The Indian XXXIV Corps was formed in March 1945 to be part of the
British Fourteenth Army
The British Fourteenth Army was a multi-national force comprising units from Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries during the World War II, Second World War. As well as British Army units, many of its units were from the British Indian ...
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 ...
. Significant formations under Fourteenth Army for 'Zipper,' possibly under XXXIV Corps, included
5th Indian Division
The 5th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II that fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the "Ball of Fire". It was one of the few Allied divisions to fight against three differe ...
,
23rd Indian Division
The 23rd Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Burma Campaign. It was then reformed as a division of the independent Indian Army in 1959.
History
The division was raised on 1 ...
,
25th Indian Infantry Division
The 25th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II which fought in the Burma Campaign. It was re-raised within the post-independence Indian Army in 1948.
History
Originally formed in Bangalore in ...
, and
26th Indian Infantry Division
The 26th Indian Infantry Division, was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Burma Campaign.
History
When the Japanese invaded Burma in 1942, the various units in training or stationed around Barrackpur n ...
.
Since Japan surrendered before the operation could be executed, the corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General
Ouvry Roberts, did not see wartime service. It did, however, see occupation duty after the conflict was over.
XXXIV Corps was still active in September 1945 in Malaya, with HQ 2nd British Infantry Division, 25th Indian Division,
50th Indian Tank Brigade
The 50th Indian Tank Brigade was an armoured brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed for service in the Burma Campaign of World War II from units of the British Army and the British Indian Army. The brigade's forma ...
, and
150th Indian Infantry Brigade
The 150th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in March 1944, at Secunderabad as a Jungle Training Brigade assigned to the Southern Army.
In September 1945 the brigade w ...
, which was en route to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
Which 150th Brigade is unclear; maybe Joslin can sort this out.
References
Corps of British India
Corps of India in World War II
Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II
1945 establishments in the British Empire
{{India-mil-unit-stub