Misplaced Pages

Mohan Singh (military officer)

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
#672327

154-717: Mohan Singh (3 January 1909 – 26 December 1989) was a British Indian Army officer, and later member of the Indian Independence Movement , best known for founding and leading the Indian National Army in South East Asia during World War II . Following Indian independence, Mohan Singh later served in public life as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) of the Indian Parliament . He

308-586: A letter from High Commissioner McMahon that was generally agreeable while reserving commitments concerning the Mediterranean coastline and Holy Land . In the spring of 1916, Lawrence was dispatched to Mesopotamia to assist in relieving the Siege of Kut by some combination of starting an Arab uprising and bribing Ottoman officials. This mission produced no useful result. Meanwhile, the Sykes–Picot Agreement

462-662: A British military survey of the Negev desert. They were funded by the Palestine Exploration Fund to search for an area referred to in the Bible as the Wilderness of Zin , and they made an archaeological survey of the Negev desert along the way. The Negev was strategically important because an Ottoman army attacking Egypt would have to cross it. Woolley and Lawrence published a report of

616-711: A Francophile. Having seen and admired the effective use of air power during the war, Lawrence enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an aircraftman, under the name John Hume Ross in August 1922. At the RAF recruiting centre in Covent Garden, London, he was interviewed by recruiting officer Flying Officer W. E. Johns , later known as the author of the Biggles series of novels. Johns rejected Lawrence's application, as he suspected that "Ross"

770-518: A Japanese officer, requested Mohan Singh to form an Indian Army comprising the captured Indian soldiers. Mohan Singh hesitated but ultimately agreed. Fujihara handed over about 40,000 Indian soldiers, who had surrendered to him, to Mohan Singh. This was the initial step towards the formation of the first Indian National Army (INA). The British force in the northern part of the Malaya Peninsula, including Mohan Singh's battalion, 1/14 Punjab Regiment,

924-468: A broken shoulder blade and two broken ribs. During his brief hospitalisation, he was visited by King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy . In 1918, Lowell Thomas went to Jerusalem where he met Lawrence, "whose enigmatic figure in Arab uniform fired his imagination", in the words of author Rex Hall. Thomas and his cameraman Harry Chase shot a great deal of film and many photographs involving Lawrence. Thomas produced

1078-681: A common plan for the future of the Sikh community, to which Mohan Singh had a more far-sighted plan than Kartar Singh Jhabbar and Master Tara Singh . The Sena's top brass consisted of all former Indian National Army soldiers like himself (the Senapati), Col. Naranjan Singh Gill, Capt. Rattan Singh, Col. G.S. Dhillon and others included Capt. Surat Singh, Col. Jagir Singh, Bishan Singh, Col. Sri Ram, Col. Fauja Singh and many more. Their war cries were "Desh Sewak Sena, Sada Jeev", "Hamara Desh, Sada Jeev" and "Desh Shastru Nash Karenge." Gurdial Singh Dhillon established

1232-716: A dubious role in Operation Polo . Though the D.S.S. was abolished in 1948, he created the Desh Sewak Party as the successor- it was Socialist and Authoritarian in nature- though noted to be a personality cult of Mohan Singh. His following increased during the Kotwal Murder Case , it was a case wherein a Kotwal (high ranking-police officer) had raped an innocent Muslim girl who was going to be married in ten days in Malerkotla . Mohan Singh had arrived as soon as he heard of

1386-606: A few successes, with a real risk that the Ottoman forces would advance along the coast of the Red Sea and recapture Mecca. On 16 October 1916, Lawrence was sent to the Hejaz on an intelligence-gathering mission led by Ronald Storrs . He interviewed Sharif Hussein's sons Ali , Abdullah , and Faisal , and concluded that Faisal was the best candidate to lead the Revolt. In November, S. F. Newcombe

1540-613: A homeless refugee. He was allotted some land in the village of Jugiana, near Ludhiana , where he settled permanently. During the Partition of Punjab , on October 21, 1947, at Majithia House, Amritsar , he had established the Desh Sewak Sena (D.S.S.) to help protect and escort Muslim caravans out of India and help Sikh and Hindu refugees into India. It was originally founded in May 1946. All Sikh jathas had gathered at Sultanwind to propose

1694-491: A joint action with the Arab irregulars and forces including Auda Abu Tayi , who had previously been in the employ of the Ottomans, against the strategically located but lightly defended town of Aqaba on the Red Sea. Aqaba could have been attacked from the sea but, assuming it were captured, the narrow defiles leading inland through the mountains were strongly defended and would have been very difficult to assault. The expedition

SECTION 10

#1732849019673

1848-567: A large-scale reform should be implemented to improve the Indian Army. Calcutta had been ravaged by large communal riots, but the British Indian Army was able to restore order. Nehru demanded with urgency, that the Indian Army should safeguard India's new democracy . Nehru was a nationalist and opposed India's "divide and rule" policy. As a result of the Partition of India in 1947, the formations, units, assets, and indigenous personnel of

2002-458: A man committed to the values which his office was supposed to convey to the expatriate nationalist leaders, and found acceptance among them. Mohan Singh was the main founder of the Indian National Army . Although Pritam Singh was involved to a large extent, it was Fujiwara who, with his sincerity of purpose and belief, convinced Mohan Singh to betray his oath to the British Crown by uniting with

2156-653: A member of Punjab CC and its executive and election committees, AICC. He was treasurer of the Punjab Congress since 1966. During the 1962 Sino-Indian War , Mohan Singh raised a rural volunteer force called the Punjab Raksha Dal for further reinforcement and manpower, and with the help of the Punjab Government enlisted an American firm towards the construction of an air suspension factory in Punjab. General Mohan Singh

2310-454: A newspaper known as "Hamara Desh" in December 1947. The volunteer uniforms included a Grey shirt, pajamas and turbans of a similar colour and the soldiers was a Mazri shirt with a turban of the same colour. Their army consisted of an overwhelming majority of Sikhs, but Hindus were also permitted into the force. A women's wing (Istri Sena) and youth wing (Bal Sena) were also formed. By December 1947

2464-444: A part of their careers. In 1922, after wartime experience had shown that the maintenance of 130 separate single-battalion infantry regiments was unwieldy, a number of large (four to five battalion) regiments were created, and numerous cavalry regiments amalgamated. The List of regiments of the Indian Army (1922) shows the reduced number of larger regiments. Until 1932 most Indian Army officers, both British and Indian, were trained at

2618-505: A practising archaeologist at Carchemish , in the expedition that D. G. Hogarth was setting up on behalf of the British Museum . Hogarth arranged a "Senior Demyship ", a form of scholarship, for Lawrence at Magdalen College, Oxford , to fund his work at £100 a year. In December 1910, he sailed for Beirut , and went to Byblos in Lebanon, where he studied Arabic. He then went to work on

2772-585: A servant employed by a family named Lawrence. She was dismissed four months before Sarah was born, and identified Sarah's father as "John Junner, Shipwright journeyman". Lawrence's parents did not marry, but lived together under the pseudonym Lawrence. In 1914, his father inherited the Chapman baronetcy based at Killua Castle , the ancestral family home in County Westmeath , Ireland. The couple had five sons, Thomas, called "Ned" by his immediate family, being

2926-514: A significant French presence. In 1903, Lord Kitchener became the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army . He instituted large-scale reforms, the greatest of which was the merger of the three armies of the Presidencies into a unified force. He formed higher level formations, eight army divisions, and brigaded Indian and British units. He left his command in 1909. Following Kitchener's reforms,

3080-760: A stage presentation entitled With Allenby in Palestine which included a lecture, dancing, and music and depicted the Middle East as exotic, mysterious, sensuous, and violent. The show premiered in New York in March 1919. He was invited to take his show to England, and he agreed to do so provided that he was personally invited by the King and provided the use of either Drury Lane or Covent Garden . He opened at Covent Garden on 14 August 1919 and continued for hundreds of lectures, "attended by

3234-488: A supporting role to a co-star of the Near Eastern campaign and reflected a changed emphasis. Thomas' shows made the previously obscure Lawrence into a household name. Lawrence worked with Thomas on the creation of the presentation, answering many questions and posing for many photographs. After its success, however, he expressed regret about having been featured in it. Lawrence served as an advisor to Winston Churchill at

SECTION 20

#1732849019673

3388-439: A top speed of 29 knots. He professed happiness, and he left the service with considerable regret at the end of his enlistment in March 1935. In a tribute to Lawrence in 1936 Churchill wrote: He saw as clearly as anyone the vision of airpower and all that it would mean in traffic and war. ... He felt that in living the life of a private in the Royal Air Force he would dignify that honorable calling and help to attract all that

3542-596: A total of 47,746 Indians had been reported dead or missing; 65,126 were wounded. Also serving in the First World War were so-called " Imperial Service Troops ", provided by the semi-autonomous Princely States . About 21,000 were raised in the First World War, mainly consisting of Sikhs of Punjab and Rajputs from Rajputana (such as the Bikaner Camel Corps and the Hyderabad , Mysore and Jodhpur Lancers of

3696-709: A total of about 55,000 Indians taken prisoner in Malaya and Singapore in February 1942, about 30,000 joined the INA, which fought Allied forces in the Burma Campaign. Others became guards at Japanese POW camps. The recruitment was the brainchild of Major Fujiwara Iwaichi who mentions in his memoirs that Captain Mohan Singh Deb , who surrendered after the Battle of Jitra became the founder of

3850-506: Is also uncertainty about the identity of the individual that Lawrence refers to as "the Bey". Lawrence was involved in the build-up to the capture of Damascus in the final weeks of the war, but he was not present at the city's formal surrender. He arrived several hours after the city had fallen, entering Damascus around 9 am on 1 October 1918; the first to arrive was the 10th Light Horse Regiment led by Major A. C. N. "Harry" Olden, who accepted

4004-468: Is keenest in our youthful manhood to the sphere where it is most urgently needed. For this service and example, ... we owe him a separate debt. It was in itself a princely gift. Lawrence was a keen motorcyclist and owned eight Brough Superior motorcycles at different times. His last SS100 (Registration GW 2275) is privately owned but has been on loan to the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu and

4158-535: Is one of dervishes against regular forces—and we are on the side of the dervishes. Our text-books do not apply to its conditions at all. Medina was an attractive target for the revolt as Islam's second-holiest site, and because its Ottoman garrison was weakened by disease and isolation. It became clear that it was advantageous to leave it there rather than try to capture it, while attacking the Hejaz railway south from Damascus without permanently destroying it. This prevented

4312-772: Is organized for the defence not merely of British India, but of all possessions under the suzerainty of the King-Emperor ." The Indian Army was an important part of the forces of the British Empire , in India and abroad, particularly during the First World War and the Second World War . The term Indian Army appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies, which collectively comprised

4466-535: The 15th army . Tasked with intelligence gathering and contacting the Indian independence movement, the overseas Chinese, and the Malayan Sultan with the aim of encouraging friendship and cooperation with Japan, Fujiwara's staff included five commissioned officers and two Hindi -speaking interpreters. His initial contact was with Giani Pritam Singh . Pritam Singh was a leader of such an organisation. He and Major Fujihara,

4620-594: The 1st Bengal Lancers , among other Indian units, all served during the Rebellion. Numerous Indian soldiers earned the China War Medal 1900 with the "Relief of Pekin" clasp for contributing to the relief of Peking and the International Legations from 10 June to 14 August 1900. The Kitchener reforms began in 1903 when Lord Kitchener of Khartoum , newly appointed Commander-in-Chief , India, completed

4774-746: The 3rd (Lahore) Division , the Kohat Brigade , the Bannu Brigade , and the Derajat Brigade ; Western Command , which consisted of the 4th (Quetta) Division , the 5th (Mhow) Division , the 6th (Poona) Division , and the Aden Brigade , located in Aden in the Arabian Peninsula; and Eastern Command , which consisted of the 7th (Meerut) Division and the 8th (Lucknow) Division . Army Headquarters retained

Mohan Singh (military officer) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4928-698: The 44th . In matters of administration, weapons, training, and equipment, the Indian Army had considerable independence; for example, prior to the war the Indian Army adopted the Vickers–Berthier (VB) light machine gun instead of the Bren gun of the British Army, while continuing to manufacture and issue the older SMLE No. 1 Mk III rifle during the Second World War, instead of the Lee–Enfield No.4 Mk I issued to

5082-463: The 9th (Secunderabad) Division and the Burma Division under its direct control. The numbered divisions were organised so that on mobilisation they could deploy a complete 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 . After

5236-686: The 9th (Secunderabad) Division . By November 1918, the Indian Army rose in size to 573,000 men. Before the war, the Indian government had decided that India could afford to provide two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade in the event of a European war. Some 140,000 soldiers saw active service on the Western Front in France and Belgium – 90,000 in the front-line Indian Corps, and some 50,000 in auxiliary battalions. They felt that any more would jeopardise national security. More than four divisions were eventually sent as Indian Expeditionary Force A formed

5390-570: The Adjutant-General , dealing with training, discipline, and personnel, and the Quartermaster-General , dealing with supplies, accommodation, and communications. In 1906 a General Branch was established to deal with military policy, organisation and deployment, mobilisation and war plans, and intelligence and the conduct of operations. The Chiefs of the staff branches answered to the Chief of

5544-507: The Ajad Hind Fauj (literally translates to Free India Army) to fight for Indian independence from the British rule. For him, the army was to be only formed by Indians, and intended only for use by India. A large number of men came forward to join what came to be termed as the Ajad Hind Fauj (National Army of independent India). The new set-up came into being on 1 September 1942 by which time

