Page 7 - ch 12

Module - III Indian Army in World War I and II

Military History of the
the city of Haifa in Palestine. One of the lesser-known units of the Indian Army
Colonial Era
was the Bikaner Camel Corps. formed before the Great War. They later fought
in Palestine and some of its personnel became part of the Imperial Camel Corps
rd
formed later in the conflict. Rifleman Karan Bahadur Rana (3 Queen Alexandra's
nd
Own Gurkha Rifles) and Risaldar Badlu Singh 2 Battalion (14 Murray Jat
Lancers (Deccan Horse) won the Victoria cross for their extra ordinatory services
Note at the front of Egypt/Palestine.

(vii) Indian Army in East Africa
Initial attempts at attacking German East Africa were foiled, until the arrival of
th
the Indian Expeditionary Force B consisting of the 27 (Bangalore) Brigade
th
from the 9 (Secunderabad) Division and an Imperial Service Infantry Brigade,
a pioneer battalion, a Mountain Artillery battery and Engineers were sent to
Tanganyika with the task of invading German East Africa. The force under the
command of Major General Arthur Aitken landed at Tanga on 2-3 November
1914. In the following Battle of Tanga, Aitken's 8,000 men were badly beaten
by the 1,000 men under their German commander Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck.
The force re-embarked on 5 November 1914, having suffered 817 casualties
and the loss of several hundred rifles, 16 machine guns and 600,000 rounds of
ammunition.

Activity 12.1

Take a world map and locate the places where the Indian soldiers fought a battle
during World War I. Name the countries where the wars were fought.

Intext Questions 12.1

1. How many Indian soldiers won the Victoria Cross in World War I?

2. How many expeditionary forces were formed for the war?

3. In which countries did Indians take part in the battles?
4. From which year to which year did the War take place?

12.3 Indian Army's Participation in World War II

We have learnt that the First World War was fought because countries did not trust
each other and wanted to establish their power over others. Something similar happened
during the Second World War. Adolf Hitler wanted to establish the German might and
power over entire Europe and Russia. Mussolini of Italy joined Hitler and later the
Japanese also accepted this idea to form an Axis of power in Asia. That is why we had

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MILITARY HISTORY