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British Indian Army

This article is about the army of the British Indian Empire (1895–1947). For the current army of the Republic of India, see Indian Army. For the current army of Pakistan, see Pakistan Army.

Indian Army
The Union Flag, flown as the King's Colour by Indian regiments. A central emblem denoted each unit[1][2]
Active1 April 1895–15 Aug 1947[3][4]
Country India
AllegianceUnited Kingdom British Empire
TypeArmy
SizeWorld War I: c. 1,500,000[5][6]
World War II: c. 2,500,000[7]
(Total serving during each conflict)
HeadquartersGHQ India
EquipmentLee–Enfield[8]
EngagementsThird Anglo-Afghan War
First Mohmand Campaign
Boxer Rebellion
Tirah campaign
British expedition to Tibet
Mahdist War
First World War
Waziristan campaign (1919–1920)
Waziristan campaign (1936–1939)
Second World War
North-West Frontier (1858–1947)
Indonesian National Revolution (1946)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Lord Roberts
Lord Kitchener
Sir William Birdwood
Sir William Slim
Sir Claude Auchinleck
Sir Edward Quinan
Sir William Lockhart

The Indian Army during British rule, also referred to as the British Indian Army,[9][10] was the main military force of India until national independence in 1947.[9] Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency Armies,[11] it was responsible for the defence of both British India and the princely states, which could also have their own armies. As stated in the Imperial Gazetteer of India, the "British Government has undertaken to protect the dominions of the Native princes from invasion and even from rebellion within: its army is organized for the defence not merely of British India, but of all possessions under the suzerainty of the King-Emperor."[12] The Indian Army was an important part of the forces of the British Empire, in India and abroad, particularly during the First World War and the Second World War.

The term Indian Army appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies, which collectively comprised the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army, of the Presidencies of British India, particularly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. In 1879, the Presidency armies were integrated into a system of four Commands with a central Commander-in-Chief.[11] On 1 April 1895, the Presidency armies were dissolved and unified into a single Indian Army, also divided into four Commands,[11] and the term "Indian Army" was officially used by 1903.[13][a] The Commands were later replaced by two "Armies" in 1908—the Northern and Southern Army—but the Command system was restored in 1920.[11][15][b]

About 1.5 million Indian soldiers served during the First World War; the Indian Expeditionary Forces were deployed to France, Belgium, east Africa, Iraq, Egypt, and the Gallipoli peninsula, among other regions.[16] Eleven Indian soldiers won the Victoria Cross in the war.[16] During the Second World War, some 2.5 million soldiers served, and the Indian Army was recognized as the largest volunteer army in history to that point.[17] India itself also served as a major logistical base for Allied operations in World War II.[17]

The force is also sometimes referred to as the Army of the Indian Empire,[18][19][20] or Imperial Indian Army.[21][22] The Indian Army should not be confused with the Army of India, which was the Indian Army plus the British Army in India (British units sent to India).[23] With the partition of India and Pakistan on 15 August 1947, the army was reconstituted and divided between the two new Dominions, with the process overseen by Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck.[24][25] Independent India would, however, retain "much of the organizing framework" of the army.[13]

  1. ^ Johnson, Stanley C. (1918). The Flags of our Fighting Army. London: A & C Black. pp. 115–118. ISBN 0265482194.
  2. ^ "King's Colour, 2nd Battalion, 17th Dogra Regiment, 1926-1947 (c)". collection.nam.ac.uk. London: National Army Museum. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  3. ^ "History of South Command". indianarmy.nic.in. Indian Army. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Independence and Partition, 1947". www.nam.ac.uk. National Army Museum. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024. The end of British rule in India...spelled the end of the existing Indian Army and its administration.
  5. ^ Morton-Jack, George (2018). Army of Empire: The Untold Story of the Indian Army in World War I. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-09407-3.
  6. ^ Morton-Jack, George. "Warfare 1914-1918 (India)". 1914–1918 Online: International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  7. ^ Raghavan, Srinath (2016). India's War: World War II and the Making of Modern South Asia. New York: Basic Books. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-465-03022-4. OCLC 921864220.
  8. ^ Morton-Jack, George (2015). The Indian Army on the Western Front. South Asia Edition. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-11765-5.
  9. ^ a b "Indian Army personnel". The National Archives. n.d. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Behind the photographs: Indian Army Recruitment in the Second World War". Imperial War Museums. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "History of South Command". indianarmy.nic.in. Indian Army. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  12. ^ Nathan 1908, p. 85.
  13. ^ a b Imy, Kate (2019). "Faithful Fighters". www.sup.org. Stanford University Press. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  14. ^ Mehta, Raj. "A Matter of Military Honour". Force: National Security and Aerospace Newsmagazine. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Commands Of The Indian Army". www.centrefordefencecareers.co.in. Centre for Defence Careers. 21 September 2020. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  16. ^ a b Morton-Jack, George. "Warfare 1914-1918 (India)". 1914–1918 Online: International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  17. ^ a b Raghavan, Srinath (2016). India's War: World War II and the Making of Modern South Asia. New York: Basic Books. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-465-03022-4. OCLC 921864220.
  18. ^ Johnson, Stanley C. (1918). The Flags of our Fighting Army. London: A & C Black. pp. 115–118. ISBN 0265482194.
  19. ^ Horne, Erie Arthur (1922). The Political System of British India: With Special Reference to the Recent Constitutional Changes. England: Oxford University Press. p. 36.
  20. ^ Keegan, John (1983). World Armies (2 ed.). Macmillan Publishers. p. 441. ISBN 978-0-333-34079-0.
  21. ^ Roy, Kaushik (2009). "Military Loyalty in the Colonial Context: A Case Study of the Indian Army during World War II". The Journal of Military History. 73 (2): 497–529. doi:10.1353/jmh.0.0233. ISSN 1543-7795.
  22. ^ Roy, Kaushik, ed. (2011). The Indian Army in the Two World Wars. Brill Publishers. p. 495. ISBN 978-90-04-18550-0.
  23. ^ Mehta, Raj. "A Matter of Military Honour". Force: National Security and Aerospace Newsmagazine. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  24. ^ "Reconstitution of the Armed Services" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India – Archive. 11 July 1947. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Independence and Partition, 1947". www.nam.ac.uk. National Army Museum. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.


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