The 31st Indian Armoured Division 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 f ...

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, ...

, formed in 1940, originally as the 1st Indian Armoured Division; it consisted of units of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and the British Indian Army. When it was raised, it consisted of two Armoured Brigades (the 1st and 2nd Indian Armoured Brigades) and one Motor Brigade (the

3rd Indian Motor Brigade The 3rd Indian Motor Brigade was formed in 1940 by the Indian Army during World War II. In 1941, the brigade was surrounded at Mechili by Axis forces during Operation Sonnenblume and suffered many casualties breaking out of the encirclement. On ...

History

In October 1941, by which time the 1st Indian Support Group had joined the division, the 1st Indian Armoured Division was re-named as the 31st Indian Armoured Division. The brigades were re-named the 251st and 252nd Indian Armoured Brigades and the 31st Indian Support Group (the Motor Brigade's name remained unchanged). In mid-1942, by which time the support group had been disbanded, the 251st Brigade was detached and the rest of the division was shipped to join the Tenth Army and served in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, Syria and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. At this time the General Officer Commanding was Major General

Robert Wordsworth Major-General Robert Harley Wordsworth CB, CBE (21 July 1894 – 22 November 1984) was a British Indian Army officer and an Australian politician. Military career Born in Collarenebri, New South Wales, Wordsworth was educated at North Sydne ...

and the Commander Royal Artillery was Brigadier C. P. B. Wilson. The division never saw combat, although the

was detached to Egypt and saw much action in the Western Desert Campaign during 1941 and 1942 and again in 1944 and 1945 when, reformed as the 43rd Indian Infantry Brigade (Lorried), it was sent to the Italian Campaign as an independent brigade. The closest the rest of the division came to combat was in April 1944 when it was rushed to Egypt to crush a mutiny among the Greek 1st Infantry Brigade. The tank regiments received

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

s in November 1943, thought to be in preparation for a transfer to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, which never came about and only drove them in Iraq, Syria and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. The 31st Indian Armoured Division was re-named the 1 Armoured Division of the soon-to-be independent Indian Army in October 1945. With the 31st Division re-named, there was no division numbered '31' in the post-independence Indian Army after 1947 for over twenty years. The 31 Armoured Division was re-established as part of the

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 1972. It was raised at

Jhansi Jhansi (; Hindi: झांसी, Urdu: ) is a historic city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme south of Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is the administrative head ...

and remains headquartered there as part of XXI Corps. It is also known as the White Tiger Division.

Structure in 1942

252nd Indian Armoured Brigade

*Brigade Commander G.Carr-White ** 14th/20th Hussars ** 14th Prince of Wales's Own Scinde Horse **1/ 4th Bombay Grenadiers

3rd Indian Motor Brigade The 3rd Indian Motor Brigade was formed in 1940 by the Indian Army during World War II. In 1941, the brigade was surrounded at Mechili by Axis forces during Operation Sonnenblume and suffered many casualties breaking out of the encirclement. On ...

*Brigade Commander A.A.E. Filose **

2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) The 2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse) is one of the oldest and a highly decorated armoured regiment of the Indian Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of two of the oldest regiments of the Bengal Army – the 2nd Royal Lancers (Gardner' ...

Mackenzie (1951), p. 71 **

11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry (Frontier Force) The 11th Cavalry (Frontier Force), is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry and was a regular cavalry regiment of the old British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by th ...

18th King Edward's Own Cavalry The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. Following the independence of India, the regiment was allotted to the Indian Army and redesignated as the 18th Cavalry. Formation Tracing its origin ...

*after January 1943 **2/

6th Gurkha Rifles The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Compa ...

**2/

8th Gurkha Rifles 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 ...

**2/ 10th Gurkha Rifles

Divisional Units

** 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers **15th Field Regiment,

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 ...

** 144th (Surrey & Sussex Yeomanry Queen Mary's) Field Regiment, R.A. **79th Antitank Regiment, R.A. **32nd Field Squadron, QVO Madras Sappers & Miners,

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 ...

**39th Field Park Squadron, QVO Madras Sappers & Miners, I.E. **31st Indian Armoured Divisional Signals

Citations

References

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External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20111126065316/http://www.indianmilitaryhistory.org/divisions/31div.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:31 Indian Armoured Division Indian World War II divisions Divisions of the Indian Army British Indian Army divisions Armored divisions Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II