LEST WE CHOOSE TO FORGET: GUTS AND GLORY ON FOREIGN SOILS

(Maj Gen Harvijay Singh, SM)

As, Kirpan, Khanda, Kharag, Tupak, Tabar aur Teer. Saif, Sarohi, Saihathi, Yeh Hai Hamareh Peer.

As (Curved sword), Kirpan (sabre), Khanda (Double edged straight sword), Kharag (sword), Tupak (gun), Tabar (battle
axe) and Teer (arrow), Saif (straight sword), Sarohi (type of dagger), Saihathi (spear), these are our Saints.
Guru Gobind Singh

World War 1

Many Hindu, Sikh and Muslim soldiers died in Europe far away from their homes and families while holding firm to
their faith, and, serving people of a different culture with whom they had not much in common; they were brave
Indian Soldiers who shed their blood on foreign soils.

These brave warriors left behind a string of tales of their good deeds and bravery; they were the lions of the Great
War. Over 138,000 Indian troops fought in World War 1 known for its trench warfare and gas attacks.

These ‘stalwarts from the east,’ fought in the battles of Ypres, Flanders, Somme, Gallipoli, East Africa, Palestine, Egypt,
Suez Canal, Mesopotamia, and numerous other battlefields in nearly all theatres of the war. More than one quarter
would become casualties.

Sikh soldiers formed a bulk of the troops in Sikh, Punjabi, Frontier Force and Sappers and Miners Regiments. These
hardy peasants surprised the Europeans with their special appearance, habits and trust in their Guru; they were held
in great awe by both friend and foe for their acts and fortitude. They fought disease, filth, gas attacks, and the
onslaught of German and Turkish troops and machine guns with only their turbans to protect them from head wounds.
They kept their hair unshorn and long beards even in disease infested, muddy trenches as required by their faith. Even
when ordered, they refused to remove their turbans, the symbols of their faith and wear the helmet.

The first units to the Western Front (France and Belgium) in 1914 from the Indian Corps arrived at a most desperate
moment. In the preceding two months of the war costly battles had been fought back and forth in the hinterlands of
France and Belgium. Constant contact had worn the armies down, shrunk their reserves of manpower and turned the
war into not much more than a bloody grappling match.

On 20 Oct 1914, the Indian Cavalry Corps with the 3rd (Lahore) and 7th (Meerut) Divisions began to reach the front.
With an immediate need to shore up the thinly held salient, the 3rd Division having arrived first, was broken up.
Individual brigades and battalions were sent where they were most needed.

The Division would be blooded almost simultaneously in three separate engagements at La Bassée, Messines and
Armentières.

These troops were used more as ‘Flying Squads’ to plug gaps and handle unforeseen tactical situation; a very
dangerous deployment for newly inducted units; for that matter, any unit.

………………Contd