39th Indian Infantry Division (originally the 1st Burma Division) was an infantry 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, ...

, which became a training division in 1943 after its recovery into

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 ...

from

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. The division was re-raised after independence and 39 Mountain Division is presently located in

Palampur, Himachal Pradesh Palampur is a hill station and a municipal corporation situated in the Kangra District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Palampur is served by the Palampur Himachal railway station (PLMX), situated in Maranda, India, Maranda, approximate ...

under XVI Corps.

History

The 1st Burma Infantry Division was formed 14 July 1941 at Toungoo in Burma. The division was part of the British Burma Army. On the outbreak of war, the division was commanded by Major-General James Bruce Scott. It consisted of the

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and 2nd Burma Infantry Brigades, and the 13th Indian Infantry Brigade. Throughout the

Japanese conquest of Burma The Japanese invasion of Burma was a series of battles fought in the British colony of Burma (present-day Myanmar) as part of the Pacific Theater of World War II. The initial invasion in 1942 resulted in the capture of Rangoon and the retre ...

, the division interchanged many units with its fellow

Burma Corps The Burma Corps ('Burcorps') was an Army Corps of the Indian Army during World War II, Indian Army during the Second World War. It was formed in Prome, Burma, on 19 March 1942, took part in the Japanese conquest of Burma, retreat through Burma, and ...

component,

17th Indian Infantry Division The 17th Infantry Division is a formation of the Indian Army. During the Second World War, it had the distinction of being continually in combat during the three-year-long Burma Campaign (except for brief periods of refit). The division was re-rai ...

. At various times the

7th Armoured Brigade Seventh is the ordinal number (linguistics), ordinal form of the number 7, 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 *"T ...

, 16th Indian Infantry Brigade,

48th Indian Infantry Brigade The 48th Infantry Brigade, was raised as the 48 Indian Infantry Brigade, in October 1941, at Secunderabad, India. After an initial tenure with 19th Indian Infantry Division, it was transferred to the 17th Indian Infantry Division. In World ...

, and 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade came under command of the division, though only the original three brigades finally entered India as part of the division at the end of the arduous retreat, reduced to fractions of their original strength. The 1st Burma Division changed to an Indian formation at the end of the 1942 campaign. While the majority of the Burma Army was reconstituted elsewhere in India, the division headquarters was retained at the front. The 39th division was soon re-roled as a light division with two infantry brigades and Mule and jeep transport companies. However this change happened more in name than in anything else as it never actually began to convert to an entirely mule and jeep based transport and supply system. The decision to convert the division to a training role was undertaken in June 1943Kempton, p. 137 after the poorly executed Arakan offensive when it was realised that the troops being sent into the field, both British and Indian, while not lacking conventional military fighting skills, lacked the necessary knowledge and training to operate in the Burmese jungle. The 39th was joined in its training role by 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 ...

which had been the main operational unit during the Arakan offensive and had suffered badly both in terms of casualties and morale as a result. Post World War II, the division was disbanded between January and March 1946 as part of the demobilisation policy.

Formation

106th Indian Infantry Brigade

*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 ...

*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 ...

*1st 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 ...

*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 ...

*5th 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 ...

*7th Battalion,

15th Punjab Regiment The 15th Punjab Regiment was a infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947 and of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1956. Following its allotment to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947, it was amalgamated in 1956 with ...

*9th Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment *15th 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 Partition of India, independence in 1947, and amalgamated with the 1st Punjab Regiment, 1st, 15th Punjab Regiment, 15 ...

113th Indian Infantry Brigade

*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 ...

*2nd Battalion,

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a Light infantry, 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 Somers ...

*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 ...

*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 ...

*29th Gurkha Rifles Training Battalion *7th Battalion,

*7th 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. ...

*17/18th Combined Training Unit *

Indian State Forces The Imperial Service Troops, officially called the Indian States Forces after 1920, were auxiliary forces raised by the princely states of the Indian Empire which were deployed alongside the Indian Army when their service was required. The Imp ...

Training Unit

Divisional troops

*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 ...

*2nd Battalion,

*24th Light Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Tank 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 ...

*9th Field Regiment Royal Artillery * 145th (Berkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery *Malerkotla Field Company,

*26th 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 ...

*82nd Field Company, Indian Engineers

Assigned brigades

All these brigades were assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II

Under command when Burma Division

1st Burma Infantry Brigade The 1st Burma Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the British Burma Army during World War II. It was formed in July 1941, when it was converted from the Maymyo Infantry Brigade Area and assigned to the 1st Burma Infantry Division. In Ju ...

(July 1941 - May 1942) * 2nd Burma Infantry Brigade (July 1942 - December 1942, March 1942 - April 1942) * 13th Indian Infantry Brigade (July 1941 - February 1942, April 1942 - May 1942) *

(April 1942) *

(April 1942) * 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade (May 1942) *Magforce (ad hoc brigade-sized combat force) (April 1942)

Attached when light division

* 106th Indian Infantry Brigade * 113th Indian Infantry Brigade

Attached when a training division

* 106th Indian Infantry Brigade (June 1942 - March 1946) * 113th Indian Infantry Brigade (June 1942 - March 1946) * 115th Indian Infantry Brigade (September 1943 - March 1946)

Post independence

The 39 Infantry Division was re-raised at

Jhansi Jhansi ( ) is a historic city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Toshan) Balwant Nagar was the old name of Jhansi. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand, on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme ...

under the command of Major General ML Thapan on 15 July 1966. At formation, the division had an independent parachute brigade and an artillery brigade. The 87 Infantry Brigade (Shakargarh Brigade) and 323 Infantry Brigade (Dalhousie Brigade) joined the division in January 1966. The Parachute Brigade was replaced by the 33 Infantry Brigade (Thanpir Brigade) in October 1967. The division moved from Jhansi to Yol, Himachal Pradesh in March 1970 and was converted to a mountain division in January 1986. The division was moved to Poonch and

Rajouri Rajouri or Rajauri (; ; ) is a city in the Rajouri district in the Jammu division of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu (city), Jammu city on ...

border districts in 1994 following the rise of terrorism in the state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. It was withdrawn to its base in Palampur in Himachal Pradesh in 2009. The division presently has the following brigades - *33 Mountain Brigade at

Dharamshala Dharamshala (, ; also spelled Dharamsala) is a town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It serves as the winter capital of the state and the administrative headquarters of the Kangra district since 1855. The town also hosts the Tibeta ...

*87 Mountain Brigade at

Udhampur Udhampur (ˌʊd̪ʱəmpur) is a city and a municipal council in Udhampur district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters of Udhampur District. Named after Raja Udham Singh, it serves as the district capit ...

*323 Mountain Brigade at

Dalhousie Cantonment Dalhousie cantonment is a town in Dalhousie, just 50 km from Chamba town in Chamba district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. History In 1851, the British Government approached the Chamba State authorities to set up a sanatorium for Eur ...

*39 Mountain Artillery Brigade at Alhilal

Operations

;Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The division was under the command of Major General BR Prabhu during the 1971 war. It was initially placed under the XV Corps in a defensive role. It then moved to I Corps in the Shakargarh sector. Its task was to move along the Mawa-Dehlra axis and capture Shakargarh. The division had shed two of its three integral brigades and was allotted 72 Infantry Brigade from 36 Infantry Division, 2 Independent Armoured Brigade (less one regiment) and one mechanised battalion. 33 Infantry Division was sent to reinforce Poonch and 323 Infantry Division to 'X Sector' west of Degh Nadi. The order of battle of the division was - *87 Infantry Brigade (moved to 36 Division after 12 December 1971) **3/ 9 Gorkha Rifles *72 Infantry Brigade (from 36 Infantry Division) (Brigadier JM Vohra) **1

Mahar Mahar is one of the Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century. As of 2017 the Mahar caste w ...

