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{{ | {{Short description|Infantry Division of the Indian army during World War II}} | ||
{{for|the World War I formation|10th Indian Division}} | {{for|the World War I formation|10th Indian Division}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} | ||
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{{Infobox military unit | {{Infobox military unit | ||
|unit_name=10th Indian Infantry Division | |unit_name=10th Indian Infantry Division | ||
|image= | |image= | ||
|image_size=150px | |image_size=150px | ||
|caption=Insignia of the 10th Indian Infantry Division, World War II. | |caption=Insignia of the 10th Indian Infantry Division, World War II. | ||
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|country={{flagicon|British Raj}} [[British Raj|British India]]<br>{{flag|India}} | |country={{flagicon|British Raj}} [[British Raj|British India]]<br>{{flag|India}} | ||
|allegiance={{flag|British Empire}}<br>{{flag|India}} | |allegiance={{flag|British Empire}}<br>{{flag|India}} | ||
|branch= | |branch= [[British Indian Army]]<br> [[Indian Army]] | ||
|type=[[Infantry]] | |type=[[Infantry]] | ||
|role= | |role= | ||
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==World War II== | ==World War II== | ||
The Division was formed in January 1941 at [[Ahmednagar]], out of the [[20th Indian Infantry Brigade|20th]], [[21st Indian Infantry Brigade|21st]] and [[25th Indian Infantry Brigade]]s. The first General Officer Commanding was [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] [[William Archibald Kenneth Fraser|W.A.K. Fraser]].<ref name="GJ"/> The division landed in [[Basra]] in April, 1941 for the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]]. On 16 May 1941, [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim|William "Bill" Slim]] took over command of the division and moved up the [[Euphrates]], capturing [[Baghdad]] and the oilfields of [[Mosul]]. When Iraq's ally [[Nazi Germany]] relocated its aircraft to Vichy French [[Syria]], the 10th [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign|invaded]] Syria from Iraq in June. The 21st Brigade advanced towards [[Aleppo]], while the 20th and 25th Brigades guarded the communication lines and the Mosul oilfield, respectively. Following the French surrender on 11 July, the division returned to guard duty in Mosul. In August, the division took part in the joint [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]]. At the conclusion of the Iranian operation, it returned to Iraq, where it underwent additional training and undertook security duties until May 1942.{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|pp=47–48}} In March 1942, command of the division passed from Slim to Major General [[Thomas Wynford Rees|Thomas "Pete" Rees]] when Slim was ordered to India to take command of [[Burma Corps]], the kernel that would eventually become the [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|British Fourteenth Army]].<ref>Slim William. ''Defeat into Victory'' p. 19</ref> | The Division was formed in January 1941 at [[Ahmednagar]], out of the [[20th Indian Infantry Brigade|20th]], [[21st Indian Infantry Brigade|21st]] and [[25th Indian Infantry Brigade]]s. The first General Officer Commanding was [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] [[William Archibald Kenneth Fraser|W.A.K. Fraser]].<ref name="GJ"/> The division landed in [[Basra]] in April, 1941 for the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]]. On 16 May 1941, [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim|William "Bill" Slim]] took over command of the division and moved up the [[Euphrates]], capturing [[Baghdad]] and the oilfields of [[Mosul]]. When Iraq's ally [[Nazi Germany]] relocated its aircraft to Vichy French [[Syria]], the 10th [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign|invaded]] Syria from Iraq in June. The 21st Brigade advanced towards [[Aleppo]], while the 20th and 25th Brigades guarded the communication lines and the Mosul oilfield, respectively. Following the French surrender on 11 July, the division returned to guard duty in Mosul. In August, the division took part in the joint [[Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran]]. At the conclusion of the Iranian operation, it returned to Iraq, where it underwent additional training and undertook security duties until May 1942.{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|pp=47–48}} In March 1942, command of the division passed from Slim to Major General [[Thomas Wynford Rees|Thomas "Pete" Rees]] when Slim was ordered to India to take command of [[Burma Corps]], the kernel that would eventually become the [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|British Fourteenth Army]].<ref>Slim William. ''Defeat into Victory'' p. 19</ref> | ||
