The 25th Indian Infantry Brigade was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, 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 ...

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 February 1941 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 ...

and assigned to the

10th Indian Infantry Division The 10 RAPID Division (erstwhile 10 Inf Division) was a war formed infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. In four years, the division travelled over from Tehran to Trieste, fought three small wars, and fought two gre ...

. The brigade was attached to the 8th Indian Infantry Division in August 1941, and took part in the

Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, also known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia, was the joint invasion of the neutral Imperial State of Iran by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in August 1941. The two powers announced that they w ...

. Returning to the 10th Indian Division in August 1941, they arrived in the desert just in time for the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive (Italian language, Italian: ''Battaglia di Ain el-Gazala'') was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, f ...

and continued to fight in the

Western Desert Campaign The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...

and later in the Italian Campaign. While in Italy the brigade was attached to the British 46th Infantry Division from 7 to 11 December 1944.

Formation

*2nd 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 ...

March 1941 to March 1942 and June to August 1942 *3rd Battalion,

9th Jat Regiment The 9th Jat Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1795 and again in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army, moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. World War II Th ...

March 1941 to January 1942 *1st Battalion,

5th Mahratta Light Infantry The 5th Mahratta Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, when the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment fought in World War ...

April 1941 to April 1942 *2nd 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 ...

June to July 1941 and October to November 1944 *

13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers The 13th Lancers is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1923 as 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers by the amalgamation of 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers and 32nd Lancers. On Partition of India in 1947, the regiment wa ...

August 1941 *1st Battalion,

King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

November 1941 to October 1943 *X 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 ...

May to June 1942 *3rd Battalion,

June 1942 to June 1943 and August 1944 *164th Field Regiment,

June to August 1942 *4th Battalion,

13th Frontier Force Rifles The 13th Frontier Force Rifles was part of the British Indian Army, and after 1947, Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of five existing regiments and consisted of five regular battalions. In 1947, it was allocated to the Pakista ...

August 1942 to February 1943 *3rd Battalion,

18th Royal Garhwal Rifles The 18th Royal Garhwal Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government decided to reform the army, moving away from single-battalion regiments to multi-battalion regiments. They were th ...

May 1943 to August 1945 *8th Battalion,

November 1943 to December 1944, merged with 1st Battalion *1st Battalion,

January 1944 to August 1945 *2nd Battalion,

3rd Gurkha Rifles The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars and Gurung tribes. They wer ...

August 1944 *

Lovat Scouts The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit, and were renowned for their elite reconnaissance capabili ...

August 1944 and March to April 1945 *1st Battalion,

2nd Punjab Regiment The 2nd Punjab Regiment was a British Indian Army regiment from 1922 to the partition of India in 1947. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of other regiments: *1st Battalion, from the 67th Punjabis, formerly the 7th Regiment of Madras N ...

August to September 1944 *2nd Battalion,

4th Gurkha Rifles The 4th Gorkha Rifles or the Fourth Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 4 GR, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs hill tribes of Nepal. The Fourth ...

October 1944 *4th 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 ...

October 1944 *4th Battalion,

January to April 1945 *3rd Battalion,

1st Punjab Regiment The 1st 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 Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, i ...

February to August 1945 *2nd Battalion,

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

March to April 1945

Officers commanding

The following officers commanded the brigade during the war. :Brigadier R.G. Mountain (February 1941 to July 1942) :Brigadier A.E. Arderne (July 1942 onwards)

References

Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 British Indian Army brigades {{WWII-stub

Formation

Officers commanding

See also

References