German military operations in India drew the attention of the entire world. The British government in exile in Canada was especially concerned. India was their finest and richest colony; losing it would severely damage the strength of the British Empire. But if they could use India to hold the Germans back and drag them into the quagmire of war, that would be even better.
In that case, even if they lost India, the British Empire would not be at a loss. This was why, when Baron Charles Hardinge reported to the Cabinet and requested autonomy for the Indians, even permission for Indian independence, the British Cabinet agreed without hesitation.
However, it now seemed that the Indians, upon whom such high hopes had been pinned, could not stop the Germans' advance at all. In just two months, even the capital, Delhi, had fallen. At the same time, another German army corps had beaten the Anglo-Indian Army into a complete rout in southern India. The Anglo-Indian Army, having suffered grievous losses, seemed incapable of holding the Germans in India—or turning India into a quagmire of war.
What was more, the devastating losses and repeated defeats had left both the Indian National Congress and the Green Party Alliance bitterly disappointed in the British Indian colonial authorities. Their cooperation was also on the verge of collapse. Under such circumstances, it was even more impossible for the British to rely on those Indian natives to resist the German offensive.
This outcome left the British Cabinet deeply dissatisfied. However, they had no other choice but to order the British Indian colonial authorities to delay the Germans as much as possible, preventing them from occupying India too easily.
The other nations all believed that Germany's occupation of India was already as certain as ironclad fact. This rich