The 17th Infantry Division is a formation of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it had the distinction of being continually in combat during the three-year-long

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

(except for brief periods of refit). The division was re-raised in 1960 and the 17 Mountain Division is presently located in

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

under XXXIII Corps.

Second World War

The division was first raised at

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

under the command of Major General H V Lewis in 1941. It consisted then of the 44th, 45th and 46th Indian Infantry Brigades, and was intended to garrison

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. At the end of the year, war with

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

broke out and the division was split; 44th and 45th Brigades were despatched to Malaya where 45th Brigade fought in the Battle of Muar before both brigades were lost in the

Battle of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

. The 46th Brigade and the division HQ went to Burma, where the Division was reinforced by 16th Indian Infantry Brigade and took 2nd Burma Infantry Brigade under command.

1942

The Japanese attacked Burma on January 22, 1942. It was soon apparent that the British and Indian troops in Burma were too few in number, wrongly equipped and inadequately trained for the terrain and conditions. After failing to hold the Kawkareik Pass,

Moulmein Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; ; , ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' southeast of Yangon and south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. Mawlamyine was an ancien ...

and Kuzeik, the division fell back to the Bilin River, where it was joined by 48th Indian Infantry Brigade. The Bilin was not a proper defensive position, and the division tried to retreat over the Sittang River. Air attacks, poor organization and vehicle breakdowns delayed the division, and Japanese parties infiltrated around them to threaten the vital bridge over the Sittang. The division's commander, Major General "Jackie" Smyth VC, was forced to order the bridge to be destroyed, with most of the division cut off on the far side of the river. Only a few thousand men without equipment succeeded in crossing the river. Smyth was dismissed and replaced by Major General Cowan. The division was reinforced with the 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade, and narrowly escaped being trapped in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. After trying to hold a front in the

Irrawaddy River The Irrawaddy River (, , Ayeyarwady) is the principal river of Myanmar, running through the centre of the country. Myanmar’s most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long. Originating from the confluence of the ...

valley, the division subsequently retreated north into

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

just before the monsoon broke, fighting off a Japanese attempt to trap it at

Kalewa Kalewa is a town at the confluence of the Chindwin River and the Myittha River in Kale District, Sagaing Region of north-western Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Kalewa Township. Climate Kalewa has a tropical savanna climate (Köpp ...

1943

For the campaigning season of 1943, the division was reorganised as a "Light" formation, with two brigades only (48th and 63rd), supported by mountain artillery, and with mules and jeeps only for transport. It disputed the mountainous and jungle-covered region around Tiddim, with mixed success. The division was at the end of a long and precarious supply line, and the "light" establishment was found to be inadequate in some respects. Some heavier equipment and transport was restored.

1944

In 1944, the Japanese launched a major invasion of India. During the long

Battle of Imphal The Battle of Imphal () took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in Northeast India from March until July 1944. Empire of Japan, Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and ...

, the 17th Division first successfully fought its way out of encirclement at Tiddim, and then disputed the vital Bishenpur sector south of Imphal (with 32nd Indian Infantry Brigade temporarily under command). In July, the Japanese were broken by heavy casualties and starvation, and retreated. Some units of the 17th Division had suffered nearly 100% casualties. During the late monsoon season, the division was temporarily withdrawn to India and reorganised once again. The 48th and 63rd Brigades were fully equipped with vehicles to become

Motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which c ...

. The 99th Indian Infantry Brigade was added to the division, equipped to be transported by

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

aircraft.

1945

In late February 1945, the motor elements of the division, with the bulk of 255th Indian Tank Brigade under command, crossed the

and advanced on the vital Japanese communications centre of

Meiktila Meiktila (; ) is a city in central Burma on the banks of Meiktila Lake in the Mandalay Region at the junctions of the Bagan- Taunggyi, Yangon- Mandalay and Meiktila-Myingyan highways. Because of its strategic position, Meiktila is home to Myanm ...

. Joined by the 99th Indian Infantry Brigade which was flown into the captured airfield at Thabutkon, they captured Meiktila in only four days. Reinforced by the 9th Indian Infantry Brigade which was flown into the airfields around Meiktila, they subsequently withstood a Japanese siege. This Battle of Meiktila largely destroyed the Japanese armies in Central Burma. The division now broke the last Japanese defensive position at Pyawbwe, and advanced south on

. At

Pegu Bago (formerly spelled Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...

