In the spring of 1915, a crucial front opened between German and British-French-Indian soldiers, where Indians proved their mettle. Abhirup Datta narrates a graphic story
After seven months of intense fighting on the Western front, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France held a Frontage of around 21 miles. Amongst them were the Indian Corps, who had arrived in France in September 1914. The BEF had not undertaken any offensive action since the end of 'race to the sea'.
The French Commander-in-Chief, Joffre, and the French public felt that the British had not played their full part in the war, and it was the French who suffered the worst casualties.
In November and December 1914, the Germans had withdrawn eight infantry divisions and six cavalry divisions from the Western Front to the Eastern Front.
The French saw this as an opportunity to take back their land from the Germans by launching an offensive strike as soon as the weather permitted.
Under constant pressure by his French counterpart and his own cabinet, the British Commander-in-Chief, decided to attack Neuve Chapelle village in the spring of 1915.
The objective of the strike was to breach a 1.5-mile-wide German line in front of Neuve Chapelle and capture the ground of Auber's Ridge.
Neuve Chapelle was a tiny village that changed hands several times during the war and occupied by the Germans. A few miles beyond Neuve Chapelle was the high ground of Auber's ridge, which had allowed the German artillery observers to dominate the British/Indian line.
It would also be the first time that the two Indian divisions in France would be fighting as one combined unit. However, the Indian Commander-in-Chief, James Willcocks, tried his best to withdraw the Indian Corps from the offensive, citing that the sepoys were mentally and physically inferior to the British Army. The Indian soldiers were seen to have 'limits' as to what they could withstand.
The Battle would change that opinion forever…
FROM FIRST SHOT TO SILENCE OF PEACE
1914
- June 28 Serb teenager Gavrilo Princip kills Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand
- July 28 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
- August 1, 3, 4 Germany declares war on Russia, on France, invades Belgium; Britain declares war on Germany
- Oct 29 Ottoman Empire enters the war
- November Beginning of trench warfare
- December 25 Unofficial Christmas Truce called
1915
- February German U-boat campaign marks first large use of subs in warfare
- April Allied troops land in Gallipoli
- April 22 First use of chemical weapon, chlorine gas, near Ypres, Belgium
- May 7 British ship Lusitania sunk by German U-boat
- May 23 Italy enters war against Austria-Hungary
- October Bulgaria joins war, on the side of Central Powers
1916
- Feb 21 Battle of Verdun in France begins
- Mar 9 Germany declares war against Portugal
- July 1 Battle of the Somme begins, with first mass use of tanks
- Sept 4 The British take Dar-es-Salaam in German East Africa
- October Soldier Adolf Hitler wounded
1917
- March Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces
- April 6 United States declares war against Germany
- July Last Russian offensive ends in failure, as revolution nears; inconclusive Battle of Passchendaele, Belgium
- Oct 15 Spy Mata Hari executed by French firing squad
1918
- April 21 Legendary German fighter pilot known as Red Baron shot down near Amiens, France
- July 21 German submarine fires on Cape Cod, the only attack on mainland US
- Oct 30 Ottoman Empire signs armistice with Allies
- Nov 11 Germany signs an armistice ending the war
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