Meanwhile the war was developing all over the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and in some quarters the conditions were very different from those obtaining in the densely-peopled districts of the main front, where the colossal armies stood face to face. On two other fronts especially, where Great Britain was opposed to the Turks, horsemen had room to move and were badly needed. In Egypt and Palestine, and in Mesopotamia and Persia, the armies engaged were not in such numbers as to cover the whole ground and reduce the war to the likeness of a gigantic siege. Even there, on the broad plains of Asia, trenches and aeroplanes were to some extent in use, and did much to limit the operations of Cavalry; but they were not all-important. There was still room for open warfare and turning movements and surprise. And for service in those countries, with their comparatively dry climates and hard soil and great heat, the Indian soldier was specially fitted--much better fitted, to tell the truth, than for the cold and mud of Europe. It was therefore decided in the early part of 1916, when trained white troops were beginning to pour out of England in great numbers, that the work of the Indian Army on the European front was done, and that for the future, with its numerous and excellent Cavalry, it could be more usefully employed in other theatres of war.[13] It has always been the custom to send on service with Indian troops a certain proportion of white men, and much as the white troops were needed in Europe, it was felt that the custom must be maintained in this case. The Indian Regiments now sent to fight in Africa and Asia were therefore mixed as usual with British Regiments. The officers of the Indian Regiments had every confidence in the troops they led; but it would have been a tremendous test to send Indian soldiers unsupported by British troops to face the renowned fighting men of Turkey, organised and directed by Germans, and equipped with all the latest appliances of modern war. The strain would have been increased by the fact that the number of British officers serving with an Indian Regiment is always small--probably not half the number serving with a British Regiment. As to the Thirteenth, they were warned in the middle of June to prepare for service in the East, and there were persistent rumours that the destination of the Brigade would be Mesopotamia, where a serious reverse had lately been inflicted upon British arms by the capture of General Townshend and ten thousand men at Kut. These rumours were well founded, for the nation rightly felt that such a humiliation must be wiped out, and the Meerut Brigade, including the Thirteenth Hussars, was among the troops selected to retrieve the position.