On the 27th February 1915 I arrived in England on ten days’ leave, my first from France, and as I had not been home for over two years it was a pleasant prospect. I did not, however, get my full leave, as I was recalled on the fourth day, but I could well afford to give it up for it was in order to receive the decoration of “Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour” which the French Government had conferred on me. It was very good of Sir John French to recommend me for this, which I prize as one of my highest rewards. My four days were very busy ones, and I had the honour of being summoned to see His Majesty, who made inquiries regarding his Indian soldiers, and sent them a most encouraging message. Lord Crewe, then Secretary of State for India, asked my views on many matters connected with Indians, amongst others the question of granting them commissions on the same footing as British officers. I have already written of this. I had the pleasure of a long talk with Mr. Lloyd George whom I met for the first time. When I left I had, like vast numbers of his countrymen, no other opinion than that I had conversed with one of the greatest living men. His assurance that all would be well, and his magnetic manner, sent me away more convinced than ever that he would be the man who would eventually guide us to a victorious peace.
Next day I dined with Neil Primrose, who had been serving on my Staff in France, and there met Colonel Winston Churchill and many others prominent in politics. Much of the talk turned on the Indians, and all were most enthusiastic in their admiration of their loyalty. What, however, struck me most was the note of something approaching pity more than one of them manifested at their hard lot. Now there were no grounds for such; the men were, of course, undergoing great hardships, but so were others, and if the ordeal was harder for them to bear it was only the luck of war. What I and many others of the seniors in the Corps felt was that people in England believed that the Indians could not stand the severe climate. They, like other mortals, were open to criticism, but did not ask for pity and resented it, and I was always very careful to keep my lips closed as to this phase of the situation when the native officers and men asked me (as they always did) what I had heard about them in England.
The following day I lunched with Winston Churchill, and later had him as my guest for half a day in France. I had first made his acquaintance after my return from Ashanti in 1901, and every time I have met him since I like him better. There is something very taking in his character; he always appears to be quite sure that whatever he is doing is the best that can be done, and I think he is generally right. I have met many others who claim to be like this, but are in reality anything but sure. It is a treat to talk to him, and if I were a young man with life before me I would sooner serve with him than almost any one I know.
On the 2nd March I dined with Lord Kitchener; the only other person present was Colonel FitzGerald and he left immediately dinner was finished. I had the benefit of a very long talk with the great Field-Marshal, and some of this I will relate for it is of great interest. The chief point he dealt with was the shortage of shells and the necessity for economising ammunition in the field. He urged me to let it be quietly known to my senior officers that it was criminal to waste a single round; he said all would be well in due course but at that time he could not possibly supply the wants. He particularly pointed out that what we called “registering” and what he called “shooting into the mist” must be limited to absolute necessity alone. I was much impressed by this insistence on economy of gun power, and his clear assurance that we might find ourselves without shells unless this warning was observed. He made no mystery of it, and as I was leaving urged me once more to do all in my power to keep down the expenditure both of ammunition and money. “Each individual can help in his own degree,” were his parting words. I knew, of course, we were very short of shells, but after what he said I was more than surprised long afterwards when I read that he had not let this be understood.
Another subject which Lord Kitchener discussed was the question of compulsory service. He was entirely in favour of it, but said his great difficulty lay in the fact that he knew he would never get a fair chance. “They will exempt hundreds of thousands in what are called indispensable positions and will only leave me the chaff.” I suggested that if he once told the country he must have the men, would he not get them; and he replied, “You little know all I shall have to fight against. I do.” Judging by all the wrangling that went on before compulsory service became a reality, his words sound prophetic now.
Regarding the Indians he spoke very fully. He did not say it in so many words, but his meaning was quite clear, and that was that whoever might try and get rid of them, he meant to keep an Indian Corps in France in name at least, if not in numbers, but that he would entirely relieve units as they dwindled, and replace them from Egypt and elsewhere. At a subsequent interview I had with him four months later he put this very forcibly and gave his reasons, as I shall tell.
The months of January and February had passed in what were called quiet conditions, and during the first days of March we were full of preparations for the coming battle before Neuve Chapelle. Previous to this battle, in conjunction with all my Generals and my own Staff, I had very carefully considered the question of man-power in the Indian Corps, and I feel justified in stating at some length the conclusions we had arrived at, and the many battles royal that they raised. I am convinced I was right, but I was accused by the highest authorities at the time of a lack of appreciation of the situation as it existed.
In order to explain myself I will not only state what actually occurred early in March but will carry on the story to its final solution in August 1915, when, to my surprise, I was summoned to England only to be told that certain propositions were before the Government, which I found if adopted would entirely coincide with my own made five months previously, and would in point of time be exactly what I had recommended. I am writing from my diary kept up daily and make no error in details. To those who were associated with me in the task of commanding the Corps it will be as plain as it was at that time, that it indeed needed patience of a degree with which nature had perhaps insufficiently endowed me, but which perforce I had to adopt; and a spirit that refused to be subdued even when opposed to the highest military and political authorities in the field and at home. Even if I am considered egoistic, I must again say that I had one great advantage, and that was I knew what I was talking about.
