The 254th Indian Tank Brigade was an

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

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, ...

. This brigade was originally raised at the cavalry depot at Risalpur in India with effect from 1 April 1941 as the 4th Indian Armoured Brigade. In October 1941, the brigade was redesignated as the 254th Indian Armoured Brigade, and then from 10 September 1942 it was retitled as the 254th Indian Tank Brigade. The brigade was part of the Fourteenth Army and saw action in the Burma Campaign. The 254th Tank Brigade's tactical sign was a symbol that looks like black railway tracks disappearing into the distance, on a red triangle. The brigade fought with the 5th and

7th Indian Infantry Division The 7th Infantry Division is a war-formed infantry division, part of the British Indian Army that saw service in the Burma Campaign. History The division was created on 1 October 1940 at Attock, under the command of Major General Arthur Wakely ...

s in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and was involved in the Battles at

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

Kohima Kohima (; Angami Naga: ''Kewhira'' ()), is the capital of the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Originally known as ''Kewhira'', Kohima was founded ...

, Kyaumaung Bridgehead,

Meiktila Meiktila (; ) is a city in central Burma on the banks of Meiktila Lake in the Mandalay Region at the junctions of the Bagan-Taunggyi, Yangon-Mandalay and Meiktila-Myingyan highways. Because of its strategic position, Meiktila is home to Myanmar Ai ...

, and the

Rangoon Road Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government r ...

. In June 1945, the brigade moved back to India. The Brigade's designation changed to 3rd Indian Independent Armoured Brigade on 1 December 1945, then in June 1946 to 3rd Indian Armoured Brigade ndependentwhich was the designation in August 1947 at the time of Indian Independence.

Formation (1944)

3rd Carabiniers The 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1922 as part of a reduction in the army's cavalry by the amalgamation of the 3rd Dragoon Guards (Prince of Wales's) and the Carab ...

Lee tank The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. The turret was produced in two forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In Commonweal ...

s *

149th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps 149th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (149 RAC) was an armoured regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps that served in the Burma Campaign during World War II. Origin 149th Regiment RAC was formed on 22 November 1941 by the conversion to ...

, Lee and Sherman tanks, raised from 7th Battalion of the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 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 ...

*150th Royal Armoured Corps Regiment, Lee tanks, raised from 10th Bn

York and Lancaster Regiment 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 (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

7th Light Cavalry The 7th Light Cavalry previously the 28th Light Cavalry, was a regular army cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1784 under the East India Company. The regiment later saw service on the North West Frontier and in World Wa ...

Stuart tank The M3 Stuart/Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. ...

s *3/

4th Bombay Grenadiers The Grenadiers is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, formerly part of the Bombay Army and later the pre-independence British Indian Army, when the regiment was known as the 4th Bombay Grenadiers. It has distinguished itself during the tw ...

Commanders

*Brigadier WT Gill Apr 1941 – 17 Nov 1943 *Brigadier RL Scoones 18 Nov 1943 – 14 Mar 1945 *Brigadier WWA Loring 15 Mar 1945 - Aug 1947

Formation (1944)

Commanders

See also

References

Further reading