The Army in India: Frontier Warfare 1849-1947ByT.R. MoremanMacmillanPages:258Price:Pound 45The British military control over India distinguished itself for one special reason. Unlike previous chakravartin rajas, the British systematically disarmed the country and retained a firm control over their professional army. This, a mix of Indian units officered by Britons and wholly British units paid for by hapless Indians, was in the main an insurance policy against a repeat of 1857. But with Britannia ruling the waves and no domestic threat, the army had to be kept occupied.The fractious tribes of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) provided endless opportunity for the Raj army to test its paces. The mountain territory where India ended and Afghanistan began was the locale for a series of small wars. T.R. Moreman charts the manner in which the British developed distinct tactics for dealing with the Pathan tribesmen. One innovation was the use of aircraft for bombing and strafing. British military schools put in considerable effort to develop a mountain warfare doctrine though its application outside the NWFP has been questionable..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}The history of frontier warfare, ably sketched by the writer, indicates how tenacious the Pathan warrior is, a fact the Soviet Union had to learn later. Not surprisingly, the tactics the Soviets eventually resorted to, such as occupying flanking ridges before moving forces up a valley and the use of air power, had a remarkable similarity to those employed by the British earlier.The colonial character of frontier warfare became evident from the ease with which the successor Pakistan Army abandoned the forward positions on the frontier and faced the Indian Army in the plains of Punjab without any detriment to its security. The Indian Army, which also had to face the Chinese in its northern borders, seemed to have relied little on the techniques the British Indian army employed against the Pathans.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Dec 21, 1998--- ENDS ---
