The Indian Empire At War: From Jihad to Victory, The Untold Story of the Indian Army in the First World War

About the Book

Almost two million volunteers served the Indian army in the Great War, always under British regimental officers, high commanders and staff. 150,000 of them were long-serving pre-war professional soldiers; most of the remainder were wartime recruits, drawn from across South Asia. Half of the Indian soldiers were sent overseas, and those who returned did so with a very different outlook on life.

In most histories of the war, the Tommies, pals and poets have dominated the tales - but what of the war as experienced by their Indian counterparts? George Morton-Jack's remarkable, fresh take on the First World War sets this right, telling the Indian army's story of 1914-18 through the voices of the service's officers and ranks, and of the princes, priests, prostitutes and others who encountered them across the continents. It reveals their journeys to the greatest battlefields mankind had ever seen, their experiences as prisoners of war in Germany, Romania and elsewhere, and their missions as secret agents that took them down rivers, across deserts and through mountain ranges from Transylvania to Afghanistan and beyond.

THE INDIAN EMPIRE AT WAR is a fascinating, necessary book that illuminates a central part of the Great War that has too often been overlooked.

About the Author :
George Morton Jack studied history at Oxford University and wrote his first book on the First World War, The Indian Army on the Western Front, for Cambridge University Press. He currently lives in London.

Review :
The Indian Empire at War is a pioneering study that looks at 1914-18 from the perspective of South Asia. Beautifully written, Morton-Jack's book provides a vital corrective to accounts of the Great War and its aftermath that only look at the world of Europe, from Europe Essential to a proper understanding of the war and of our world of today. A much needed book Extraordinarily original The Indian Army was of absolutely crucial importance to Britain in the First World War, but that simple fact has too often been neglected. Impeccably researched and very well written, George Morton-Jack's book should go a long way to rectifying this case of historical amnesia Revelatory . . . fluent and colourful . . . This book describes the war as a worldwide conflict involving a million Indian soldiers [and] shows how crucial they were to Allied success Morton-Jack skilfully presents the reader with the first comprehensive telling of the Indian story and places it in a global context . . . Morton-Jack's work is magisterial and yet immensely readable. This is the book for anyone interested in an authentic broad-based account of the role played by India and its soldiers in the defining conflict of the twentieth century . . . The book is remarkable in having used, for the first time, thousands of pages of interview transcripts of Indian veterans of the war, recorded in the 1970s Readable, important, and fills a gap that should have been dealt with long ago A splendid book . . . A multi- layered, rigorously researched and empathetically interpreted account of the Indian contribution to the Great War. The author's objective of shining "a more filtered light on the Indian soldiers" is luminously met . . . Morton-Jack, to his credit, does not shy away from recording the cruel face of the colonial ruler A tour de force . . . Morton- Jack writes with an easy flowing grace to expose a veritable chasm of under- explored Great War history: The Indian Empire at War incisively summarises the entirety of India's contribution to the British war effort, excels in its treatment of the Western Front, and challenges many shibboleths. Overall Morton- Jack brings refreshing new perspectives on the Indian Army as a war- winning machine, exposing the cruel nature and sheer brutality of the British colonial regime the Indian soldiers served, and laying bare the endemic racism they shamefully suffered Quite a story with an excellent cast of characters - the deserter brothers Mir Dast VC and Mir Mast, the tragic figure of General Willcocks, and so many more fill out the vast canvas Eloquent, scholarly and impressive Meticulously researched and robustly argued, George Morton- Jack's The Indian Empire at War not only secures the Indian soldiers and non- combatants a firm foothold on the military map of the First World War but reconfigures the very contours of that map in its imperial contexts and extra- European theatres. Erudite and expansive, this deeply impressive military account of the Indian Army is at once a labour of love, an important intervention and an engrossing read Wonderfully written and authoritative . . . Global in reach and packed full of fascinating stories A highly original account of the First World War. For a hundred years India, as the British Empire's "jewel in the crown" and principal garrison, has not been accorded a dedicated history of its own military contribution to the global war that broke out in 1914. Now George Morton- Jack's extremely readable narrative provides the first Fits the Indian experience superbly into the overall Great War narrative An outstanding book that brings to life the experiences of Indian soldiers in all of the theatres of the First World War... Morton- Jack restores the Indian Army to its rightful place in the history of the Great War Absorbing and welcome . . . explores a remarkably diverse fighting force of 1.5 million men of all castes and creeds . . . This book is a fitting testament to the sacrifices they made An outstanding book that brings to life the experiences of Indian soldiers in all of the theatres of WWI, from German colonies in China and Africa to the Middle East and the Western Front. Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, George Morton-Jack restores the Indian Army to its rightful place in the history of the Great War An impressive, humane, and myth-busting book A lively history of the Indian Army in all its tragedies, difficulties and occasional triumphs . . . reveals the touching humanity of the Indian soldier Morton-Jack has given a voice to hundreds of thousands of soldiers who fought overseas for an Empire and would be widely forgotten from the UK to India and Pakistan. Important and moving Every chapter contains a wealth of evocative contemporary reflections from and about men who represented a "uniquely multicultural" army . . . A fascinating socio-cultural history Morton-Jack puts in painstaking effort into piecing together the lives of these intrepid warriors who lived in a tumultuous, topsy- turvy age . . . This historian's account is thorough and painfully blunt . . . The indictment of British rule in India is readily apparent The Indian Army's role in World War I is perhaps the least understood dimension of that global conflict. Although the centenary of the war sparked off some interest in the stories of these soldiers, there has been no sustained examination of their experiences. Army of Empire fills this void in our historical understanding admirably and comprehensively. Widely researched and vividly written, George Morton-Jack's account of the Indian Army's crucial contribution to the Allied victory is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon Superb . . . utterly compelling