During World War I, the Indian Army participated on the Western Front over the German Empire. Khudadad Khan was the first Indian to be presented the Victoria Cross during the First Battle of Ypres. In addition, Indian troops were sent to Gallipoli, Egypt, German East Africa, and some 700,000 fought with the Ottoman Empire in Mesopotamia. While some units were moved overseas, others were required to remain in India to protect the Northwest Frontier, as well as perform intelligence gathering and training responsibilities. The British, according to Field-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from 1942, 'couldn't have gone through both World Wars I and II if they hadn't had the Indian Army.'
What was India's role in World War 1?
Asked 23-Dec-2017
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What was India's role in World War 1?
1 Answer
During World War I, the Indian Army supplied a huge amount of participants and separate units to the European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and African areas of battle. Over a million Indian forces served in the military, 62,000 of them perished as well as some 67,000 were injured. During the conflict, at least 74,187 Indian troops were killed.