The 44th Indian Airborne Division was an

airborne forces Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in a ...

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, ...

, created in 1944. It provided a parachute battalion for one minor airborne operation, but the war ended before the complete formation could take part. (However, most of its subordinate formations and units had already seen action before the division had been formed).

History

Creation

The division's creation was a protracted affair. The division was first converted from the 9th Airborne Division (itself built around the core of the disbanded 44th Indian Armoured Division), at Secunderabad in India, on 15 April 1944. Within a fortnight, the division HQ and such supporting units as had been allocated were used to form the

21st Indian Infantry Division The 21st Indian Infantry Division was a division of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in April 1944 in Assam and is now part of IV Corps or Gajraj corps. History The 21st Indian Infantry Division was a division of the Indian ...

, as an emergency measure during the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

invasion of India (which was codenamed Operation U-Go, and which resulted in the battles of Imphal and Kohima). By 15 July, the crisis was clearly over, and the airborne division's formation was resumed.

Formation

On 15 September 1944, the existing

50th Indian Parachute Brigade The 50th Parachute Brigade is a brigade-sized formation of the Indian Army. Its main force is formed of battalions of the Parachute Regiment. It consists of 2 Airborne battalions, supported by units of the Regiment of Artillery, the Corps of ...

was allocated to the division. Later in the year, it was decreed that the

Chindit The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate for ...

formations were to be broken up and some of them were to be converted to airborne formations. The 14th British Airlanding Brigade became part of the division on 1 November 1944, and the Indian

77th Indian Parachute Brigade The 77th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in India in June 1942. The brigade was assigned to the Chindits and organised into eight columns for operations behind enem ...

on 1 March 1945. The conversion of 77th Brigade to a parachute formation was accompanied by the creation of the Indian Parachute Regiment, which absorbed the existing Indian and Gurkha parachute battalions, and the formation of two British battalions of the Parachute Regiment around the cadre of troops that had already fought as Glider infantry during the Chindit campaign; 15th (King's) Battalion, Parachute Regiment from 1st Battalion

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...

, and 16th (Staffords) Battalion, Parachute Regiment from 1st Battalion

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

Operation Dracula

The division was still in the midst of formation, reorganisation and training when it was called upon to provide a parachute force to take part in

Operation Dracula Operation Dracula was a World War II-airborne and amphibious attack on Rangoon by British and Anglo-Indian forces during the Burma Campaign. The plan was first proposed in mid-1944 when the Allied South East Asia Command was preparing to reoccup ...

. This was an amphibious operation intended to capture Rangoon, the capital and principal port of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, which was reinstated at short notice after being earlier cancelled. A composite Gurkha parachute battalion was formed from the two Gurkha battalions of the Indian Parachute Regiment, and landed behind Japanese coastal defences at the mouth of the Rangoon river on 1 May 1945. During the Battle of Elephant Point, they cleared Japanese rearguards from the defences, but the main Japanese garrison had evacuated Rangoon several days previously. The subsequent landings from the sea were unopposed.

Later Operations

The division was preparing to take part in the projected invasions of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and Singapore when the war ended unexpectedly. The division provided small airborne parties that landed in Japanese-occupied territories ahead of the main Allied forces, locating camps containing Allied prisoners of war and interned civilians, and delivering emergency relief supplies. The 44 Indian Airborne Division moved to Bilaspur in June 1945. The division was then re-named the 2nd Indian Airborne Division and was retained until the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

, when it was disbanded on 14/15 August 1947. One parachute brigade and some divisional units went to Pakistan, the other two brigades and the remaining units went to India.

Order of Battle, as of 1 May 1945

:General Officer Commanding - ''Major General Earnest Edward Down'' :Commander, Royal Artillery - ''Brigadier Reginald John Kirton'' : 14th British Airlanding Brigade - ''Brigadier Francis William Gibb'' ::2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) ::4th Battalion,

6th Rajputana Rifles The 6th Rajputana Rifles were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They were formed in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army. They moved away from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment se ...

::6th Battalion,

16th Punjab Regiment The 16th Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamate ...

- ''Brigadier Edward Galbraith Woods'' :: 16th (Staffords) Battalion, Parachute Regiment ::1st Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment ::3rd Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment :

- ''Brigadier Claude John Wilkinson'' :: 15th (King's) Battalion, Parachute Regiment ::2nd Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment ::4th Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment :Divisional Units ::123rd (West Riding) Field Regiment,

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 ...

::159th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery ::23rd Light Anti-Aircraft / Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:44 Indian Airborne Division Indian World War II divisions British Indian Army divisions Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1947 Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II