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{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= 25th Indian Infantry Division
|image=File:25th indian division.svg
|caption=Formation sign of the 25th Indian Infantry Division.<ref>Cole p. 82</ref>
|dates= 1942–1946
|country= {{flagicon|British Raj}} [[British Raj|British India]]
|allegiance={{flag|British Empire}}
|branch= [[File:British Raj Red Ensign.svg|23px]] [[British Indian Army]]
|type=[[Infantry]]
|role=
|size=[[Division (military)|Division]]
|command_structure=
|garrison= [[Poonch (town)|Poonch]]

|current_commander=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|notable_commanders=

|identification_symbol=Ace of Spades
|identification_symbol_2=

|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles =
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
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}}
The '''25th Indian Infantry Division''' was an [[infantry]] [[Division (military)|division]] of the [[Indian Army during World War II]] which fought in the [[Burma Campaign]]. It was re-raised within the post-independence [[Indian Army]] in 1948.<ref name=pmrwip>{{cite book|last=Wirsing|first=Robert G.|title=India, Pakistan and the Kashmir Dispute: On Regional Conflict and Its Resolution|year=1998|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9780312175627|pages=352|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3z8sNZTVv5gC&q=25th+Infantry+Division+(India)&pg=PA146}}</ref>

==History==

[[File:Japanese Surrender in Malaya, 1945 IND4851.jpg|thumb|A long line of Japanese officers wait to surrender their swords to the [[25th Indian Division]] in [[Kuala Lumpur]], 1945.]]
[[File:Japanese Surrender in Malaya, 1945 IND4848.jpg|thumb|The [[25th Indian Division]] search Japanese prisoners soon after they have been disarmed in [[Kuala Lumpur]].]]

Originally formed in [[Bangalore]] in South [[India]] on 1 August 1942 under Major-General [[Henry Lowrie Davies|Henry Davies]] the Division was disbanded at the end of World War II.

The division's original role as conceived by Army Commander General [[William Slim|Sir W. J. Slim]]<ref>''The [[Arakan Campaign 1944-1945|Arakan Campaign]] of the Twenty-Fifth Indian Division (March 1944-March 1945)'' p.8, Government Printing Works, