1895–1947 land warfare branch of British India's military, distinct from the British Army in India
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.
The Indian Army during British rule, also referred to as the British Indian Army, was the main military force of the
Second World War
.
The term Indian Army appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the
Army of India (1903–1947) which was the Indian Army plus the British Army in India (British units sent to India), which was later split into the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army
.
History
The Indian Army has its origins in the years after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, often called the Indian Mutiny in British histories, when in 1858 the Crown took over direct rule of British India from the East India Company. Before 1858, the precursor units of the Indian Army were units controlled by the Company and were paid for by their profits. These operated alongside units of the British Army, funded by the British government in London.[3]
The three Presidency armies remained separate forces, each with its own
Supply and Transport, and Pay branches were by then unified.[6]
The Punjab Frontier Force was under the direct control of the
Punjab during peacetime until 1886, when it came under the Commander-in-Chief, India.[6] The Hyderabad Contingent and other local corps remained under direct governmental control.[7] Standing higher formations – divisions and brigades – were abandoned in 1889.[8] No divisional staffs were maintained in peacetime, and troops were dispersed throughout the sub-continent, with internal security as their main function. In 1891 the three staff corps were merged into one Indian Staff Corps.[7]
Two years later the
lieutenant general, who answered directly to the C-in-C, India.[9]
The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 by a notification of the Government of India through Army Department Order Number 981 dated 26 October 1894, unifying the three Presidency armies into a single Indian Army.[10] The armies were amalgamated into four commands, Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western. The Indian Army, like the Presidency armies, continued to provide armed support to the civil authorities, both in combating banditry and in case of riots and rebellion. One of the first external operations the new unified army faced was the Boxer Rebellion in China from 1899 to 1901.
The principles underlying the reforms were that the defence of the
North-West Frontier against foreign aggression was the army's primary role and that all units were to have training and experience in that role on that frontier. Furthermore, the army's organisation should be the same in peace as in war, and maintaining internal security was for the army a secondary role, in support of the police.[11]
Lord Kitchener found the army scattered across the country in stations at brigade or regimental strength, and in effect, providing garrisons for most of the major cities.[8]
The reformed Indian Army was to be stationed in operational
Bombay – Mhow – Quetta axis.[12] However, the cost of abandoning some thirty-four stations and building new ones in the proposed corps areas was considered prohibitive, and that aspect of the plan had to be modified.[13]
Under the compromise adopted in 1905, the four existing commands were reduced to three, and together with Army
infantry division, a cavalry brigade, and a number of troops for internal security or local frontier defence. Permanent divisional commands were formed with an establishment of staff officers under a major general.[13]
After the reforms ended in 1909, the Indian Army was organised along British lines, although it was always behind in terms of equipment. An Indian Army division consisted of three brigades each of four battalions. Three of these battalions were of the Indian Army, and one British. The Indian battalions were often segregated, with companies of different tribes, castes or religions. One and a half million volunteers came forward from the estimated population of 315 million in the Indian subcontinent.
Regimental battalions were not permanently allocated to particular divisions or brigades, but instead spent some years in one formation, and were then posted to another elsewhere. This rotating arrangement was intended both to provide all units with experience of
active service on the Frontier, and to prevent them becoming 'localised' in static regimental stations.[13]
In contrast, the divisional locations remained constant
To emphasise that there was now only one Indian Army, and that all units were to be trained and deployed without regard for their regional origins, the regiments were renumbered into single sequences of cavalry,
infantry of the line, and Gurkha Rifles.[13] Regimental designations were altered to remove all references to the former Presidential Armies.[9] Where appropriate subsidiary titles recalling other identifying details were adopted. Thus the 2nd Bengal Lancers became the 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)
.
The new order began with the Bengal regiments, followed by the Punjab Frontier Force, then the regiments of Madras, the Hyderabad Contingent, and Bombay. Wherever possible a significant digit was retained in the new number.
51st Sikhs, the 1st Madras Pioneers became the 61st Pioneers, and the 1st Bombay Grenadiers became the 101st Grenadiers
.
The Gurkha Regiments had developed into their own Line of
rifle regiments since 1861. They were five of these until they were joined by the former 42nd, 43rd, & 44th Gurkha Regiments of the Bengal Army, who became the 6th, 7th, & 8th Gurkha Rifles. The numbers 42, 43, & 44 were allocated respectively to the Deoli and Erinpura Irregular Forces and the Mhairwara Battalion from Rajputana.[15]
The Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Punjab Frontier Force, composed of cavalry
Queen's Own Corps of Guides (Lumsden's) but stayed numberless. The new regimental numbering and namings were notified in India Army Order 181, dated 2 October 1903.[17]
In 1903 the title of the
Indian Staff College was established in 1905, and permanently based at Quetta from 1907.[20]
With no intermediate
First World War, and lead to further reorganisation.[21]
The Indian Army Act 1911 legislated the replacement of the Indian Articles of War 1869. It was passed by the
Indian National Army Trials
in 1945. It was replaced by the "Indian Army Act, 1950" after partition and independence.