Abstract
The study of military history is
as old as the history of mankind itself. Earlier the accounts of battles and
wars were recorded in the form of epics and ballads. The forms of recording
military accounts and events evolved with time, with war diaries being used as
the primary source for writing of military history since the turn of the
twentieth century. As the military histories are used to examine the past and
make decisions about the future, it is essential that these are written
honestly. Timely and honest generation and maintenance of war diaries is
essential so that not only the military histories are written correctly but the
right lessons are learnt from them.
Introduction
War is a
serious business. It may be the last, and at times the only, resort to resolve disputes
but it represents the failure of civility, of reason, of humane means of
resolving conflicts and disputes. It is against the civilisational norms as it
allows for the concentration of power in a select few and infringes on human
rights.
The conduct of war is a complicated and difficult affair. It is also the most chaotic and stressful activity in which humans engage. It needs total attention of the military professional as not only the adversary but the very nature of warfare has to be fought and overcome to achieve the desired end-state. But as Sir BH Liddell Hart stated, the “direct experience is inherently too limited (for most military professionals) to form an adequate foundation either for theory or application.”1 the armed forces need to study the past in the hope of finding tools for understanding war and preparing commanders and units for it.
It is also important to bear in mind
that while war may be fought by states through their armed forces, it is
ultimately fought by individuals who are scarred by their experience, both
physically and mentally. It is, thus, not only the nations and societies that
are affected by conflicts but these impact human psychology and psyche as well.
This makes the study of war important to understand its impact and avoid past
mistakes.
As history is filled with stories of war
and conflicts, the field of historiography—the writing of history—is often
rooted in recording military accounts and events. The early records were based
on oral accounts of the conflicts but as wars evolved, the methods of recording
history also evolved with the written records providing most of the
information. Over time, the war diaries and historical reports generated by
units and formations became the basic tools and foundations of official
histories and are the essential primary source for such historiography.
Use
of War Diaries and Historical Reports
The
war diaries have been kept and maintained for centuries but its format, as is
known today, was standardised during the South African War 1899-1902, though it
was during World War I that daily record-keeping was initiated when the British
Expeditionary Forces implemented the same.2 Generally written by the regimental adjutant
or nominated junior officer, the purpose of these reports, known as war
diaries, was to provide a record of operations for the official history of
conflict and to provide information to allow the army to wage war more
effectively. The war diaries were kept by all units and formations including
every branch of staff of general headquarters. The Indian Army adopted the same
practice and there is a rich collection of the war diaries that offers
invaluable insight into the conduct of military operations by the Indian Army.
In later years, the practice of generating annual historical reports was
adopted to cover the period when the units and formations were not involved in
active operations. They are today the primary source of history writing in the
army.
At the functional level, Army Orders 7
of 1983 (AO 7/83) and 8 of 1983 (AO 8/83) lay down the detailed mechanism for
initiating and writing of war diaries and historical reports. AO 7/83 pertains
to the generation of historical reports, the purpose of which is to “provide a
record of motivities of formations and units”.3 It
is required to be submitted by all formations/units when not committed on
actual operations or internal security duties and should include the following:
n Location of the unit.
n Change in organisation.
n Postings and transfers of officers.
n Exercises carried out.
n Nature of training carried out and
lessons learnt.
n Administrative problems and how these
were solved.
n Morale of personnel and matters affecting
it.
n Weapons and equipment, with some details
of their performance in the case of new items.
The guidelines for generating war
diaries are laid down in AO 8/83. These are required to be compiled half
yearly, prepared in triplicate, when the unit or formation is employed on
actual operations and on internal security, including counter-insurgency
operations. When the unit or formation is employed on ‘actual operations and
during mobilisation’, two copies of the war diary are to be sent to the
Military Operations Directorate (MO-6) under the Army Headquarters, General
Staff Branch but when deployed on internal security, including
counter-insurgency operations, a copy each is to be sent to the Historical
Division of Ministry of Defence and Records Offices by the units, whereas
formations are required to send them to the Historical Division only.
War diaries are generally written and
maintained by the regimental adjutant or nominated junior officer and though
they may not be of great literary merit, they can provide a unique insight into
a unit’s and individuals’ experience of an operation or the war. They are of
importance as these are the basic records to provide a detailed and accurate
account of the operations that can be used to prepare the history of the
operation (or war).
Observations
With
such import, the moot question is - are the war diaries maintained in a manner
that they meet the required standards? As the war diaries are to be maintained
during operations on a daily basis, it is generally not a popular task, or
something sought after, within a large number of units as it is regraded to be
something that interferes with more important tasks. However, in spite of a
large number of war diaries kept in a tardy manner, there are some very
well-kept war diaries with a detailed account of the operations. In this
regard, it is interesting to note that it is generally a unit in the thick of
action, involved in heavy and bitter fighting, that kept the war diaries in a
detailed and meticulous manner and the units under the least pressure had
poorly maintained war diaries. One reason for poorly maintained war diaries is
that these are not written on a daily basis, as the events unfolded. If the war
diary is written after a lapse of several days or even weeks, factual errors
are likely to creep in and the account may not be of any value thereafter. A
large number of war diaries unfortunately fall under such a category.
Even with historical reports, the
lessons learnt, problems and shortcomings, matters affecting morale, lapses,
and details of performance of weapons and equipment are generally not included,
and the emphasis is on visits and perceived achievements, which are not of much
historical relevance. This disturbing trend can be observed in recent war
diaries also. Both, historical reports and war diaries are increasingly being
used for publicity (for want of better
word) with emphasis on including large number of photographs to showcase
activities of little, if any, historical import while tiding over the failures
and shortcomings which invariably will still be existing.
