1887-1888
Defence and Mobilization Committees--The Transport Department
--Utilization of Native States' armies
--Marquis of Lansdowne becomes Viceroy--Rajputana and Kashmir
--Musketry instruction--Artillery and Cavalry training
In December I made a prolonged tour along the North-West Frontier,
accompanied by my wife, who was greatly delighted at being able at
last to see many places and meet many people of whom she had often
heard me speak. Part of this trip was made in company with the Viceroy
and Lady Dufferin, who visited all the principal stations on the
frontier, including Quetta. I rode with Lord Dufferin through the
Khyber Pass, and to the top of the Kwaja Amran range, our visit to
this latter point resulting, as I earnestly hoped it would, in His
Excellency being convinced by personal inspection of the advantage to
be gained by making the Kohjak tunnel, and of the necessity for our
endeavouring to cultivate more friendly relations with the border
tribes. We ended this very enjoyable tour at Rawal Pindi in order to
be present at the winding-up of a Cavalry Camp of Exercise in the
neighbourhood. There were assembled together under the direction of
Major-General Luck one regiment of British and eight regiments of
Native Cavalry, with two batteries of Royal Horse Artillery, and it
was a pretty sight, their advance at full gallop, and the halt, as
of one man, of that long line of Cavalry within a few yards of the
Viceroy, for the Royal salute. The spectators were much impressed with
Lord Dufferin's nerve in being able to remain perfectly calm and still
on his horse in the face of such an onslaught, and it certainly did
seem rather close quarters; but General Luck knew his regiments, and
had confidence in his men, and we knew General Luck.
In the early part of 1888 I visited all the chief military stations in
the Bengal Presidency, and attended Camps of Exercise for all arms,
held at Rawal Pindi, Umballa, Meerut, and Lucknow, before going to
Calcutta for the usual discussion on the Budget; after which the
Government generally breaks up for the hot weather, and assembles in
Simla two or three weeks later.
During 1887 and 1888 much useful work was got through by the Defence
Committee, and by another Committee which was assembled for the
consideration of all questions bearing upon the mobilization of the
army. As Commander-in-Chief I presided over both, and was fortunate
in being able to secure as my secretaries two officers of exceptional
ability, Lieutenant-Colonel W. Nicholson, R.E., for defence, and
Lieutenant-Colonel E. Elles, R.A., for mobilisation. It was in a great
measure due to Colonel Nicholson's clear-sighted judgment on the many
knotty questions which came before us, and to his technical knowledge,
that the schemes for the defence of the frontier, and for the ports
of Bombay, Karachi, Calcutta, Rangoon and Madras, were carried out so
rapidly, thoroughly and economically as they were;[1] and with regard
to measures for rendering the army mobile, Colonel Elles proved
himself equally capable and practical. The Secretary to Government
in the Military Department, Major-General Edwin Collen, was a
particularly helpful member of the Committees[2] from his intimate
acquaintance with the various subjects which had to be discussed.
If my readers have had the patience to follow in detail the several
campaigns in which I took part, they will have grasped the fact that
our greatest difficulties on all occasions arose from the want of a
properly organized Transport Department, and they will understand
that I was able to make this very apparent when the necessity
for mobilizing rapidly only one Army Corps came to be seriously
considered. We were able to demonstrate conclusively the impossibility
of putting a force into the field, sufficiently strong to cope with a
European enemy, without a considerable increase to the existing number
of transport animals, and without some description of light cart
strong enough to stand the rough work of a campaign in a country
without roads; for it is no exaggeration to say that in the autumn of
1880, when I left Kandahar, it would have been possible to have picked
out the road thence to Quetta, and onward to Sibi, a distance of 250
miles, with no other guide than that of the line of dead animals and
broken-down carts left behind by the several columns and convoys that
had marched into Afghanistan by that route.
Soon after I took over the command of the Army in India, while
voyaging to Burma, I had brought this most pressing question of
transport to the notice of Lord Dufferin, who, with his usual quick
appreciation of a situation, at once fully recognized its urgency, and
promised to give me all possible help in my endeavour to render the
army mobile--a promise which he amply fulfilled by taking a keen
personal interest in the proceedings of the Committee, and giving his
hearty support to our various recommendations.[3]
Our labours resulted in several thousand good pack animals (chiefly
mules) being purchased, and information collected and recorded as
to the districts where others could be rapidly procured in case of
emergency. A transport service was established, for which officers had
to go through a regular course of instruction, and pass an examination
in the loading and general management of the animals. A prize was
offered for a strong, useful light cart; and when the most suitable
had been selected, large numbers were made up of the same pattern.[4]
The constitution of two Army Corps, to be in readiness for taking the
field on short notice, was decided upon, and the units to form the
several divisions and brigades were told off and provided with the
necessary equipment. A railway time-table was prepared, giving the
hours at which the troops should leave their stations so as to avoid
any block _en route_. Special platforms were constructed for training
and detraining Cavalry and Artillery, and storehouses were erected and
stocked at those stations where road marching would probably commence.
Finally the conclusions we had arrived at were embodied in a manual
entitled 'General Regulations for Mobilization.' It was extremely
gratifying to me to learn from India that this manual, with such
additions and alterations as our subsequent experience in Burma and
various frontier expeditions proved would be advantageous, was
the guide by which the Chitral relieving force was last year so
expeditiously and completely equipped and despatched.
Of the many subjects discussed and measures adopted during this the
last year of Lord Dufferin's Viceroyalty, I think the scheme for
utilizing the armies of Native States, as an auxiliary force for the
service of the Empire, was the most important both from a political
and military point of view.
The idea was, in the first instance, propounded by Lord Lytton, who
appointed a committee to consider the pros and cons of the question.
I was a member of that committee, but at that time I, in common with
many others, was doubtful as to the wisdom of encouraging a high state
of efficiency amongst the troops of independent States; the excellent
work, however, done by the Native Contingent I had with me in Kuram,
and the genuine desire of all ranks to be allowed to serve side by
side with our own soldiers, together with the unmistakable spirit of
loyalty displayed by Native Rulers when war with Russia was imminent
in 1885, convinced me that the time had arrived for us to prove to
the people of India that we had faith in their loyalty, and in their
recognition of the fact that their concern in the defence of the
Empire was at least as great as ours, and that we looked to them to
take their part in strengthening our rule and in keeping out all
intruders. I believed, too, that we had now little to fear from
internal trouble so long as our Government continued just and
sympathetic, but that, on the other hand, we could not expect to
remain free from outside interference, and that it would be wise to
prepare ourselves for a struggle which, as my readers must be aware, I
consider to be inevitable in the end. We have done much, and may
still do more, to delay it, but when that struggle comes it will be
incumbent upon us, both for political and military reasons, to make
use of all the troops and war material that the Native States can
place at our disposal, and it is therefore to our advantage to render
both as efficient and useful as possible.
The subject was, of course, most delicate and complex, and had to
be treated with the greatest caution, for not only was the measure
adapted to materially strengthen our military position in India, but
I was convinced it was politically sound, and likely to be generally
acceptable to the Native Rulers, provided we studied their wishes, and
were careful not to offend their prejudices and susceptibilities by
unnecessary interference.
It was very satisfactory to find how cordially the Chiefs responded
to Lord Dufferin's proposals, and extremely interesting to watch the
steady improvement in their armies under the guidance of carefully
selected British officers. Substantial results have been already
obtained, valuable help having been afforded to the Chitral expedition
by the transport trains organized by the Maharajas of Gwalior and
Jaipur, and by the gallantry of the Imperial Service Troops belonging
to His Highness the Maharaja of Kashmir at Hunza-Naga and during the
siege and relief of Chitral.
Two minor expeditions took place this year: one against the Thibetans
in retaliation for their having invaded the territory of our ally, the
Raja of Sikim; the other to punish the Black Mountain tribes for the
murder of two British officers. Both were a success from a military
point of view, but in the Black Mountain the determination of the
Punjab Government to limit the sphere of action of the troops, and
to hurry out of the country, prevented our reaping any political
advantage. We lost a grand opportunity for gaining control over this
lawless and troublesome district; no survey was made, no roads opened
out, the tribesmen were not made to feel our power, and, consequently,
very soon another costly expedition had to be undertaken.
In November, 1888, Lord Dufferin left India amidst a storm of regret
from all classes of Her Majesty's subjects. He was succeeded by Lord
Lansdowne, one of whose earliest communications to me rejoiced my
heart, for in it His Excellency inquired whether anything could be
done towards improving our relations with the frontier tribes. This
augured well for the abandonment of the traditional, selfish, and,
to my mind, short-sighted policy of keeping aloof, and I hoped that
endeavours would at last be made to turn the tribesmen into friendly
neighbours, to their advantage and ours, instead of being obliged
to have recourse to useless blockades or constant and expensive
expeditions for their punishment, or else to induce them to refrain
from troubling us by the payment of a heavy blackmail.
[Illustration: THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE, K.G., G.C.M.G., G.M.S.I.,
G.M.I.E.. VICEROY OF INDIA.
_From a photograph by Cowell, Simla_.]
After a visit to the frontier in the autumn to see how the defences
were advancing, I attended a Cavalry Camp of Exercise at Delhi, and
an Artillery Practice Camp at Gurgaon, and then went to Meerut to
be present at the first meeting of the Bengal Presidency Rifle
Association, which was most interesting and successful. We spent
Christmas in camp--the first Christmas we had all been together for
ten years. Our boy, having left Eton, came out in the early part
of the year with a tutor, to be with us for eighteen months before
entering Sandhurst.
At the end of December I proceeded to Calcutta rather earlier than
usual, to pay my respects to the new Viceroy, and in January of the
following year, accompanied by my wife and daughter, I started off
on a long tour to inspect the local regiments in Central India and
Rajputana, and to ascertain what progress had been made in organizing
the Imperial Service Troops in that part of India.
Did space permit, I should like to tell my readers of the beauties of
Udaipur and the magnificent hospitality accorded to us there, as well
as at Bhopal, Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Ulwar, but, if I once began,
it would be difficult to stop, and I feel I have already made an
unconscionably heavy demand on the interest of the public in things
Indian, and must soon cease my 'labour of love.' I must therefore
confine myself to those subjects which I am desirous should be better
understood in England than they generally are.
Upon seeing the troops of the Begum of Bhopal and the Maharana of
Udaipur, I recommended that Their Highnesses should be invited to
allow their share of Imperial defence to take the form of paying for
the services of an increased number of officers with their respective
local corps,[5] for I did not think it would be possible to make any
useful addition to our strength out of the material of which their
small armies were composed. The men were relics of a past age, fit
only for police purposes, and it would have been a waste of time and
money to give them any special training. My recommendation, however,
was not accepted, and neither of these States takes any part in the
defence scheme.
At Jodhpur, on the contrary, there was splendid material, and a
most useful force was being organized by the Maharaja's brother,
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Pertap Sing, himself a Rajput, and of the
bluest blood of India. The Cavalry were specially fine. The gallant
Rajput horsemen of Jodhpur had always been famous for their chivalrous
bravery, unswerving fidelity, and fearless self-devotion in their wars
with the Mahrattas and the armies of the Mogul Emperors, and I felt,
as the superbly mounted squadrons passed before me, that they had lost
none of their characteristics, and that blood and breeding must tell,
and would, if put to the test, achieve the same results now as of
old. There could be but one opinion as to the value of the 'Sirdar
Rissala,'[6] so named after the Maharaja's son and heir, Sirdar
Sing, a lad of only nine years old, who led the little army past the
saluting flag mounted on a beautiful thorough-bred Arab.
The Jaipur troops were much on a par with those of Bhopal and Udaipur.
I was glad, therefore, that in lieu of troops, the Maharaja had agreed
to organize, as his contribution to the Imperial service, a transport
corps of 1,000 fully-equipped animals.
At Ulwar I found the 600 Cavalry and 1,000 Infantry (all Rajputs) well
advanced in their drill and training; this was evidently owing to the
personal interest taken in them by the Maharaja, who seldom allowed a
day to pass without visiting the parade grounds.
By the end of March I had finished my tour in Central India and
Rajputana, and as the heat was every day becoming more intense, I was
not sorry to turn my steps northwards towards Kashmir, the army of
which State still remained to be inspected, and the measures most
suitable for its re-organization determined upon.
Our whole family party re-assembled at Murree early in April, and we
all went into the 'Happy Valley' together, where between business and
pleasure we spent a most delightful six weeks. The Maharaja personally
superintended the arrangements for our comfort. Our travelling was
made easy--indeed luxurious--and everything that the greatest care and
forethought and the most lavish hospitality could accomplish to make
our visit happy was done by the Maharaja and by the popular Resident,
Colonel Nisbet.
The Kashmir army was much larger than any of those belonging to the
Native States I had lately visited; it consisted of 18,000 men and 66
guns--more than was needed, even with the Gilgit frontier to guard.
Some of the regiments were composed of excellent material, chiefly
Dogras; but as the cost of such a force was a heavy drain upon the
State, and as many of the men were old and decrepit, I recommended
that the Maharaja should be invited to get rid of all who were
physically unfit, and to reduce his army to a total of 10,000
thoroughly reliable men and 30 guns. I knew this would be a very
difficult, and perhaps distasteful, task for the Commander-in-Chief
(who was also the Maharaja's brother), Raja Ram Sing, to perform, so
I recommended that a British officer should be appointed military
adviser to the Kashmir Government, under whose supervision the work of
reformation should be carried out.
At that time we had none of our own troops in the neighbourhood of
Gilgit, and as I thought it advisable, in case of disturbance, that
the Kashmir troops should be speedily put into such a state of
efficiency as would enable us to depend upon them to hold the passes
until help could arrive from India, I urged that the military adviser
should be given three British officers to assist him in carrying out
his difficult and troublesome duty; and at the same time I pointed
out that it was absolutely essential to construct at an early date a
serviceable road between Kashmir and Gilgit, as the sole approach to
that strategic position was not only difficult, but very dangerous.
All these proposals commended themselves to, and were acted upon by,
the Viceroy.
Lieutenant-Colonel Neville Chamberlain--a _persona grata_ to the
Kashmir authorities--was appointed Military Secretary to the Kashmir
State, and by his ability, tact, and happy way of dealing with
Natives, quickly overcame all obstacles. The Maharaja and his two
brothers, Rajas Ram Sing and Amar Sing, entered heartily into the
scheme; the army was remodelled and rendered fit for service; and an
excellent road was made to Gilgit.
During the summer of 1889 I was able to introduce several much needed
reforms in the annual course of musketry for the Native Army.
The necessity for these reforms had not been overlooked by my
distinguished predecessors, nor by the able officers who served under
them in the Musketry Department, but it had not been possible to do
much with a system which dated from a period when fire discipline was
not thought of, and when the whole object of the course was to make
soldiers individually good shots. After the Delhi Camp of Exercise
in 1885-86, when the want of fire control was almost the only point
unfavourably criticized by the foreign officers, the Army in India
made a great advance in this important branch of musketry training;
nevertheless, I felt that further progress was possible, and that the
course of instruction was not altogether as practical as it might be.
I therefore gave over the work of improvement in this respect to
an enthusiast in the matter of rifle-shooting and an officer of
exceptional energy and intelligence, Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hamilton,
and directed him, as Assistant Adjutant-General of Musketry, to
arrange a course of instruction, in which the conditions should
resemble as nearly as possible those of field service, and in which
fire discipline should be developed to the utmost extent. He was most
successful in carrying out my wishes, and the results from the first
year's trial of the new system were infinitely better than even I had
anticipated.
Simultaneously with the improvement in musketry, a great advance was
made in gunnery. Artillery, like Infantry officers, had failed to
realize the value of the new weapon, and it required the teaching of
a man who himself thoroughly believed in and understood the
breech-loading gun to arouse Artillerymen to a sense of the tremendous
power placed in their hands, and to the importance of devoting much
more care and attention to practice than had hitherto been thought
necessary. Such a man was Major-General Nairne, and I was happily
able to induce the Government to revive in him the appointment of
Inspector-General of Artillery.
Under the unwearying supervision of this officer, there was quite as
remarkable an improvement in Artillery shooting as Colonel Hamilton
had effected in musketry. Practice camps were annually formed at
convenient localities, and all ranks began to take as much pride in
belonging to the 'best shooting battery' as they had hitherto taken
in belonging to the 'smartest,' the 'best-horsed,' or the
'best-turned-out' battery. I impressed upon officers and men that the
two things were quite compatible; that, according to my experience,
the smartest and best turned-out men made the best soldiers; and while
I urged every detail being most carefully attended to which could
enable them to become proficient gunners and take their proper place
on a field of battle, I expressed my earnest hope that the Royal
Artillery would always maintain its hitherto high reputation for
turn-out and smartness. The improvement in the Cavalry was equally
apparent. For this arm of the service also the Government consented to
an Inspector-General being appointed, and I was fortunate enough to
be able to secure for the post the services of Major-General Luck, an
officer as eminently fitted for this position as was General Nairne
for his.
Just at first the British officers belonging to Native Cavalry were
apprehensive that their sowars would be turned into dragoons, but
they soon found that there was no intention of changing any of their
traditional characteristics, and that the only object of giving them
an Inspector-General was to make them even better in their own way
than they had been before, the finest Irregular Cavalry in the world,
as I have not the slightest doubt they will always prove themselves to
be. Towards the end of the Simla season of 1889, Lord Lansdowne, to my
great satisfaction, announced his intention of visiting the frontier,
and asked me to accompany him.
We rode through the Khyber and Gomal Passes, visited Peshawar, Kohat,
Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, and Quetta, looked into the Kohjak tunnel,
and attended some interesting manoeuvres, carried out with a view of
testing, in as practical a manner as possible, the defensive power
of the recently-finished Takatu-Mashalik entrenchment. The principal
works were fired upon by Artillery and Infantry, and, notwithstanding
the excellent practice made, infinitesimal damage was done, which
proved the suitability of the particular design adopted for the
defences.
Lord Lansdowne expressed himself greatly interested, and much
impressed by all he saw of the frontier; and he was confirmed in his
opinion as to the desirability of establishing British influence
amongst the border tribes. With this object in view, His Excellency
authorized Sir Robert Sandeman (the Governor-General's Agent at
Quetta) to establish a series of police posts in the Gomal Pass, and
encourage intercourse between the people of the Zhob district and
ourselves.
It was high time that something should be done in this direction,
for the Amir's attitude towards us was becoming day by day more
unaccountably antagonistic. He was gradually encroaching on territory
and occupying places altogether outside the limits of Afghan control;
and every movement of ours--made quite as much in His Highness's
interest as in our own--for strengthening the frontier and improving
the communications, evidently aroused in him distrust and suspicion as
to our motives.
[Footnote 1: The total coat of the coast and frontier defences
amounted to the very moderate sum of five crores of rupees, or about
three and a half millions sterling.]
[Footnote 2: The Committees consisted, besides the Military Member of
Council and myself, of the heads of Departments with the Government of
India and at Army Head-Quarters.]
[Footnote 3: When the report of the Mobilization Committee was
submitted to the Viceroy, he recorded a minute expressing his
'warm admiration of the manner in which the arduous duty had been
conducted,' and 'his belief that no scheme of a similar description
had ever been worked out with greater thoroughness, in more detail,
and with clearer apprehension of the ends to be accomplished.' He
concluded by conveying to the members an expression of his great
satisfaction at what had been done, and recording that 'the result
of the Committee's labours is a magnificent monument of industry and
professional ability.']
[Footnote 4: Statement of transport carriage maintained in India in
the years 1878 and 1893 for military purposes, exclusive of animals
registered by the civil authorities on the latter date, and liable to
be requisitioned in time of war:
--------------------------------------------
| | | |
|Date | September, 1878 | April, 1893 |
| | | |
|----------+-----------------+-------------|
|Elephants.| 733 | 359 |
|----------+-----------------+-------------|
|Camels. | 6,353 | 3,175 |
|----------+-----------------+-------------|
|Mules. | 1,536 | 16,825 |
|----------+-----------------+-------------|
|Ponies. | ... | 782 |
|----------+-----------------+-------------|
|Bullocks. | 1,424 | 7,211 |
|----------+-----------------+-------------|
|Donkeys. | ... | 31 |
|----------+-----------------+-------------|
|Army | | |
|Transport | ... | 5,316 |
|Carts. | | |
|----------+-----------------+-------------|
|Field | | |
|Ambulance | ... | 799 |
|Carts. | | |
|-------------------------------------------]
[Footnote 5: According to treaty, the Bhopal State pays nearly two
lakhs of rupees a year towards the cost of the local battalion
maintained by the British Government for the purpose of keeping order
within the State itself. The battalion, however, has only four,
instead of eight, British officers, and it appeared to me only
reasonable that the Begum should be invited to pay the additional
amount necessary to make the battalion as efficient as the rest of the
Native army, as a 'premium of insurance' for the peace and prosperity
which Her Highness's State enjoys under our protection, and as her
quota towards the general scheme for the defence of the Empire.]
[Footnote 6: Rissala is a body of Cavalry.]
* * * * *