Dumdum Bullets Bullets having their lead core left uncovered at the point (semi-jacketed bullet), or having an unjacketed, but cylindrically bored point (hollow-point bullet). Owing to their construction, the bullets have a somewhat reduced power of penetration. At a short distance, however, they produce large wounds that heal with difficulty. The bullets are named after the Indian town of Dum Dum, where a munitions factory first produced semi-jacketed bullets for the British forces in the 1890s. …

French, Sir John (September 28, 1852, Ripple Vale, Kent – May 21, 1925, Deal), British field marshal and British Army Commander in Chief on the Western Front 1914/1915. French’s early career included the usual colonial postings in Egypt and India. He first gained a reputation as a courageous and energetic officer as commander of a cavalry division in the Boer War (1899–1902). The war led to further key posts, not least owing to the fact that French mixed easily with politicians, especially liberal …

Mesopotamia The territory between the Euphrates and the Tigris, which now lies in Iraq, belonged to the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century onward. For the British, the occupation of this barren and remote territory, which was only weakly defended by the Turks, held interesting prospects for a variety of reasons: the exploitation of the region’s oilfields offered promising economic perspectives, while the geographical situation of Mesopotamia at the crossroads of a land route connecting India, s…

Gardner, Nikolas - Morale of the Indian Army in the Mesopotamia Campaign: 1914–17 Keywords: Indian Army | Indian Morale | Kut-Al-Amara | Mesopotamia campaign ISFWWS-Keywords: India | Middle East | Experience of combat | The French and British Empires | Soldiers and Combat | Middle East | The Ottoman Empire and the Middle East | Published memoirs and biographies Abstract: This chapter use the contractual model to explain the morale of Indian soldiers during the Mesopotamia campaign, focusing in particular on the period prior to the surrender of…

Mazumder, Rajit K. - From Loyalty to Dissent: Punjabis from the Great War to World War II Keywords: Ghadar | Punjabis | rural loyalty | World War II ISFWWS-Keywords: India | Home fronts | The French and British Empires | Politics | Soldiers and Combat | Violence against civilians Abstract: This chapter discusses the unique relationship between communities recruited from Punjab and the colonial state in British India between c.1914 and c.1947. It demonstrates the loyalty of enlisted groups, reciprocating decades of favourable tre…

Uniforms At the beginning of the war, the armies of most warring states were outfitted with a special field uniform, camouflaged to blend into the terrain, in addition to their colorful parade uniforms. Such a camouflage uniform was necessary because of modern weapons technology including smokeless powder. This was already well known from the Boer Wars and the Russo-Japanese War. Still, camouflage uniforms dated back to the colonial wars of the 19th century. Based on experience in India, Great Br…

Armed Forces (United States) During the First World War the armed forces of the United States were crafted by national politics. The Russian Provisional Government of 1917 had promised resolutely to continue the war in the East. On the Western Front, the Germans were unequivocally on the defensive. In no way was America itself directly threatened. Nevertheless, the pattern developed in the World War would guide the United States in 20th century warfare. Politics would determine the strategy, the org…

Markovits, Claude - Indian Soldiers’ Experiences in France during World War I: Seeing Europe from the Rear of the Front Keywords: India | Western Front | Culture | French society during the war | Women and War | Religion | Literature | Politics | The French and British Empires The World in World Wars Heike Liebau, Katrin Bromber , Katharina Lange , Dyala Hamzah and Ravi Ahuja , (2010) Publication Editor: Brill, The Netherlands, 2010 e-ISBN: 9789004188471 DOI:10.1163/ej.9789004185456.i-618.9 © 2010 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Markovits, Claude

Naval Blockade During the World War, the Allied naval blockade brought German foreign trade practically to a standstill, especially after 1916. It contributed significantly to the serious subsistence problems in Germany. On the eve of the World War Germany was one of the most important economic powers in the world. Obviously, accomplishing this required extensive trade relationships. This left the German economy highly vulnerable during such a long-lasting war. Indeed, Germany had to import 30% of all processed iron ore. The …

India In August 1914, the Indian subcontinent was the most important pillar of the British Empire. After the start of the First World War India’s importance to the war effort was apparent in the considerable numbers of Indian soldiers employed on the Allied fronts in Europe, Africa, and Asia. By the end of 1918, some 1.5 million Indians had been mobilized for the war. Of these, almost 900,000 belonged to fighting units. More than 60,000 Indian soldiers died in the war and about the same number suffered wounds. It was originally envisaged that only restricted use should be made of I…

Soldiers’ Jargon In all armies in the First World War there developed during the war a vocabulary specific to the group. Soldiers’ jargon related primarily to soldiers’ immediate environment at the front and in rest areas; at its center were duties, equipment, and weapons. In general, soldiers’ jargon followed a minimizing tendency: for example, describing large caliber artillery shells as “coal boxes,” hand grenades as “pineapples,” and an artillery attack as “calico” or “music.” Onomatopoeic ele…

Hamilton, Sir Ian (January 16, 1853, Corfu – October 12, 1947, London), British general. After attending private school, and graduating from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, Hamilton entered the army in 1873. His early career was marked by his participation in colonial wars, among them the Afghan War (1878–1880), the Boer War of 1881, the Nile Expedition (1884/1885), the Burma Expedition (1886/1887), the Relief of Chitral (1895), and the Tirah Campaign (1897/98). He gained not only battle e…

Kenyon, David - The Indian Cavalry Divisions in Somme: 1916 Keywords: France | Indian Cavalry divisions | Somme ISFWWS-Keywords: India | Western Front | Military organisation of combat | Experience of combat | Soldiers and Combat | Published memoirs and biographies | Britain Abstract: A 'fact' that is often quoted to support the status of the Indian soldier as exploited victim is that the Indian regiments arrived in Marseilles in late 1914 still dressed in tropical clothing and without warm winter kit. This chapter aims to…

Das, Santanu - Imperialism, Nationalism and the First World War in India Keywords: empire | First World War | imperialism | India | Nationalism | nationalist leaders | sepoys | Western Front ISFWWS-Keywords: India | The French and British Empires | Politics | Western Front | Experience of combat | Published memoirs and biographies Abstract: This article explores the relationship between empire, India and the First World War, by examining both the responses to the war within India, and the experience of the sepoys in the Western Front. In …

Liebau, Heike - Kaiser kī jay (Long Live the Kaiser): Perceptions of World War I and the Socio-Religious Movement Among the Oraons in Chota Nagpur 1914–1916 Keywords: India | Religion | Home fronts | Politics | The French and British Empires | Germany | Literature The World in World Wars Heike Liebau, Katrin Bromber , Katharina Lange , Dyala Hamzah and Ravi Ahuja , (2010) Publication Editor: Brill, The Netherlands, 2010 e-ISBN: 9789004188471 DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004185456.i-618.59 © 2010 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Liebau, Heike

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire entered the First World War on the side of the Central Powers in November 1914. The real decision to take this step was not made by the cabinet, but by an inner circle of Young Turk politicians on October 25. Two days later, on the orders of minister of war Enver Pasha, a Turkish naval force under the command of the German Admiral Souchon attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet in its bases. The Turks later sought to justify this unprovoked attack by claiming that th…

Singha, Radhika - Front Lines and Status Lines: Sepoy and ‘Menial’ in the Great War 1916–1920 Keywords: India | Religion | Military organisation of combat | The French and British Empires | Literature | Experience of combat | Pre-war period The World in World Wars Heike Liebau, Katrin Bromber , Katharina Lange , Dyala Hamzah and Ravi Ahuja , (2010) Publication Editor: Brill, The Netherlands, 2010 e-ISBN: 9789004188471 DOI:10.1163/ej.9789004185456.i-618.13 © 2010 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Singha, Radhika

Anderson, Ross - Logistics of the Indian Expeditionary Force D in Mesopotamia: 1914–18 Keywords: British officers | IEFD | Indian Army | Mesopotamia ISFWWS-Keywords: India | Middle East | Military organisation of combat | The Ottoman Empire and the Middle East | The French and British Empires | Experience of combat Abstract: On 6 November 1914, the landing of the Indian Army's 16th Infantry Brigade at Fao, in the Vilayet of Basra in Mesopotamia initiated land hostilities between the British and the Ottoman empires. Part of the IEFD, these 4,700 soldiers…

Roy, Kaushik - Indian Cavalry from the First World War till the Third Afghan War Keywords: First World War | France | Indian cavalry | Mesopotamia | Palestine | Third Afghan War ISFWWS-Keywords: India | Military organisation of combat | Experience of combat | Legacy | Soldiers and Combat | The French and British Empires | Middle East | The Ottoman Empire and the Middle East | Published memoirs and biographies Abstract: This chapter argues that it is ahistorical to analyze the evolution of armies and warfare by using universal concepts like modern warfare.…

Flanders A province in northwestern Belgium. Western Flanders was the theater of three major battles in 1914, 1915, and 1917, and to these must be added the battles fought during the course of the German spring offensive in 1918. For the British, the battles are inseparably associated with the market town of Ypres. It is accordingly not surprising that the British commission charged after the war with naming the battles and engagements designated the battles fought here as the First, Second, and …