I would like to thank Major Corrigan for his very well researched documentary on a less well known subject involving the Western Front. And as usual Major Corrigan's inimitable style and presentation has doubled the inherent value of the documentary also. Thankfully in recent years our government has also started recognizing the contribution of our troops in WW1 and is in a small way contributing to the upkeep of their memorials in France. Senior officers of the IA have also attended memorial functions at these places and I hope that this continues. For far too long we have been in the spell of Marxist historians who denounced the British Indian Army as an army of mercenaries available for the service of foreign rulers and the repression of their own peoples. This is changing also and keeping politics of the Raj aside there is a better appreciation of the courage of our soldiers who fought and died a 100 years ago. But I have a major reservation about the comparison Major Corrigan made between the IRA & the ISIS. IMO they are not comparable at all. The IRA perpetrated many savage acts of terror, yes but firstly they were mostly limited to the territory of the UK, one rarely heard of the IRA bombing or shooting people in either Cologne or Calcutta . The ISIS has no geographical limitations. Secndly the IRA AFAIK wanted to unite Belfast to Dublin, they never wanted to unite either Edinburgh and London to Dublin nor did they want to impose Catholicism on Belfast.The ISIS have no such political or religious inhibitions. Let alone London given a chance they would want to impose their Islamic Caliphate or Nizam-e- Mustafa on whole of Asia and Europe. That the ISIS as the world saw between 2012 & 2018 is formally destroyed but its nihilistic ideology has metamorphosed into a ghostly invisible form but it has not gone.It draws its inspiration from a deeper inexhaustible wellspring. And there are many such quasi ISIS entities and refusing to recognize or trying to diminish their lethality to our ways of life by inappropriate comparisons will not help us.
You are entirely correct, and what makes your point even more precient is that Major Corrigan's surname is Irish. The name corrigan means spear in English, and his name originates in County Fermanagh.
My grandfather who was born in Nainital Indian served with the 10th Baluch in the 1930’s then transferring to the Royal Indian Army Service Corps before retiring to Ireland in 1948. The first Indian to win the VC was a 10th Baluch man too. 👍
Weirdly Britons believe it was them who did beat the Germans when so many of their soldiers were in fact Indians, Nepalis, Australians, Irish and so on. Not mentioning the French who in this war did most of the fighting and the Americans who in fact were the straw that broke the german back. Without external support - colonial and dominion - Britain would not even had a chance to fight Germany.
I suggest that you do a little research, especially regarding numbers. You have, of course, missed two main points. Firstly, the British Empire was fighting against German expansion, particularly in Europe so the war was never about Britain beating the Germans although the absence of British Empire forces would have certainly resulted in German victory with all that entails. Secondly, as Slim said of WW2, victory was the result of the combined efforts of all involved....fortunately, that was enough! Regarding American involvement, US troops were only involved inaction for 200 days. The Germans had already been effectively defeated; the US simply tidied things up a bit. Significantly, there is an argument that US involvement in the Armistice process was a significant factor in the start of WW2!
What were the roles & contributions of the Anglo-Indian Community in the British-Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy & Air Force) during both of the World Wars & in previous times too? A very enjoyable & edifying talk, Major Corrigan!
This is a great video, thank you! Very easy to understand, and the detail is made clear by a concise talk. Lots of fascinating information. Will watch it again in the future.
My father served throughout WW1 in the same unit in the Indian Corps - 7th Field Battery RFA. His battery arrived at Marseilles on 15 October 1914 and took part in 1st & 2nd Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Festubert and Loos. His unit sailed from Marseilles on 20 December 1915, disembarking at Basra on 22January 1916, thence engaged in the rest of the Mespot campaign. The artillery in the Indian Corps were, I believe, entirely British manned.
@@johnegan7622 It did, at least by WWII. Indian Army in WWII was something like 2.5 million men.... Artillery, infantry, armour, also Indian RAF squadrons. and so on. I think by the end of WWII Indian independence was more or less guaranteed. The question was only what shape that independence would take. And that was not really in British hands unfortunately. The Government at the time wanted to avoid separation, but that is what the Indians of the time actually voted for. So the Brits get blamed for the slaughterfest that was the formation of modern India and Pakistan, when it was not actually anything to do with them.....
Heard a question from a lady concerning the well-being of horses shipped from India to Marseilles in 1914. The Indian army were very experienced in the shipment of horses. In 1912 alone, my father, a lowly gunner in 7th Fd Bty in Mhow was sent to Australia, twice, with a party to collect remounts from Sydney and take them to India, where he was then engaged in their training. No doubt such transports were a fairly regular occurrence.
