First World War

First World War information relevant to British India, including the involvement of the Indian Army and of Anglo Indians in the British Army. During the First World War compulsory service was deemed necessary and the Indian Defence Force Act was passed in 1917. European British men between the ages of 18 and 41 were subject to compulsory service within India. Thus men serving overseas were not sent as conscripts, but had voluntarily joined either the Indian Army, or the British Army.

Hampshire Regt WW1 Shield with India noted

General information

Expeditionary Forces

Seven expeditionary forces served during World War I

• Indian Expeditionary Force A served on the European Western Front
• Indian Expeditionary Force B served in the East African Campaign
• Indian Expeditionary Force C composed of the Imperial Service Infantry Brigade served in British East Africa
• Indian Expeditionary Force D served in the Mesopotamia Campaign
• Indian Expeditionary Force E served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign
• Indian Expeditionary Force F served in the First Suez Offensive
• Indian Expeditionary Force G served in the Gallipoli Campaign

The Indian Divisions of 1914-1918

Division	Theatres	Arrival in first theatre
1st (Peshawar)	-	Remained in India
2nd (Rawalpindi)	-	Remained in India
3rd (Lahore)	France & Flanders, Mesopotamia	October 1914
4th (Quetta)	-	Remained in India
5th (Mhow)	-	Remained in India
6th (Poona)	Mesopotamia	From November 1914
7th (Meerut)	France & Flanders, Mesopotamia	October 1914
8th (Lucknow)	-	Remained in India
9th (Secunderabad)	-	Remained in India
10th	Egypt	Formed in Egypt 1914
11th	Egypt	Formed in Egypt 1914
12th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1915
13th	-	Not formed
14th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1916
15th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1916
16th	-	Remained in India
17th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1917
18th	Mesopotamia	Formed in Mesopotamia 1917
Burma Division	-	Remained in India
1st Indian Cavalry	France & Flanders	November 1914. Renamed 4th Cavalry Division in November 1916
2nd Indian Cavalry	France & Flanders	December 1914. Renamed 5th Cavalry Division in November 1916

Anglo-Indians

“Britain's declaration of war on Germany in 1914, brought immediate mobilization in India and by 1915, the British war drain produced hundreds of officer vacancies in the regular army which became accessible to Anglo-Indians for the first time since the East India Company's ban of 1791. Conscription was enforced systematically among the Anglo-Indians at odds with the experience of other Indian communities treated more leniently. (Abel:1988) By 1916, perhaps 8,000 Anglo-Indians had joined British units as in the case of the many "India-born" recruits accepted by the Dorset Regiment. Jhansi's Anglo-Indian Battery, part of the Anglo-Indian Force, attached to the 77th Royal Field Artillery, had the largest concentration of Anglo-Indian conscripts and volunteers and earned a distinguished record in the Mesopotamian conflict. In total, 50-75% of the adult Anglo-Indian population saw active service although non-emergency enlistment in the British Army remained closed to them. (Dover:1937) Most were immediately sent abroad while others were employed by the sudden munitions and supply boom, for instance, at Kanpur where the army's leather processing centre had been located since after the Mutiny. (Thomas:1982)”

In 1916 the Anglo-Indian Association was asked to raise a battalion of Anglo-Indian soldiers - an Anglo-Indian force; some of them served in Mesopotamia. By the September of 1917 the Anglo-Indian Force had drawn more than 950 men.[25]

The Anglo Indian Battery, an Artillery unit which was part of the Anglo Indian Force, served in Mesopotamia and returned to India at the end of the war and was based at Trimulgherry. The Government of India decided the unit should be a permanent part of the forces, but it appears not to have survived the cuts of the post war slump

• The Anglo -Indian Force - WWI angloburmeselibrary.com
• Britain’s Betrayal In India: The Story of the Anglo-Indian Community by Frank Anthony 1960. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Chapter VII "World Wars I and II", page 122, includes the Anglo Indian Battery.

Temporary Commissions & Indian Army Reserve of Officers 1917-1921

IOR Ref - (L/MIl/9/435-623)

The First World War necessitated a reserve force of British Army officers for the Indian Army to supplement regular recruitment of cadets from Sandhurst, Wellington and Quetta. Temporary commissions were, therefore, granted to British Officers, NCOs and enlisted men of the required educational standard.

Fortunately, the individual names in this section are listed in searchable indexes on the National Archives Access to Archives website (See External links. The full record will show birth details and army service.

