Ottoman Empire 24, 204–47
alliance with Germany 20, 207–11, 221, 245
anti-British feeling 221–3
decline 211–12
entry into war 205–6, 221
and Janissary Corps 211, 244–5
see also Jihad
Ottoman Fourth Army 229–30
Palamcottahs, 63rd 119, 122
Pan-Islamism 220
Panama 293, 325
Panama Canal 33
Panthéon de la Guerre (painting) 408–10
Paris Peace Conference (1919) 376
Parry, D.H: With Haig on the Somme 36
Pashtuns 18, 59
Pathans 58, 76, 365
40th Pathans 134–5
Pera Palace Hotel (Istanbul) 227, 235
Pershing, General John J. 342, 359
Persia 237
Peru 325
Pétain, Philippe 27, 168, 193
Petitdemange, Colonel Eugène 195
Philippines 332
Pöch, Rudolph 260
poison gas attacks 8, 169, 345
and Battle of Loos 9–10, 97
development of chlorine 9
and Second Battle of Ypres 1–4, 5, 6—7, 9
Portuguese 346–7
PoW camps (Germany) 250–68
and anthropologists’ studies 260–4
association with Völkerschauen 258–60
German practice of racial mixing in 257–8
photographs and cartoons depicting 259, 262–3, 264
recording of languages by Phonographic Commission 265–8
see also Halbmondlager
PoWs
and Hague Convention 257
numbers of 257
Pratap, Mahendra 237
Price, Julius M.: On the Path of Adventure 188
Pritchard, Colonel 314, 315, 317
Prussian War Ministry 257–8
races guerrières 38, 159, 176, 178–9, 190, 197–200
racial thinking, pre-war rise of 37–9
Rajputs, 13th 121
Ram Singh, Jemadar 66
Rama VI, King of Siam 322, 323, 324, 375
Randolph, A. Philip 327
Reims, Battle of (1918) 199, 349
remembrance, act of 416–23
Rennenkampf, General Paul von 100–1
Reynolds, David 39
‘Rhineland Bastards’ 384–5
Rhodesians, 2nd 131
Rifles, 57th 7, 64, 65, 66, 67, 243
Rifles, 58th 92–4, 98
Rifles, 59th 98
Roberts, Charles 67–8
Roberts, Lord 56
Roberts, Private Needham 347, 411
Rogers, Charles 367
Röhm, Ernst 414
Roos, Julia 381
Royal Horse Artillery 41
Royal Pavilion Hospital (Brighton) 82–3, 84–8, 90–2, 254
Royal Prussian Phonographic Commission 265–8
Ruckteschell, Walter von 414, 415
Russia 276–7, 344
Reinsurance Treaty with Germany 209
and Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 344
Russian Army 276
Russian cemeteries (Western Front) 277
Russian Empire 24
Russian Expeditionary Force 277, 408
Russian Legion 277
St Nazaire 340
Sayyid Ahmed ash-Sharif, Grand Senussi 232–3
Scheck, Raffael 202
Schlieffen Plan 49, 50
Schmier, Victor 188
Schnee, Heinrich 111, 112, 113, 115, 125, 371
Schowingen, Karl 215, 216
Scott, Emmett 334, 362
Scott, Sir Walter 417
Sechault 356
Secret Information Concerning Black American Troops 350–2, 353–4, 388
Selective Service Act (1917) (US) 332
Senussi sect 231–2, 233, 234, 246
Services of Supply (SOS) 338–9
Seychelles Labour Battalion 138
Sheikh-ul-Islam 204
Sherman, Daniel 419
Siam/Siamese 321–5, 375
declaration war on Germany 321–2, 323
flag 324–5
Siamese Expeditionary Force 323–4, 411
Sib Singh 267
Sikh soldiers 43, 45, 58, 76, 187
Sikhs, 47th 6, 80, 98
Silburn, P.A.: The Colonies and Imperial Defence 170–1
Silver Helmets, Battle of the (1914) 100
Sinclair, Ian 2–3
Sioux 365
sleeping sickness 146
Smith-Dorrien, General Sir Horace 26–7, 102, 129
Smuts, Jan 129–31, 138, 314–15, 398–9
Social Darwinism 37–8
Sombart, Werner 222
Somme, Battle of the (1916) 173, 175, 198, 302
South Africa/South Africans 280
