The 77th Indian Infantry Brigade was an

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 mar ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

formation 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

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

in June 1942. The brigade was assigned to the

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

and organised into eight columns for operations behind enemy lines in Burma. In March 1945, it was converted into the 77th Indian Parachute Brigade and assigned to the 44th Airborne Division.

Composition

1942–1943

* 13th Battalion,

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...

* 3rd Battalion,

2nd Gurkha 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 Ba ...

* 2nd Battalion,

Burma Rifles The Burma Rifles were a British colonial regiment raised in Burma. Founded in 1917 as a regiment of the British Indian Army, the regiment re-used the name of an unrelated earlier unit, the 10th Regiment (1st Burma Rifles) Madras Infantry, which evol ...

* 3rd Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles January 1944–August 1944 * 12th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment April 1944–May 1944 * 7th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment April 1944–May 1944

1943–1945

* 3rd Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles * 1st Battalion,

* 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers * 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment

77th Parachute Brigade

* 15th (King's) Parachute Battalion * 16th (Staffords) Parachute Battalion * 2nd Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment * 4th Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment

References

British Indian Army brigades Military units and formations in Burma in World War II {{WWII-stub

Composition

1942–1943

1943–1945

77th Parachute Brigade

See also

References