The 2nd Indian Infantry Brigade was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

formation 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, ...

. It was formed in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan ...

in September 1939. In October 1940, it was renamed 16th (Independent) Indian Infantry Brigade in November 1941, and left India for Burma. The brigade was caught in the

Battle of Sittang Bridge The Battle of Sittang Bridge was part of the Burma campaign during the Second World War. Fought between 19 February and 23 February 1942, the battle was a victory for the Empire of Japan, with many losses for the British Indian Army, which was f ...

where it suffered heavy losses. Instead of being reformed in September 1942, it was renamed yet again, this time to 116th Indian Infantry Brigade. Attached to the

39th Indian Infantry Division 39th Indian Infantry Division (originally the 1st Burma Division) was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II, which became a training division in 1943 after its recovery into India from Burma. The division was re-raised after ...

it now provided specialised jungle conversion training. An infantry battalion would spend from four to six months with the brigade, before being sent to the front to replace a tired battalion in one of the fighting divisions.

Formation

2nd Indian Infantry Brigade

*1st Battalion,

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1 ...

from September 1940 *2nd Battalion,

8th Punjab Regiment The 8th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to Pakistan Army on Partition of India in 1947 and merged with the Baluch Regiment in 1956. History Madras Infantry The 8th Punjab Regimen ...

to March 1940 *4th Battalion,

12th Frontier Force Regiment The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was formed in 1922 as part of the British Indian Army. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th (Training) Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. ...

to September 1940 *1st Battalion,

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

March to September 1940 *2nd Battalion, 8th Punjab Regiment June to September 1940

16th Indian Infantry Brigade

*1st Battalion,

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 ...

October 1940 to March 1941 *2nd Battalion,

1st Gurkha Rifles 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), often referred to as the 1st Gorkha Rifles, or 1 GR in abbreviation, is the most senior Gorkha Infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as part of the East India Company's Bengal Arm ...

October 1940 to April 1941 *4th Battalion,

October 1940 to March 1941 *4th Battalion,

July 1941 to October 1941 *1st Battalion, 9th Jat Regiment October 1941 to July 1942 *1st Battalion,

7th Gurkha Rifles The 7th Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army, following India's independence in 1947 and after 1959 designated as the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles. History ...

October 1941 to December 1941 *4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment October 1941 to January 1942 *7th Battalion,

Burma Rifles The Burma Rifles were a British colonial regiment raised in Burma. Founded in 1917 as a regiment of the British Indian Army, the regiment re-used the name of an unrelated earlier unit, the 10th Regiment (1st Burma Rifles) Madras Infantry, which evol ...

December 1941 to January 1942 *4th Battalion, Burma Rifles January 1942 *1st Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles January to February 1942 *2nd Battalion, Burma Rifles February 1942 *2nd Battalion,

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

February 1942 *4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment February to September 1942 *4th Battalion, Burma Rifles February to March 1942 *3rd Battalion, Burma Rifles February to March 1942 *8th Battalion, Burma Rifles February to March 1942 *2nd Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

February to May 1942 *7th Battalion,

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments. During more ...

February to May 1942 *7th Battalion, 9th Jat Regiment July to September 1942

116th Indian Infantry Brigade

*7th Battalion,

September 1942 to September 1943 *7th Battalion,

14th Punjab Regiment The 14th Punjab Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. It was transferred to the Pakistan Army on independence in 1947, and amalgamated with the 1st, 15th and 16th Punjab Regiments in 1956, to form the Punjab Regi ...

December 1942 to August 1943 *1st Battalion, Assam Regiment March to August 1943 *1st Battalion,

8th Gurkha Rifles The 8th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company and later transferred to the British Indian Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment served in World War I ...

April to November 1943 *2nd Battalion,

7th Rajput Regiment 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

August to December 1943 *2nd Battalion,

August 1943 to March 1944 *6th Battalion,

11th Sikh Regiment The 11th Sikh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1922, when after World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.S ...

August to December 1943 *2nd Battalion,

Ajmer Regiment Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

IAS March to September 1944 *5th Battalion,

3rd Madras Regiment The 3rd Madras Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army formed after the World War I reforms of the Indian Army. The infantry regiments were converted into large regiments with four or five battalions in each regiment plus a t ...

March to September 1944 *4th Battalion,

Jammu and Kashmir Infantry The Jammu and Kashmir Rifles is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. Its origins lay in the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. After the accession of the state to the Indian Union in October 1947, ...

IAS April to September 1944 *2nd Battalion,

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

May to September 1944 *1st Battalion,

September 1944 to January 1945 *6th 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 ...

September 1944 to April 1945 *6th Battalion,

19th Hyderabad Regiment The 19th Hyderabad Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed at the time of reforms of the Indian Army after the First World War, when it moved from single-battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments. The reg ...

September 1944 to April 1945 *16th Battalion,

September 1944 to March 1945 *1st Battalion, Cameronians October 1944 to March 1945 *1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment October 1944 to April 1945 *8th Battalion,

February to August 1945 *1st Battalion,

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

April to August 1945 *

18th King Edward VII's Own Cavalry The 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. Following the independence of India, the regiment was allotted to the Indian Army and redesignated as the 18th Cavalry. Formation Tracing its origins ...

May to August 1945 *1st Battalion,

June to August 1945

References

British Indian Army brigades Military units and formations in Burma in World War II {{India-mil-unit-stub

Formation

2nd Indian Infantry Brigade

16th Indian Infantry Brigade

116th Indian Infantry Brigade

See also

References