The 4th Indian Infantry Division, also known as the Red Eagle Division, is an infantry division of the Indian Army. This division of the British Indian Army was formed in Egypt in 1939 during the Second World War. During the Second World War, it took part in campaigns in East Africa, Syria, North Africa and Italy. Post independence, the division is part of the I Corps and headquartered at Prayagraj.
The Indian Army during World War II, a British force also referred to as the British Indian Army, began the war, in 1939, numbering just under 200,000 men. By the end of the war, it had become the largest volunteer army in history, rising to over 2.5 million men in August 1945. Serving in divisions of infantry, armour and a fledgling airborne force, they fought on three continents in Africa, Europe and Asia.
The 5th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II that fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the "Ball of Fire". It was one of the few Allied divisions to fight against three different armies - the Italian, German and Japanese armies.
The 23rd Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II from 1941 to at least 1947. The brigade was formed in February 1941, at Loralai in India and in June 1941, assigned to the 14th Indian Infantry Division. In March 1942, the brigade was reassigned to the 23rd Indian Infantry Division, just before being renumbered 123rd Indian Infantry Brigade. As the 123rd the brigade served in the Burma Campaign with not only the 23rd but with the 14th again and the 5th Indian Infantry Division.
The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th Regiment of Foot and the 84th Regiment of Foot. The regiment saw service in many small conflicts and both World War I and World War II until 1968, when the regiment chose to be disbanded rather than amalgamated with another regiment, one of only two infantry regiments in the British Army to do so, with the other being the Cameronians.
The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army. The class composition of the regiment was and is primarily formed by Maratha recruits from the former Maratha Empire. The men are mostly drawn from all over the state of Maharashtra, with some percentage from Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka including Coorg. The regimental centre has been in Belgaum, Karnataka, since 1922, which was part of the Bombay Presidency at that time. The battle cry of Maratha Light Infantry is, "Bola Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jai ". The regiment has won over 60 battle honours, including 21 in World War I.
The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the Durham Light Infantry to form The Light Infantry, which in turn was merged with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Royal Green Jackets to become The Rifles in 2007.
The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was formed in 1922 as part of the British Indian Army. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th (Training) Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. In 1945, the prenominal "12th" was dropped when the British Indian Army dispensed with prenominal numbering of its regiments. After the independence in 1947, it was formed into the Frontier Force Regiment, part of the army of Pakistan.
The 8th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company and later transferred to the British Indian Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment served in World War I and World War II, before being one of the six Gurkha regiments transferred to the Indian Army after independence in 1947. Since then it has served in a number of conflicts including the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971. Today the 8th Gorkha Rifles is one of the most celebrated regiments of the Indian Army, having received numerous citations for bravery in the field of battle, and even producing one of the two field marshals of India, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, of the Indian Army.
The 23rd Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Burma Campaign. It was then reformed as a division of the independent Indian Army in 1959.
The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment fought in many conflicts, including both the First and Second World Wars, until 1970, when it was amalgamated with the Sherwood Foresters to form the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. In September 2007, the regiment amalgamated with the Cheshire Regiment and the Staffordshire Regiment to form the Mercian Regiment.
The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot.
The 1st Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamated with the 14th, 15th and 16th Punjab regiments to form the Punjab Regiment, an existing infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army.
Lieutenant-General Sir Harold Rawdon Briggs, was a senior British Indian Army officer, active during World War I and World War II and the Malayan Emergency.
Major-General Denys Whitehorn Reid was an officer in the British Army and the British Indian Army during World War I and World War II.
The 11th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was relocated from India to Egypt in the middle of August 1939 and trained at Fayed in Ismailia Governorate on the Great Bitter Lake. In October 1939, it was assigned to the 4th Indian Infantry Division. In May 1942, it was attached to the 5th Indian Infantry Division and in June the 2nd South African Infantry Division when it surrendered after Tobruk was captured by the Germans and Italians in 1942. The brigade was then reformed in Egypt in October 1943 and once more assigned to the 4th Indian Division serving in Tunisia, Italy and, at the end of the war, in Greece.
The 49th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in October 1941 at Bolarum in India. It was assigned to the 19th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade fought in the Burma Campaign and moved between a number of infantry divisions. It was with the 14th Indian Infantry Division between March and May in 1942, the 23rd Indian Infantry Division between May 1942 and March 1944, the 17th Indian Infantry Division between March and April 1944 and the served with the 23rd Indian Division until the end of the war. The Brigade is currently a reserve formation on the Western Front.
The 20th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II.
The 25th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in February, 1941 at Ahmednagar in India and assigned to the 10th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade was attached to the 8th Indian Infantry Division in August 1941, and took part in the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. Returning to the 10th Indian Division in August 1941, they arrived in the desert just in time for the Battle of Gazala and continued to fight in the Western Desert Campaign and later in the Italian Campaign. While in Italy the brigade was attached to the British 46th Infantry Division from 7 to 11 December 1944.
The Zhob Brigade was an infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in November 1920, for service on the North West Frontier. During World War Two it was normal practice for newly formed battalions to be posted to the North West Frontier for service before being sent to Africa, Burma or Italy.
