Abdul Hafiz (4 September 19256 April 1944) was an

Punjabi Muslim Punjabi Muslims ( pa, ) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. Primarily geographically native to the Punjab province of Pakistan today, many have ancestry in the entire Punjab region, ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. He was the youngest Indian recipient of the award. His was one of three

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

VC's awarded for action in British India, the others being awarded to John Pennington Harman and John Niel Randle both at the

Battle of Kohima The Battle of Kohima proved the turning point of the Japanese U-Go offensive into India in 1944 during the Second World War. The battle took place in three stages from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima, now the capital city of N ...

Details

He was 18 years old , and serving as

Naib Subedar Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) is a term used for a group of military ranks which is higher than havildar ( non commissioned officer) and lower than lieutenant ( commissioned officer). The term is only used by Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Se ...

in the

9th Jat Regiment The 9th Jat Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army, moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. World War II The Regiment saw a g ...

, British Indian Army during

, when he performed the deeds for which he was awarded the VC. On 6 April 1944, during the

Battle of Imphal ) , partof = the Operation U-Go during the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II , image = Imphalgurkhas.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = Gurkhas advancing with Grant tanks ...

, Naib Subedar Abdul Hafiz Khan was ordered to attack with his platoon a prominent position held by the enemy, the only approach to which was across a bare slope and then up a very steep hill. The Naib Subedar led the assault, himself killing several of the enemy, pressing on regardless of machine-gun fire. He received two wounds, the second of which was fatal; but he had succeeded in routing an enemy vastly superior in numbers, and had captured a most important position. The citation reads as follows:

The Medal

His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London.

References

External links

Abdul Hafiz

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafiz, Abdul 1925 births 1944 deaths Indian World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army officers Indian Army personnel killed in World War II People from Gurdaspur district Military personnel of British India