Indian Cavalry on the march, 1917 (c)

Photograph, World War One, Mesopotamia, 1917 (c).

By 1918 there were 304,000 Indian troops (as opposed to 107,000 British) stationed in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). In the early phase of the campaign the Indian troops were poorly trained and lacked modern equipment and proper medical facilities, but things gradually improved and by the time that this photograph was taken the entire army had been reorganised by Major-General Stanley Maude.

From a collection of 265 photographs compiled by Major W Leith-Ross, Indian Army Staff.