39th Indian Infantry Division (originally the 1st Burma Division) was an infantry division 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 became a training

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 ...

in 1943 after its recovery into

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 ...

from

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 ...

. The division was re-raised after independence and 39 Mountain Division is presently located in

Palampur, Himachal Pradesh Palampur is a hill station and a municipal corporation situated in the Kangra District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is surrounded by pine forests and flanked by the Dhauladhar ranges. There are numerous streams flowing from the ...

under XVI Corps.

History

The 1st Burma Infantry Division was formed 14 July 1941 at Toungoo in Burma. The division was part of the British Burma Army. On the outbreak of war, the division was commanded by Major-General James Bruce Scott. It consisted of the 1st and 2nd Burma Infantry Brigades, and the 13th Indian Infantry Brigade. Throughout the

Japanese conquest of Burma The Japanese invasion of Burma was the opening phase of the Burma campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, which took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. During the first year of the campaign (December 1941 to mid-1942) ...

, the division interchanged many units with its fellow

Burma Corps 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. History Bu ...

component,

17th Indian Infantry Division The 17th Infantry Division is a formation of the Indian Army. Indian Army during World War II, During World War II, it had the distinction of being continually in combat during the three-year-long Burma Campaign (except for brief periods of refit ...

. At various times the

7th Armoured Brigade 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, 16th Indian Infantry Brigade,

48th Indian Infantry Brigade The 48th Infantry Brigade, was raised as the 48 Indian Infantry Brigade, in October 1941, at Secunderabad, India. After an initial tenure with 19th Indian Infantry Division, it was transferred to the 17th Indian Infantry Division. In Worl ...

, and

63rd Indian Infantry Brigade 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. I ...

came under command of the division, though only the original three brigades finally entered India as part of the division at the end of the arduous retreat, reduced to fractions of their original strength. The 1st Burma Division changed to an Indian formation at the end of the 1942 campaign. While the majority of the Burma Army was reconstituted elsewhere in India, the division headquarters was retained at the front. The 39th division was soon re-roled as a light division with two infantry brigades and Mule and jeep transport companies. However this change happened more in name than in anything else as it never actually began to convert to an entirely mule and jeep based transport and supply system. The decision to convert the division to a training role was undertaken in June 1943Kempton, p. 137 after the poorly executed Arakan offensive when it was realised that the troops being sent into the field, both British and Indian, while not lacking conventional military fighting skills, lacked the necessary knowledge and training to operate in the Burmese jungle. The 39th was joined in its training role by the

14th Indian Infantry Division 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 ...

which had been the main operational unit during the Arakan offensive and had suffered badly both in terms of casualties and morale as a result. Post World War II, the division was disbanded between January and March 1946 as part of the demobilisation policy.

Formation

106th Indian Infantry Brigade

*2nd Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

*2nd Battalion,

7th Rajput Regiment 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

*1st 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 ...

*1st Battalion,

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 ...

*5th 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 ...

*7th Battalion,

15th Punjab Regiment The 15th Punjab Regiment was a infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947 and of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1956. Following its allotment to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947, it was amalgamated in 1956 with ...

*9th 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 ...

*15th 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 ...

113th Indian Infantry Brigade

*1st 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 ...

*2nd Battalion,

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 ...

*5th Battalion,

1st Punjab Regiment The 1st 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 amalgamate ...

*2nd Battalion,

13th Frontier Force Rifles The 13th Frontier Force Rifles was part of the British Indian Army, and after 1947, Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of five existing regiments and consisted of five regular battalions. History The 13th Frontier Force Rifle ...

*29th Gurkha Rifles Training Battalion *7th Battalion,

*7th Battalion,

12th Frontier Force Regiment The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was formed in 1922 as part of the British Indian Army. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th (Training) Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. ...

*17/18th Combined Training Unit * Indian State Forces Training Unit

Divisional troops

*7th 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 ...

*2nd Battalion,

*24th Light Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Tank 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 ...

*9th Field Regiment Royal Artillery * 145th (Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery *Malerkotla Field Company, Indian State Forces *26th 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 ...

*82nd Field Company, Indian Engineers

Assigned brigades

All these brigades were assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II

Under command when Burma Division

* 1st Burma Infantry Brigade (July 1941 - May 1942) * 2nd Burma Infantry Brigade (July 1942 - December 1942, March 1942 - April 1942) * 13th Indian Infantry Brigade (July 1941 - February 1942, April 1942 - May 1942) *

(April 1942) *

(May 1942) *Magforce (ad hoc brigade-sized combat force) (April 1942)

Attached when light division

* 106th Indian Infantry Brigade * 113th Indian Infantry Brigade

Attached when a training division

* 106th Indian Infantry Brigade (June 1942 - March 1946) * 113th Indian Infantry Brigade (June 1942 - March 1946) * 115th Indian Infantry Brigade (September 1943 - March 1946)

Post independence

Dah Division celebrated 70th 'Infantry Day' at Palampur

The 39 Infantry Division was re-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 hea ...

under the command of Major General ML Thapan on 15 July 1966. At formation, the division had an independent parachute brigade and an artillery brigade. The 87 Infantry Brigade (Shakargarh Brigade) and 323 Infantry Brigade (Dalhousie Brigade) joined the division in January 1966. The Parachute Brigade was replaced by the 33 Infantry Brigade (Thanpir Brigade) in October 1967. The division moved from Jhansi to Yol, Himachal Pradesh in March 1970 and was converted to a mountain division in January 1986. The division was moved to

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

Rajouri Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on th ...

border districts in 1994 following the rise of terrorism in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was withdrawn to its base in Palampur in Himachal Pradesh in 2009. The division presently has the following brigades - *33 Mountain Brigade at

Dharamshala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

*87 Mountain Brigade at

Udhampur Udhampur (ˌʊd̪ʱəmpur) is a city and a municipal council in Udhampur district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters of Udhampur District. Named after Raja Udham Singh, it serves as the district capita ...