Thank you Major for your excellent talk, very interesting about a little known aspect of the great war. My great uncle was on the western front with the CEF and always talked with admiration about the Indian troops. Thanks to them for their service to the Allied cause. Also I was wondering if the major knows of any sources for training in the use of the fearsome kurkari. Cheers
It’s not necessary to call it the “British Indian Army” it should be called “The Indian Army” that’s its name and long may their deeds be remembered , first class men and very brave, they saved India in WW2 .
Check the self inflicted wounds in the Indian Army , kept shooting their thumbs off and leg wounds during battles of Festubert and Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge That's why they were transferred to the Middle East , climate also played a big part of the problem.
This is a great well delivered lecture. Duty to the Regiment seems to the the main emphasis. The noticeable thing is that there are to few on the subject on you tube. Hopefully the Part the Indian army played in WW1is getting out to the world again
I suppose Gunga Din (of the Kipling poem) was an example of a "follower". I was amazed to find out that Rudyard Kipling never served in the Indian army, or spent very much of his life in India. He wrote like someone who did.
I always find WFA lectures to be interesting and thoughtful, and appreciate the trouble you are going to in continuing to broadcast in the current situation. However, I gave up here at the mention of the “political correctness Gestapo.” It seems to me that large-scale killing is something that humans have excelled at for several millenia, and I really would like to know which races/nations/cultures the Major considers to be incapable of being turned into good soldiers; and more importantly, why that might be the case (Quakers and Jains excluded). Perhaps he has personal experience he can share? Just within the context of the Great War, has he not heard of Gallipoli, to take a glaring example of stereotyping?. Common sense, is it? I’d sooner have a hundred of his unmentionable others rather than a dozen untrained, badly-lead, ill-equiped, half-starved terrified Sikhs (or Gurkhas).
"However, I gave up here at the mention of the “political correctness Gestapo.”" Then you missed an excellent and informative presentation. Had you actually seen the video through, you would have known that comments such as "a dozen untrained, badly-lead, ill-equiped, half-starved terrified Sikhs (or Gurkhas)" are completely unfounded in fact and you might have actually learned something. The Indian Army of 1914 was a well-trained, well-motivated and very professional fighting force made up entirely of volunteers. If you wish to actually educate yourself on the subject, with regards to the excellent and indispensable service of these men, and the debt that is owed to them, I would suggest you read the Major’s book “Sepoys In The Trenches: The Indian Corps On The Western Front 1914-15”. It also touches on the origins of the Martial Races theory as applied by the British Army (not personally by the Major, who served with the Royal Gurkha Rifles) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the reasoning (correct or incorrect) behind it.
Uhuh.... One problem. The British Indian Army was trained to the same standard as the British Army prior to WWI. In addition these men were all volunteers, conscription was never used by the British in India to raise troops. The British Indian Army of 1914 was therefore a well equipped, well trained, highly motivated Professional Army. They were generally well led, well supplied and on the whole highly effective. In other words, your entire end statement is based on an opinion that has absolutely no basis in the actual facts. The soldiers of the British Indian Army were anything BUT untrained, anything but badly led, anything but half starved. As for terrified, well show me a man who was not terrified under the kind of artillery bombardment you saw on the Western front in WWI and I'll show you either a liar or a dead man.... because only liars and the dead were not afraid under such conditions..... EDIT: Oh, and you may not be aware of the fact that Gordon Corrigan was an Officer in the Gurkha Rifles for many years. Interesting little fact about the gurkhas is they actually have a great deal of say when it comes to their British officers. If the men do not respect and trust their British Officer you can be pretty damned sure said officer will be gone.
@@alganhar1 you said it better than I ever could to that smart to that supposedly intelligent Mr. Farrington. I'm an American former veteran who served in Afghanistan and some of the finest soldiers I have ever met have been Ghurkas. I was proud and honored to serve in the same province with those men. Perhaps Mr. Farrington should do some real history before he opens his mouth.
I would have a Sikh or Gurkha by my side before any American or Frenchman.
Britain should be proud to have had these fine men serve her!
Some of the finest soldiers in any army on either side were the men of the British Indian Army. They should be respected and remembered.
A little correction - it was the Indian Army.
A little correction - it was the Indian Army.
I was always glued to the screen when Major Gordon Corrigan was on TV. Same with Professor Richard Holmes.
I have your book, Mud Blood and Poppycock, Mr Corrigan. A very enjoyable read. It's a treat to be able to see and hear the author himself.
I would like to thank Major Corrigan for his very well researched documentary on a less well known subject involving the Western Front. And as usual Major Corrigan's inimitable style and presentation has doubled the inherent value of the documentary also. Thankfully in recent years our government has also started recognizing the contribution of our troops in WW1 and is in a small way contributing to the upkeep of their memorials in France. Senior officers of the IA have also attended memorial functions at these places and I hope that this continues. For far too long we have been in the spell of Marxist historians who denounced the British Indian Army as an army of mercenaries available for the service of foreign rulers and the repression of their own peoples. This is changing also and keeping politics of the Raj aside there is a better appreciation of the courage of our soldiers who fought and died a 100 years ago.
