The Great War is often depicted as an unexpected catastrophe. But for millions who had been living under imperialist rule,terrorism and degradation were nothing new. By Pankaj Mishra‘nowadays on the Western Front,” the German sociologist Max Weber wrote in September 1917, and there stands a dross of African and Asiatic savages and all the world’s rabble of thieves and lumpens.” Weber was referring to the millions of Indian,African, Arab, and Chinese and Vietnamese soldiers and labourers,who were then fighting with British and French forces in Europe, as well as in several ancillary theatres of the first world war.
Faced with manpower shortages, or British imperialists had recruited up to 1.4 million Indian soldiers. France enlisted nearly 500000 troops from its colonies in Africa and Indochina. Nearly 400000 African Americans were also inducted into US forces. The first world wars truly unknown soldiers are these non-white combatants.
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Source: guardian.co.uk