In the same index volume, on the open shelves in the British Library, is a further typed list of about 2,500 names compiled from a card index relating to medal claims. This index gives rank, unit , date of release and post-release address.( It does not actually show medal entitlement)

Finally the volume contains an index of 815 British Army other ranks commissioned into the Indian Army during the First World War. Fuller reference is shown as WO339 (pieces 139092 -139906) held at The National Archives – (See War Office: Officers' Services, First World War, Long Number Papers (numerical) in External links

The British Library has the book, in five volumes, covering the First World War, Alphabetical list giving particulars of officers of the Indian Army Reserve of Officers / [issued by] Army Headquarters, India, Military Secretary’s Branch. The catalogue entry states "Contents: [v.1]. 26th June 1916 _ v.2. 24th January 1917 _ v.3. 31st December 1917 _ v.4. 30th June 1918 _ v.5. 31st December 1918". The shelfmark is OIR 355.37 Open Access

FIBIS database: A List of Officers (I.A.R.O.) recruited to or Re-engaged during the Year 1916 and up to the middle of January 1917

Fibis members can contact Fibis research should they wish to access further detail from these records. research@fibis.org

British Army Territorial Force troops in India

Territorial Force troops were sent to India so that regular units could be released for service in France.

On 22 September 1914 the government of India agreed to send 32 British and 20 Indian regular army battalions to Europe in exchange for 43 Territorial Force battalions.

• The 43rd (Wessex) Division - All units assembled at Southampton on 9 October. Sailing via Malta and Suez, the main body of the Division went to Bombay, landing on 9 November, with three units (4th, 5th and 6th Devons) landing at Karachi two days later.
• The 44th (Home Counties) Division - All units that were going to India assembled at Southampton and sailed on 30 October. They all went to Bombay, landing between 1 and 3 December.
• The 45th (2nd Wessex) Division On 25 November 1914 it was decided to send from the 2nd Wessex 10 battalions of infantry and the artillery. Two battalions (2/4th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and 2/4th Hampshire Regiment went to Karachi (arriving 9 January 1915) via Aden; the rest landed at Bombay (4-8 January 1915).

See British Army Territorial Force troops arriving in 1914‎ for those Regiments and Batteries arriving with the first two Divisions above, and their initial postings.

The Territorial Battalions in India generally experienced a movement of personnel, as drafts were provided for Regiments in Mesopotamia, and men transferred to specialist services. The Battalions in India in turn received drafts from Britain. As an example, 1/5th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry lost nearly half its original personnel in 2½ years in India. Wounded and other ill soldiers from Mesopotamia were returned to India for treatment and convalescence. Some of these sadly became part of the group of soldiers who died in India.

A regimental history which describes experiences of Territorials in India during the Great War is A Strange War: Burma, India and Afghanistan 1914-1919 by C P Mills. The Regiment was the 2/5th Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry.

Garrison Battalions

Garrison Battalions were made up of soldiers unfit for front line duty. This decision was made at time of enlistment or after previous front line service where the soldier had suffered wounds or sickness. They were sent to various parts of the empire on garrison duties to release fit soldiers for front line duty. By the end of the war there were 18 Garrison Battalions in India.

In India, men unfit for frontline duties in regiments about to leave India for war zones, were transferred into Garrison Battalions already serving in India.

Some of the soldiers who served in the Garrison Battalions in India served on the North West Frontier in Afghanistan in 1919, in the 3rd Afghan War, almost certainly along the lines of communication.

Very little has been written about the Garrison Battalions of World War I in post-war regimental histories. Battalions were disbanded within days of returning from service overseas and their four or five year existence was apparently regarded as of little consequence in regimental history. . A diary, including a description of the journey to India of a “unit of middle-aged and medically downgraded men”, and letters home may be found in 1st Garrison Battalion The Manchester Regiment, India, Singapore, Hong Kong & Siberia by Robert Bonner

Garrison Battalions sent to India include the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Garrison Battalions, Bedfordshire Regiment, the 2nd Garrison Battalion, Essex Regiment, the 1st Garrison Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, the 1st Garrison Battalion, Manchester Regiment, the 2nd Garrison Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, 1st Garrison Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry and the 1st Garrison Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment.

Special Service Battalions

Formed from April 1919 in India from drafts of demobilisees (from Mesopotamia) arriving by ship in Bombay. See "Mutiny in India 1919" for more details about these Battalions. One Special Service Battalion, No.17, served in the Third Afghan War

