The 7th Infantry Division is a war-formed

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 ...

, part of the British Indian Army that saw service in the Burma Campaign.

History

The division was created on 1 October 1940 at

Attock Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...

, under the command of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Arthur Wakely. Its formation sign was an arrow, pointing bottom left to top right, in yellow on a black background. The division was sometimes known as the "Golden Arrow" division from this sign. When first formed, the division consisted of the 13th, 14th and 16th Indian Infantry Brigades, but within eighteen months, both the 13th and 16th Brigades were removed and dispatched to

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 ...

, where both fought during 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 14th Brigade was renumbered the 114th Indian Infantry Brigade and remained with the division. During 1942, the 33rd and 89th Brigades were added to the division. The division trained for operations in the deserts in the Middle East but by the end of the year, the North African campaign was clearly at an end. In early 1943, the division was reassigned to the Burma campaign and Major General

Frank Messervy General Sir Frank Walter Messervy, (9 December 1893 – 2 February 1974) was a British Indian Army officer in the First and Second World Wars. Following its independence, he was the first Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army (15 August 1947 ...

, a veteran of the fighting in North Africa, was appointed to command, replacing Major General Thomas Corbett. The British Army in Burma 1943 SE24

After extensive retraining and preparation, 7th Division took part in an offensive in

Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...

, the coastal province of Burma. Starting in December 1943, the division advanced down the Kalapanzin River valley as part of

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 February 1944, Japanese troops infiltrated through the division's front and overran the divisional HQ. Units of the division took part in the subsequent

Battle of the Admin Box The Battle of the Admin Box (sometimes referred to as the Battle of Ngakyedauk or the Battle of Sinzweya) took place on the southern front of the Burma campaign from 5 to 23 February 1944, in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. Japa ...

, in which the Japanese failed to capture positions supplied by parachute drops and were forced to retreat. During March, the Japanese launched a major offensive (codenamed

Operation U-Go The U Go offensive, or Operation C (ウ号作戦 ''U Gō sakusen''), was the Japanese offensive launched in March 1944 against forces of the British Empire in the northeast Indian regions of Manipur and the Naga Hills (then administered as part ...

) into

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

. Having been withdrawn from the Arakan battles, the division proceeded by road and rail to

Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2011, the municipality had a population of 122,834. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along the banks of the ...

, where it came under command of XXXIII Corps and took part in the

Battle of Kohima The Battle of Kohima proved the turning point of the Imperial Japan, Japanese Operation U-Go, U-Go offensive into British Raj, India in 1944 during the World War II, Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June ...

. The 161st Indian Brigade, part of the 5th Indian Division, came under command, while the 89th Brigade was flown to Imphal, to replace 161st Brigade in 5th Division. During early May, 33rd Brigade completed the recapture of Kohima Ridge, while the main body of the division recaptured Naga Village to the north of the ridge. During the later part of the month and early June, the division advanced through heavy

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

rains along rough tracks to the east of the main road from Kohima to Imphal, and cleared Japanese stragglers from

Ukhrul Ukhrul/Hunphun ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˈuːkˌɹəl or ˈuːkˌɹʊl/) is a town in the state of Manipur, India. Ukhrul is the home of the Tangkhul Nagas. It is the administrative headquarter of the Ukhrul district. There are also four sub-div ...

. From July to October, the division regrouped near Kohima, and 89th Brigade rejoined. Late in 1944, Major General Messervy was promoted to command IV Corps and was replaced in command of the division by Major General

Geoffrey Charles Evans Lieutenant General Sir Geoffrey Charles Evans (13 January 1901 – 27 January 1987) was a senior British Army officer during World War II and the post-war era. He was highly regarded as both a staff and field officer and had the distinction of ...

. Now commanded by IV Corps, the division advanced down the Gangaw Valley west of the

Chindwin River , , image = Homalin aerial.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Chindwin at Homalin. The smaller, meandering Uyu River can be seen joining the Chindwin. , map = Irrawaddyrivermap.jpg , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption ...

, with the 28th (East Africa) Brigade under command, screened until

Pauk Pauk may refer to: People * Alex Pauk (born 1945), Canadian conductor and composer * Goran Pauk (born 1962), Croatian politician * György Pauk (born 1936), Hungarian violinist * Ke Pauk (1934–2002), Cambodian communist * Paul Pauk (1912– ...

was reached by the lightly equipped

Lushai Brigade The Lushai Brigade was an improvised fighting formation of the British Indian Army which was formed during World War II. It participated in the Battle of Imphal and the Burma Campaign. History In March 1944, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded ...

. During late February 1945, the division captured vital bridgeheads across the

Irrawaddy River The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Origi ...

near

Pakokku Pakokku ( my, ပခုက္ကူမြို့, ) is the largest city in the Magway Region of Myanmar. It is situated about 30 km north-east of Bagan on the Irrawaddy River. It is the administration seat of Pakokku Township , Pakokku Distric ...

. During March, as part of the decisive

Battle of Central Burma 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 ...

, the division was involved in several battles at

Myingyan Myingyan (, ) is a city and district in the Mandalay Division of central Myanmar, previously, it was a district in the Meiktila Division of Upper Burma. It is currently the capital of Myingyan Township and lies along the National Highway 2. , th ...

and

Yenangyaung Yenangyaung ( my, ရေနံချောင်း; literally "stream of oil") is a city in the Magway Region of central Myanmar, located on the Irrawaddy River and 363 miles from Yangon. Until 1974, it remained the capital city of both Minbu Div ...

During April, the division once again came under command of XXXIII Corps and advanced down the west bank of the Irrawaddy. After

Rangoon 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 ...

, the capital, was captured in early May, the division was directly commanded by the new headquarters of Twelfth Army and resisted Japanese diversionary attacks across the

Sittang River The Sittaung River ( my, စစ်တောင်းမြစ် ; formerly, the Sittang or Sittounghttps://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/8th-uncsgn-docs/inf/8th_UNCSGN_econf.94_INF.75.pdf ) is a river in south central Myanmar in Bago ...

during the monsoon. After the war ended, in September 1945, the division moved to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, where it disarmed the Japanese occupying army, and liberated and repatriated Allied prisoners of war. Following the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947 the 7th Division local units were split between India and Pakistan, and both armies continue to have a 7th Infantry Division with the Golden Arrow formation sign.

Component Units (1 March 1944)

33rd Indian Infantry Brigade The 33rd Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that saw active service in the Indian Army during the Second World War, notably in the Burma Campaign. History The 33rd Indian Infantry Brigade was formed in ...

** 1st Battalion,

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

** 4th 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 ...

** 4th Battalion,

1st Gurkha Rifles 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), often referred to as the 1st Gorkha Rifles, or 1 GR in abbreviation, is the most senior Gorkha Infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as part of the East India Company's Bengal Arm ...

* 89th Indian Infantry Brigade ** 2nd Battalion,

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...

** 7th 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 ...

** 4th 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 ...

* 114th Indian Infantry Brigade ** 1st Battalion,

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

** 4th 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 ...

** 4th Battalion,

5th Royal Gurkha Rifles 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army. The regiment's battalions served ...

Support Units

* 1st Battalion,

11th Sikh Regiment The 11th Sikh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1922, when after World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.S ...

(Machine-gun unit) * 136th (1st West Lancashire) Field Regt,

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 ...

* 139th (4th London) Field Regt, Royal Artillery * 25th Mountain 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 ...

* 24th Light Anti-Aircraft / Anti-Tank Regt, Royal Artillery * 62nd Field Company

Royal 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) * 77th Field Company IE * 421st Field Company IE * 303rd Field Park Company IE

Commanders

* Maj. Gen. A.V.T. Wakely * Maj. Gen. R. Richardson * Maj. Gen. Thomas Corbett * Maj. Gen.

* Maj. Gen.

Geoffrey Evans Geoffrey Evans (1940 in England – 20 May 2012 in Dublin) was an English killer who murdered two women in Ireland with an accomplice John Shaw in 1976, and one of the longest-serving prisoners in Ireland. He was known to have planned to rap ...

* Maj. Gen. Frederick Joseph Loftus-Tottenham

Assigned brigades

All these brigades were assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II. * 55th Indian Infantry Brigade * 9th Indian Infantry Brigade * 28th (East African) Infantry Brigade *

268th Indian Infantry Brigade The 268th Indian Infantry Brigade is an infantry formation of the Indian Army, previously of the British Indian Army. History It was initially formed as 268th Indian Armoured Brigade at Sialkot in July 1942, with three regiments of the Indian Ar ...

22nd (East African) Infantry Brigade 22 (twenty-two) is the natural number following 21 and preceding 23. In mathematics 22 is a palindromic number and the eighth semiprime; its proper divisors are 1, 2, and 11. It is the second Smith number, the second Erdős–Woods numb ...

History

Component Units (1 March 1944)

Support Units

Commanders

Assigned brigades

References

Bibliography

External links

Further reading