Nominated for the Royal Historical Society Whitfield Book Prize 2013 Nominated for the NYMAS Arthur Goodzeit Book Award 2013 Nominated for the SAHR Templer Medal 2013 This book provides the first comprehensive study of the British Army’s horse services between 1875-1925, including the use of horses in the 1899-1902 Anglo-Boer and the 1914-18 wars. There is a particular focus on the military procurement of horses in relation to the domestic horse breeding industry, foreign supply in times of war, the debate about mechanization versus the horse and an integrated military transport system. During the 1899-1902 war the recently created Army Veterinary and Remount Departments and Horse Registration Scheme were severely tested and found wanting. Following the appalling suffering and loss of horses during this War, the period 1902 to 1914 was critical for the development of the horse services. The crucial elements in effectively horsing the Army were recognized - supply, care, and organization. The Army depended on the creation of a rapid and effective horse mobilization scheme and the ability to sustain expansion in the field. The civilian horse market was central to the supply of military horses in peace and war, and by obtaining reliable information on the number and type of horses available to them, the Army could guarantee a regular supply. There was also a need to learn lessons from the 1899-1902 war for the planning and expansion of auxiliary services, for example blacksmiths, saddlers, remount depots and veterinary hospitals. On the outbreak of war in 1914 the Army had an organized reserve and mobilization scheme; a completely integrated transport system using horses, mechanized vehicles and rail networks. As the war progressed there were serious questions about the continuing supply of horses from both home and world markets, shortages of transport for moving them from the country of purchase and the growing submarine menace. Developments by 1919 in mechanical vehicles were acknowledged by many as signaling the end of the military reliance upon the horse, even though it remained the main source of motive power, and cavalry the main arm of exploitation. Many lessons from the 1899-1902 War had been learnt, shown in the improved performance of the horse services during 1914-18. The health of animals was maintained at a higher standard than in any former war and remounts were supplied to all theaters of war and to armies of allied nations. At the end of hostilities nearly eight million animals had to be quickly disposed of, as humanely as possible, to bring the Army back to its peacetime requirements

Until well into the twentieth century, pack animals were the primary mode of transport for supplying armies in the field. The British Indian Army was no exception. In the late nineteenth century, for example, it forcibly pressed into service thousands of camels of the Indus River basin to move supplies into and out of contested areas—a system that wreaked havoc on the delicately balanced multispecies environment of humans, animals, plants, and microbes living in this region of Northwest India. In Animal Labor and Colonial Warfare, James Hevia examines the use of camels, mules, and donkeys in colonial campaigns of conquest and pacification, starting with the Second Afghan War—during which an astonishing 50,000 to 60,000 camels perished—and ending in the early twentieth century. Hevia explains how during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries a new set of human-animal relations were created as European powers and the United States expanded their colonial possessions and attempted to put both local economies and ecologies in the service of resource extraction. The results were devastating to animals and human communities alike, disrupting centuries-old ecological and economic relationships. And those effects were lasting: Hevia shows how a number of the key issues faced by the postcolonial nation-state of Pakistan—such as shortages of clean water for agriculture, humans, and animals, and limited resources for dealing with infectious diseases—can be directly traced to decisions made in the colonial past. An innovative study of an underexplored historical moment, Animal Labor and Colonial Warfare opens up the animal studies to non-Western contexts and provides an empirically rich contribution to the emerging field of multispecies historical ecology.

Janet Macdonald, author of the acclaimed Feeding Nelson's Navy, now turns her attention to food in the British Army over the past two centuries. Napoleon's remark 'an army marches on its stomach' has become an over-used cliche. It is a simple statement and undoubtedly true, but like many such simple statements, the actuality of what fills that stomach and how it is provided is far more complex.??The more you think about this subject, the more questions come to you: what did the British soldier eat: how was it cooked? Did it provide a proper diet or were there health problems from vitamin and other deficiencies? Did all ranks eat the same way? Who organised the whole thing? Here then, are the answers to those questions, with some insights into the personalities who made a difference - the unsung heroes of the British military machine.