External links

• 2/4 (Cumberland and Westmoreland) Battalion, Border Regiment sailed for India 4 March 1915 and was in India throughout the First World War 1914-1918.net
  • 2/4 Border Regiment in India 1916-1919 includes photographs taken at Gharial, (Murree Hills), and the Mohmand Blockade Line. king-emperor.com
• 1/5th Battalion and 1/6th Battalion East Surrey Regiment were in India most of World War 1,embarking at Southampton on 29 October 1914, landing at Bombay 2 December 1914 from "The Long, Long Trail: The British Army in the Great War".
  • FIBIS Gallery Collection of photographs taken by and owned by Arthur Cecil Gregory who served in the 5th Bn. East Surrey Regiment in various parts of India during WW1.
• The Hampshire Regiment from "The Long, Long Trail". There were Territorial Force battalions in India and Mesopotamia.
• 1/9th Battalion and 1/10th Battalion Middlesex Regiment Both battalions sailed 30 October 1914 from Southampton for India, arriving Bombay on 2 December 1914. The 1/9th Battalion eventually moved to Mesopotamia, arriving Basra on 24 November 1917, and joined the 53rd Brigade of the 18th Indian Division. It remained in that theatre until the end of the war.. The 1/10th Battalion remained in India until the end of the war. www.1914-1918.net
  • David Prebble’s Photostream. flickr.com Some of the photographs are labeled “1/9th Middlesex Regiment India 1914 to 1920” and it very probable all the photographs are of this regiment, in England or India
• 1/1st Brecknockshire Battalion, South Wales Borderers
 arrived in Bombay 3 December 1914, almost immediately went to Aden, subsequently returned to India and remained in India throughout the war, stationed at Mhow. www.1914-1918.net
• Voyage to India: Memoirs of the 1st/3rd Kent Battery 1914 Frank William Critchley was 22 years old and a sergeant in the 1st/3rd Kent Battery, Royal Artillery. He travelled to India on the troopship Grantully Castle which departed Southampton 29 Oct 1914 and arrived Bombay 2 December 1914. One board were: Artillery 450. East Surreys 400. 4th Queens 800. voyagetoindia.co.uk
• The Diary of Sergeant Ben Nicholas 1914 to 1917. 4th (Service Battalion) Kings Shropshire Light Infantry. "A record of his exploits in India, Burma, Singapore and Malaysia during World War One". Includes the 1915 Singapore Mutiny. html version pdf wulfrunianinlondon.files
• DEG Quelch, far from Flanders He was in the 18th (London) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, based at Table Island, where there was a wireless station, near the Cocos Islands. "Great War London"
• 25th County of London Cyclist Battalion, The London Regiment was a Territorial Force Regiment whose 1st Battalion spent the war years in India including the North West Frontier. In 1917 they participated in the Waziristan Campaign. In 1919 they helped quell the Amritsar uprising, and participated in the 3rd Afghan War. In 1917, 200 of the 1/25th left India and fought in Mesopotamia. 25thlondon.com
  • Indian/South-Asian Industrial Locos: Military Trains (irfca.com by Simon Darvill has a section (scroll down) on the British Library collection of Lance Corporal Howgego who served in India with the 1/25st Battalion, The London Regiment between 1916 and 1919. Includes a transcript of a 1917 letter to his mother regarding the flooding at Tank. (British Library catalogue entry Sgt Reginald Mortimer Howgego: Mss Eur C340 1914-1920)
• The "Karachi troop train incident" of the 5th June, 1916, resulted in the death of nineteen Territorial Troops due to heat stroke on a troop train between Karachi and Lahore. "Death Of Territorials In India". House of Lords. Hansard 25 July 1916 vol 22 cc911-6, 01 August 1916 vol 22 cc1037-42. "Karachi Troop Train Incident". House of Lords. Hansard 18 May 1920 vol 40 cc390-404, 21 July 1920 vol 41 cc413-20. 10 August 1920 vol 41 cc1169-79
• "The British Campaign in Aden, 1914-1918" by Mark Connelly Journal of the Centre for First World War Studies Vol. 1, No. 3, 2005. pages 65-96. Mentions the heat fatalities of the 4/South Wales Borderers (Brecknockshire battalion)
• Mutiny in India in 1919 by Julian Putkowski marxists.org By March 1919, the Territorials were disillusioned, and their increasingly bitter complaints featured in a series of anonymous letters that were published by the Bombay Chronicle. As well as complaining generally about the corruption and snobbery they had experienced during their service in India, the correspondents drew attention to the slow pace at which they were being shipped back to Britain by the Army.
• WO 374/20814 - service record of Horace Charles Druett flickr.com.He applied for the India Army Reserve of Officers in October 1917 when he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion East Surrey Regiment. Application form. He was seconded 21st December 1917 and was in India until the end of 1920, at least the latter part with the 1/54 Sikhs FF at Jullundur flickr.com

Historical books online

• Kitchener's Army and the Territorial Forces page 164 by Edgar Wallace 1915 Archive.org
• Under Ten Viceroys: the Reminiscences of a Gurkha, by Major-General Nigel Woodyatt, page 255 "The Territorials in India" 1922 Archive.org
• 2/4 Battalion. Hampshire Regiment 1914-1919 Published 1920?. State Library of Victoria. May be slow to open. The Battalion was in India January 1915-April 1917, where it provided many drafts for Mesopotamia, and was then in Palestine and France.
• Memoirs of the Great War by James Racine c 1920. Pages 80-102 cover the author's voyage to India from October 1916 and his period in India as an officer with the 2/5th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment in Secunderabad until the Battalion was transferred to Egypt. Archive.org
• Letters from Mesopotamia in 1915 and January, 1916 from Robert Palmer 1916 Archive.org. He went with a draft from the 6th Hants, (Hampshire Regiment) in India since November 1914, to reinforce the 4th Hants. Both these regiments were part of the Territorial Force. He was killed June 21, 1916, aged 27 years. The initial letters were written in India.
• Diary of 2/4th Battalion the Border Regiment, 1914-19 in India and Afghanistan. This Battalion was formed during the First World War and was part of the Territorial Force. Archive.org

Regular British Army troops in India

• 1st Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment
• 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment
• 21st Lancers were in India on the North West Frontier

Indian Army troops in India

Indian Army troops were involved in actions on the North West Frontier.

