casualties. In the first battle of Ypres at Flanders in 1914 a platoon
of Sikhs died fighting to the last man. who shot himself with his last
cartridge rather than surrender.
The idea of self-sacrifice and battlefield heroics proved to be a
necessity for the British as they were being pushed back by the Germans
time and time again. In fact, the British felt it necessary to
encourage Sikh dedication by allowing the Sikhs areas to set up
temporary Gurdwaras (Sikh Temples), to observe the birthdays of Sikh
Gurus, to use traditional Sikh weapons (such as Sikh quoits and the
sabre), and it was not uncommon to see the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth
Sahib, being carried before marching Sikh battalion or even on the
front lines among the battling Sikh troops.
AS the allied nations stepped closer to the second global conflict,
this time with the Imperial Japanese and the Germans, Sikh soldiers
once again stepped forward and became the back bone of the British
Indian Army. During the wars, Sikhs chose not to wear helmets as this
would be going against their religion. Many Sikhs continued to wear
their turbans when taking part in warfare. Private Bertram Smith, who
fought in the British Army in the First World War, recalls in his diary
that fellow Sikh soldiers in the trenches would often be seen removing
bullet shots from their turbans.
Nothing can fully commemorate the contribution of these fine warriors
who fought disease, filth, gas attacks, and the onslaught of German and
Turkish troops and maxim guns with only their turbans to protect them
from head wounds and their unshorn hair and long beards, as prescribed
by their religious faith, in disease infested, muddy trenches.
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