I (and Martin G) are hugely impressed by Morton-Jack's book and although the price seems steep, the reader is paying for a lot of research and a book in a limited field. Corrigan and Morton-Jack are both to be commended for their books, which have an invaluable place on the shelves of any student of the Indian Army or the Western Front.

[barkalotloudly]

on radio four the other night there was a small piece regarding the great war and India, when asking the indian "man on the street" about a memorial to commemorate the sacrifice during the war the response was lukewarm to say the least.

[paulgranger]

'Sepoys' is currently available as a Kindle download for £1.99; it was free a few months ago. It's being reissued in paperback early next year, Amazon quoting £15ish. I bought it in paperback earlier this year, but I can't remember where from, though I know I didn't pay £15

[paulgranger]

on radio four the other night there was a small piece regarding the great war and India, when asking the indian "man on the street" about a memorial to commemorate the sacrifice during the war the response was lukewarm to say the least.

Bearing in mid the trauma that India went through after WW2 with partition and animosity between Pakistan and India, plus the various natural disasters that visit the sub-continent frequently, I'm not totally surprised at the response to a WW1 memorial.

[David Filsell]

Having refered to 'Sepoys' in writing my review - forgive the errors by the way - I am now re- reading it. It really is a superb work an given the choice between the two would choose the Corrigan. Well worth tracking a copy, both as a fascinating book and a display of how good military history should be written. By the way I am not in Corrigan Sahib's pay, it's just a damn fine piece of work.

[Steven Broomfield]

Bearing in mid the trauma that India went through after WW2 with partition and animosity between Pakistan and India, plus the various natural disasters that visit the sub-continent frequently, I'm not totally surprised at the response to a WW1 memorial.

And, to be brutally honest, it wasn't "their" war, but a war fought on behalf of an imperial coloniser. The regiments on both side of the Partition which have histories stretching back remember, and that's enough for me.

[Guest]

on radio four the other night there was a small piece regarding the great war and India, when asking the indian "man on the street" about a memorial to commemorate the sacrifice during the war the response was lukewarm to say the least.

There already is one above Brighton. A very beautiful Chattri designed by an India architect.

[barkalotloudly]

the idea was a memorial on the sub-continent