[[File: | [[File:|thumb|[[Clement Attlee]] meets representatives of the [[10th Indian Division]], 1945.]] | ||
{{quotation|We had scrambled thought skirmishes of the Iraq rebellion, been bloodied, but not too deeply, against the French in Syria, and enjoyed the unrestrainedly ''opéra bouffe'' of the invasion of Persia. We had bought our beer in Haifa and drunk it on the shores of the Caspian. We could move, we could fight, and we had begun to build up that most valuable of all assets a tradition of success. We had a good soldierly conceit of ourselves. Now in March 1942, in spite of dust storms ...it was stimulating to be in what we all felt was a critical spot, waiting for the threatened German invasion of Turkey.|Slim – ''Defeat into Victory''<ref>Slim William. ''Defeat into Victory'' p. 3</ref>}} | {{quotation|We had scrambled thought skirmishes of the Iraq rebellion, been bloodied, but not too deeply, against the French in Syria, and enjoyed the unrestrainedly ''opéra bouffe'' of the invasion of Persia. We had bought our beer in Haifa and drunk it on the shores of the Caspian. We could move, we could fight, and we had begun to build up that most valuable of all assets a tradition of success. We had a good soldierly conceit of ourselves. Now in March 1942, in spite of dust storms ...it was stimulating to be in what we all felt was a critical spot, waiting for the threatened German invasion of Turkey.|Slim – ''Defeat into Victory''<ref>Slim William. ''Defeat into Victory'' p. 3</ref>}} | ||
The division then moved on to [[North Africa]], reaching [[Halfaya Pass]] on 4 June to take part in the [[Western Desert Campaign]].{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|p=48}} Initially the 10th Indian Infantry Division was committed piecemeal with units involved at [[El Adem]] and Sidi Rezegh during the 1942 [[Battle of Gazala]]. In June the division, with the [[2nd Free French Brigade]] under command, was ordered by [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]] [[William Gott]], the [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|XIII Corps]] commander, to hold a position near the Egyptian border with Libya for 72 hours during the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]]'s retreat to El Alamein. Major General Rees responded that the division had only just concentrated and that defensive works were as yet inadequate. He believed, therefore, that the division was unlikely to be able to withstand a full-scale attack from [[Erwin Rommel]]. Gott immediately visited Rees and relieved him of command of the division, telling him he lacked resolution.<ref name="Mead373">Mead (2007), p. 373</ref> During its retreat from Libya, the division was tasked with defending the coastal town of [[Mersa Matruh]]. In the ensuing battle it was overwhelmed and forced to retreat. 60% of the men evaded capture, reaching the Allied lines at [[El Alamein]] the following day. Most of the survivors were sent to the [[Nile Delta]] to recover. However, part of the division formed the improvised Robcol formation (comprising a regiment each of field artillery and light anti-aircraft artillery and a company of infantry), which held the [[Ruweisat Ridge]] between 2–3 July during the [[First Battle of El Alamein]].{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|p=48}} | The division then moved on to [[North Africa]], reaching [[Halfaya Pass]] on 4 June to take part in the [[Western Desert Campaign]].{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|p=48}} Initially the 10th Indian Infantry Division was committed piecemeal with units involved at [[El Adem]] and Sidi Rezegh during the 1942 [[Battle of Gazala]]. In June the division, with the [[2nd Free French Brigade]] under command, was ordered by [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]] [[William Gott]], the [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|XIII Corps]] commander, to hold a position near the Egyptian border with Libya for 72 hours during the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]]'s retreat to El Alamein. Major General Rees responded that the division had only just concentrated and that defensive works were as yet inadequate. He believed, therefore, that the division was unlikely to be able to withstand a full-scale attack from [[Erwin Rommel]]. Gott immediately visited Rees and relieved him of command of the division, telling him he lacked resolution.<ref name="Mead373">Mead (2007), p. 373</ref> During its retreat from Libya, the division was tasked with defending the coastal town of [[Mersa Matruh]]. In the ensuing battle it was overwhelmed and forced to retreat. 60% of the men evaded capture, reaching the Allied lines at [[El Alamein]] the following day. Most of the survivors were sent to the [[Nile Delta]] to recover. However, part of the division formed the improvised Robcol formation (comprising a regiment each of field artillery and light anti-aircraft artillery and a company of infantry), which held the [[Ruweisat Ridge]] between 2–3 July during the [[First Battle of El Alamein]].{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|p=48}} | ||
