World War I

India Troops under the British, participated in both the World Wars. The native Indian sepoys were organized into 'Regular Army' after the First war of Independence in 1857, and they trained and practiced the art of fighting under the British troops and officers. It was during the First World War that they got a real feel of the battle and faced the tough conditions of war.

They were away from their homes and in foreign land, braving the difficult conditions and the cold weather in Europe and later in Afghanistan, Africa and Burma. Indian soldiers won many gallantry medals and were among the highly decorated soldiers. Their disciplined conduct made them favourites in all the countries they had gone to.

World War I

For the first time in the history of the world, many countries took part in a major war that extended for four years from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918 and which affected several countries of the world as well. It was called the Great War or the First World War. The countries involved in the conflict were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (called the Central Powers) against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (called the Allied Powers).

It was a war on very large scale. Thousands of troops were involved and a large number of battles were fought, which caused extensive damage, destruction of property and death of numerous civilians and soldiers. As a Colony of Britain the British Indian army too was involved in the war.

Reasons for the war

Many causes can be attributed to the outbreak of the war. Of the several causes for the starting of the war, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Austrian Empire, on 28 June 1914 at Sarajevo in Bosnia is considered as the spark.

By this time, there was tension between the major European powers fueled mainly by Germany's ambition to be a major power in Europe and as a competitor to Britain in commerce and trade. This had led to the formation of two power blocks in Europe, the Triple Alliance comprising Germany, Austria and Hungary; and the Triple Entente (entente means a friendly and informal understanding between countries) of England, France and Russia.

Few would have imagined that the pistol shots in Sarajevo would lead to a brutal four-year war and would draw in most of the world. The countries had high nationalistic feelings, which contributed to economic policies, which caused competition with one another. Besides, there was no effective international organization that could serve to a arbitrated between the nations.

The other reason was that countries were entering into secret alliances (alliances means tactics between countries to help each other military) based on the personal ambitions of the political leaders. Such secret alliances further contributed to suspicions about the activities of the other country. Although many reasons contributed, the immediate cause was the Sarajevo incident in which the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated along with his wife on 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo.