The regiments and battalions of the new organisation would be numbered in a single sequence and the old titles of the Bombay, Madras and the Bengal Armies would be discontinued. The Northern Army had five divisions and three brigades and was responsible for the North West Frontier to Bengal while the Southern Army, which had four divisions in India and two formations outside the subcontinent, was responsible for Baluchistan to southern India. To assist command and control of the new divisions, two field armies were formed-the Northern Army and the Southern Army. The Indian Army was also responsible for supplying a division in Burma and a brigade in Aden. The new formation for the Army of India was set at nine divisions, each division with one cavalry and three infantry brigades and these nine divisions together with three independent infantry brigades would serve in India. The term Army of India was instituted to refer to the overall command structure which included both the British and Indian Army units.
The British Army also continued to supply units for service in India, in addition to those of the Indian Army. At the same time, the regiments of the Princely states were made available to be called out to become Imperial Service Troops. The reforms now directed that there would be only one Indian Army, the three armies of the Presidencies being merged into a unified force.
Herbert Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India in 1902 and after five years, his term of office was extended by a further two-during which he reformed the Indian Army. įield-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from 1942 asserted that the British "couldn't have come through both World War I and II if they hadn't had the Indian Army." While some divisions were sent overseas others had to remain in India guarding the North West Frontier and on internal security and training duties. Indian divisions were also sent to Egypt, Gallipoli, German East Africa and nearly 700,000 served in Mesopotamia against the Ottoman Empire. At the First Battle of Ypres, Khudadad Khan became the first Indian to be awarded a Victoria Cross. In World War I the Indian Army fought against the German Empire on the Western Front. In total at least 74,187 Indian soldiers died during the war. Over one million Indian troops served overseas, of whom 62,000 died and another 67,000 were wounded. The Indian Army during World War I contributed a large number of divisions and independent brigades to the European, Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres of war in World War I.
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