involvement in British campaign against German East Africa 127, 128–32, 138–9, 146
and Mendi tragedy 271–2
support for British war effort 21
unwilling for blacks to play an active role in the war 312–13
South African Defence force 127
South African Infantry, 9th 131
South African Native Labour Corps 270, 272, 280, 312–20
conditions in compounds and treatment of 318–19, 320
recruitment 315–17
requirements for deployment 314
segregation and closed compounds 314–15, 317–18, 320
South West Africa, German (Namibia) 108–9, 127, 128
Spahis 282, 288, 291
Spanish Flu 147, 349–50, 372
Stamfordham, Lord 23
Stiehl, Otto 262
Stoddard, Lothrop: The Rising Tide of Color 397–8
Stowers, Corporal Freddie 357
Strangling Wolf, George 12
Stuart-Stephens, Major Darnley 173–4
Stumpf, Professor Carl 265
Sukuna, Lala 279
Sweet-Escott, Sir E.B. 279
Tanga, Battle of (1914) 117, 119–25, 127
‘Tanzania Park’ (nr Hamburg) 412–14
Thomas, Edward 101
Thorne, William 52
368th US Infantry Regiment 359–60
369th US Infantry Regiment (Colored) see Harlem Hellfighters
370th US Infantry Regiment 356
371st US Infantry Regiment 356–7
Times, The 50–1, 311–12, 319
Tirailleurs Indochinois 198–9
Tirailleurs Sénégalais (Senegalese Riflemen) 155–6, 168–70, 175–82, 274, 284, 290, 334, 366
and Battle of Chemin des Dames 190–4
belief that they were of low intellect 176, 177–8
as ‘cannon fodder’ 194–5
casualty statistics 200
and coupe-coupe weapon 181–2
depiction and images of 179–80
deployment of during war 156, 160, 175
establishment of 155–6
execution of by German forces at Chères (1940) 201–2
explanations for supposed poor performance in defence 176–7
French propaganda images of 179–80
German propaganda and atrocity stories against 180–1, 183, 188–9
graves of 418–19
Mangin’s vision for 156–7
manual for officers leading 175–6
number of battalions 175
and recapture of Fort Douaumont 169–70
recruitment of 162–5, 195–7
as shock troops 158, 175, 192, 194, 199–200
To the Colored Soldiers of the US Army (leaflet) 360–2
Togoland 101, 106–7, 148, 218
‘total war’ 38
trade, global 34–5
trenches 32–3, 50
conditions in the 68
digging of by the British 281
Trevelyan, Sir Ernest: India and the War 51
Triple Entente 210
Trotha, Lothar von 415–16
&n
bsp; Truett, Robert 394
tsetse-fly 131, 132
Tsingtao 300, 301
Tull, Walter 25, 297–8
Turner, Mary 393
Two Chiefs, Ambrose 12
Ulrich, Susanne 187–8
United States
declaration of war against Germany (1917) 325–6, 327
monitoring of African-American regiments and kept under tight control after war 385–6
race riots (1919) 395–6
racial attitudes 326, 350–2
see also African Americans
United States Army
at outbreak of war 331–2
see also African Americans
Universal Negro Improvement Association 328
Uruguay 325
Van Vollenhoven, Joost 164, 197
Van Walleghem, Pastor Achiel 286–90, 295–6, 305–9, 310, 405–6, 407
Vansittart, Eden: Notes on Goorkhas 56
Vardaman, Senator James K. 335, 390–1, 394–5
Verdala, SS 294–5
Verdun, Battle of (1916) 166–8, 278
Versailles, Treaty of 103, 148
Vimy Ridge, Battle of (1917) 11
Völkerschauen 358–9, 375
Walter, Dr Paul 94
Wangenheim, Baron Hans von 214
War Council (British) 46–7
War Office (British) 28–9
Ware, Fabian 419
Waterloo, Battle of (1815) 417
Weber, Max 182–3
Weinberger Camp 250
Wells, H.G.