5698-599: The Army of India , which was the Indian Army plus the British Army in India (British units sent to India). With the partition of India and Pakistan on 15 August 1947, the army was reconstituted and divided between the two new Dominions , with the process overseen by Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck . Independent India would, however, retain "much of the organizing framework" of the army. The Indian Army has its origins in

5852-689: The Bengal Army , the Madras Army and the Bombay Army , of the Presidencies of British India , particularly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 . In 1879, the Presidency armies were integrated into a system of four Commands with a central Commander-in-Chief. On 1 April 1895, the Presidency armies were dissolved and unified into a single Indian Army, also divided into four Commands, and the term "Indian Army"

6006-456: The British Indian Army in 1927. After the completion of his recruit training at Hrozpur , he was posted to the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment, then serving in the North-West Frontier Province . He was selected as a potential officer in 1931, and after six months' training in Kitchener College, Nowgong ( Madhya Pradesh ), and another two and a half years in the Indian Military Academy , Dehradun , he received his commission 1 February 1935 and

6160-400: The Colonial Office for just over a year starting in February 1920. He hated bureaucratic work, writing on 21 May 1921 to Robert Graves : "I wish I hadn't gone out there: the Arabs are like a page I have turned over; and sequels are rotten things. I'm locked up here: office every day and much of it". He travelled to the Middle East on multiple occasions during this period, at one time holding

6314-407: The Hejaz , Syria, and Mesopotamia . Such an uprising would have been helpful to Britain in its war against the Ottomans, lessening the threat against the Suez Canal . However, there was resistance from French diplomats who insisted that Syria's future was as a French colony, not an independent Arab state. There were also strong objections from the Government of India , which was nominally part of

Mohan Singh (military officer) - Misplaced Pages Continue

6468-447: The Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade ). These forces played a prominent role in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign . Elements of the Army operated around Mary, Turkmenistan in 1918–19. See Malleson mission and Entente intervention in the Russian Civil War . The army then took part in the Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919. In the aftermath of the First World War, the Indian Territorial Force and Auxiliary Force (India) were created in

6622-500: The Imperial War Museum in London. In 1934, he motorcycled over 200 miles from Manchester to Winchester to meet Eugène Vinaver , editor of the Winchester Manuscript of Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur , a book which he admired and carried on his campaigns. On 13 May 1935, Lawrence was fatally injured in an accident on his Brough Superior SS100 motorcycle in Dorset close to his cottage Clouds Hill , near Wareham , just two months after leaving military service. A dip in

6776-402: The Indian Corps and the Indian Cavalry Corps that arrived on the Western Front in 1914. The high number of officer casualties the corps suffered early on had an effect on its later performance. British officers that understood the language, customs, and psychology of their men could not be quickly replaced, and the alien environment of the Western Front had some effect on the soldiers. However,

6930-628: The Indian III Corps , Indian IV Corps , Indian XV Corps , Indian XXI Corps (served with Tenth Army in the Middle East in 1942), Indian XXXIII Corps and Indian XXXIV Corps . Furthermore, the 2nd , 4th , 5th , 6th , 7th , 8th , 9th , 10th , 11th , 12th , 14th , 17th , 19th , 20th , 21st , 23rd , 25th , 26th , 34th , 36th (later converted to an all-British formation), and 39th Indian Divisions were formed, as well as other forces. Additionally there were at one time or another four armoured divisions formed (the 31st , 32nd , 43rd , and 44th ), and one airborne division, also designated

7084-422: The Kangra Incident of May 1948, he was shot dead by police near the fort as well as his associates. The East Punjab Government during Partition gave him large amounts of land in Hissar , Rohtak and Gurgaon for the D.S.S.'s operation, which he used as bases against the government. His main plans were to create a secular dictatorship in Punjab which came through the form of the Desh Sewak Movement , which played

7238-400: The Mhairwara Battalion from Rajputana . The mountain batteries had already lost their numbers two years earlier. Under the 1903 reforms they were renumbered with twenty added to their original numbers. The army had very little artillery (only 12 batteries of mountain artillery ), and Royal Indian Artillery batteries were attached to the divisions. The Indian Army Corps of Engineers

7392-557: The Order of the Bath and promoted to major. Lawrence travelled regularly between British headquarters and Faisal, co-ordinating military action. But by early 1918, Faisal's chief British liaison was Lieutenant Colonel Pierce Charles Joyce, and Lawrence's time was chiefly devoted to raiding and intelligence-gathering. The chief elements of the Arab strategy which Faisal and Lawrence developed were to avoid capturing Medina , and to extend northward through Maan and Dera'a to Damascus and beyond. Faisal wanted to lead regular attacks against

7546-402: The Royal Tank Corps later that year. He was unhappy there and repeatedly petitioned to rejoin the RAF, which finally readmitted him in August 1925. A fresh burst of publicity after the publication of Revolt in the Desert resulted in his assignment to bases at Karachi and Miramshah in British India (now Pakistan) in late 1926, where he remained until the end of 1928. At that time, he

7700-400: The Western Front , notably in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle , participated in the Battle of Gallipoli and Sinai and Palestine Campaign . Furthermore, it fought in the Siege of Kut of the Mesopotamian Campaign , and campaigned in East Africa , including the Battle of Tanga . Participants from the Indian subcontinent won 13,000 medals, including 12 Victoria Crosses. By the end of the war

7854-411: The 1920s. The Indian Territorial Force was a part-time, paid, all-volunteer organisation within the army. Its units were primarily made up of European officers and Indian other ranks . The ITF was created by the Indian Territorial Force Act 1920 to replace the Indian section of the Indian Defence Force . It was an all-volunteer force modelled after the British Territorial Army . The European parallel to

SECTION 50

#1732849019673

8008-425: 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

8162-401: 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. Thus the 1st Sikh Infantry became the 51st Sikhs , the 1st Madras Pioneers became the 61st Pioneers , and

8316-479: The Arab Revolt. Lawrence also translated books into English and wrote The Mint , which detailed his service in the RAF. He corresponded extensively with prominent artists, writers and politicians, and also participated in the development of rescue motorboats for the RAF. Lawrence's public image resulted in part from the sensationalised reporting of the Arab Revolt by American journalist Lowell Thomas , as well as from Seven Pillars of Wisdom . In 1935, Lawrence died at

8470-410: The Arab strategy of northward extension makes perfect sense given the Sykes–Picot language that spoke of an independent Arab entity in Syria, which would be granted only if the Arabs liberated the territory themselves. The French and some of their British Liaison officers were specifically uncomfortable about the northward movement, as it would weaken French colonial claims. In 1917, Lawrence proposed

8624-429: The Arabs and frustrated his work. Lawrence returned to the United Kingdom a full colonel. Immediately after the war, he worked for the Foreign Office , attending the Paris Peace Conference between January and May as a member of Faisal's delegation. On 17 May 1919, a Handley Page Type O/400 taking Lawrence to Egypt crashed at the airport of Roma-Centocelle . The pilot and co-pilot were killed; Lawrence survived with