Following the fall of Burma to the Japanese in May 1942, reopening and expanding the link from India to China through Burma became the allied force's principal war aim in South-East Asia. This book argues that the campaign's development was driven more by what was logistictically possible than by pure strategic intent.

"World War II was a traumatising experience for those nations that were caught up in it. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Undivided India where over two and a half million Indians volunteered to serve in the armed forces and to fight against the evils of the fascist Axis Powers. Those Indians who served and fought had their own motives but a predominant one was pride and satisfaction in doing a soldier's job and earning a soldier's pay. Service in the Indian Army was respected, particularly in rural communities, and money sent home by a soldier could over time transform his family's social status. As it had done towards the end of World War I the Indian Army in World War II opened its arms wide and recruited from many varied castes and backgrounds, and few were found wanting. The demands made on India to provide servicemen and women were massive. Indian Army formations contributed significantly to the defeat of Italian forces in East and North Africa and then to the much more difficult confrontations with German troops. Dark days followed when Japan invaded Hong Kong, Borneo, Malaya and Burma. Indian troops predominated in the defence of those regions and many were killed in action or ordered into captivity by their commanders. After realistic re-assessments of the threats faced in Asia had been made, and the new training and motivation required had been delivered, the Indian Army emerged again in 1944 and 1945 as the most proficient and economical Allied force in Asia. Meanwhile Indian troops, not forgetting the large number of Nepalese serving in the Indian Army, fought Vichy French forces in Syria, nationalists in Persia and Iraq, and above all else Germans in North Africa and Europe – and they won their battles. This book will show you how the Indian Army was tested during World War II, and how it prevailed using courage, professionalism, honour and dignity. "

This book pays tribute to the unrecognized warriors and unsung heroes of human warfare: millions of animals from a surprising variety of species, ranging from rodents to dolphins to llamas. When one thinks of war, armies of soldiers and assaults with bullets and bombs delivered by deadly machinery typically come to mind. Throughout human history, however, animals have also played significant roles in our armed conflicts. In Animals in the Military: From Hannibal's Elephants to the Dolphins of the U.S. Navy, author John M. Kistler examines these contributions, describing the work of animals in human warfare throughout time, from lowly insects to birds to elephants. Drawing on both ancient and modern sources, the book reveals the full scope of heroics and horror committed by—and against—animal warriors in three unique areas: animals in combat, animals in support, and animals in incidental and experimental roles. Each chapter describes a single species, chronologically recounting its fascinating place in human warfare over time, from insects used as stinging projectiles to message-delivering pigeons.

This comprehensive study is the first scholarly account explaining how the British and Indian armies adapted to the peculiar demands of fighting an irregular tribal opponent in the mountainous no-man's-land between India and Afghanistan. It does so by discussing how a tactical doctrine of frontier fighting was developed and 'passed on' to succeeding generations of soldiers. As this book conclusively demonstrates this form of colonial warfare always exerted a powerful influence on the organisation, equipment, training and ethos of the Army in India.

Recasts the role of the Indian Army on the Western Front, questioning why its performance was traditionally deemed a failure.

The British Empire played a crucial part in the First World War, supplying hundreds of thousands of soldiers and labourers as well as a range of essential resources, from foodstuffs to minerals, mules, and munitions. In turn, many imperial territories were deeply affected by wartime phenomena, such as inflation, food shortages, combat, and the presence of large numbers of foreign troops. This collection offers a comprehensive selection of essays illuminating the extent of the Empire’s war contribution and experience, and the richness of scholarly research on the subject. Whether supporting British military operations, aiding the British imperial economy, or experiencing significant wartime effects on the home fronts of the Empire, the war had a profound impact on the colonies and their people. The chapters in this volume were originally published in Australian Historical Studies, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, First World War Studies or The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.