Aden

• "The British Campaign in Aden, 1914-1918" by Mark Connelly Journal of the Centre for First World War Studies Vol. 1, No. 3, 2005. pages 65-96. Includes brief mention of 26/King George's Own Light Cavalry, 7/Rajputs, 9/Gurkhas, 23/Sikh Pioneers, 51/Sikhs, 62/Punjabis, 75/Carnatics, 108/Infantry, 109/Infantry , 126/Baluchistans
• "Military Operations in Aden 1914-1915" by Harry Fecitt, from Harry’s Sideshows kaiserscross.com. Includes mention of the 26th (King George’s Own) Light Cavalry, 14th (KGO) Sikhs, 51st Sikhs (Frontier Force), the 53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force), the 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force), the 62nd Punjabis Rifles (Frontier Force), 109th Infantry and the 126th Baluchistan Infantry.

Burma

• The Kachin Hills Uprising: Burma from January to February 1915 by Harry Fecitt from Harry’s Sideshows kaiserscross.com

At sea

During the First World War ships of the Royal Indian Marine carried troops and other war stores from India to Egypt, Mesopotamia and East Africa. When mines were detected off the coasts of Bombay and Aden during the First World War, the Royal Indian Marine went into action with a fleet of minesweepers, patrol vessels and troop carriers. The Royal Indian Marine also played a leading role in landing troops in Mesopotamia and their small river craft did very useful work on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

• Merchant Adventurers, 1914-1918 by F. A. Hook 1920 Archive.org. A "compilation of the war records of the P. and O., British India and associated lines." Unfortunately the file is lacking the illustrations which should be in the book. A different digital file: Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
• Crew Lists of the British Merchant Navy-1915 National Maritime Museum rmg.co.uk. The crews originated from all over the world and on some vessels the British nationals were in a minority

Recommended reading

• Yeats-Brown, Francis Lives of a Bengal Lancer . An autobiographical account of a Bengal Lancer covering the period from 1905 until the end of the First World War. Describes his deployment in India, France and Mesopotamia. See review in Biographies reading list. Also see Mesopotamia Campaign.
• Spencer, William First World War army service records : a guide for family historians The National Archives, 2008 See Review in Military reading list.

Records

British Library holdings

• Also see Medal Rolls for British Library records in respect of rolls of honours and rewards.
• IOR/L/MIL/14/142 1914-1921. Indian Army Officers Casualty Returns: Alphabetical lists of casualties by death among British officers of the Indian Services in the Great War giving rank, age, unit, date, place and cause. Possibly may provide information additional to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database information (refer below). British Library article about these records, which indicates Warrant Officer (Conductor) deaths are included.
• IOR/L/MIL/15/22 British Army in India: Burial returns of officers and others in India, 1914-1918. Also available on LDS microfilm 2029981 (Ordering microfilms). Possibly may provide information additional to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database information (refer below)
• IOR/L/MIL/7/17154-18939 Collection 425 First World War 1914-1918 ‎ (1914-1920)
• IOR/L/MIL/17/5/245-299 1903-1947. Military Department Library: Indian Army Orders. Includes volumes coving the war years from IOR/L/MIL/17/5/256 1914
• IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2380-2420 Military Department Library: Indian Army First World War - General ‎ (1914-1931)
• IOR/L/MIL/17/5/2421-4246 1914-1921. Military Department Library: Indian Army First World War - War Diaries. These volumes include Indian Army Casualty Returns, explained in the British Library article "Finding Indian soldiers who served in World War One".
• The Military Department Library also contains items relating to the First World War catalogued according to regions including IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41-138 Iraq ‎ (1914-1944)
• History of the Great War based on official documents by direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Consists of 108 volumes published 1920-1949. The different volumes are explained in this link from www.1914-1918.net. Some volumes are available online.
• An account of the operations of the 18th (Indian) Division in Mesopotamia, December 1917 to December 1918, with the names of all the units which served with the division and a nominal roll of all the officers by Walter Edward Wilson-Johnston 1919.
• See also Temporary Commissions & Indian Army Reserve of Officers 1917-1921, above
• See also Indian Army

The National Archives

Included in the many records held at the National Archives Kew is the series WO 95 - War Office: First World War and Army of Occupation War Diaries which includes "Orders of Battle: India"

WO 95/5484: 1915 Nov. - 1920 Mar., WO 95/5485: 1920 May - 1921 Dec., WO 95/5486: 1922 Jan.-Dec.