8778-406: The Arya Samajist lobby would decry these efforts as a "consolidation of Sikh strength" and a steps towards a power seizure, and under such characterizations Kairon was told by the central government to merge the Punjab Raksha Dal with the Home Guard ; factory plans were cancelled. He was elected a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1967. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha for six years and

8932-407: The British Army from the middle of the war. Particularly notable contributions of the Indian Army during that conflict were the: Over the course of the Second World War, about 87,000 Indian soldiers were killed. In this period, 31 Indians were awarded the Victoria Cross (See: Indians in ' List of Victoria Cross Recipients by Nationality' ). Out of the 252 Distinguished Service Orders awarded to

9086-416: The British Indian Army, at least 13 were awarded to native officers (See: South Asian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order ). The Germans and Japanese were relatively successful in recruiting combat forces from Indian prisoners of war . These forces were known as the Tiger Legion and the Indian National Army (INA). Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose led the 40,000-strong INA. From

9240-491: The British government but acted independently. Its vision was of Mesopotamia under British control serving as a granary for India; furthermore, it wanted to hold on to its Arabian outpost in Aden . At the Arab Bureau, Lawrence supervised the preparation of maps, produced a daily bulletin for the British generals operating in the theatre, and interviewed prisoners. He was an advocate of a British landing at Alexandretta (now İskenderun in Turkey) that never came to pass. He

9394-507: The Chingford land has now been commemorated by a plaque fixed on the Royal Observatory, Greenwich sighting obelisk on Pole Hill . Lawrence continued serving at several RAF bases, notably at RAF Mount Batten near Plymouth, RAF Calshot near Southampton, and RAF Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire . In the inter-war period, the RAF's Marine Craft Section began to commission air-sea rescue launches capable of higher speeds and greater capacity. The arrival of high-speed craft into

SECTION 60

#1732849019673

9548-411: The Crusades on European Military Architecture—to the End of the 12th Century , partly based on his field research with Beeson in France, and his solo research in France and the Middle East. Lawrence was fascinated by the Middle Ages. His brother Arnold wrote in 1937 that "medieval researches" were a "dream way of escape from bourgeois England". In 1910, Lawrence was offered the opportunity to become

9702-522: The General Staff , whose post was held by a Lieutenant-General . To provide training for staff officers , the Indian Staff College was established in 1905, and permanently based at Quetta from 1907. With no intermediate chain of command , army headquarters was weighed down with minor administrative details. Divisional commanders were responsible not only for their active formations, but also for internal security and volunteer troops within their respective areas. On mobilisation, divisional staffs took

9856-449: The INA. Some Indian Army personnel resisted recruitment and remained POWs. An unknown number captured in Malaya and Singapore were taken to Japanese-occupied areas of New Guinea as forced labour. Many of these men suffered severe hardships and brutality, similar to that experienced by other prisoners of Japan during the Second World War. About 6,000 of them survived until they were liberated by Australian or US forces, in 1943–45. During

10010-676: The ITF was the Auxiliary Force (India) . After the First World War the British started the process of Indianisation , by which Indians were promoted into higher officer ranks. In a 1923 census, the British Indian Army consisted of 64,669 British-born soldiers and officers, with 187,432 Indian-born soldiers in comparison. Indian cadets were sent to study in Great Britain at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , and were given full commissions as King's Commissioned Indian Officers . The KCIOs were equivalent in every way to British commissioned officers and had full authority over British troops (unlike VCOs). Some KCIOs were attached to British Army units for

10164-403: The Indian Army were divided between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan . As Brian Lapping wrote, "By comparison with the two great provinces [Bengal & Punjab], partition of the army and the civil service was easy, though by any other standard, it was difficult, wasteful, and destructive. ... The men were transferred in their units. Regiments of Sikh and Hindu soldiers from

10318-471: The Indian National Army. Though Mohan Singh had kept a good relationship with the members of Fujiwara Kikan , he was soon disenchanted with the headquarters of the Japanese Army and doubted their intentions based on their orders. It appeared that they wanted to use the Indian National Army only as a part of the Japanese army and were deliberately withholding recognition and public proclamation about its existence as an independent army. Some supreme commanders of

10472-448: The Japanese army had disagreements with him. On 29 December 1942, Mohan Singh was removed from his command and taken into custody by the Japanese military police. It was only after the arrival of another Indian leader of great political standing, Subhas Chandra Bose , from Germany to the Far-Eastern front in June 1943 that the Indian National Army was revived in the form of Azad Hind Fauj . However, Mohan Singh could not be reinstated to

10626-462: The Japanese mission for the greater motive of Indian independence. This included the promise that he would be treated as an ally and a friend, and not a prisoner of war . For public related or political matters, Singh always looked towards Subhash Chandra Bose. Bose was considered the Man of Destiny, in which they, Singh, was willing to shed their blood and also let the Japanese attain leadership and support. Singh initially helped Fujiwara take control of

10780-441: The MCS was driven in part by Lawrence. He had previously witnessed a seaplane crew drowning when the seaplane tender sent to their rescue was too slow in arriving. He worked with Hubert Scott-Paine , the founder of the British Power Boat Company (BPBC), to introduce the 37.5-foot (11.4 m) long ST 200 Seaplane Tender Mk1 into service. These boats had a range of 140 miles (230 km) when cruising at 24 knots and could achieve

10934-411: The Mediterranean and back, researching French castles. In the summer of 1909, he set out alone on a three-month walking tour of crusader castles in Ottoman Syria , during which he travelled 1,000 miles (1,600 km) on foot. While at Jesus he was a keen member of the University Officers' Training Corps (OTC). He graduated with First Class Honours after submitting a thesis titled The Influence of

11088-543: The Ottomans from making effective use of their troops at Medina, and forced them to dedicate many resources to defending and repairing the railway line. However, Aldington strongly disagrees with the value of the strategy. It is not known when Lawrence learned the details of the Sykes–Picot Agreement, nor if or when he briefed Faisal on what he knew, however, there is good reason to think that both these things happened, and earlier rather than later. In particular,

11242-483: The Ottomans, but Lawrence persuaded him to drop that tactic. Lawrence wrote about the Bedouin as a fighting force: The value of the tribes is defensive only and their real sphere is guerilla warfare. They are intelligent, and very lively, almost reckless, but too individualistic to endure commands, or fight in line, or to help each other. It would, I think, be impossible to make an organized force out of them.… The Hejaz war

11396-579: 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 1899 to 1901 Boxer Rebellion in China. The 1st , 4th , and 14th Sikhs ; 3rd Madras Native Infantry , 4th Goorkas , 22nd and 30th Bombay Native Infantry , 24th Punjab Infantry , 1st Madras Pioneers , No. 2 Company Bombay Sappers , No. 3 Company Madras Sappers , No. 4 Company Bengal Sappers , and