Armageddon has shown up the impossibility of attempting to rule the East under purely Western methods, and has plainly manifested the need of first acquiring some knowledge of what you are undertaking, before you rush things to a hopeless standstill.
The many causes I have stated had by March 1915 told so severely on the Corps that on 8th March I summoned a Conference of all my Generals and their senior Staff officers as well as my own Army Corps Staff. On this occasion the whole question was gone into and discussed, and it was unanimously agreed that I should represent to the Commander-in-Chief that it would be wise to relieve the Indian battalions then in France as soon as this could be conveniently done, but in any case before another winter set in. I knew that our reinforcements would dwindle, and later on I had it on the authority of the Government of India itself that there might be a considerable break in our receiving any at all.
Accordingly I made my recommendations, and at the same time told the Brigadiers to inform their C.O.’s that I had done so. It was the eve of Neuve Chapelle, and from many trusted Indian officers I learned that they had been much impressed by the news that they were anxious to join in the coming battle and ready to remain on, but they plainly saw they would lose their good repute unless reinforcements were sent in large numbers, and one officer put it, “These miserable reservists were sent away from India so as not to frighten the young recruits.” The truth was that every officer and man saw clearly that the Corps would soon dwindle to a mere handful of men, and they also knew that, under the system then prevailing, it was impossible to maintain their numbers at anything approaching efficient fighting strength.
All kinds of remedies were already being adopted, and occasionally complete companies from other battalions in India were sent to us and these were generally good. Of course I knew the times were pressing, the need great, and the arrangements for reinforcing us nil, but that is just why I felt convinced the game would very soon not be worth the candle. We had held our trenches for five months, we were on the eve of a big battle in which I was sure the Indians would give a good account of themselves, and our Territorial and New Armies were lining up and would, by the time we could be relieved, have arrived in thousands, with more ready to follow. Then, again, it was plain that the Indians would be sadly needed in other parts of the world, where they would prove invaluable and be nearer their own natural bases. Moreover, in France there could be no chance of leave or relaxation for them under any circumstances, whereas in Egypt they could quickly be re-formed, strengthened, and again made fit for service under more congenial skies, and at the same time others who had not then had the good fortune to see fighting would welcome the opportunity.
It was also an important consideration they should be given to understand that the transfer was in no way intended as a slight on them, but was being carried out on sound principles and with the object of making the best use of them in the many theatres of war. A hint that this was the intention of Government would have been welcomed by all ranks, whereas to do it suddenly for any cause would rankle in their minds and never be understood. Everything pointed to the wisdom of allowing them to leave France as soon as the gap they had filled was completed by Britishers. This was my conviction and is stronger to-day than it even then was.
However that may be, I had indeed fallen on a hornet’s nest. G.H.Q., of course, had other expert advisers to assist them in their decisions, but experience gained in India was somewhat discounted when the game was being played for the first time in Europe, and only those who were actually playing it could give practical advice.
My papers teem with suggestions for remedying the shortage of men in the Indian battalions. Over and over again did I adjust the Brigades, mix up units, reduce the strength of Brigades, and use every device to still retain the name of the Corps as “The Indian Corps.” In June I received an order by telegram to proceed to London where I again saw Lord Kitchener. On this occasion he said to me, “I will never allow the Indian Corps to lose its designation; it would be a disgrace to India.”
Time soothes all things, and as the months passed the battles of Second Ypres, April 1915, and Festubert, 15th May, were fought, and in both the Indian Divisions largely shared. I had made up my mind that the same Army Corps was to remain in France. I had no illusion as to my own future; after 8th June I saw it must come to an end, how or when I could not guess, but I believed I had the confidence of Lord Kitchener and that was my bulwark. To my surprise, in August I was summoned to London and told to go straight to see him before seeing several other notabilities. He informed me that the Cabinet had decided to send the whole Indian Corps to Egypt and elsewhere and that he did not wish it. He asked me my opinion and I reiterated my previous recommendation, but added that if he could replace our old units by fresh ones and complete our numbers the Indians could certainly remain. He again impressed on me the necessity of keeping an Indian Corps in Europe; said that India would never forgive us if we removed the Corps as a body, and asked me to state my opinions to all whom I interviewed.
Now if there was one man for whom I would do anything in my capacity as Corps Commander that man was Lord Kitchener. In any circumstances, moreover, it was better to stick to a decision once made than to go on vacillating and thus disconcerting and needlessly annoying brave men, who cannot understand being made the shuttlecock of politicians. I will not go into further details. I had several other interviews during my short stay. I was once more in the Maelstrom of Scylla and Charybdis and went back impressed by two things: one was that if the Indian Corps remained it would be at Lord Kitchener’s wish alone; and if it left it would be for reasons other than those I had gathered at my various interviews. However events followed rapidly; Mesopotamia, Palestine, and East Africa swallowed up the two Divisions, but not before my own tenure of command had abruptly terminated.