The 6th Infantry 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, ...

, created on 1 March 1941 in Secunderabad. On 11 September 1941 it was shipped to the

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 ...

and later

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. During 1942 and 1943 it was part of the Tenth Army. The division remained in the Middle East where it was disbanded on 15 October 1944 in

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

, Iraq. During World War II its commanders included Major-General James Noel Thomson, Major-General Arthur Holworthy, and Major-General B.H. Chappel.

Component units as of 11 September 1941

* 1st Duke of Yorks Own Skinners Horse * 9th Indian Infantry Brigade **2nd Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment **3rd Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment **3rd Battalion,

5th Mahratta Light Infantry The 5th Mahratta Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, when the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment fought in World Wa ...

* 10th Indian Infantry Brigade **2nd Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry **3rd 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 ...

**4th Battalion,

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments. During more ...

*28th 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 ...

*20th 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 ...

*21st Field Company,

*44th Field Park Company,

In addition, the 24th Indian Infantry Brigade was assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II.

6th Mountain Division

After the Partition of India, the post-independence

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- ...

reraised the 6th Division as the 6th Mountain Division in 1963. The division headquarters was initially at Naini Tal. The division is now headquartered at

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The c ...

and is part of the Central Command. The Garuda Division as it is known has been commanded amongst others by Maj Gen

Siri Kanth Korla Major General Siri Kanth Korla, PVSM, DSO, MC (also spelled Sri Kanth Korla) (27 January 1917 – 7 April 2007) was an Indian army officer who served in the Second World War and the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965. He served in the British Indian A ...

DSO, MC, and Maj Gen R Z Kabraji, AVSM, ADC. Kabraji succeeded Korla and was GOC from December 1966 to January 1969. Maj Gen (later Lt Gen) D K Chandorkar took over from Kabraji. The division later relocated to Bereilly. The division took part in the 1965 and 1971 wars. It was moved to Kashmir in May 1999 during Op Vijay, however, it was not deployed for operations. In 2005, Major General Gur Iqbal Singh, the then division commander, was found to be involved in a corruption case. He was tried and dismissed for corruption in late 2006. At that time, Brigadier G. Illangovan commanded the 99 Mountain Brigade at Chaubatia and Brigadier D.S. Grewal commanded the 69 Mountain Brigade in

Pithoragarh Pithoragarh ( Kumaoni: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan city with a Municipal Board in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the fourth largest city of Kumaon and the largest in Kumaon hills. It is an education hub of t ...

, both in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. Both brigadiers reported to Singh. As of June 2007, both brigadiers were accused of misdirection of monies.The attached school affiliation articles supports the possibility that 69 Mountain Brigade is part of 6 Mountain Division. http://pithoragarh.nic.in/Bcj_sm.htm

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:06 Indian Infantry Division Indian World War II divisions Divisions of the Indian Army British Indian Army divisions Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II