The 11th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

Indian Army during World War II 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.Sumner, p.25 By the end of the war, it had become the largest volunteer army in history, ...

. It formed part of

Indian III Corps The III Corps is a formation of the Indian Army that was formed during World War I in Mesopotamia during its respective campaign. Prior to the reorganization of the British and Indian forces in Mesopotamia, it was designated as the Tigris Corps. ...

in the

Malaya Command The Malaya Command was a Command (military formation), formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederat ...

during the

Battle of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...

. The division was re-raised on 1 April 1965 and is presently part of the

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII ...

of Southern Command. It is presently responsible for safeguarding the borders with Pakistan along Southern Rajasthan and Gujarat.

History

It was originally commanded by Major-General Murray-Lyon until 24 December 1941. Under Murray-Lyon the 11th Indian Division was defeated at the

Battle of Jitra The Battle of Jitra was fought between the invading Japanese and Allied forces during the Malayan Campaign of the Second World War, from 11–13 December 1941. The British defeat compelled Arthur Percival to order all Allied aircraft stationed ...

and suffered some of its worst casualties during the retreat from Jitra and at the

Battle of Gurun The Battle of Gurun was a minor engagement between the Japanese and Commonwealth forces during the Malayan Campaign of the Second World War. The battle occurred when the 11th Indian Division attempted to slow down the Japanese advance after the ...

. Murray-Lyon was fired by Lieut. Gen.

Arthur Percival Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, (26 December 1887 – 31 January 1966) was a senior British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period but is most noted for ...

and replaced by Brig. A.C.M. Paris and then Maj. Gen. Billy Key. This division suffered such heavy casualties during the early stages of the campaign, that the 1st Leicesters and the 2nd East Surreys were forced to amalgamate, becoming the

British Battalion The British Battalion (1936–1938; officially the Saklatvala Battalion) was the 16th battalion of the XV International Brigade, one of the mixed brigades of the International Brigades, during the Spanish Civil War. It comprised British and ...

and the 1/8th Punjab and the 2/9th Jats were also amalgamated, becoming the Jat-Punjab Battalion. The 6th and 15th Infantry Brigades were also amalgamated becoming the 6th/15th Indian Infantry Brigade. After the Battle of Jitra the 11th Division, under Major-General Paris, inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese at the Battle of Kampar, but was almost completely destroyed at the

Battle of Slim River The Battle of Slim River occurred during the Malayan campaign in January 1942 between the Imperial Japanese Army and the British Indian Army on the west coast of Malaya. Background Japanese forces had invaded north-west Malaya from southern ...

. The division was reformed in Singapore with the remains of the 9th Indian Division. The 11th Indian Division surrendered to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, along with about 130,000 other British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

soldiers, when

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

was surrendered.

Formation

''On 10 December 1941, for more details of the brigade units see the individual brigade articles''

6th Indian Infantry Brigade The 6th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was a pre-war formation designated 6th (Lucknow) Infantry Brigade in India in September 1939. In November 1940, the brigade arr ...

Brig. William Oswald Lay *1st Battalion,

8th Punjab Regiment The 8th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to Pakistan Army on Partition of India in 1947 and merged with the Baluch Regiment in 1956. History Madras Infantry The 8th Punjab Regim ...

- Lieut. Col. R.C.S.Bates *2nd Battalion,

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...

- Lieut.Col. G.E. Swinton MC *2nd Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment - Lieut. Col. Henry Sloane Larkin

15th Indian Infantry Brigade

Brig. K.A. Garrett/ W. St. John Carpendale *1st Battalion,

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

- Lieut. Col. Esmond Morrison (Later commanded the

) *1st Battalion,

14th Punjab Regiment The 14th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to the Pakistan Army on independence in 1947, and amalgamated with the 1st, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments in 1956, to form the Punjab Reg ...

- Lieut.Col.James Fitzpatrick (Wounded at Asun) *2nd Battalion,

9th Jat Regiment The 9th Jat Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army, moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. World War II The Regiment saw a g ...

- Lt.Col. Charles Knowler Tester

28th Indian Infantry Brigade The 28th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in March 1941, at Secunderabad in India and assigned to the 6th Indian Infantry Division. In September 1941, the bri ...