[[File: | [[File:|thumb|The Commander in Chief, [[General Auchinleck]], inspecting Bren gun carrier crews of the Indian Tenth Army in [[Iraq]], 18 April 1942.]] | ||
[[File: | [[File:|thumb|The 10th Indian Division in [[Italy]], 22 July 1944.]] | ||
In August, command passed to Major General [[Alan Bruce Blaxland]] while the division was sent to [[Cyprus]] with the responsibility of protecting the island. In July 1943, Major General [[Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd]] took command. In August, the 10th had relocated to the Middle East, now incorporating the 1st Greek Brigade, composed of royalist Greek and [[Yugoslavia]]n troops along with the 20th and 25th Indian Brigades. During the summer it underwent training for a planned invasion of [[Rhodes]], but the Allied defeat in the [[Dodecanese campaign]] put an end to those plans. In November it was placed on security duty in [[Lebanon]]. On 27 November, it began training for amphibious assault and mountain warfare in preparation for its role in the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]].{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|pp=48–51}} In January 1944, Lloyd was killed in a car accident while overseeing a training exercise in Egypt; command passed to Major General [[Denys Whitehorn Reid]].{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|p=57}} | In August, command passed to Major General [[Alan Bruce Blaxland]] while the division was sent to [[Cyprus]] with the responsibility of protecting the island. In July 1943, Major General [[Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd]] took command. In August, the 10th had relocated to the Middle East, now incorporating the 1st Greek Brigade, composed of royalist Greek and [[Yugoslavia]]n troops along with the 20th and 25th Indian Brigades. During the summer it underwent training for a planned invasion of [[Rhodes]], but the Allied defeat in the [[Dodecanese campaign]] put an end to those plans. In November it was placed on security duty in [[Lebanon]]. On 27 November, it began training for amphibious assault and mountain warfare in preparation for its role in the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]].{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|pp=48–51}} In January 1944, Lloyd was killed in a car accident while overseeing a training exercise in Egypt; command passed to Major General [[Denys Whitehorn Reid]].{{sfn|Kavanagh|2014|p=57}} | ||
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==Order of battle== | ==Order of battle== | ||
[[File: | [[File:|thumb|A patrol from No. 8 Platoon, 'C' Company of the 2nd Battalion, [[3 Gorkha Rifles|3rd Gurkha Rifles]] advances cautiously through the snow, near Castel Bolognese, Italy, 23–24 January 1945.]] | ||
===1941=== | ===1941=== | ||
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==Post re-raising== | ==Post re-raising== | ||
[[File: | [[File:|thumb|right|Flag of 10 Infantry Division, Indian Army]] | ||
Soon after re-raising, with war clouds looming, the division under Major General Dharam Bir Chopra was moved to [[Chhamb]]-[[Jourian]] sector under [[XV Corps (India)|XV Corps]]. Before it could settle down in its new location, the division was asked to move to the [[Akhnoor]] sector. The division at this time was re-designated as '''10 Infantry Division'''.<ref name="GJ"/> It was asked to take over operational command over 80 and 191 Infantry Brigades by 15 September 1965.<ref name="Harbaksh"/> | Soon after re-raising, with war clouds looming, the division under Major General Dharam Bir Chopra was moved to [[Chhamb]]-[[Jourian]] sector under [[XV Corps (India)|XV Corps]]. Before it could settle down in its new location, the division was asked to move to the [[Akhnoor]] sector. The division at this time was re-designated as '''10 Infantry Division'''.<ref name="GJ"/> It was asked to take over operational command over 80 and 191 Infantry Brigades by 15 September 1965.<ref name="Harbaksh"/> | ||
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| header = War memorials of the Crossed Swords Division | | header = War memorials of the Crossed Swords Division | ||
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