A History of the Mahrattas v2.c51.100

v2.c51.100

While success thus attended the British arms in Maharashtra fought and faced the hardships of campaigning. The fact that Deccan Marāthās were disposed to join the forces less eagerly than their Konkani caste-fellows is probably due partly to economic causes and partly to the fact that for many years prior to the outbreak of war in 1914, some Bombay regiments were recruited almost entirely outside the Bombay Presidency. Yet, though there had been no warfare affecting the Marāthās for over a century, and the small numbers of them in the regular army had been very seldom employed on active service, the Marāthā regiments served with credit on every occasion, and many of their young recruits fought as gallantly at the end of the Mesopotamian campaign as the older soldiers had done at the battles of Shaiba and Kut.