Brig. W.St.John Carpendale/ Ray Selby *2nd Battalion, 1st Gurkha Rifles - Lieut.Col.Jack Fulton (Died of wounds as a

P.O.W A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

) *2nd Battalion, 2nd Gurkha Rifles - Lieut. Col. G.H.D. Woollcombe *2nd Battalion,

9th Gurkha Rifles The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiments (India), Gorkha infantry regiment of the Indian Army and, previously, the British Army. The regiment was initially formed by the British in 1817, and was one of the Gurkha regiments transferred to the In ...

- Lieut.Col.W.R.(Ray) Selby

Support units

* 3rd Cavalry - Lieut. Col. C.P.G.De Winton *1st Battalion, Bahawalpur Infantry, Indian State Forces - Lieut.Col. H.E.Tyrell *137th Field Regiment - Lieut. Col. Charles Holmes

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA) (24x25pdrs) * 155th (Lanarkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery - Lieut. Col. Augustus Murdoch (16x4.5 inch Howitzers) *22nd Mountain Regiment - Lieut. Col. G.L.Hughes

Indian Artillery The Regiment of Artillery is a combat/fighting arm of the Indian Army, which provides massive firepower during all ground operations of the Indian Army. It is a successor to the Royal Indian Artillery (RIA) of British Indian Army, which itsel ...

(IA) (12x3.7 inch Howitzers) *80th Anti-Tank Regiment RA - Lieut. Col. W.E.S.Napier (48x2pdrs/47mm Breda) *3rd Field Company,

Indian Engineers The Indian Army Corps of Engineers is a combat support arm which provides combat engineering support, develops infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains connectivity along the borders, besides helping the civil ...

(IE) *17th Field Company IE *23rd Field Company IE *46th Army Troops Company IE *43rd Field Park Company IE

Assigned brigades

All these brigades were assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II * 8th Indian Infantry Brigade * 12th Indian Infantry Brigade * 27th Australian Infantry Brigade * British 53rd Infantry Brigade

Re-raising

11 Infantry Division was re-raised on 1 April 1965 at Yol, Himachal Pradesh as 11 Mountain Division under the command of Major General N. C. Rawlley . The division was subsequently re-organised as an Infantry Division and relocated to

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

, Gujarat. It was expanded to its full strength by June 1971. The division had the following brigades- *31 Infantry Brigade at

Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...

*30 Infantry Brigade at

Dhangadhra Dhrangadhra () is a town, taluka headquarters and a municipality in Surendranagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. During the period of the British Raj, the city was the capital of Dhrangadhra State, one of the eight first-class prince ...

*85 Mountain Brigade at

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

Soon after raising, the division moved first to

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, between the rivers Beas River, Beas and Ravi River, Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the distr ...

and then to

for ''Operation Ablaze''. It took over operational control of the Kilo Sector on 29 June 1965. 31 Infantry Brigade of the division took part in ''Operation Kabaddi'' and 30 and 85 Infantry Brigades took part in ''Operation Riddle'' between September and October 1965. The 'order of battle' for the division was as follows - Operation Kabaddi *31 Infantry Brigade (Brigadier S.S.M. Pahalajani) **1

Mahar Mahar, meaning "original inhabitants of Maharashtra" (in various languages), is an Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in ...

**2

Sikh Light Infantry The Sikh Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army.Rajputana Rifles The Rajputana Rifles is the oldest rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally a part of the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated to form six battalions of the 6th Rajputana Rifles. In 1945, the ...

**11 Field Regiment **226 Independent Workshop Company **373 Field Company **31 Infantry Brigade Signal Company **407 Medical Company Operation Ablaze / Operation Riddle *30 Infantry Division (Brigadier J Guha) **5

Maratha Light Infantry 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 ...

**1

Garhwal Rifles The Garhwal Rifles, formerly known as the Royal Garhwal Rifles, are an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1887 as the 39th (Garhwal) Regiment of the Bengal Army. It then became part of the British Indian Army, and a ...

