The 9th Indian Infantry Division 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 ...

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, ...

. The division formed part of Indian III Corps in the Malaya Command during the

Battle of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles betwee ...

. It was commanded by

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 Edward Barstow.

History

The 9th Indian Infantry Division was formed on 15 September 1940 at

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...

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 ...

before being transferred to Malaya. On 15 September 1940 the three original brigades of the division were the 15th,

20th 20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score. In mathematics *20 is a pronic number. *20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20. *20 is the ba ...

, and

21st 21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22. The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar. In mathematics 21 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a defici ...

Indian Infantry Brigades. The 3/17th Dogra Regiment from the 9th Division was the first British Commonwealth Army unit to see action against the Japanese at the Battle of Kota Bharu on 8 December 1941.Smith The 9th Indian Division fought a relatively successful defensive retreat down Malaya's east coast until the 22nd Brigade was cut off from the rest of the division at a demolished railway bridge near the village of Layang Layang in the state of Johore. Major-General Barstow was killed crossing the bridge, while attempting to contact the brigade. The 22nd Brigade was destroyed whilst trying to find another way to Singapore. What was left of the division was amalgamated with the 11th Indian Division.

Component Units 1941 – 1942

8th Indian Infantry Brigade The 8th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in September 1939, in India. In November 1940, the brigade was assigned to the 11th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade was ...

– Brigadier Berthold Wells (Billy) Key *3/ 17th Dogra Regiment – Lieut.Col George Alan Preston DSO ( WIA at Kota Bharu) *2/ 10th Baluch Regiment – Lieut.Col James Frith *2/

12th Frontier Force Regiment The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was formed in 1922 as part of the British Indian Army. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th (Training) Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. ...

(2nd Sikhs) – Lieut.Col Arthur Cumming V.C. *1st

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

Infantry (

Indian States Forces The Imperial Service Troops were forces raised by the princely states of the British Indian Empire. These troops were available for service alongside the Indian Army when such service was requested by the British government. At the beginning of ...

) – Lieut.Col K.H.Preston *1st

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

Infantry (Indian States Forces) – Lt.Col Charles Albert "Clive" Hendrick ( KIA at Kota Bharu)

22nd Indian Infantry Brigade The 22nd Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in September 1940, at Baleli in India using assets from the 8th Indian Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 9th Indian Infantry D ...

– Brigadier George Painter *Brigadier Painter *2/ 18th Royal Garhwal Rifles – Lt.Col L.H.Cockram/ Lt.Col G.E.R.S.Hartigan *5/ 11th Sikh Regiment – Lieut.Col John Parkin/ MacAdam *1/ 13th Frontier Force Rifles – Lieut.Col Clarence Gilbert

Support Units

*CRA – Brigadier E.W. Goodman *5th Field Regt. – Lieut.Col E.W.F.Jephson

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 ...

(16x 4.5-inch Howitzers) *88th Field Regt. – Lieut.Col Sylvain Claude D'Aubuz Royal Artillery (24x 25pdrs) *80th Anti-Tank Regt. – Lieut.Col W.Napier Royal Artillery (48x 2pdrs/ 47mm Bredas) *21st Mountain Battery, IA – Major J.B.Soper IA (4x QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzers)

Footnotes

Books

* * * *

External links

Malaya Conflict Site

9 Indian Infantry Division (1941–42)
{{DEFAULTSORT:09 Indian Infantry Division Indian World War II divisions British Indian Army divisions Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II D Military units and formations established in 1940