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Die in Battle, Do not Despair: The Indians on Gallipoli, 1915
In 1915 about 15,000 Indian troops – two or three times as many as previously thought – served in the dramatic and doomed eight-month Gallipoli campaign. Their part in the invasion of Gallipoli has lain largely unknown since the publication of long disregarded regimental histories and forgotten British officers’ memoirs.
Force G, as it came to be known, included Sikhs, Hindus and Punjabi Musalmans (as Muslim soldiers were called) and four battalions of Gurkhas. They served in an infantry brigade, a mountain artillery brigade, in medical units and in a large contingent of mule drivers, who perhaps made the Indians’ most important contribution to the campaign.
About 1,600 of the Indians who served on Gallipoli died, in actions at Gurkha Bluff and Hill 60. They took part in terrible, failed attacks, at Gully Ravine and Gully Spur and in the climactic attempt in August to seize the summit of Sari Bair – one of the Gurkhas’ most cherished battle honours.
Though commemorated on the great memorial to the missing at Cape Helles (because most Indians’ bodies were cremated or, actually, lost) they are practically invisible on Gallipoli today.
The Indian story of Gallipoli has barely been told before. Not only is this the first book about their part in the campaign to be published in the century since 1915, but it also tells their story in new and unexpected ways. Though inescapably drawing on records created by the force’s British officers, it strives to recapture the experience of the formerly anonymous sepoys, gunners and drivers, introducing Indians of note – Mit Singh, Gambirsing Pun, Kulbahadur Gurung, and Jan Mohamed – alongside the more familiar British figures such as Cecil Allanson, who led his Gurkhas to the crest of Sari Bair at dawn on 9 August 1915. It explores for the first time the remarkably positive relationship that grew on Gallipoli between Indians and Anzacs, and includes a complete list of the Indian Army dead commemorated on the Helles Memorial on Gallipoli.
Professor Peter Stanley, one of Australia’s most distinguished military social historians, has drawn on an extensive range of unpublished evidence, including official and private records in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and India to tell the story of the Indian experience of Gallipoli that has waited a century to be told.
Force G, as it came to be known, included Sikhs, Hindus and Punjabi Musalmans (as Muslim soldiers were called) and four battalions of Gurkhas. They served in an infantry brigade, a mountain artillery brigade, in medical units and in a large contingent of mule drivers, who perhaps made the Indians’ most important contribution to the campaign.
About 1,600 of the Indians who served on Gallipoli died, in actions at Gurkha Bluff and Hill 60. They took part in terrible, failed attacks, at Gully Ravine and Gully Spur and in the climactic attempt in August to seize the summit of Sari Bair – one of the Gurkhas’ most cherished battle honours.
Though commemorated on the great memorial to the missing at Cape Helles (because most Indians’ bodies were cremated or, actually, lost) they are practically invisible on Gallipoli today.
The Indian story of Gallipoli has barely been told before. Not only is this the first book about their part in the campaign to be published in the century since 1915, but it also tells their story in new and unexpected ways. Though inescapably drawing on records created by the force’s British officers, it strives to recapture the experience of the formerly anonymous sepoys, gunners and drivers, introducing Indians of note – Mit Singh, Gambirsing Pun, Kulbahadur Gurung, and Jan Mohamed – alongside the more familiar British figures such as Cecil Allanson, who led his Gurkhas to the crest of Sari Bair at dawn on 9 August 1915. It explores for the first time the remarkably positive relationship that grew on Gallipoli between Indians and Anzacs, and includes a complete list of the Indian Army dead commemorated on the Helles Memorial on Gallipoli.
Professor Peter Stanley, one of Australia’s most distinguished military social historians, has drawn on an extensive range of unpublished evidence, including official and private records in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and India to tell the story of the Indian experience of Gallipoli that has waited a century to be told.
- GenresHistory
383 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2015
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About the author
Peter Stanley
75 books13 followersPeter Stanley is a leading military historian and author. A Stout Pair of Boots is based on his research on Australia's battlefields in many parts of the world. Formerly Principal Historian at the Australian War Memorial, he is now Director of the Centre for Historical Research at the National Museum of Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 6, 2020
Of late I have been on a personal journey of self discovery. The Gallipoli campaign and the valour of the ANZACs has shaped the national identity of my adopted country, Australia.
This book has opened my eyes to the shared history of my forefathers from the sub-continent and the brave Australians who fought shoulder-to-shoulder in a foreign land far from their own shores.
ANZAC day will now have a new meaing for me. I hope I can visit Gallipoli one day with my boys and pay my respects to the those who never returned from this foreign sojourn.
This book has opened my eyes to the shared history of my forefathers from the sub-continent and the brave Australians who fought shoulder-to-shoulder in a foreign land far from their own shores.
ANZAC day will now have a new meaing for me. I hope I can visit Gallipoli one day with my boys and pay my respects to the those who never returned from this foreign sojourn.
June 29, 2023
Quite a good account of a little known aspect of the Gallipoli campaign, the accounts of the 7th Mountain Artillery Brigade were of particular interest to me as was the scale of India's involvement.
Unfortunately the book was detracted somewhat by the poor editing of the publishers, whilst I am certainly not one to throw to many stones in that regard, it is clear in this case that proof reading and editing was rushed.
Unfortunately the book was detracted somewhat by the poor editing of the publishers, whilst I am certainly not one to throw to many stones in that regard, it is clear in this case that proof reading and editing was rushed.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews