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In sharp contrast to the smiling Canadian troops arriving to join the war
effort seen in the earlier Topical Budget item 'Sons of the Empire' (Topical Budget 165-2, 1914), this shot
captures the harsh reality of fighting on the Western Front. The exhausted
Indian soldiers look at the camera, most without expression.
Filmed close to the front line not long before a ban imposed on news coverage
by Lord Kitchener, the film conveys something of the true conditions facing
these men. Compare this with the contrived scenes of close combat seen in With
a Skirmishing Party in Flanders, released just over two weeks later.
Thousands of Indian troops had arrived in France in late 1914, and were sent
to fight at Ypres, in one of the most savage campaigns of the early war. They
paid heavily for their loyalty to the king and the empire: some battalions lost
as many as half their men. These troops are enjoying a brief respite from the
Front - most were back fighting within weeks.
The Indian Army provided two infantry and two cavalry divisions to fight on
the Western Front. They were active in some of the fiercest battles, motivated,
it seems, by a strong sense of loyalty to the King-Emperor George V.
Jan Faull
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Complete film (0:52)
