The 7th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade 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, ...

. It was formed in September 1939, by the redesignation of the Poona Independent Brigade as the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade and renumbered

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

in June 1940, A second 7th Brigade was formed in June 1940, and assigned to the 5th Indian Infantry Division. In September 1940, it was reassigned to the

4th Indian Infantry Division The 4th Indian Infantry Division, also known as the Red Eagle Division, is an infantry division of the Indian Army. This division of the British Indian Army was formed in Egypt in 1939 during the Second World War. During the Second World W ...

. The brigade formed the garrison at Mersa Matruh in early December 1940. In January 1941, with the rest of the 4th Indian Division were sent to fight in the

Sudan campaign The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...

. The brigade moved between the 4th and 5th Indian Divisions command in April 1941, before moving to Cyprus at the end of the month. Returning to the Western Desert it took part in the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

. After reaching Tunisia the brigade come under command of the British 50th Infantry Division in March 1943. Returning to the 4th Division the brigade took part in the Italian Campaign and ended the war in Greece where the division had been sent to keep the factions apart in the Greek Civil War. The brigade was destroyed in the

Sino-Indian War of 1962 The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Ti ...

. Its commander, Brigadier

John Dalvi Brigadier John Parashuram Dalvi (3 July 1920 – October 1974) was an Indian Army officer. During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, he was the commander of the Indian 7th Brigade, which was destroyed, leading Dalvi to be captured by the People's Lib ...

, was the highest-ranking officer to be captured by the PLA. Before the Sino-Indian War the 7th Brigade was deemed to be one of the best brigades in the Indian Army. The unit was disbanded after the war.

Commanders during World War II

* Brigadier Sydney A. H. Hungerford (Sep 1939 – Sep 1940) * Brigadier Harold Rawdon Briggs (Sep 1940 – May 1942) * Brigadier John A. Finlay (May 1942 – Oct 1942) * Brigadier

Arthur Holworthy Major-General Arthur Wilmot Wadeson Holworthy DSO, MC (12 December 1897 – 1983) was a senior British Indian Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. Military career Holworthy was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 16 ...

(Oct 1942 – Jan 1943) * Brigadier Osmond de T. Lovett (Jan 1943 – Apr 1943) (wounded) * Lieutenant-Colonel Charles E. A. Firth (Apr 1943 – Jun 1943) *Brigadier Osmond de T. Lovett (Jun 1943 – )

Commanders during Sino-Indian War 1962

* Brigadier

(Jan 1962 – Nov 1962)

Formation

* 1st Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment * 2nd (Royal) 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 ...

* 4th Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment ''(up to April 1942)'' * 4th 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 amalgamate ...

* 1st 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 Bat ...

''(from April 1942)''

References

{{Reflist British Indian Army brigades

Commanders during World War II

Commanders during Sino-Indian War 1962

Formation

See also

References