§ LORD LAMINGTON rose to ask the Secretary of State for War whether units of the Indian Cavalry Corps that took part in the battle of Cambrai did not behave with the greatest gallantry and performed signal service; and whether information further than what has been supplied can be given.
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, from different sources I have heard many reports of how the Indian Cavalry Corps behaved with the greatest gallantry at Cambrai. I am not in a position to verify the reports. There has been no official statement as to their conduct at Cambrai. Hence I have put this Question on the Paper, hoping that the noble Earl the Secretary of State for War may be able to give some further information. It is of course, a very delicate task for any Army Commander to distinguish between one unit and another with regard to their particular action, but if what I have heard, through indirect sources, is correct, it seems to me that a departure might be excusable in this instance, on account of the fact that this Indian Cavalry Corps has served so 416 long in France. They came over, quite contrary to all their caste customs, they crossed many thousand miles of sea, they had to break their caste rules, they came to France at an early stage of the war, during 1914 and 1915, and they had to undergo all the miseries of trench warfare. After that period I do not think they did have much actual fighting to do, but no doubt that year and a half of inactivity must have been more trying to those who constitute the Indian Cavalry Corps than actual warfare. All that time, I believe, they maintained their efficiency and discipline, and last November they were called upon to take part in the affair at Cambrai. Then it was, as I have heard, that their conduct was particularly fine, though it was not a bit more gallant than what anybody would expect of them, as everybody who knows anything of the Indian Cavalry recognises what high standards of honour and valour they have.
§ Another reason why an exception may, perhaps, be made and why we should recognise fully what this corps have done for us in this war is that we must remember they are not of our own race, but this does not prevent them from being most loyal and devoted servants of the King-Emperor. It must also be remembered that they have been placed under particular disabilities, because during this long period in France they have been absolutely divorced from their own country. They have not been able to have ten days or a fortnight's leave; it is only quite recently, I think, that some leave system has been introduced.
§ For these different reasons, therefore, although it might be invidious in many cases to single out particular corps for praise, if the noble Earl is able to verify what I have heard as rumour, I think it would be well if the public in this country were enlightened as to what they owe to this very fine body of men.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (THE EARL OF DERBY)My Lords, this is just one of the questions in regard to which any one who holds my position must be extremely grateful for having put forward, as it gives one an opportunity of testifying in public to the great services that these soldiers from India have done for their country and for their King-Emperor since the beginning of the war, and are still doing. It is quite true that they behaved with great gallantry in 417 the Cambrai operations. I may mention a little incident which I have been told. I have not officially verified it, but I believe it to be true. It relates to one particular regiment which was associated in that fight with the Guards Division, which, we all know, did so magnificently. Their gallantry on that occasion was so much appreciated by the Guards Division that the Guards made a present of plate to this particular regiment as a memento of the occasion. I think that this little incident will show the great appreciation in which these Indian Cavalry regiments are held by their brothers in arms in the other forces of His Majesty.
I think it will be understood that in a Despatch like that from the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, recently published, giving a general survey of the important operations, it is not possible to dwell on the achievements of individual regiments in detail. Many regiments, British regiments from overseas as well as Indian regiments, performed splendid feats which could not be recorded in the Despatch. I have taken a step which I hope your Lordships will recognise must not be used as a precedent. It would never do for a Secretary of State for War, whoever he is, to write to a Commander-in-Chief and ask him to include in his Despatches regiments for special mention. That, as I think everybody will agree, would be entirely wrong. But in this particular case I wrote to Sir Douglas Haig, the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief in France, and asked him to let me have an account of the part played by the Indian Cavalry in the Cambrai Battle. He has written me something which is almost in the nature of a Despatch. It is very interesting, but is too long to read now. Therefore I propose to circulate it through the Press for general information.
I again want to thank the noble Lord for having put this Question, and to testify to the great pride that all who know what the Indian Cavalry are must feel that on this occasion, as on all others, they have come up to their splendid reputation.