Indian 5th Infantry Division
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 5th Indian Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939 - 1945 |
| Country | India |
| Branch | Indian Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Battles/wars | East African Campaign (World War II) Battle of Kohima |
Indian 5th Infantry Division fought in several theatres of World War II and more than earned its nickname the "Ball of Fire".
Contents |
[edit] History
Lord Louis Mountbatten said:
- "When the Division came under my command in South-East Asia towards the end of 1943, it had already had three years' hard fighting in Africa. In 1941 it had played a leading part in the defeat of the Italian Army in the Sudan, Eritrea, and Abyssinia; in the summer of 1942 it had been very heavily engaged with the Germans and Italians in the crucial battle of the Knightsbridge 'Cauldron,' and in the fighting withdrawal across North Africa to the defence of the Alamein line."
[edit] Burma campaign
At the end of 1943 the division was taking part in the Burma Campaign as one of the Divisions in the British Fourteenth Army under the command of General William Slim. It was facing the Japanese 55th Division on the coastal flank of the Arakan front. The defeat of the Japanese 55th Division, to which a large share of the credit must go to the Indian 5th Division, was the first decisive victory against the Japanese since they had invaded Burma two years previously.
From the victory in the Arakan sector the Indian 5th Infantry Division was air-lifted to the central front. 161 Brigade joined III Corps, which was beginning to arrive at Dimapur, and fought in the Battle of Kohima while the remainder of the Division reinforced IV Corps, whose land victory at Kohima and Imphal, in which the Division played an important part, proved to be the turning-point of the Burma Campaign.
Except for one period of rest and reorganization, the Indian 5th Division continued to fight and to advance throughout the rest of the war, and took part in the final thrust by IV Corps down to Rangoon.
[edit] External links
- Ball of fire. The Fifth Indian division in the Second World War by Antony Brett-James, Forward by Vice-Admiral Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
[edit] Further Reading
- Jon Latimer, Burma: The Forgotten War, London: John Murray, 2004 ISBN 0-7195-6576-6
 |
This article about the Military of India is a stub. See the Indian military history task force for article coordination. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
