The 26th Indian Infantry Division, 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 ...

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, ...

. It fought in the

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 ...

History

When 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 ...

invaded Burma in 1942, the various units in training or stationed around Barrackpur near

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in India were hastily formed into the "Calcutta" Division on 20 March 1942. On 15 May, the division was retitled the Indian 26th Division. The division's badge was a Bengal tiger stepping through a blue triangle, representing the "delta" of the

Ganges River The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

, on a black background. For much of 1942, the division was heavily engaged in internal security, and not regarded as battle-worthy due to lack of training and transport. It formed part of Indian XV Corps, but late in 1942, it was taken over directly by Eastern Army. For the First Arakan offensive, all the division's brigades were detached one by one and committed to the offensive under the

14th Indian Infantry Division The 14th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Arakan Campaign 1942–43, and was subsequently converted into a Training Division, providing drafts of replacements for unit ...

. In March, the offensive stalled and the HQ of 26th Division relieved that of the 14th Division, taking over the Arakan front too late to prevent a minor disaster. After this the British fell back almost to their starting point on the Indian frontier. Once reorganised, the division was in reserve for the first part of the Second Arakan Offensive, once again under XV Corps. When a Japanese counter-attack at Ngakyedauk cut off the forward troops, 26th Division was deployed to relieve them. It fought down the coastal plain to reopen the roads by which the 5th Indian Division was supplied. After the battle ended with the repulse of the Japanese attackers, the division took over the 5th Division's front and took part in the capture of two vital railway tunnels. After this, the Arakan offensive wound down to spare troops and resources for the battles in Manipur. The division was withdrawn during 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 ...

rains to recuperate. Indian Div beside temple on Ramree Island

Beginning in late 1944, the division was committed once again to the Arakan. During the Third Arakan Offensive and subsequent operations, 26th Division took part mainly in amphibious operations, including the unopposed capture of Akyab Island, and the

Battle of Ramree Island The Battle of Ramree Island (), also known as Operation Matador, took place from 14 January to 22 February 1945, in the Second World War as part of the offensive on the Southern Front in the Burma campaign and was conducted by the XV Indian C ...

. Finally in April and May 1945, the division took 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 ...

, the capture of

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 the Japanese surrender, the division, under the command of Henry Chambers, reinforced other troops in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

, where the end of the war brought widespread disorder. The division was formally disbanded in India on 31 August 1945, but most of its units were stationed in Sumatra at Padang and Medan until November 1946, when they embarked at the port of Belawan to be disbanded in India.

Order of battle

''as of 1 April 1944'' ;

4th Indian Infantry Brigade The 4th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in September 1939, as the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade and renumbered 4th in June 1940, The brigade was assigned to HQ Rawalpin ...

:1st Battalion,

Wiltshire Regiment The Wiltshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot and the 99th Duke of Edinburgh's (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot. T ...

:2nd Battalion,

7th Rajput Regiment Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...

:2nd 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 ...

;

36th Indian Infantry Brigade The 36th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in June 1941, at Baleli in India and assigned to the 14th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade spent between March 1942 ...

:5th Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment :8th Battalion,

: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 ...

; 71st Indian Infantry Brigade :1st Battalion,

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regim ...

:5th 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 ...

:1st 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 ...

;Divisional Troops :12th 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. ...

''(divisional machine gun battalion)'' :160th (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 ...

:20th Mountain Regiment

Royal Indian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Indian Artillery, generally known as the Royal Indian Artillery (RIA), was an operational corps of the British Indian Army. The East India Company raised the first regular company of Artillery in 1748, with a small percentage ...

:72nd, 28th, 98th Field Companies, Royal Indian Engineers :128th Field Park Company Indian Engineers :44th, 48th, 51st, 58th, Animal Transport Companies, IASC :44th, 75th, 166th, General Purpose Transport Companies, IASC :1st, 46th, 48th, Indian Field Ambulances, IAMC :26th Indian Division Provost Unit :26th Indian Division Signals Unit :54th, 55th Indian Workshop Companies, IEME :26th Indian Division Recovery Unit, IEME

Assigned brigades

All these brigades were assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II * 71st Indian Infantry Brigade * 109th Indian Infantry Brigade *

* British 6th Infantry Brigade *

British 23rd Infantry Brigade The 23rd Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in the World War I, First World War, mainly on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front During the World War II, Second World War, the brigade saw ...

* 55th Indian Infantry Brigade * British 14th Infantry Brigade * 114th Indian Infantry Brigade * British 29th Infantry Brigade *

2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade The 2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade was a Second World War formation of the British Army. It was formed from battalions of the Royal West African Frontier Force in 1940. In the early part of the war, the Brigade served in the East African campa ...

22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade The 22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade was a brigade sized formation of the British Army, which was founded on 19 September 1939 at Colito Barracks in Dar es Salaam in British East Africa. The brigade was initially called the 2nd (East Africa) ...

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Burma Star organisation site

British Military History - Indian Divisional Histories
{{DEFAULTSORT:26 Indian Infantry Division Indian World War II divisions British Indian Army divisions Military units and formations established in 1942 D 1942 establishments in India 1945 disestablishments in India Military units and formations disestablished in 1945