(from 115 Brigade of 36 Infantry Division) **15

Grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

**22

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

**3

Sikh Light Infantry The Sikh Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army.1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) The 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) is a regiment of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. It traces its origins as a cavalry regiment from the times of the East India Company, followed by its service in the British Indian Army and finally, after ...

** 7 Light Cavalry ** 14 Horse (Scinde Horse) **1

Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...

(Mechanised) **91 Independent Reconnaissance Squadron (from 14 Horse) *39 Artillery Brigade (Brigadier Gurbachan Singh) ** 92 Field Regiment ** 101 Field Regiment (Self Propelled) ** 36 Light Regiment (less a battery) **186 Light Regiment (less a battery) ** 77 Medium Regiment (one battery) **45 AD Regiment (one troop) The divisional offensive started on the morning of 5 December 1971, with 92 Field Regiment knocking out the Pakistani Artillery Observation Post (OP) at Sukhmal. At night, 72 Infantry Brigade captured the Pakistani border posts. They faced heavy artillery fire, slowing the advance. 1 Dogra came in contact with the enemy at Harar Kalan on the noon of 7 December 1971. The battalion launched a frontal attack the same night, but faced heavy enemy fire leading to 25 killed and 65 wounded and the attack was called off. During the same time, 15 Grenadiers, 22 Punjab and 3 Sikh Light Infantry captured Khaira, Chak Amru and Parni respectively. The setback at Harar Kalan though affected the division’s speed of advance. 72 Infantry Brigade with better preparation and planning and supported well by the artillery subsequently attacked and captured Harar Kalan on the night of 10 December 1971. At the same time, 15 Grenadiers, 22 Punjab and 3 Sikh Light Infantry captured Harar Khurd, Shahbazpur and Munam respectively. Because of the slow advance of the division compared to the 54 Infantry Division, there was a change in strategy and regrouping of forces. The division was assigned a defensive role in the Ramgarh-Samba gap. 87 Infantry Brigade, Headquarters 2 Independent Armoured Brigade and 1 Horse were moved to reinforce 36 Infantry Brigade. 72 Infantry Brigade and 7 Light Cavalry were moved to form the fourth brigade under 54 Infantry Division. 101 Field Regiment (Self Propelled) which had provided accurate and effective artillery fire during the offence was subsequently awarded the honour title ''Harar Kalan''. ; Operation Trident January to March 1987. ; Operation Rakshak I The division was involved in

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

operations in South

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

between April 1993 and January 1994. ; Operation Rakshak II The troops of the division were inducted for counterinsurgency operations in Poonch and

in October 1998. Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2019

; Operation Vijay The division was concentrated around Rajouri between May 1999 and December 2001. ;

Operation Parakram Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

The division was mobilised for the operation on 18 December 2001 in the Rajouri area. ;Counter-terrorism operations The division was deployed in

Udhampur district Udhampur is an administrative district in the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dis ...

between April 2002 and June 2003. ;

Line of Control The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but ser ...

deployment The formation was deployed in counter-infiltration role at the Line of Control (LoC) between July 2003 and September 2009.

Formation Sign

The present formation sign has a black background signifying an infantry division and a ''

Dah Dah or DAH may refer to: * Morse code symbol * Dah, Ivory Coast, a village in Montagnes District * Dah, Ladakh, a village in Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dah, Mali, a town in Ségou Region * Dah (band), former Yugoslav/Belgian band * Air Algérie (IC ...

'' - a sharp edged sword.

References

Sources

External links

39 Indian Infantry Division at BritishMilitaryHistory
{{DEFAULTSORT:39 Indian Infantry Division Indian World War II divisions British Indian Army divisions Divisions of the Indian Army Military units and formations of Burma in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945