*323 Mountain Brigade at

Dalhousie Cantonment Dalhousie cantonment is a town in Chamba district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. History In the wake of the 1857 War, the Military Department of the Government of India, expanded its survey of lower Himalayas, to identify suitable ...

*39 Mountain Artillery Brigade at Alhilal

Operations

;Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The division was under the command of Major General BR Prabhu during the

1971 war The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

. It was initially placed under the

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 a defensive role. It then moved to

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

in the Shakargarh sector. Its task was to move along the Mawa-Dehlra axis and capture Shakargarh. The division had shed two of its three integral brigades and was allotted 72 Infantry Brigade from 36 Infantry Division, 2 Independent Armoured Brigade (less one regiment) and one mechanised battalion. 33 Infantry Division was sent to reinforce

and 323 Infantry Division to 'X Sector' west of Degh Nadi. The order of battle of the division was - *87 Infantry Brigade (moved to 36 Division after 12 December 1971) **3/

9 Gorkha Rifles The 9th Gorkha Rifles is a 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 Indian Army after independe ...

*72 Infantry Brigade (from 36 Infantry Division) (Brigadier JM Vohra) **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 ...

(from 115 Brigade of 36 Infantry Division) **15

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 ...

**22

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

**3

Sikh Light Infantry The Sikh Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army.1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) ** 7 Light Cavalry ** 14 Horse (Scinde Horse) **1

Dogra The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himachal ...

(Mechanised) **91 Independent Reconnaissance Squadron (from 14 Horse) *39 Artillery Brigade (Brigadier Gurbachan Singh) **92 Field Regiment **101 Field Regiment (Self Propelled) **36 Light Regiment (less a battery) **186 Light Regiment (less a battery) **77 Medium Regiment (one battery) **45 AD Regiment (one troop) The divisional offensive started on the morning of 5 December 1971, with 92 Field Regiment knocking out the Pakistani Artillery Observation Post (OP) at Sukhmal. At night, 72 Infantry Brigade captured the Pakistani border posts. They faced heavy artillery fire, slowing the advance. 1 Dogra came in contact with the enemy at Harar Kalan on the noon of 7 December 1971. The battalion launched a frontal attack the same night, but faced heavy enemy fire leading to 25 killed and 65 wounded and the attack was called off. During the same time, 15 Grenadiers, 22 Punjab and 3 Sikh Light Infantry captured Khaira, Chak Amru and Parni respectively. The setback at Harar Kalan though affected the division’s speed of advance. 72 Infantry Brigade with better preparation and planning and supported well by the artillery subsequently attacked and captured Harar Kalan on the night of 10 December 1971. At the same time, 15 Grenadiers, 22 Punjab and 3 Sikh Light Infantry captured Harar Khurd, Shahbazpur and Munam respectively. Because of the slow advance of the division compared to the 54 Infantry Division, there was a change in strategy and regrouping of forces. The division was assigned a defensive role in the Ramgarh-Samba gap. 87 Infantry Brigade, Headquarters 2 Independent Armoured Brigade and 1 Horse were moved to reinforce 36 Infantry Brigade. 72 Infantry Brigade and 7 Light Cavalry were moved to form the fourth brigade under 54 Infantry Division. 101 Field Regiment (Self Propelled) which had provided accurate and effective artillery fire during the offence was subsequently awarded the honour title ''Harar Kalan''. ; Operation Trident January to March 1987. ;

Operation Rakshak I 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 was involved in

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

operations in South

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

between April 1993 and January 1994. ;

Operation Rakshak II 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 troops of the division were inducted for counterinsurgency operations in

and

in October 1998. Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2019

; Operation Vijay The division was concentrated around Rajouri between May 1999 and December 2001. ;

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 was mobilised for the operation on 18 December 2001 in the Rajouri area. ;Counter-terrorism operations The division was deployed in

Udhampur district Udhampur is a district in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Covering an area of in the Himalayan mountains, the district has its headquarters in the town of Udhampur. The Northern Command headquarters of the Indian Army is lo ...

between April 2002 and June 2003. ;

Line of Control The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but serve ...

deployment The formation was deployed in counter-infiltration role at the Line of Control (LoC) between July 2003 and September 2009.

Formation Sign

The present formation sign has a black background signifying an infantry division and a '' Dah'' - a sharp edged sword.

References

Sources

External links

39 Indian Infantry Division at BritishMilitaryHistory
{{DEFAULTSORT:39 Indian Infantry Division Indian World War II divisions British Indian Army divisions Divisions of the Indian Army Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II Military units and formations of Burma in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945