Other

• See also
  • British Army - Records - Other pension records
  • British Army - Records - Other sources
    • Soldiers’ wills
    • Soldiers’ effects records at the National Army Museum
    • WFA WW1 pension record cards
    • Prisoners of War - ICRC Archives
  • Royal Air Force
  • Royal Navy
• British Red Cross First World War Volunteers. Free online Search of British Red Cross record cards for their Volunteers during WW1, many of whom were women.

Related articles

• Western Front
• Mesopotamia Campaign‎
• Actions in Egypt 1914-15‎
• Norperforce
• Railway units in the First World War
• Railways in the Middle Eastern Theatre
• China (First World War)
• East Africa
• Egypt, Palestine, Syria (First World War)
• Gallipoli
• Salonica and the Balkans (First World War)
• Medals
• Medal Rolls
• Prisoners of the Turks (First World War)
• POW Camps in India - First World War
• Kent Cyclist Battalion
• Imperial Service Troops. Troops provided by the Princely States

External links

• UK National Archives First World War Portal The National Archives' First World War resources
• WO 339 War Office: Officers' Services, First World War, Long Number Papers (numerical) The National Archives Discovery catalogue. Records of British reserve officers who were commissioned into the Indian Army were originally held separately, but later added to this series.
• WO 374 War Office: Officers' Services, First World War personal files (alphabetical). This series contains records and correspondence for officers with temporary commissions and Territorial Army officers who served in the First World War. - The National Archives Discovery catalogue.
• Indian Army during World War I Wikipedia
• Battles of WWI involving British India Wikipedia
• The Army In India – July 1914 by Prof Charles Tustin Kamps. Orders of Battle, now archived.
• Indian Infantry Regiments - World War I by Paul Watson September 23, 2007 indianmilitaryhistory.org, now archived. Taken from the book The Indian Army in the Great War 1914-1918: Cavalry Regiments, Infantry Battalions, Mountain Artillery Batteries, and Sappers & Miners Units by Paul Watson 2008 ISBN-13: 978-0982054123
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission Searchable database.
• Geoff Sullivan’s Great War Assortment.
• The Long, Long Trail: The British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918
• Great War Forum is a message board for the First World War which is associated with the website "The Long, Long Trail".
• British Army Medical Categories 1914. It is likely the criteria may have subsequently changed at various times throughout the War.
• The Western Front Association (WFA) Although the main emphasis is on the Western Front, other areas are also included.
• The World War I Document Archive gwpda.org
• The Official Histories of the Great War 1914-1918.net. Details of the volumes.
• Digital First World War Resources: Online Official Histories — The War On Land by Dr Robert T Foley defenceindepth.co

Digital First World War Resources: Online Official Histories — The War At Sea And In The Air by Dr Robert T Foley defenceindepth.co

• British strategy and oil, 1914-1923 by Martin William Gibson 2012 PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.
• India and the Great War A Joint USI (United Service Institution of India)-MEA (Ministry of External Affairs, India) Commemorative Project
  • Details of India and the Great War Project. Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, USI . Contains photographs
• "Finding Indian soldiers who served in World War One": Casualty Appendices to the War Diaries by Dorota Walker 09 September 2014. British Library Untold lives blog. Retrieved 11 September 2014
• "India and WWI: balancing demands of war with defence of Empire" by Adam Prime, 20 August 2014 “India at LSE” London School of Economics. Retrieved 26 August 2014
• India's contribution to First World War by Mandeep Singh Bajwa, Hindustan Times June 16, 2013
• Remarks by High Commissioner WWI Commemorative Event at India House 9 December 2014. Contribution of Indians during WW1
• Article Treasure trove: Awesome collection in awful condition by Sonia Malik 8 July 2011, The Tribune, Pakistan. Records in the Lahore Museum of over 100,000 Indian soldiers who served in the British Army during the First World War.
• See Nurse for some information about Australian Army nurses in India.
• The Indian Army - 1st January 1917: Cavalry Regiments by Paul Watson October 4, 2006 orbat.com, now archived.
• The Indian Army - 1st January 1917: Sappers and Miners; Railway Battalion; Divisional Signal Companies by Paul Watson November 15, 2006 orbat.com, now archived.
• Indian Army 1917 Mountain Artillery Batteries by Paul Watson November 22, 2006 orbat.com, now archived.
• "Indian Artillery In World War 1" by Major General Rajendra Prakash, Indian Army (Retd). indiaww1.in
• "India and the Great War: Colonial Anxieties, Fantasies and Discontent" by 
Gajendra Singh Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2014. academia.edu
  • "The Forgotten Shaheeds of Dagshai" by K. S. Sarkaria. Includes images of pages from relevant books concerning the Ghadar (Ghadr) Mutiny (Conspiracy) of 1915. kssarkaria.org
• "North East India and the First World War" by Pratap Chhetri February 4, 2016. The Indian Labour Corps: Lushai Labour Corps, Khasi Labour Corps, Garo Labour Corps, Naga Labour Corps, Manipur Labour Corps and enlistments from Tripura. These men served on the Western Front, in Mesopotamia and in Egypt. "The Centre for Hidden Histories" [WW1]
• "Remembering the Bengalis who fought for France in WWI" by Stéphanie Trouillard 2014-02-25 france24.com