Shortcomings
Noted
A
major shortcoming of war dairies and historical reports is that most of them
are less explicit than what they should be.They provide insufficient details
and information included is not adequately definite. Yet, there are enough war
diaries of yester years that provide detailed information that is usable for
any historical study. War diary of an artillery regiment noted in 1945 that
“Reaction of almost all Indian officers to new pay code is very unfavourable as
they feel that the new pay code is not good enough to attract any capable man
into the Army”4 while another noted that “The
morale of the men is good although many wonder just what are they doing sitting
on the gun site when there appears to be no apparent likelihood of hostilities.
To these men, war seems to be dragging on and with no prospect of an early
finish”.5
The war dairies of yore also contain
details of trials and new equipment. War diary of HQ (RA), 33 Indian Corps
records that 8 Medium Regiment, RA carried out trials to “decide the relative
effectiveness with different permissible fuses now that 117 and 118 fuses are
not allowed to be used”.6 The war diary goes on to record the details of
the results and recommendations made by the regiment. Similarly, the war diary
of Camp Commandant, Headquarters 15 Indian Corps noted on 27 Jul 1944 that
“Orders received for reorganisation of infantry battalions of 25 and 26 Indian
Division on standard infantry Division will be carried out as soon as
possible”.7
As can be seen from aforementioned
examples, war diaries and historical reports, if properly maintained and
recorded, can be a rich source of information that can be used to write the
military history and also draw relevant lessons for future. It is not that only
the war diaries of pre-independence era included details of operations. War
diaries of recent times, including of units committed in counter insurgency
operations, are also an invaluable source of record of operation and lend to a
serious study of conduct of military operations.
Recommendations
The
AOs mentioned above lay down the guidelines on writing and maintenance of war
diaries and historical reports and they need to be followed while recording the
daily events but it is important to remember that the main purpose of these two
records is ultimately to write the military history and draw lessons for
future. This is the most important aspect that needs to be kept central to the
task of maintaining these documents. To this end, the details being recorded
should be factually correct, honest, and avoid any hyperbole. It is worth
noting that war diaries are not hagiography. They are simple, honest records of
daily occurrences. The following may be of use:
n Operations
and activities should be recorded in as great a detail as possible.
n The
war diary should be maintained on a daily basis, with the activities being
recorded on the same day on which they take place.
n Comments
on experience gained, or any lessons learnt, should be included. This can be
done personally by the commanding officer in case of a unit or by a senior
staff officer in case of a formation headquarters.
Regarding
historical reports, it will be wise to ask the following while writing the
same:
n Are
the details mentioned (or being recorded) of any relevance or use?
n Have
the shortcomings noticed, or lapses been included?
n Can
the details included in the report be used to draw any lessons?
A major lacunae in generation of
historical reports is that the AO 7/83 states that, if required, appropriate
security classification may be given but generally secret/top secret material
should be avoided. As the unit/formation may err in appropriately classifying
information, it results in a large amount of informationbeing left out from
these reports which rightfully should have been included.
Conclusion
India
unfortunately does not have a culture of serious study and writing of military
history. Most of the war accounts are personal narratives or hagiographic
accounts written mostly by retired army officers. There are hardly any
objective analyses by trained historians on the les affaires militaires.
Even the recent trend of writing operational accounts and narratives is too
jingoistic to be of any real learning value to any military commander. A major
reason is that the primary sources themselves, that is the war diaries and
historical reports, are either poorly written and/or are not accessible for
study. While the issue of developing this culture needs to be addressed at
multiple levels, one thing that can be addressed and implemented without much
ado is that the units and formations maintain the war diaries and historical
reports in a truthful and honest manner so that they can be used to learn the
right lessons. These lessons are essential for military leaders to develop
critical thinking and decision making skills while facing ever increasingly
complex challenges, as it is only by drawing from a wealth of lessons learned
in past conflicts that a commander can prepare himself (or herself) for the
next battle. The present generation of commanders owe this to the future
generations.
Endnotes
1 Hart, B.H.
Liddle, Why Don’t We Learn From History? (London : Sophorn, 2012)
2 Kleynhans, Evert. (2012). “The War Diary as a
Historical Source”, Paper presented at Access to military and regimental
archives in Southern Africa, Pretoria,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325060721_The_ War_Diary_as_a_Historical_Source
3 Army Order 7 of
1983
4 War Diary 28th (Punjab) Para Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment,
September 1947
5 File No
601/2439/WD, War Diary of 4th Indian LAA Regiment ( Now 29 LAA Regiment)
6 War Diary of HQ Royal Artillery, 33 Indian
Corps (File No MISC/566/H, Identifier: PR_000004032985), National Archives of
India, New Delhi
7 War
Diary of HQ Royal Artillery, 33 Indian Corps (File No MISC/566/H, Identifier:
PR_000004032985), National Archives of India, New Delhij
@Colonel Mandeep
Singh (Retd)
served in Army Air Defence. A graduate of Defence Services Staff College, he
commanded his Regiment during operations against Pakistan and later, along the
Line of Actual Control. He has authored seven books including “History of
Indian Air Defence Artillery 1940-1945” and “Forgotten: History of Hong Kong
Singapore Royal Artillery.”