11550-768: The Punjab (including the North-West Frontier and the Punjab Frontier Force). Each was under the command of a lieutenant general , who answered directly to the C-in-C, India. 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. The armies were amalgamated into four commands, Northern , Southern , Eastern , and Western . The Indian Army, like

11704-636: The Royal Military College, Sandhurst, after that date the Indian officers increasingly received their training at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun which was established that year. At the outbreak of the Second World War , the Indian Army numbered 205,000 men and, as the war continued, this would rise to 2.5 million men to become the largest all–volunteer force in history. During this process, six corps would be raised; which consisted of

11858-598: The Syrians to rebel against French rule throughout the 1920s. However, French historian Maurice Larès wrote that the real reason for France's problems in Syria was that the Syrians did not want to be ruled by France, and the French needed a scapegoat to blame for their difficulties in ruling the country. Larès wrote that Lawrence is usually pictured in France as a Francophobe, but he was really

12012-607: The Victoria Cross in the war. During the Second World War, some 2.5 million soldiers served , and the Indian Army was recognized as the largest volunteer army in history to that point. India itself also served as a major logistical base for Allied operations in World War II. The force is also sometimes referred to as the Army of the Indian Empire , or Imperial Indian Army . The Indian Army should not be confused with

12166-550: The age of 15, Lawrence cycled with his schoolfriend Cyril Beeson around Berkshire , Buckinghamshire , and Oxfordshire , visiting almost every village's parish church, studying their monuments and antiquities, and making rubbings of their monumental brasses . Lawrence and Beeson monitored building sites in Oxford and presented the Ashmolean Museum with anything that they found. The Ashmolean's Annual Report for 1906 said that

12320-600: The age of 46 after being injured in a motorcycle accident in Dorset . Thomas Edward Lawrence was born on 16 August 1888 in Tremadog , Carnarvonshire , in a house named Gorphwysfa, now known as Snowdon Lodge. His Anglo-Irish father Thomas Chapman had left his wife Edith, after he had a first son with Sarah Junner, who had been governess to his daughters. Sarah was herself an illegitimate child, born in Sunderland to Elizabeth Junner,

12474-579: The armies of the three Presidencies and provinces of British India . Writing in The Indian Army (1834), Sir John Malcolm , who had a lifetime's experience of Indian soldiering, wrote about the Bengal Presidency: "They consist largely of Rajpoots ( Rajput ), who are a distinguished race among the Khiteree ( Kshatriya ), or Brhamins ( Brahmin ) We may judge of the size of these men when we are told that

12628-437: 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 . 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. The reformed Indian Army was to be stationed in operational formations and concentrated in

12782-433: The campaign. He was the mainspring of the Arab movement and knew their language, their manners and their mentality. Lawrence describes an episode on 20 November 1917 while reconnoitring Dera'a in disguise, when he was captured by the Ottoman military, beaten, and sexually assaulted by the local bey and his guardsmen, though he does not specify the nature of the sexual contact. Some scholars have stated that he exaggerated

12936-649: The case and gathered a frenzied mob of his Sikh followers who beat the Kotwal to death on public display. He was christened as a new savior of the Punjab, and his fame and stature outmatched that of even Master Tara Singh . Directly after the incident he had to make a speech at Rataul on the founding anniversary of the Desh Sewak Sena so he had left. In Malerkotla a reign of police terror ensued, 80 citizens of Malerkotla were arrested and many beaten up and injured. Mohan Singh called Socialist Tilak Raj Bhasin to fight cases to free

13090-528: The citizens and free all of them. The Desh Sewak Movement died down after Mohan Singh declared involvement in the Punjab elections. His followers, the swathes of military-minded youth, wished for Punjab to be soaked in bloodied revolution which Mohan Singh could not support. The Desh Sewak Party had merged with the All India Forward Bloc in 1950. Chairman of All-India Forward Bloc till its merger with Indian National Congress in 1950. From 1956, he became

13244-403: The command of General Mariano Goybet , destroying Lawrence's dream of an independent Arabia. During the closing years of the war, Lawrence sought to convince his superiors in the British government that Arab independence was in their interests, but he met with mixed success. The secret Sykes–Picot Agreement between France and Britain contradicted the promises of independence that he had made to

13398-532: The countryside. By earning the trust of the Indian Government his force was not disbanded and continued. In January 1948 Sardar Patel had made a speech which offended many Sikhs commenting about the turban and the beard; at this instance Mohan Singh took to arms. He made Bombay and Jodhpur as his secondary bases where Anti-India speeches were made targeting Sardar Patel. Capt. Bhag Singh (ex-I.N.A.) had commanded twenty of his troops to take over Kangra Fort in

13552-505: 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, artillery , infantry of the line , and Gurkha Rifles . Regimental designations were altered to remove all references to the former Presidential Armies. Where appropriate subsidiary titles recalling other identifying details were adopted. Thus

13706-588: The episode in Seven Pillars of Wisdom with the statement: "In Dera'a that night the citadel of my integrity had been irrevocably lost." The son of the Governor resident in Dera'a at the time has been quoted as saying the narrative must be false, because Lawrence describes the Bey's hair, while in fact his father was bald. In fact, Lawrence describes (in the 1922 text) the Bey's head as shaven, with stubble standing up. There

13860-504: 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. In contrast,

14014-527: The excavations at Carchemish, near Jerablus in northern Syria, where he worked under Hogarth, R. Campbell Thompson of the British Museum, and Leonard Woolley until 1914. He later stated that everything which he had accomplished, he owed to Hogarth. Lawrence met Gertrude Bell while excavating at Carchemish. In 1912, he worked briefly with Flinders Petrie at Kafr Ammar in Egypt. At Carchemish, Lawrence

14168-437: The expedition's archaeological findings, but a more important result was their updated mapping of the area, with special attention to features of military relevance such as water sources. Lawrence also visited Aqaba and Shobek, not far from Petra . Following the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Lawrence did not immediately enlist in the British Army. He held back until October on the advice of S. F. Newcombe , when he

14322-670: The feared unrest in India never happened, and while the Indian Corps was transferred to the Middle East in 1915 India provided many more divisions for active service during the course of the war. Indians' first engagement was on the Western Front within a month of the start of the war, at the First Battle of Ypres . In October/November 1914, the Baluchis of the 129th Duke of Connaught's Own ,

14476-481: The field, leaving no-one to maintain the local administration. Supporting services were insufficient, and many troops intended for the field force were not moved from their old stations into the areas of their new divisional command. These defects became clear during the First World War , and lead to further reorganisation. The Indian Army Act 1911 legislated the replacement of the Indian Articles of War 1869. It

14630-482: The first Indian contingent to be in contact with Germans at Hollebeke (and the only to inscribe 'Ypres 1914'), the sepoy Khudadad Khan maintaining the position until gravely wounded became the first Indian to win a Victoria Cross (Indians were eligible from 1911). In November, after a retreat, a scout section of the 1st Battalion 39th Garhwal Rifles under the leadership of Naik Darwan Singh Negi , then badly injured, reinvested lost trenches. For his gallantry he received