But I have a major reservation about the comparison Major Corrigan made between the IRA & the ISIS. IMO they are not comparable at all. The IRA perpetrated many savage acts of terror, yes but firstly they were mostly limited to the territory of the UK, one rarely heard of the IRA bombing or shooting people in either Cologne or Calcutta . The ISIS has no geographical limitations. Secndly the IRA AFAIK wanted to unite Belfast to Dublin, they never wanted to unite either Edinburgh and London to Dublin nor did they want to impose Catholicism on Belfast.The ISIS have no such political or religious inhibitions. Let alone London given a chance they would want to impose their Islamic Caliphate or Nizam-e- Mustafa on whole of Asia and Europe. That the ISIS as the world saw between 2012 & 2018 is formally destroyed but its nihilistic ideology has metamorphosed into a ghostly invisible form but it has not gone.It draws its inspiration from a deeper inexhaustible wellspring. And there are many such quasi ISIS entities and refusing to recognize or trying to diminish their lethality to our ways of life by inappropriate comparisons will not help us.
You are entirely correct, and what makes your point even more precient is that Major Corrigan's surname is Irish. The name corrigan means spear in English, and his name originates in County Fermanagh.
Excellent talk. Gordon is always worth listening to.
My grandfather who was born in Nainital Indian served with the 10th Baluch in the 1930’s then transferring to the Royal Indian Army Service Corps before retiring to Ireland in 1948. The first Indian to win the VC was a 10th Baluch man too. 👍
Weirdly Britons believe it was them who did beat the Germans when so many of their soldiers were in fact Indians, Nepalis, Australians, Irish and so on. Not mentioning the French who in this war did most of the fighting and the Americans who in fact were the straw that broke the german back. Without external support - colonial and dominion - Britain would not even had a chance to fight Germany.
I suggest that you do a little research, especially regarding numbers. You have, of course, missed two main points. Firstly, the British Empire was fighting against German expansion, particularly in Europe so the war was never about Britain beating the Germans although the absence of British Empire forces would have certainly resulted in German victory with all that entails. Secondly, as Slim said of WW2, victory was the result of the combined efforts of all involved....fortunately, that was enough! Regarding American involvement, US troops were only involved inaction for 200 days. The Germans had already been effectively defeated; the US simply tidied things up a bit. Significantly, there is an argument that US involvement in the Armistice process was a significant factor in the start of WW2!
Not all Brits! Without the full support of the Empire, Britain would have really struggled, esp in 1917 and 1940.
Excellent, thank you for a superb presentation
Major Corrigan is a Star, Everything Subject He covers is Fascinating. Curious How many Languages the Major Speaks?
What were the roles & contributions of the Anglo-Indian Community in the British-Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy & Air Force) during both of the World Wars & in previous times too? A very enjoyable & edifying talk, Major Corrigan!
Very sizeable,
This is a great video, thank you! Very easy to understand, and the detail is made clear by a concise talk. Lots of fascinating information. Will watch it again in the future.
A splendid talk.
What an interesting lecture! Thank you very much. Never heard anyone criticise Frank Richards before.
Fantastic presentation!
My father served throughout WW1 in the same unit in the Indian Corps - 7th Field Battery RFA. His battery arrived at Marseilles on 15 October 1914 and took part in 1st & 2nd Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Festubert and Loos. His unit sailed from Marseilles on 20 December 1915, disembarking at Basra on 22January 1916, thence engaged in the rest of the Mespot campaign. The artillery in the Indian Corps were, I believe, entirely British manned.
Ever since the Indian Mutiny, care was taken to not equip native units with artillery. May have changed with WWII.
@@johnegan7622 It did, at least by WWII. Indian Army in WWII was something like 2.5 million men.... Artillery, infantry, armour, also Indian RAF squadrons. and so on.
I think by the end of WWII Indian independence was more or less guaranteed. The question was only what shape that independence would take.
And that was not really in British hands unfortunately. The Government at the time wanted to avoid separation, but that is what the Indians of the time actually voted for. So the Brits get blamed for the slaughterfest that was the formation of modern India and Pakistan, when it was not actually anything to do with them.....
Heard a question from a lady concerning the well-being of horses shipped from India to Marseilles in 1914.
The Indian army were very experienced in the shipment of horses. In 1912 alone, my father, a lowly gunner in 7th Fd Bty in Mhow was sent to Australia, twice, with a party to collect remounts from Sydney and take them to India, where he was then engaged in their training. No doubt such transports were a fairly regular occurrence.
