5th Infantry Division (India)

5th Indian Infantry Division
Active	1939 - 1945
Country	India
Branch	Indian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Nickname(s)	"Ball of Fire".
Engagements	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".

History

A soldier from the 5th Division stands guard over Japanese prisoners who surrendered during the liberation of Singapore. September 1945.

The Division was formed in India from the Deccan District Headquarters and two brigades moved to the Sudan in 1940 and were joined by a British brigade already there. It fought the East African Campaign in Eritrea and Ethiopia during 1940 and 1941 thence moving to Egypt, Cyprus and Iraq. In 1942 the division was heavily engaged in the Western Desert Campaign and in the fighting withdrawal to Alamein. From late 1943 to the Japanese surrender it fought continuously from India through the length of Burma. It was the first unit into Singapore and then fought in Eastern Java.

Lord Louis Mountbatten wrote in his memoirs paying tribute to the division whose record was "second to none", saying:

"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."

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.

Formation During World War II

According to the booklet issued to mark the inauguration of the Indian Divisions Memorial 1939-1945 at the UK RAMC Sandhurst in June 1982 the Formation of the Division during WW2 was as follows:

Headquarters

• Skinner's Horse (Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment)
• Guides Cavalry
• ROYAL ARTILLERY
  • HQ
  • 4, 28, & 144 FD Regts RA
  • 56 Anti-Tank Regts RA
  • 24 Indian Mountain Regt IA
• INDIAN ENGINEERS: SAPPERS AND MINERS
  • 2 & 74 FD Coys K.G.O Bengal
  • 20 FD Coy Royal Bombay
  • 44 FD Park Coy QVO Madras
• 5 INDIAN DIV SIGNALS
• MG BN 17th DOGRA REGIMENT

9 INDIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE

• • HQ
  • 2 BN The West Yorkshire Regiment
  • 3 BN 5th Mahratta Light Infantry (1940-1942)
  • 3 BN 9th JAT Regiment
  • 3 Royal BN 12th Frontier Force Regiment (1940-1942)
  • 3 BN 14th Punjab Regiment (1942-1946)

10 INDIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE (1940-1942)

• • HQ
  • 1 BN The Essex Regiment
  • 2 BN The Highland Light Infantry
  • 4 BN 10th Baluch Regiment
  • 3 BN 18th Royal Garwhal Rifles
  • 2 BN 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles

29 INDIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE (1940-1942)

• • HQ
  • 1 BN The Worcestershire Regiment
  • 3 BN 2nd Punjab Regiment
  • 1 BN 5th Mahratta Light Infantry
  • 6 Royal Bn 13th Frontier Force Rifles

123 INDIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE (1942-1946)

• • HQ
  • 2 BN The Suffolk Regiment
  • 2 BN 1st Punjab Regiment
  • 3 BN 2nd Punjab Regiment
  • 1 Bn 17th Dogra Regiment
  • 3 BN 9th Gurkha Rifles

161 INDIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE (1942-1946)

• • HQ
  • 4 BN The Royal West Kent Regiment
  • 1 BN 1st Punjab Regiment
  • 4 BN 7th Rajput Regiment
  • 3 BN 4th PWO Gurkha Rifles

Support Units

• ROYAL INDIAN ARMY SERVICE CORPS
  • 15, 17 & 29 M.T. Coys
  • 20, 60, 74 &82 Animal Transport Coys (Mule)
  • 238, 239 & 240 GP Transport Coys
  • Composite Issue Units
• MEDICAL SERVICES
  • I.M.S-R.A.M.C-I.M.D-I.H.C-I.A.M.C
  • 10, 21, 45 & 75 Indian Field Ambulances
  • 5 INDIAN DIV PROVOST UNIT
• INDIAN ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS
  • 5 Indian Div Sub Park
• INDIAN ELECTRICAL & MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
  • 112, 113 & 123 Infantry Workshop Coys
  • 5 Indian Div Recovery Coy

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.

Further Reading

• Jon Latimer, Burma: The Forgotten War, London: John Murray, 2004 ISBN 0-7195-6576-6