14784-462: The formal surrender of the city from acting Governor Emir Said. Lawrence was instrumental in establishing a provisional Arab government under Faisal in newly liberated Damascus, which he had envisioned as the capital of an Arab state. Faisal's rule as king, however, came to an abrupt end in 1920, after the battle of Maysaloun when the French Forces of General Henri Gouraud entered Damascus under

14938-640: The four houses was later named "Lawrence" in his honour. The school closed in 1966. Lawrence and one of his brothers became commissioned officers in the Church Lads' Brigade at St Aldate's Church . Lawrence claimed that he ran away from home around 1905, and served for a few weeks as a boy soldier with the Royal Garrison Artillery at St Mawes Castle in Cornwall, from which he was bought out. However, no evidence of this appears in army records. At

15092-458: The height below which no recruit is taken is five feet six inches. The great proportion of the Grenadiers are six feet and upwards." The meaning of the term Indian Army changed over time, initially as an informal collective term for the armies of the three presidencies –the Bengal Army , Madras Army and Bombay Army –between 1858 and 1894. In 1895, the Indian Army began its formal existence and

15246-637: The highest in the land". Initially, Lawrence played only a supporting role in the show, as the main focus was on Allenby's campaigns; but then Thomas realised that it was the photos of Lawrence dressed as a Bedouin which had captured the public's imagination, so he had Lawrence photographed again in London in Arab dress. With the new photos, Thomas re-launched his show under the new title With Allenby in Palestine and Lawrence in Arabia in early 1920, which proved to be extremely popular. The new title elevated Lawrence from

15400-587: The later stages of the Second World War, from the fall of Singapore and the ending of ABDACOM in early 1942 until the formation of the South East Asia Command (SEAC) in August 1943, some American and Chinese units were placed under British military command. 12 September 1946 the minister for external affairs in India, Jawaharlal Nehru demanded in a letter to the Commander in Chief and Defence Secretary, that

15554-493: The new commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force , agreed to Lawrence's strategy for the revolt. Lawrence now held a powerful position as an adviser to Faisal and a person who had Allenby's confidence, as Allenby acknowledged after the war: I gave him a free hand. His cooperation was marked by the utmost loyalty, and I never had anything but praise for his work, which, indeed, was invaluable throughout

15708-496: The north of the subcontinent . The Commander-in-Chief's plan called for nine fighting divisions grouped in two corps commands on the main axes through the North-West Frontier. Five divisions were to be grouped on the Lucknow – Peshawar – Khyber axis, and four divisions on the Bombay – Mhow – Quetta axis. However, the cost of abandoning some thirty-four stations and building new ones in

15862-515: The north-west frontier had to make their way through Muslim territory to get out of what was to be Pakistan." Also in 1947 a final agreement was signed regarding the Gurkha regiments in the British Indian Army. Four Gurkha regiments, recruited from both eastern and western Nepal , would join the British Army . The remaining six Gurkha regiments of the British Indian Army joined the Dominion of India. During

16016-576: The outbreak of war in 1914, Lawrence joined the British Army and was stationed at the Arab Bureau , a military intelligence unit in Egypt . In 1916, he travelled to Mesopotamia and Arabia on intelligence missions and became involved with the Arab revolt against Ottoman rule. Lawrence was ultimately assigned to the British Military Mission in the Hejaz as a liaison to Emir Faisal , a leader of

16170-401: The outskirts of Damascus, and Azraq, Jordan . He met Arab nationalists, counselling them to avoid revolt until the arrival of Faisal's forces, and he attacked a bridge to create the impression of guerrilla activity. His findings were regarded by the British as extremely valuable and there was serious consideration of awarding him a Victoria Cross ; in the end, he was invested as a Companion of

16324-423: The proposed corps areas was considered prohibitive, and that aspect of the plan had to be modified. Under the compromise adopted in 1905, the four existing commands were reduced to three, and together with Army Headquarters , arranged in ten standing divisions and four independent brigades. The commands comprised: Northern Command , which consisted of the 1st (Peshawar) Division , the 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division ,

16478-460: The rebellion. The officer commanding the Army of India was the Commander-in-Chief , India who reported to the civilian Governor-General of India . The title was used before the creation of a unified British Indian Army; the first reported holder was then-Major Stringer Lawrence in 1748. Lawrence went to India with no larger command than a "small undisciplined garrison of two or three hundred men" facing

16632-429: 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

16786-595: The revived army. Upon Japan's defeat, Mohan Singh was taken into custody by the British and repatriated to India to face trials. However, due to public pressure, roused by the INA Red Fort trials , Mohan Singh was only cashiered from the Army. He subsequently served in the Indian Parliament as a member of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House). He had to leave his hearth and home in what then became Pakistan and came to India

16940-646: The revolt. He participated in engagements with the Ottoman military culminating in the capture of Damascus in October 1918. After the war's end, he joined the Foreign Office , working with Faisal. In 1922, Lawrence retreated from public life and served as an enlisted man in the Army and Royal Air Force (RAF) until 1935. He published the Seven Pillars of Wisdom in 1926, an autobiographical account of his participation in

17094-591: The riots had died down to a small ebb, but the organization took a new turn. Originally the Indian Government took the D.S.S. as a beneficial force, Mahatma Gandhi , C. Rajagopalachari , Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel all gave their blessings and the Brigadier based in Amritsar at the time, Brig. Mohindar Singh Chopra , had provided the organization with aid, ammunition and helped them train youth and women in

17248-453: The road obstructed his view of two boys on their bicycles; he swerved to avoid them, lost control, and was thrown over the handlebars. He died six days later on 19 May 1935, aged 46. The location of the crash is marked by a small memorial at the roadside. One of the doctors attending him was neurosurgeon Hugh Cairns , who consequently began a long study of the loss of life by motorcycle dispatch riders through head injuries. His research led to

17402-541: The second VC. Nearly 700,000 troops then served in the Middle East, fighting against the Turks in the Mesopotamian campaign. There they were short of transportation for resupply and operated in extremely hot and dusty conditions. Led by Major General Sir Charles Townshend, they pushed on to capture Baghdad but they were repulsed by Ottoman forces. In the First World War the Indian Army saw extensive active service, including on

17556-617: The second eldest. In 1889, the family moved from Wales to Kirkcudbright , Galloway , in southwestern Scotland, then to the Isle of Wight , then to the New Forest , then to Dinard in Brittany, and then to Jersey . The family lived at Langley Lodge, now demolished, from 1894 to 1896, set in private woods between the eastern borders of the New Forest and Southampton Water in Hampshire . The residence

17710-573: The severity of the injuries that he suffered, or alleged that the episode never happened. There is no independent testimony, but the multiple consistent reports and the absence of evidence for outright invention in Lawrence's works make the account believable to some of his biographers. Malcolm Brown, John E. Mack , and Jeremy Wilson have argued that this episode had strong psychological effects on Lawrence, which may explain some of his unconventional behaviour in later life. Lawrence ended his account of

