The 25th Indian Infantry Division was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

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, ...

which fought in the Burma Campaign. It was re-raised within the post-independence

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

in 1948.

History

Japanese Surrender in Malaya, 1945 IND4851

Japanese Surrender in Malaya, 1945 IND4848

Originally formed in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in South

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on 1 August 1942 under Major-General Henry Davies the Division was disbanded at the end of World War II. The division's original role as conceived by Army Commander General Sir W. J. Slim was to meet any attempted Japanese invasion while at the same time training actively for

jungle warfare Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain. It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for bo ...

. It first saw action, having become part of Indian XV Corps, at the onset of the third Arakan Campaign in March 1944 where it held and enlarged the

Maungdaw Base Maungdaw (, ) is a town in Rakhine State, in the western part of Myanmar (Burma). It is the administrative seat of Maungdaw Township and Maungdaw District. Maungdaw is a town of Myanmar and borders Bangladesh. Maungdaw is 16 miles north of Buthida ...

and established superiority over the enemy. In May 1944 command of the division was assumed by Major-General George Wood, previously commanding British 4th Infantry Brigade in India. In November 1944, supported by destroyers of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, the division cleared the

Mayu Range Mayu may refer to: * Mayu (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * Mayu (river), a river of Burma * Mayu Frontier District, a former administrative zone of Burma * Mayu Island (妈屿), Shantou, China * Mayu, Jinzhou, Hebei (马于镇), a to ...

down to

Foul Point Foul Point on Yordanov Island lies at the east side of the entrance to Ommanney Bay on the north side of Coronation Island, in the South Orkney Islands. It was discovered in December 1821 in the course of the joint cruise by Captain George Powell ...

and occupied

Akyab Island Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers empt ...

. Following this, with

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

under command, it made a series of successful seaborne attacks down the coast, supported by

sloops A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

of the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

and winning four

Victoria Crosses The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

in the process. These actions included the decisive

Battle of Kangaw A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and landings at

Myebon Myebon ( my, မြေပုံမြို့ Myebon Township) is a town of Mrauk-U District in Rakhine State, Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even ...

and Ruywa to intercept the retreating Japanese. In April 1945 the division was withdrawn to South India to prepare for '

Operation Zipper During World War II, Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya, as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore in Operation Mailfist. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it wa ...

', the invasion of

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

, having been chosen for the assault landing (

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

) role. Although hostilities then ceased, the operation proceeded as planned and 25th Division was the first formation to land in Malaya, occupying the capital,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, and then accepting the surrender of the Japanese Army. The division was disbanded in Malaya in February and March 1946.

Post-independence

The division was re-raised within the post-independence

in 1948. In October 1962 the division was under

XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) * XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * 15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I *XV Royal Bav ...

in the Army's Western Command. Its headquarters were at

Poonch Poonch, sometimes also spelt Punchh, may refer to: * Historical Poonch District, a district in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India, split in 1947 between: ** Poonch district, India ** Poonch Division, in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, ...

, and it included the 80th, 93rd and 120th Infantry Brigades.

Composition During World War II

* 19th King George's Own Lancers (Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment) *

Commander, Royal Artillery {{Redirect, BGRA, colour format, RGBA color model Commander, Royal Artillery (CRA) was a military appointment in Commonwealth infantry and armoured divisions in the 20th century. The CRA was the senior artillery officer in the division and commanded ...

: **Brigadier G.H. Johnstone (August 1942 - June 1943) **Brigadier A.G. O'C. Scott (June 1943 - August 1944) **Brigadier A.J. Daniell (August 1944 - April 1945) **Brigadier

Nigel Tapp Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Sir Nigel (Prior Hanson) Tapp Order of the British Empire, KBE Order of the Bath, CB Distinguished Service Order, DSO (1904–1991) was General Officer Commanding East Africa Command of the British A ...

(April 1945 - 1946) **HQ **8th & 27th Field Regts,

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 ...

**5th Indian Field Regt

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 ...

** 33 Indian Mountain Regt IA **7 Indian Anti-Tank Regt IA *Indian Engineers: Sappers & Miners **63rd & 425th Field Coys Q.V.O. Madras **93rd FD Company Royal Bombay **325th FD Park Coy Q.V.O. Madras *25th Indian Div Signals *7th Battalion,

16th Punjab Regiment The 16th 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 ...

51st Indian Infantry Brigade

Commanders: *Brigadier T.H. Angus ( - Nov 1944) *Brigadier R.A. Hutton (May 1944 - ) **HQ **8th Battalion,

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 ...

(until October 1944) **2nd Battalion,

2nd Punjab Regiment The 2nd Punjab Regiment was a British Indian Army regiment from 1922 to the partition of India in 1947. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of other regiments: *1st Battalion, from the 67th Punjabis The 67th Punjabis were an infantry ...

(from September 1944) **16th Battalion,

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After Partition of India, independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punja ...

**17th Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry (until March 1945) **8th Battalion,

19th Hyderabad Regiment The 19th Hyderabad Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed at the time of reforms of the Indian Army after the First World War, when it moved from single-battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments. The reg ...

(from March 1944)

53rd Indian Infantry Brigade

Commanders: *Brigadier G.A.P. Coldstream (to August 1944) *Brigadier A.G.O'C. Scott (August 1944 to December 1944) *Brigadier B.C.H. Gerty (from December 1944) **HQ **9th Battalion,

**17th Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry **9th 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 ...

**4th Battalion,

18th Royal Garhwal Rifles The 18th Royal Garhwal Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government decided to reform the army, moving away from single-battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments. They were th ...

74th Indian Infantry Brigade The 74th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in July 1942, in India. The brigade was assigned to the 25th Indian Infantry Division and fought in the Burma Campaign. Fo ...

Commanders: *Brigadier J.E. Hirst (to March 1945) *Brigadier J.C.W. Cargill (from March 1945) **HQ **6th Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

**14th Battalion,

**3rd Battalion,

2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Ba ...

3rd Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen from ...

Commanders: *Brigadier **HQ ** No. 44 (Royal Marine) Commando ** No. 42 (Royal Marine) Commando **

No. 1 Army Commando The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

** No. 5 Army Commando

Support Units

*Royal Indian Army Service Corps **18th, 39th and 59th Animal Transport Coys (Mules) **68th, 81st and 101st Gp Tpt Coys **Comp Supply Units **Inland Water Tpt *Medical Services **I.M.S-R.A.M.C-I.M.D-I.H.C-I.A.M.C **51st, 52nd, 53rd and 56th Indian Field Ambulances *25th Indian Div Provost Unit *Indian Army Ordnance Corps **125th Ordnance sub-Park *Indian Electrical & Mechanical Engineers **76th, 77th & 78th Infantry Workshop Companies **25th Indian Div Recovery Company

Assigned brigades

All these brigades were assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II * 51st Indian Infantry Brigade * 53rd Indian Infantry Brigade *

74th Indian Infantry Brigade The 74th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in July 1942, in India. The brigade was assigned to the 25th Indian Infantry Division and fought in the Burma Campaign. Fo ...

22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade The 22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade was a brigade sized formation of the British Army, which was founded on 19 September 1939 in British East Africa. The brigade was initially called the 2nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade, but was redesignat ...

2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade The 2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade was a Second World War formation of the British Army. It was formed from battalions of the Royal West African Frontier Force in 1940. In the early part of the war, the Brigade served in the East African campa ...

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

British Military History - Indian Divisional Histories
{{DEFAULTSORT:25 Indian Infantry Division Indian World War II divisions Divisions of the Indian Army British Indian Army divisions Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II D Military units and formations disestablished in 1946