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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 Indian Army during British rule, also referred to as the British Indian Army, was the main military force of the British Indian Empire until 1947. It was responsible for the defence of both British India and the princely states, which could also have their own armies. As quoted in the Imperial Gazetteer of India, "The British Government has undertaken to protect the dominions of the Native princes from invasion and even from rebellion within: its army is organized for the defence not merely of British India, but of all possessions under the suzerainty of the King-Emperor." The Indian Army was an important part of the forces of the British Empire, in India and abroad, particularly during the First World War and the Second World War.
The 77th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in India in June 1942. The brigade was assigned to the Chindits and organised into eight columns for operations behind enemy lines in Burma. In March 1945, it was converted into the 77th Indian Parachute Brigade and assigned to the 44th Airborne Division.
39th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II, which became a training division in 1943 after its recovery into India from Burma. The division was re-raised after independence and 39 Mountain Division is presently located in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh under XVI Corps.
The 17th Infantry Division is a formation of the Indian Army. During the Second World War, it had the distinction of being continually in combat during the three-year-long Burma Campaign. The division was re-raised in 1960 and the 17 Mountain Division is presently located in Sikkim under XXXIII Corps.
The 20th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army in the Second World War, formed in India, and took part in the Burma Campaign during the Second World War. After the war, the bulk of the division was deployed to French Indochina to oversee the handover from Japanese to French rule. For nearly all is operational life the division was commanded by Major-General Douglas Gracey. The division's history is subject of open source and historical records research, including the Order of Battle, on an open access, WW2 history website and subject of updates in August 2021
The 14th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Arakan Campaign 1942–43, and was subsequently converted into a Training Division, providing drafts of replacements for units of the Fourteenth Army during the Burma Campaign.
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 44th Indian Airborne Division was an airborne forces division of the Indian Army during World War II, created in 1944. It provided a parachute battalion for one minor airborne operation, but the war ended before the complete formation could take part..
The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army and before 1895, the Bengal Army, that saw active service during World War I.
The 31st Indian Armoured Division was an armoured division of the Indian Army during World War II, formed in 1940, originally as the 1st Indian Armoured Division; it consisted of units of the British Army and the British Indian Army. When it was raised, it consisted of two Armoured Brigades and one Motor Brigade.
The 8th (Lucknow) Division was a formation of the British Indian Army's Northern Army that was first formed as a result of the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army in 1903. The Division remained in India on internal security duties during World War I, though the 8th (Lucknow) Cavalry Brigade was transferred to the 1st Indian Cavalry Division and served in France on the Western Front, and the 22nd Lucknow Infantry Brigade served as part of the 11th Indian Division in Egypt.
The 44th Merwara Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1824, when the Sylhet Light Infantry was raised. This first 44th eventually became the 44th Gurkhas and later 8th Gurkha Rifles.
The Burma Corps ('Burcorps') was an Army Corps of the Indian Army during the Second World War. It was formed in Prome, Burma, on 19 March 1942, took part in the retreat through Burma, and was disbanded on arrival in India in May 1942.
The 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in January 1942, at Jhansi in India and was assigned to the 23rd Indian Infantry Division and served in the Burma Campaign. In March 1942, it was reassigned to the 17th Indian Infantry Division with whom it remained for the rest of the war apart from in May 1942, when it was attached to the 39th Indian Infantry Division.
The 268th Indian Infantry Brigade is an infantry formation of the Indian Army, previously of the British Indian Army.
The 11th Gurkha Rifles was a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in Mesopotamia and Palestine in May 1918, saw active service in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War, and was disbanded in April 1922.
Formation signs at the division level were first introduced in the British Army in the First World War. They were intended (initially) as a security measure to avoid displaying the division's designation in the clear. They were used on vehicles, sign posts and notice boards and were increasingly, but not universally, worn on uniform as the War progressed. Discontinued by the regular army after 1918, only a few Territorial divisions continued to wear them before 1939. Reintroduced officially in late 1940 in the Second World War, divisional formation signs were much more prevalent on uniforms and were taken up by many other formations, independent brigades, corps, armies, overseas and home commands, military districts and lines of communication areas. The sign could be based on many things, geometry, heraldry, regional or historical associations, a pun, the role of the division or a combination.
References
- ↑ Rinaldi, Richard A. "Gurkha Regiments in the British Army Post World War II" (PDF). Orbat.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2014.