17864-768: The sister of a fellow officer. He left for Malaya with his unit on 4 March 1941. Japan entered the War with her surprise attack on the American Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii , on 7 December 1941 and overran the entire South East Asia within a few weeks. The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters in October set up the Fujiwara Kikan , or the F-kikan, in Bangkok , Headed by the Major Fujiwara Iwaichi , chief of intelligence of

18018-658: The situation of looting and arson that had developed in Alor Star; in December 1941, after meeting with the Japanese commanding general, Singh was convinced of its feasibility of raising an armed Indian unit. Between himself, Pritam Singh and Fujiwara, Mohan Singh set about contacting Indians in the British Indian Army in Southeast Asia and also began recruiting from among those captured by the Japanese in Malaya. All Indian prisoners of war and stragglers were placed under his charge, and he

18172-554: The strength of volunteers had reached 40,000. Mohan Singh, now their General , was to command it. During a conference on 15–23 June 1942, the Indian Independence League was created under the leadership of Rash Behari Bose , an Indian revolutionary who had escaped to Japan in June 1915. Through one of the 35 resolutions passed by the conference, Mohan Singh was appointed commander-in-chief of the "Army of Liberation for India," i.e.

18326-543: The sub-continent, with internal security as their main function. In 1891 the three staff corps were merged into one Indian Staff Corps . Two years later the Madras and Bombay armies lost their posts of Commander-in-Chief. In 1895, the Presidency Armies were abolished and the Indian Army created thereby was grouped into four commands : Bengal, Madras (including Burma ), Bombay (including Sind , Quetta , and Aden ), and

18480-503: The terminology used for the forces in India was altered. The Indian Army referred from that time to "the force recruited locally and permanently based in India, together with its expatriate British officers;" the British Army in India referred to the British Army units posted to India for a tour of duty, and which would then be posted to other parts of the Empire or back to the UK. The Army of India

18634-416: The title of "chief political officer for Trans-Jordania ". He campaigned for his and Churchill's vision of the Middle East, publishing pieces in multiple newspapers, including The Times , The Observer , The Daily Mail , and The Daily Express . Lawrence had a sinister reputation in France during his lifetime and even today as an implacable "enemy of France", the man who was constantly stirring up

18788-517: The title of the Indian Staff Corps was abolished, and thereafter officers were simply appointed to 'the Indian Army.' A General Staff was then created to deal with overall military policy, supervision of training in peacetime, conduct of operations in war, distribution of forces for internal security or external deployment , plans for future operations and collecting intelligence . Functions were divided along British lines into two branches;

18942-593: The transition period after partition, those Gurkha regiments that were in Pakistan, did their service, but were eventually moved back to India. The partition reduced the ethnic imbalance of the British Indian Army, which became the present-day Indian Army . But, the partition resulted in more ethnic imbalance in the Pakistani military, mainly because the new nation state of Pakistan was formed by joining West Punjab, NWFP, East Bengal, Baluchistan, and Sind. The new Pakistan Army

19096-678: The two teenage boys "by incessant watchfulness secured everything of antiquarian value which has been found." In the summers of 1906 and 1907, Lawrence toured France by bicycle, sometimes with Beeson, collecting photographs, drawings, and measurements of medieval castles. In August 1907, Lawrence wrote home: "The Chaignons & the Lamballe people complimented me on my wonderful French: I have been asked twice since I arrived what part of France I came from". From 1907 to 1910, Lawrence read history at Jesus College, Oxford . In July and August 1908, he cycled 2,200 miles (3,500 km) solo through France to

19250-599: The unification of the three former Presidency armies , and also the Punjab Frontier Force , the Hyderabad Contingent and other local forces, into one Indian Army. 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,

19404-805: 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 . The three Presidency armies remained separate forces, each with its own Commander-in-Chief . Overall operational control

19558-450: Was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First World War . The breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and Lawrence's ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia , a title used for the 1962 film based on his wartime activities. Lawrence

19712-453: Was a false name. Lawrence admitted that this was so and that he had provided false documents. He left, but returned some time later with an RAF messenger who carried a written order that Johns must accept Lawrence. However, Lawrence was forced out of the RAF in February 1923 after his identity was exposed. He changed his name to T. E. Shaw (apparently as a consequence of his friendship with George Bernard Shaw and Charlotte Shaw ) and joined

19866-438: Was also a consistent advocate of an independent Arab Syria. The situation came to a crisis in October 1915, as Sharif Hussein demanded an immediate commitment from Britain, with the threat that he would otherwise throw his weight behind the Ottomans. This would create a credible Pan-Islamic message that could have been dangerous for Britain, which was in severe difficulties in the Gallipoli Campaign . The British replied with

20020-456: Was asked to restore order in the town of Alor Star. From there, he began to conduct what was known as "patriotic education" to raise the army. Thus the nucleus of what came to be the Ajad Hind Fauj also known as Indian National Army was born. Kuala Lumpur fell on 11 January 1942 with 3,500 Indian prisoners of war, and Singapore on 15 February with 85,000 British troops, of whom 45,000 were Indians. Mohan Singh asked for volunteers who would form

20174-435: Was assigned to lead a permanent British liaison to Faisal's staff. Newcombe had not yet arrived in the area and the matter was of some urgency, so Lawrence was sent in his place. In late December 1916, Faisal and Lawrence worked out a plan for repositioning the Arab forces to put the railway from Syria under threat while preventing the Ottoman forces around Medina from threatening Arab positions. Newcombe arrived while Lawrence

20328-447: Was being negotiated in London, without the knowledge of British officials in Cairo, which awarded a large proportion of Syria to France. Further, it implied that the Arabs would have to conquer Syria's four great cities if they were to have any sort of state there: Damascus, Homs , Hama , and Aleppo . It is unclear at what point Lawrence became aware of the treaty's contents. The Arab Revolt began in June 1916, but it bogged down after

20482-458: Was born in Tremadog , Carnarvonshire , Wales, the illegitimate son of Sir Thomas Chapman , an Anglo-Irish landowner, and Sarah Junner, a governess in Chapman's employ. In 1896, Lawrence moved to Oxford , attending the City of Oxford High School for Boys and read history at Jesus College, Oxford from 1907 to 1910. Between 1910 and 1914, he worked as an archaeologist for the British Museum , chiefly at Carchemish in Ottoman Syria . After

20636-413: Was born in a Ghumman Jat Sikh family and was the only son of Tara Singh and Hukam Kaur, a couple from Ugoke village, near Sialkot (now in Pakistan ). His father died two months before his birth and his mother moved to her parents' home in Badiana in the same district, where Mohan Singh was born and brought up. Gen. Mohan Singh passed secondary school and enlisted in the 14th Punjab Regiment of

