British Indian Army Indian Army

no. 4 (hazara) mountain battery rml7 pounder steel gun mountain gun in review order. left right naick, havaldar, subadar (sikhs) , gunner (punjabi musalman) circa 1895.

a military department created within government of east india company @ kolkata in year 1776. main function sift , record orders relating army issued various departments of east india company territories under control.

with charter act of 1833, secretariat of government of east india company reorganised 4 departments, including military department. army in presidencies of bengal, bombay , madras functioned respective presidency armies until 1 april 1895 when unified single indian army. administrative convenience, divided 4 commands @ point, namely punjab (including north west frontier), bengal, madras (including burma) , bombay (including sind, quetta , aden).

the british indian army critical force primacy of british empire both in india , across world. besides maintaining internal security of british raj, army fought in many other theatres: anglo-burmese wars, first , second anglo-sikh wars, first, second , third anglo-afghan wars, first , second opium wars in china, abyssinia, , boxer rebellion in china.

world wars


french postcard depicting arrival of 15th sikh regiment in france during world war i. postcard reads, gentlemen of india marching chasten german hooligans.



a sikh soldier of 4th division (the red eagles) of indian army, attached british fifth army in italy. holding captured swastika after surrender of german forces in italy, may 1945. behind him, fascist inscriptions says viva il duce , long live duce (i.e. mussolini).

in 20th century, indian army crucial adjunct british forces in both world wars. 1.3 million indian soldiers served in world war (1914–1918) allies, in 74,187 indian troops killed or missing in action. in 1915 there mutiny indian soldiers in singapore. united kingdom made promises of self-governance indian national congress in return support reneged on them after war, following indian independence movement gained strength.

the indianisation of british indian army began formation of prince of wales royal indian military college @ dehradun in march 1912 purpose of providing education scions of aristocratic , well-to-do indian families, , prepare selected indian boys admission royal military college, sandhurst. indian officers given king s commission after passing out , posted 1 of 8 units selected indianisation. because of slow pace of indianisation, 69 officers being commissioned between 1918 , 1932, political pressure applied leading formation of indian military academy in 1932 , greater numbers of officers of indian origin being commissioned.

in world war ii indian soldiers fought allies. in 1939, british officials had no plan expansion , training of indian forces, comprised 130,000 men (in addition there 44,000 men in british units in india in 1939). mission internal security , defence against possible soviet threat through afghanistan. war progressed, size , role of indian army expanded dramatically, , troops sent battlefronts possible. serious problem lack of equipment. indian units served in burma, in 1944–45, 5 indian divisions engaged along 1 british , 3 african divisions. larger numbers operated in middle east. 87,000 indian soldiers died in war. end of war had become largest volunteer army in history, rising on 2.5 million men in august 1945.

in african , middle-eastern campaigns, captured indian troops given choice join german army liberate india great britain instead of being sent pow camps. these men, along indian students in germany when war broke out, made called free india legion. intended pathfinders german forces in asia, sent guard atlantic wall. few part of free india legion ever saw combat, , few ever stationed outside europe. @ height free india legion had on 3,000 troops in ranks.

indian pows joined indian national army allied empire of japan. raised former colonel of british indian army (gen) mohan singh, later led netaji subhas chandra bose , rash bihari bose. fall of singapore in 1942, 40,000 indian soldiers captured. given choice , on 30,000 joined indian national army. refused became pows , shipped new guinea. after initial success defeated along japanese, had huge impact on indian independence movement. similar organisations formed in germany , japan. in 1946 indian sailors revolted against british in 1946 british indian navy mutiny.

independence

upon independence , subsequent partition of india in 1947, 4 of ten gurkha regiments transferred british army. rest of british indian army divided between newly created nations of india , pakistan. punjab boundary force, had been formed police punjab during partition period, disbanded, , headquarters delhi , east punjab command formed administer area. army day celebrated on 15 january every year in india, in recognition of lieutenant general k. m. cariappa s taking on first commander-in-chief of indian army general sir francis butcher, last british commander-in-chief of india, on 15 january 1949.