Thank you Major for your excellent talk, very interesting about a little known aspect of the great war. My great uncle was on the western front with the CEF and always talked with admiration about the Indian troops. Thanks to them for their service to the Allied cause. Also I was wondering if the major knows of any sources for training in the use of the fearsome kurkari. Cheers
Do you mean to ask what martial arts or what culture uses the khukuri good sir?
It’s not necessary to call it the “British Indian Army” it should be called “The Indian Army” that’s its name and long may their deeds be remembered , first class men and very brave, they saved India in WW2 .
Check the self inflicted wounds in the Indian Army , kept shooting their thumbs off and leg wounds during battles of Festubert and Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge That's why they were transferred to the Middle East , climate also played a big part of the problem.
Thank you, Major. Always thought that India's contribution to both World Wars was not understood by the British public.
This is a great well delivered lecture. Duty to the Regiment seems to the the main emphasis. The noticeable thing is that there are to few on the subject on you tube. Hopefully the Part the Indian army played in WW1is getting out to the world again
Superb
Most enjoyable and informative
I suppose Gunga Din (of the Kipling poem) was an example of a "follower". I was amazed to find out that Rudyard Kipling never served in the Indian army, or spent very much of his life in India. He wrote like someone who did.
Great upload and again I have learned more.
Thank you very much for this. It is a pity that opinion is not based on facts such as this!
Was there ever a discussion about having separate Welsh, Scots, Cornish, Irish etc regiments?
Brilliant. Thanks
EExcellent lecture.
Very interesting.
Brilliant
I think culture would be a better word than race.
What's the word he keeps saying that seems to mean rotation?
Roulement.
From the French meaning rolling.
A short tour of duty.
Enjoyable except for a few glaring mistakes.
Explain.
I always find WFA lectures to be interesting and thoughtful, and appreciate the trouble you are going to in continuing to broadcast in the current situation.
However, I gave up here at the mention of the “political correctness Gestapo.”
It seems to me that large-scale killing is something that humans have excelled at for several millenia, and I really would like to know which races/nations/cultures the Major considers to be incapable of being turned into good soldiers; and more importantly, why that might be the case (Quakers and Jains excluded). Perhaps he has personal experience he can share?
Just within the context of the Great War, has he not heard of Gallipoli, to take a glaring example of stereotyping?.
Common sense, is it? I’d sooner have a hundred of his unmentionable others rather than a dozen untrained, badly-lead, ill-equiped, half-starved terrified Sikhs (or Gurkhas).
"However, I gave up here at the mention of the “political correctness Gestapo.”" Then you missed an excellent and informative presentation. Had you actually seen the video through, you would have known that comments such as "a dozen untrained, badly-lead, ill-equiped, half-starved terrified Sikhs (or Gurkhas)" are completely unfounded in fact and you might have actually learned something. The Indian Army of 1914 was a well-trained, well-motivated and very professional fighting force made up entirely of volunteers.
If you wish to actually educate yourself on the subject, with regards to the excellent and indispensable service of these men, and the debt that is owed to them, I would suggest you read the Major’s book “Sepoys In The Trenches: The Indian Corps On The Western Front 1914-15”.
It also touches on the origins of the Martial Races theory as applied by the British Army (not personally by the Major, who served with the Royal Gurkha Rifles) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the reasoning (correct or incorrect) behind it.
Uhuh.... One problem.
The British Indian Army was trained to the same standard as the British Army prior to WWI. In addition these men were all volunteers, conscription was never used by the British in India to raise troops. The British Indian Army of 1914 was therefore a well equipped, well trained, highly motivated Professional Army. They were generally well led, well supplied and on the whole highly effective.
In other words, your entire end statement is based on an opinion that has absolutely no basis in the actual facts. The soldiers of the British Indian Army were anything BUT untrained, anything but badly led, anything but half starved. As for terrified, well show me a man who was not terrified under the kind of artillery bombardment you saw on the Western front in WWI and I'll show you either a liar or a dead man.... because only liars and the dead were not afraid under such conditions.....
EDIT: Oh, and you may not be aware of the fact that Gordon Corrigan was an Officer in the Gurkha Rifles for many years. Interesting little fact about the gurkhas is they actually have a great deal of say when it comes to their British officers. If the men do not respect and trust their British Officer you can be pretty damned sure said officer will be gone.
'However, I gave up here at the mention of the “political correctness Gestapo.”'
Of course you did. You're probably one of them.
@@alganhar1 you said it better than I ever could to that smart to that supposedly intelligent Mr. Farrington. I'm an American former veteran who served in Afghanistan and some of the finest soldiers I have ever met have been Ghurkas. I was proud and honored to serve in the same province with those men.
Perhaps Mr. Farrington should do some real history before he opens his mouth.
Sikh soldiers are best