**3 Guards **13

Grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

(D Squadron) *85 Infantry Brigade (Brigadier H.N. Summanwar) (after 18 September) **5 Maratha Light Infantry (from 30 Infantry Division) **17

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

*3 Independent Armoured Squadron (from 1 Horse) (one troop) *Artillery regiments **95 Composite Mountain Regiment **167 Field Regiment (1673 Field Battery) **954 Heavy Mortar Battery As the division had a large area of responsibility, the troop deployment was very thin on the ground. Pakistan's Army had the same problem and both forces made limited gains during the war. 30 Infantry Brigade captured Gadra in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

on 8 September 1965 and the division captured Dali on 19 September 1965. Pakistani troops captured Munabao railway station and the old fort at Kishangarh in

Jaisalmer district Jaisalmer is the largest district in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and the third largest district in India. Located in Marwar (Jodhpur Division), the city of Jaisalmer is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is around from the ...

. The division eventually captured 388 square kilometres of Pakistani territory in this sector. Captain SK Mathur of 5 Air Observation Post Flight was awarded the

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

. The division also won 10

Vir Chakra Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards a ...

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

During ''Operation Cactus Lily'', the division under Major General R.D.R. Anand was responsible for the Barmer sector. This area stretched from Pochheena in

in the north to the inter-state boundary of Rajasthan and

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in the south. The 'order of battle' for the division was as follows- *3 Independent Armoured Squadron (from 1 Horse) *17

(camels) *2 Grenadiers *17 BSF *85 Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Gurjeet Singh Randhawa) **2

Rajputana Rifles The Rajputana Rifles is the oldest rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally a part of the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated to form six battalions of the 6th Rajputana Rifles. In 1945, the ...

**2

**10

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

**10

Sikh Light Infantry The Sikh Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army.Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to: * Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII See also ...

**9

**18 Madras **20

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

*330 Infantry Brigade * 10

Para Para, or PARA, may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Paramount Global, traded as PARA on the Nasdaq stock exchange * Para Group, the former name of CT Corp * Para Rubber, now Skellerup, a New Zealand manufacturer * Para USA, formerly ...

(Commando) - operated under the area, but was directly under Headquarters, Southern Command *11 Artillery Brigade (Brigadier N.M.K. Nayar) **13 Field Regiment **164 Field Regiment **68 Field Regiment **218 Medium Regiment **1981 Light Battery **1521 AD Battery **Locating Battery **5 Independent Air Operations Flight The Pakistani defence in the Barmer sector was weak, with only 55 Brigade of Pakistani 18 Division in the area. The 11th Division attacked on the evening of 4 December 1971 targeting to reach the 'Green belt' area around the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

near

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. 85 and 330 Brigades pushed towards Naya Chor along the rail line, 31 Brigade advanced to Chachra. In the absence of any strong resistance, the division quickly achieved major territorial gains and constructed a link between the Indian and Pakistani rail lines between Munabao in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

Khokhrapar Khokhropar or Khokhrapar (; ) is a border town situated in Tharparkar District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is located at 25°41 North 70°12 East and has an altitude of . Railway Khokhrapar railway station was established in 1916. Before the independ ...

to support further operations. Despite the early gains, persistent air attacks by the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

, supply and logistical problems and finally prolonged hesitation by the division halted the advance on the northern axis, before the troops reached Naya Chor. During this time, Pakistani troops were reinforced by 60 Brigade from 33 Division, which also took over the command of 55 Brigade. On the southern axis, 31 Brigade captured Chachra. Further advances were prevented as the ceasefire was declared. Following the operations, the division captured approximately 9,000 square kilometres of Pakistani territory, the largest in the western sector. The division won the following honours - ;Battle honours *''Parbat Ali'' - 10 Sikh, 2 Mahar, 164 Field Regiment, 68 Field Regiment *''Chachro'' - 10 Para *''Gadra City'' - 15 Kumaon, 13 Field Regiment *''Khinsar'' - 20 Rajput ;Gallantry awards *Maha Vir Chakra **Lieutenant Colonel S Bhawani Singh (10 Para) **Lieutenant SS Walkar (18 Madras) *Vir Chakra - 26

Other operations

* Operation Trident * Kargil War (Operation Vijay) *

Operation Parakram Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

*The division has actively participated in rescue and relief operations during natural calamities in Gujarat.

Divisional insignia

The present formation sign has a black background signifying an infantry division and a '' Katar'' facing upwards. The motto of the division is जीत निश्चय (Jeet Nischay), which translates to Victory and Determination.

References

External links

British Military History Far East 1930 - 47
{{DEFAULTSORT:11 Indian Infantry Division Indian World War II divisions Divisions of the Indian Army British Indian Army divisions D Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942