, it pushed Japanese rearguards aside, but was still short of its objective when the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

broke. Rangoon fell to an assault from the sea, Operation Dracula. In the last months of the campaign, the division participated in the mopping up of Japanese stragglers in Burma. After the war ended, elements of it formed part of the Commonwealth Occupation force in Japan (under Cowan). The division was disbanded in India in 1946.

Order of Battle, as of May 1, 1944

:General Officer Commanding – ''Major General David Tennent Cowan '' :Commander, Royal Artillery – ''Brigadier the Baron de Robeck'' ::17 Division HQ and Signals : 48th Indian Infantry Brigade – ''(Brigadier Ronald Thomas Cameron)'' ::9th Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

::2nd Battalion, 5th Gurkha Rifles ::1st Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles : 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade – ''(Brigadier Arthur Edward Cumming )'' ::1st Battalion, 3rd Gurkha Rifles ::1st Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles ::1st Battalion, 10th Gurkha Rifles :Divisional Units ::1st Battalion,

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

''(attached)'' ::4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment ''(Divisional reconnaissance unit)'' ::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 ...

''(Divisional defence / machine gun unit)'' :: 129th (Lowland) Jungle 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 ...

(RA) ::21st Mountain Regiment, Indian Artillery (IA) ::29th Mountain Regiment, IA ::82nd Light Anti-aircraft / Anti-tank Regiment RA ::60th Field Company,

Indian Engineers The Indian Army Corps of Engineers is a combat support arm which provides combat engineering support, develops infrastructure for armed forces and other defence organisations and maintains connectivity along the borders, besides helping the civi ...

(IE) ::70th Field Company, IE ::Tehri Garhwal Field Company ::414th Field Park Company IE

Assigned brigades

Post independence

The division was re-raised at

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

(India) on November 15, 1960, under the command of Major General K S Katoch . Among its new formations was the 99 Infantry Brigade, which was soon detached for service with

ONUC The United Nations Operation in the Congo (, abbreviated ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force which was deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. The ONUC was the UN's first peacekeeping mission wi ...

in the Congo.

Operations

* Operation Vijay - The division under the command of Major General KP Candeth moved from Ambala and participated in the

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

military operations in 1961. It had two brigades under its command - the 63rd Brigade and the 48th Brigade. The swift operations between the 17th and 19th December 1961 culminated in the surrender by the Portuguese. General Candeth was immediately appointed Goa's first Indian administrator (acting as the Military Governor), a post he held till June 1962. *

- On November 15, 1963, the division relocated to Sikkim and took on the role of guarding a portion of the Tibet-India border. Under the then GOC, Major General

Sagat Singh Lieutenant General Sagat Singh, PVSM (14 July 1919 – 26 September 2001) was a General Officer in the Indian Army, notable for his participation in the liberation of Goa and later for his operational maneuver in crossing Meghna river and capt ...

, it performed credibly during the

Nathu La and Cho La clashes The Nathu La and Cho La clashes, sometimes referred to as Indo-China War of 1967, Sino-Indian War of 1967, were a series of clashes between China and India alongside the border of the Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim, then an Indian protectorate. ...

of 1967. The formation also played a role in the merger and statehood of Sikkim in 1975. The division is presently deployed in East and South East Sikkim. It was involved in the Doklam standoff in 2017.

Formation Sign

The division had two different formation signs. The first was a lightning bolt (white) on a blue background. This was used until the middle of 1942. Major General CT Cowan decided to change the formation sign to a black cat on a yellow/orange background. It is said that the General wanted to motivate his troops to fight back the Japanese and he felt that no one fights more fiercely and aggressively than a cornered cat. The division is sometimes called ''The Black Cat Division'' based on its second and current formation sign. The present formation sign has a black background signifying an infantry division and black cat drawn with a yellow outline.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:17 Indian Infantry Division Indian World War II divisions Divisions of the Indian Army British Indian Army divisions Military units and formations established in 1941 D D Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Military units and formations established in 1960