Historical books online

• Gazette of india and Calcutta Gazette - for editions published during the war period, see separate list.
• History of the Great War Based on Official Documents: Military Operations. See the various Fronts mentioned below.
• History of the Great War Based on Official Documents: Medical Services; General History by G W Macpherson Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 includes Egypt and Palestine, Volume 4 includes Mesopotamia, Gallipoli, Salonika, East Africa. Published 1921-1924. Archive.org

Other books in this series: Medical Services: Diseases of the War Volume I, Volume II; Medical Services: Surgery of the War Volume I, Volume II; Medical Services: Pathology 1922-1923 Archive.org

Memoranda on some medical diseases in the Mediterranean war area, with some sanitary notes HMSO 1916

• History of the Great War Based on Official Documents: Medical Services: Casualties and Medical Statistics of the Great War by Major T. J. Mitchell and Miss G. M. Smith. 1931 Hathi Trust Digital Library
• The Royal Army Service Corps: A History of Transport and Supply in the British Army, Volume II by Colonel R H Beadon 1931. Link to an Adobe pdf download. Digital Library of India. Includes the First World War period, with chapters on the British Expeditionary Force , Gallipoli, the Balkans, Egypt and Palestine, Mesopotamia, East Africa, Italy, North Russia, England and India.
• A History of the Army Ordnance Services, Volume III: The Great War by Major General Arthur Forbes 2nd edition 1932, first published 1929. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Includes chapters on the Western Front (Part I) and chapters on Other Arenas (Part II): The Home Base; the Base in the Levant and Mediterranean [Egypt]; Gallipoli; Salonika; Palestine; Mesopotamia; East Africa; Italy; Russia and Siberia.
• History of the Ministry of Munitions Volumes 1-8, of a 12 volume series, published 1922 by HMSO. Archive.org. Volumes 10 and 12 The Supply of Munitions, and additional restricted viewing editions Hathi Trust Digital Library. Volume 10 consists of Guns, Gun Ammunition: General, Gun Ammunition: Shell Manufacture, Gun Ammunition: Explosives, Gun Ammunition: Filling and Completing, Anti-Aircraft Supplies. Volume 12 consists of Aircraft, Aerial Bombs, Tanks, Mechanical Transport Vehicles, Railway Materials and Ropeways, Agricultural Machinery.
• The War in the Air: being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force. Volume I by Walter Raleigh 1922. Volumes II-VI by H A Jones 1928-1937. Part of the series History of the Great War based on official documents. Volume I, Volume II (including Gallipoli), Volume III (inc East Africa), Volume IV, Volume V (inc Egypt/Palestine, Mesopotamia, Macedonia), Volume VI (inc Palestine, Mesopotamia, India) Archive.org
• History of the Great War based on Official Documents: Naval Operations.Volumes I-III by Sir Julian Stafford Corbett, Volumes IV-V by Henry Newbolt. Published 1920-1931. Archive.org and Hathi Trust (Vol. V): Volume I, Volume II, includes Gallipoli. Volume III Includes Gallipoli and Mesopotamia. Volume IV , includes Mesopotamia. Volume V. Naval-History.net has transcribed editions which additionally contain maps from a separate case for Volumes II and III.

History of the Great War based on Official Documents: The Merchant Navy by Archibald Hurd 1921-1929. Volume I, Volume II, Archive.org. Volume III is available as a transcribed edition on Naval-History.net

