He then became General Officer Commanding 7th Indian Division in India in 1911 and Chief of the General Staff in India from 1912. In January 1916 he was appointed Commander of the Mesopotamian Force, as part of an expeditionary force sent to relieve Sir Charles Townshend's troops at Kut. In 1913 he was given the colonelcy of the East Lancashire Regiment, which he held until 1920.