India, but it proved what a fool’s paradise we had been bred in, and on what sandy foundations the structure of the Indian Army rested. I have no desire unnecessarily to string out the manifest disadvantages the Indian Corps laboured under, but I have heard too much the criticisms of our Indian troops by soldiers and civilians, who are without the faintest knowledge of what they talk about, and it is only right that the truth should be known. There is a growing body of Indians who have every desire but no means of ascertaining the facts, and if this book can be of any use in helping to explain to my numberless friends and acquaintances in India the splendid deeds of their brethren who fought and bled on the sodden plains of Flanders under handicaps which must have been seen and felt to be understood, I shall be more than rewarded. Moreover, as commander of those troops during a year of the war I had opportunities of knowing many details unknown to others, and now that the war is over I am free to write the truth which for years has been of necessity suppressed. Whatever may have been the shortcomings of the Indian Army it possessed one asset which never stood it in better stead than in France; its British officers, although far too small in number, were the salt of the earth. As leaders of men, comrades and friends of their Indian officers, sepoys, and sowars, as loyal and brave gentlemen, they could not be surpassed. I always believed in them, but in France my belief was heightened to profound admiration, and as death took its heavy toll day by day I knew that by no means could they be replaced; for the great essential was that they should know their men and their language, and this became impossible as India sent more and more troops to the various theatres of war. Next to the British were the Indian officers, most of them men who had earned their commissions by brave and loyal service, of fighting stock, with martial traditions, ready to give their lives for their King-Emperor, proud of the profession of arms; they formed the essential link between the British officers and men. In ordinary circumstances in the Field they were well fitted to fill temporarily the place of their lost British leaders, and many instances of this I shall relate. I tread perhaps on thorny ground, but after a life spent with them in many lands, I do not consider they can replace the British officer in the field. I have discussed this with numerous Indian officers and soldiers of all classes, but I never met one who did not practically agree with me. There no doubt are in India some who will lay claim to this, but I firmly believe the British officers, who are the truest friends of the Indian soldier, will unanimously agree with me. If bravery and self-sacrifice were alone to be considered then by all means the Indian can take his place in any rank, but training and temperament at present stand in his way.