March

With Colonial Britain’s declaration of war on Germany in 1914, India produced about 1.5 million troops for combat by 1919. Of these troops, the Sikhs, one of the two loyal “martial races” of the British Raj, rallied in enormous numbers for the King, Empire and its defense.

At the beginning of the war, Sikh military personnel numbered around 35,000 men of the 161,000 in the Indian Army. Though being paid a mere 11 rupees a month for his services to the Empire, the Sikh soldier took his duty as a soldier as an almost religious experience.

He romanticized his role as that of a martyr and knight for the King. The idea of martyrdom and battlefield heroics proved to be a necessity for the British, as they were being pushed back by the Germans. It was not uncommon to see the Sri Guru Granth Sahib being carried before a marching Sikh battalion or even on the front lines among the courageous Sikh troops.

The East African campaign against Germany was a series of battles and guerrilla actions which started in Tanganyika and ultimately affected portions of other surrounding countries before its demise.