Indian Expeditionary Force sets out for France
- Category:
- Military
- Front:
- Western Front
- Date:
- 24 August 1914
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
- Tags:
- British India, Great Britain, France
On 24 August 1914 the first transports of Indian Expeditionary Force A sailed from the ports of British India. These were the first units of the Indian Army sent to Europe in this war. At first they were to go to Egypt, but in the end they were sent to the Western Front, in France.
From Egypt to France
Immediately after the outbreak of war, London asked the Government of India to send two infantry divisions to Egypt. They were to replace the British garrison there and guard the Suez Canal, the empire’s key sea route. Mobilisation began on 8 August. The force comprised the Lahore and Meerut Divisions and two cavalry brigades.
Events in France quickly changed the plans. The British Expeditionary Force was small, and after the first battles it urgently needed reinforcements. It was soon decided that the trained professional soldiers from India would be more useful in Europe. Egypt became merely a stage on their journey.
The first transports of the Lahore Division sailed from Karachi and Bombay between 24 and 29 August. The first units reached Suez on 8 September. One of the division’s brigades, the Sirhind Brigade, remained in Egypt for a time, while the rest sailed on. On 26 September two brigades of the Lahore Division landed at Marseilles, where the inhabitants gave them an enthusiastic welcome. In October they were joined by the Meerut Division. The two formations formed the Indian Corps under the command of General James Willcocks.
At the front
Before leaving for the front the soldiers received new rifles and equipment, because their weapons and kit were not suited to the conditions of a European war. As early as the second half of October the first Indian battalions went into action in Belgium, during the First Battle of Ypres. On 31 October Sepoy Khudadad Khan of the 129th Baluchis, badly wounded, worked a machine gun to the very last. He became the first Indian soldier to receive the Victoria Cross.
Significance
The Indian soldiers arrived in France at the most difficult moment for the British, when their professional army was melting away in heavy fighting. They helped to hold the front in the autumn of 1914 and fought at Neuve Chapelle and Loos in 1915. At the end of 1915 the Indian infantry was moved to the Middle East, mainly to Mesopotamia, while the cavalry remained in France until 1918.
Force A was not the first Indian Army unit sent abroad. As early as 19 August the first Indian force set out for East Africa.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
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Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 19 September 1914 · Western FrontIndian troops sail from Egypt to MarseilleOn 19 September 1914 the first units of Indian Expeditionary Force A sailed from Egypt for France. A week later they landed at Marseille.
- 26 September 1914 · Western FrontFirst Indian troops land at MarseilleOn 26 September 1914 the first units of Indian Expeditionary Force "A" landed at Marseille. A month later they were already fighting in Flanders.
- 19 October 1914 · Western FrontFirst Indian soldiers at the frontA British chronicle records the arrival of the first Indian soldiers at the front on 19 October 1914. They entered the trenches at Messines on 22–23 October.
- 19 August 1914 · AfricaFirst Indian unit sets out for East AfricaOn 19 August 1914 the 29th Punjabis left India, the first unit of an Indian expeditionary force sent to the front. Its destination was East Africa.