20790-470: Was commissioned on the General List as temporary second lieutenant-interpreter. Before the end of the year, he was summoned by renowned archaeologist and historian Lieutenant Commander David Hogarth, his mentor at Carchemish, to the new Arab Bureau intelligence unit in Cairo, and he arrived in Cairo on 15 December 1914. The Bureau's chief was Brigadier-General Gilbert Clayton who reported to Egyptian High Commissioner Henry McMahon . The situation

20944-418: Was complex during 1915. There was a growing Arab nationalist movement within the Arabic-speaking Ottoman territories, including many Arabs serving in the Ottoman armed forces. They were in contact with Sharif Hussein , Emir of Mecca , who was negotiating with the British and offering to lead an Arab uprising against the Ottomans. In exchange, he wanted a British guarantee of an independent Arab state including

21098-430: Was exercised by the Commander-in-Chief of the Bengal Army , who was formally the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies. From 1861, most of the officer manpower was pooled in the three Presidential Staff Corps. After the Second Afghan War a Commission of Enquiry recommended the abolition of the presidency armies. The Ordnance , Supply and Transport , and Pay branches were by then unified. The Punjab Frontier Force

21252-412: Was fleeing towards the South. Mohan Singh's own forces had been outgunned and destroyed by Japanese forces at Jitra . Captured by Japanese troops after several days in the jungle, Singh was taken to Alor Star to Fujiwara and Pritam Singh at a joint office of the F-Kikan and the IIL . Fujiwara, later self-described as "Lawrence of the Indian National Army" (after Lawrence of Arabia ) is said to have been

21406-448: Was forced to return to Britain after rumours began to circulate that he was involved in espionage activities. He purchased several small plots of land in Chingford , built a hut and swimming pool there, and visited frequently. The hut was removed in 1930 when Chingford Urban District Council acquired the land; it was given to the City of London Corporation which re-erected it in the grounds of The Warren, Loughton . Lawrence's tenure of

21560-412: Was formed by the Group of Madras , Bengal and Bombay Sappers in their respective presidencies. The Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Punjab Frontier Force, composed of cavalry squadrons and infantry companies , was renamed the 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. In 1903

21714-446: Was involved in a high-tension relationship with a German-led team working nearby on the Baghdad Railway at Jerablus. While there was never open combat, there was regular conflict over access to land and treatment of the local workforce. Lawrence gained experience in Middle Eastern leadership practices and conflict resolution. In January 1914, Woolley and Lawrence were co-opted by the British military as an archaeological smokescreen for

21868-401: Was isolated, and young Lawrence had many opportunities for outdoor activities and waterfront visits. In the summer of 1896, the family moved to 2 Polstead Road in Oxford , where they lived until 1921. The wooden shed built in the garden for Lawrence to study when a schoolboy is still standing. From 1896 until 1907, Lawrence attended the City of Oxford High School for Boys , where one of

22022-421: Was led by Sharif Nasir of Medina. Lawrence avoided informing his British superiors about the details of the planned inland attack, due to concern that it would be blocked as contrary to French interests. The expedition departed from Wejh on 9 May, and Aqaba fell to the Arab forces on 6 July, after a surprise overland attack which took the Turkish defences from behind. After Aqaba, General Sir Edmund Allenby ,

22176-433: Was mainly made up of soldiers from two of these provinces. The Bangladesh Army , which was created from the Pakistan Army on the independence of Bangladesh , retain many British Indian Army traditions. The armies of the East India Company were recruited primarily from forward caste Hindus and Muslims in the Bengal Presidency , which consisted of Bengal , Bihar and Uttar Pradesh , and Oudh . This later expanded into

22330-416: Was officially used by 1903. The Commands were later replaced by two "Armies" in 1908—the Northern and Southern Army—but the Command system was restored in 1920. About 1.5 million Indian soldiers served during the First World War; the Indian Expeditionary Forces were deployed to France , Belgium, east Africa, Iraq, Egypt , and the Gallipoli peninsula , among other regions. Eleven Indian soldiers won

22484-400: Was passed by the Governor General . It was under aspects of this law that the Army charged defendants during the Indian National Army Trials in 1945. It was replaced by the "Indian Army Act, 1950" after partition and independence. Prior to the outbreak of the First World War , the strength of the British Indian Army was 215,000. Either in 1914 or before, a ninth division had been formed,

22638-467: Was posted for a year to a British Army unit, the 2nd battalion Border Regiment . He was then posted to 1st Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment on 24 February 1936, which at that time happened to be stationed at Jhelum . Mohan Singh had been promoted temporary Captain when his battalion was earmarked for operational service in the Far East. The battalion was still carrying out intensive training at Secunderabad in December 1940 when he married Jasvant Kaur,

22792-440: Was preparing to leave Arabia, but Faisal intervened urgently, asking that Lawrence's assignment become permanent. Lawrence's most important contributions to the Arab Revolt were in the area of strategy and liaison with British Armed Forces, but he also participated personally in several military engagements: Lawrence made a 300-mile (480 km) personal journey northward in June 1917, on the way to Aqaba, visiting Ras Baalbek ,

22946-396: Was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in April, 1972. In and out of Parliament he strove for the recognition of the members of his Azad Hind Fauj as "freedom fighters" in the cause of the nation's independence. Mohan Singh died at Jugiana on 26 December 1989 due to cancer. British Indian Army The Indian Army during British rule , also referred to as the British Indian Army,

23100-424: Was the "army of the government of India", including British and Indian ( sepoy ) units; this arrangement lasted until 1902. Many of these troops took part in the Indian Mutiny , with the aim of reinstating the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II at Delhi, partly as a result of insensitive treatment by their British officers. During this period, the Company Raj relied heavily upon the armies of Princely states to quell

23254-441: Was the first leader of this force which was supported by the Shiromani Akali Dal's Sikhs (at that time headed by Maharaja Yadavindra Singh ) and the Indian National Congress' Sikhs (headed by Partap Singh Kairon ). They were to create jathas with thousands of Sikhs willing the enlist, with training on the lines of 1947's jathas, to send to Aksai Chin to fight against China (they already had 200,000 willing Sikh recruits). Although

23408-455: Was the main military force of India until national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency Armies , it was responsible for the defence of both British India and the princely states , which could also have their own armies . As stated in the Imperial Gazetteer of India , the "British Government has undertaken to protect the dominions of the Native princes from invasion and even from rebellion within: its army

23562-416: Was under the direct control of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab during peacetime until 1886, when it came under the Commander-in-Chief, India. The Hyderabad Contingent and other local corps remained under direct governmental control. Standing higher formations – divisions and brigades – were abandoned in 1889. No divisional staffs were maintained in peacetime, and troops were dispersed throughout

23716-433: Was used to describe the combined forces of both the Indian Army and the British Army in India. By the early 1900s the three previous separate army staffs had been amalgamated into Headquarters, India ( see 1906 Birthday Honours ) which by 1922 had become GHQ India ( see 1922 New Year Honours ). (or equivalent) Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence CB DSO (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935)

#672327