He does not wish to be merely wounded, he
desires death in fight rather than immunity from injury. He does not evade
danger; rather he seeks it.
Shortly after this, at the great battle of Neuve Chapelle, where the
British took over five miles of trenches and four miles of front from the
enemy, the Hindu troops distinguished themselves in magnificent charges.
They leaped out of the trenches almost before the word of command had
reached their hearing. Fleet of foot and lithe of action, they had sprung
into the enemy trenches and slashed the Hun to submission before the
heavier white men had got across the intervening country. They were
wonderful, full of dash and courage, but the difficulties of the situation
called for an alteration of their fighting _milieu_.
Feeding these troops also was a matter of considerable moment. Their
religion forbade the eating of any meat but that of the goat. These animals
must be freshly killed and must be killed by the Hindu himself. This
entailed the bringing up to the line of herds of live goats. In addition,
many other formalities of food supply had to be taken into account.
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