uncement by Lord Kitchener in the House of Commons late in
August that native troops from India were to be summoned to the aid of
the British army in France "came like a crash of thunder and revealed a
grim determination to fight the struggle out to a successful finish."

There was some talk in England of increasing the army by temporary
conscription, but Premier Asquith declined to consider any such
proposal.

In the House of Commons on September 9 a message was read from the
Viceroy of India, which said that the rulers of the Indian native
states, nearly 700 in number, had with one accord rallied to the defense
of the empire with personal offers of services as well as the resources
of their states.

Many of the native rulers of India also sent cables to King George
offering him their entire military and financial resources, while the
people of India by thousands offered to volunteer.

Conditions in India were indeed so satisfactory, from the British
standpoint, that Premier Asquith was able to announce that two divisions
(40,000) of British (white) soldiers were to be removed from India.

The aid that India could offer was not lightly to be considered. The
soldiery retained by the British and the rajahs, constituting India's
standing army, amount to about 400,000, not taking into consideration
the reserves and the volunteers. The rajahs maintain about 23,
soldiers, who are named Imperial Service Troops, expressly for purposes
of Imperial defense, and these have served in many wars. They served
with British, German, French, and United States troops in China from
September, 1900, to August, 1901, and gained the highest laurels for
efficiency and good conduct.

The first Indian troops called for by Lord Kitchener included two
divisions of infantry and a brigade of cavalry, adding about 70,
combatants to the allied armies in France, with approximately 130 pieces
of artillery, both light and heavy, and howitzers.

Twelve Indian potentates were selected to accompany this expeditionary
force. These included the veteran Sir Pertab Singh, regent of Jodhpur;
Sir Ganga Bahadur, Maharajah of Bikanir, and Sir Bhupindra Singh,
Maharajah of Patiala.

The expeditionary force contained units of the regular army and
contingents of the Imperial Service Troops in India, From twelve states
the viceroy accepted contingents of cavalry, infantry, sappers and
transport, besides a camel corps from Bikanir.

The Maharajah of Mysore p