• History of the Great War: Principal Events, 1914-1918 compiled by the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. 1922 Archive.org
• Great War Online British Army Regimental Histories "Great War Diaries". Links to many online regimental histories.
• The Motor Cycle. Link is to Volume 16, January to June 1916. Archive.org. Other available online volumes, which for some reason do not appear when searching Archive.org may be seen under Reviews in this link. Mention of Despatch Riders and the Motor Machine Gun Service (MMGS).
• Experiences of a Dug-Out, 1914-1918, by Major General Sir C E Callwell 1920 Archive.org. The author was appointed to the high ranking role of Director of Military Operations (DMO) at the War Office at the outbreak of the war. [Dug-Out: a retired officer, recalled to employment].
• The Cradle of the War: The Near East and Pan-Germanism by Henry Charles Woods 1918 Archive.org
• Compendium of the More Important Army Order 1919. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Full title: Compendium of the More Important Orders of the Government of India, Army Department and India Army Orders issued from the 1st August 1914, to the 31st December 1917
• Turmoil and Tragedy in India, 1914 and After by Lieut.-General Sir George MacMunn 1935 is available to read online on the Digital Library of India website, in TIFF format. It is catalogued as Turmoil The Tragedy In India 1914. It is also available as a pdf to download from DLI.
• Speech by Lord Chelmsford, Governor General of India mentioning Anglo-Indian Force - Archive.org
• The Empire at War Volume V Part IV: India by Sir Francis Younghusband Edited for the Royal Colonial Institute by Sir Charles Lucas 1926 Contents Archive.org
• Role Of Indian Army In The First World War by Shyam Narain Saxena 1987 is available as a pdf download from DSpace at West Bengal State Central Library, and is also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website.
• India and the First World War by ‪Budheswar Pati 1996‬ Google Books
• Patiala and the Great War : a brief history of the services of the Premier Punjab State 1923. Link to a pdf download. Digital Library of India.
• "Letter from Sir Charles Monroe, C-in-C in India, dated Simla, August 15, 1917" regarding conditions in India from The First World War, 1914-1918, Volume II, page 110 by Charles Repington 1920 Archive.org
• United Empire: The Royal Colonial Institute Journal Volume 6 New Series 1915 Archive.org
  • "The Indian Expeditionary Force" by HT Montague Bell. page 21. Includes a list of Officers killed and wounded.
  • "India and the War", by Lieut.-Colonel Sir Francis Younghusband, page 439
• Under Ten Viceroys: the Reminiscences of a Gurkha by Major-General Nigel Woodyatt 1922 Achive.org, from page 210 describes the author’s service in India during the First World War, including his responsibility for the arrangements for all "enemy subjects" of military age in India, both civilians living in India and prisoners of war from East Africa, Mesopotamia Persia etc . Turkish prisoners were sent to Burma. Others including the Germans were placed in an interment camp at Ahmednagar, near Poona.
• The Post Office of India in the Great War edited by H.A. Sams 1922 Archive.org Contents
• Despatches on military operations in the Indian Empire since the outbreak of war including Aden, Persia and the North West Frontier London Gazette Supplements.
  • To 9th March 1916 LGS 4 July 1916; To 31st March 1917 LGS 31 October 1917; To 31st May 1918 LGS 17 March 1919; To 30 April 1919 LGS 5 August 1920
• "Despatch: Brief review of the part played by India, including the Native States, in the prosecution of the war" London Gazette Supplement 25 July 1919
• The Punjab And The War compiled by M S Leigh ICS 1922 Panjab Digital Library. This book may also be read online on the Digital Library of India website.
• India's Services In The War. Printed by K D Seth at the Newul Kishore Press, Lucknow 1922. Volume III United Provinces, Volume IV Bengal, Bombay Pdf downloads from DSpace at West Bengal State Central Library.
• The British Library digitised manuscripts include some India Office Records relating to the First World War. A search using the key word India, and adjustment of the dates will locate the documents , or the direct links include
  • IOR/L/MIL /17/5/2383 India’s Contribution to the Great War published by authority of the Government of India 1923
  • Also see the various campaign pages, mentioned below.
• The Illustrated War News, published weekly by the Illustrated London News
  • Number 15, Nov. 18, 1914, Number 21, Dec. 30, 1914 gutenberg.org
  • New Series: Volume 1 from June 14th 1916, Volume 2 from Sept 6th 1916, Volume 3 from November 29th 1916, Volume 4 from Feb 21st, 1917, Volume 5 from May 16th, 1917, Volume 6 from August 8th 1917, Volume 7 from Oct 31st 1917, Volume 8 from Jan 23rd to April 10th 1918 Archive.org
  • Also available to search on illustratedfirstworldwar.com The entire 1914-19 archives of the Illustrated London News and the Great Eight Illustrated magazines collection.
• The War illustrated Album de Luxe: The Story of the Great European War told by Camera, Pen and Pencil edited by J A Hammerton, published 1915-1919 Archive.org. Vol.1 The First Phase; Vol.2 The Winter Campaign 1914-1915; Vol.3 The Spring Campaign-1915; Vol.4 The Summer Campaign -1915; Vol.5 The Second Winter Campaign -1915-1916; Vol.6 The Spring and Summer Campaign of 1916; Vol.7 The Autumn Campaign of 1916; Vol.8 Ending the First Three Years; Vol.9 The Fourth Year, 1917-18; Vol.10 The Last Phase
• The Story of the Great War. Published by Collier and Son, New York in sixteen volumes. Scroll down to Contents outline. There is an associated eight volume series, (perhaps condensed to 80%, with fewer illustrations) with some editions titled The Story of the Great War. History of the European War from Official Sources. Complete Historical Record of Events to date. Edited by Francis J Reynolds and Allen L Churchill , published c 1916-1920.