Mr. Britling Sees It Through 30–1
The Sleeper Awakes 172
The War of the Worlds 31
West Africa (French) see French West Africa
West African Frontier Force 127, 136
West India Regiment 136
West Indies 401 see also British West Indies; British West Indies Regiment; Caribbean
Wijtschate 64, 65
Wilde’s Rifles, 57th see Rifles, 57th
Wilhelm II, Kaiser 207–8, 209, 219–20, 223, 244, 371
Willcocks, Lieutenant General Sir James 57–8, 59, 61, 64, 66, 70–1, 72, 99
Wilson, President Woodrow 327, 383, 395
winter (1914-15) 69
women
children of German in mixed-race marriages 384–5
concern over contact between Indian soldiers and English 88–90
contact between French and colonial men 284–6
non-European view of French and Belgian 292
see also The Horror on the Rhine
‘world war’, term of 16
Wünsdorf 248–50, 252, 256, 258, 259, 260, 261
Yoruba people 18, 134, 136
Young Turks 206, 221
Ypres, First Battle of (1914) 63–8
Ypres, Second Battle of (1915) 1–5, 423
Allied counter-attacks 5–6
chlorine gas attacks 1–4, 5, 6–7, 9
death toll 6, 7
German advance 5
Indian Corps involvement 6, 7, 95–6, 334
Native Canadians fighting at 4–5
Zola, Emile: La Fécondité 151
Zulus 171, 173
About this Book
The extraordinary story of how Europe’s Great War became the World’s War – a multi-racial, multi-national struggle fought in Africa and Asia as well as in Europe, which pulled in men and resources from across the globe.
On 12 August 1914, Alhaji Grunshi became the first soldier under British orders to fire at the enemy in the ‘Great War’. He did so not in defence of violated Belgium, but as part of the British invasion of German Togoland, in West Africa. At the same time, in London, plans were being hatched to ferry the sepoys of India’s army half-way around the world, while in Paris an ambitious and aggressive general was winning the argument to recruit ever greater numbers of men from France’s African empire. In Berlin, German agents were attempting to corral the Ottoman sultan into declaring a global Jihad in which the world’s 300 million Muslims would fight alongside the Kaiser.
In a sweeping narrative, David Olusoga not only portrays the kaleidoscope of peoples that was the Western Front but also outlines the wider geography of the war, from Kabul to Karachi and from Dar-es-Salaam to Bangkok. Throughout, he exposes the shocking paraphernalia of the era’s racial obsessions, which dictated which men would serve, how they would serve, and to what degree they would suffer – both during the war itself and in its aftermath.
As vivid and moving as it is revelatory and authoritative, The World’s War explores the experiences and sacrifices of 4 million non-European, non-white people whose stories have remained too long in the shadows.
Reviews
‘This is a ground-breaking and important book that will surely reframe our understanding of the Great War. In graphic and meticulous detail Olusoga brings to life the untold story of how black and brown men perished on the Western Front and in the multiple theatres of war across the globe. He charts a First World War that was global not just because it dominated the lives of the sons and daughters of Europe, but because it engulfed the sons and daughters of empire as well, and for that reason it can be described as the world’s first global war.’
The Rt Hon. David Lammy MP
‘In a great rarity for this centenary year, David Olusoga has written an unusual and original book – and written it beautifully, too. His vivid, readable and carefully researched account is a reminder that the war of 1914–1918 was not just one of French poilus and British soldier-poets, but truly a world war, involving millions of men from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and leaving behind a seldom-explored legacy of death and memory that stretched around the globe.’
Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost and To End All Wars: How the First World War Divided Britain
About the Author
DAVID OLUSOGA presented the BBC’s two-part series The World’s War, screened in August 2014. A historian and BBC producer, he is a specialist on the themes of colonialism, slavery and racism. David is the co-author of the much-praised The Kaiser’s Holocaust (2010). @DavidOlusoga
A Letter from the Publisher
We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.
We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.
If you have any questions, feedback or just want to say hi, please drop us a line on [email protected]
@HoZ_Books
HeadofZeusBooks
The story starts here.
First published in 2014 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © David Olusoga 2014
The moral right of David Olusoga to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (HB) 9781781858974
(E) 9781781858967
Endpapers: The War of the Races, from Mid-week Pictorial, published in The New York Times, 31 December 1919; Library of Congress, Serials and Government Publications Division, Washington, D.C.
Head of Zeus Ltd
Clerkenwell House
45–47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT
www.headofzeus.com
books on Archive.
The World's War Page 53