Sixteen volume series, mostly Archive.org: Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4 (includes The Dardanelles); Vol. 5; Vol. 6; Vol. 7; Vol. 8; Vol. 9 (includes Mesopotamia, East Africa); Vol. 10; Vol. 11; Vol. 12; Vol. 13, (includes Palestine); 14; 16 Hathi Trust Digital Library

Eight volume series Archive.org Vol.1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3 (includes the Dardanelles); Vol. 4 (includes Mesopotamia); Vol. 5 (includes Mesopotamia, East Africa); Vol. 6; Vol. 7 (includes Palestine and Mesopotamia); Vol. 8

• The Great War by George H Allen et al. 1915-1921. v. 1. Causes of and motives for.--v. 2. The mobilization of the moral and physical forces.--v. 3. The original German plan and its culmination.--v. 4. The wavering balance of forces. --v. 5. The triumph of democracy. First Volume, Second Volume, Third Volume, Fourth Volume, Fifth Volume Archive.org
• The Great World War: A History. General Editor Frank A Mumby. Published 1915-1920. Archive.org

Volume I Contents To December 1914	Volume I Contents To April 1915	Volume III Contents To August 1915	Volume IV Contents To December 1915	Volume V Contents To May 1916
Volume VI 1917 Contents To February 1917	Volume VII 1919 Contents To February 1918	Volume VIII Contents To November 1918	Volume IX1920 Contents Index- All Volumes

• The Times Documentary History of the War published 1917-1920 Archive.org

Volume I Diplomatic-Part 1	Volume II Diplomatic-Part 2 Index Vols I, II	Volume III Naval- Part 1 Index	Volume IV Naval-Part 2 Index
Volume V Military- Part 1 Index	Volume VI Overseas-Part 1 Index	Volume VII Naval-Part 3 Index	Volume VIII Military- Part 2 Index
Volume IX Diplomatic-Part 3 Index	Volume X Overseas-Part 2 Index	Volume XI Naval-Part 4 Index

• Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times. Initial volumes also had the title The European War. A similar series issued quarterly (same content) included the title European War for all quarterly volumes up to Volume XX to October 1920. Archive.org

Volume I From the Beginning to March 1915 Contents-Index	Volume II April 1915-September 1915 Contents-Index	Volume III October 1915-March 1916 Table of Contents and Index	Volume IV April-September 1916 Index
Volume V October 1916-March 1917 Index Part 1-Index Part 2	Volume VI April-September 1917 Index Part 1-Index Part 2	Volume VII October 1917-March 1918 Index Part 1-Index Part 2	Volume VIII April-September 1918 Index Part 1-Index Part 2
Volume IX October 1918-March 1919 Index Part 1-Index Part 2	Volume X April-September 1919 Index Part 1-Index Part 2	Volume XI October 1919-March 1920 Index	Volume XII No Index.
Volume XIII October 1920- March 1921 Index	Volume XIV April-September 1921 Index	Volume XV October 1921-March 1922 Index	Volume XVI April-September 1922 Index

The final volume of the quarterly series of the same monthly magazines, Volume XX of the quarterly series, appears to be an update of the earlier periods and may include content which is not included in the half yearly volumes. The content for the quarterly series up to June 1919 appears to be identical to the half yearly volumes. Volume XX July 1919-October 1920, Cumulative Index of the quarterly series. At least some of the quarterly editions are available on Archive.org

• Source Records of the Great War, edited by Charles F Horne 1923. Archive.org. Also published in a later edition as The Great Events of the Great War. Seven volumes: The Causes, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1918-1919
• British Documents on the Origins of the War, 1898-1914 edited by G.P. Gooch and Harold Temperley. HMSO 1926-1938. A series of publications in 11 volumes, 2 with 2 parts, 13 in total. Details of the volumes. Volume I, Volume II Pdf downloads, Digital Library of India. Volumes 4-11 Archive.org, Hathi Trust Digital Library.
• Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, Supplement, The World War, a publication of the US Department of State, is available for the following years (scroll down): 1914; 1915; 1916; 1917, Supplement 1, Supplement 2, the latter Volumes I and II (total 3 Volumes for 1917); 1918, Supplement 1 (Volumes I and II), Supplement 2 (total 3 Volumes for 1918) digicoll.library.wisc.edu.

A text version, which is searchable, is available on the US Department of State: Office of the Historian website, currently (April 2016) for 1914, 1915 and 1916 only, but the intention is to include all editions.

• One Hundred Years of Army Nursing : The Story of the British Army Nursing Service from the time of Florence Nightingale to the present day by John Hay Beith 1953 Archive.org. Contains chapters on WW1
• War pensions and allowances by J. M. Hogge and T. H. Garside 1918 Archive.org
• Also see Mesopotamia Campaign; Egypt, Palestine, Syria (First World War); East Africa (First World War); Gallipoli; Salonica and the Balkans (First World War) and Western Front for online books about those campaign.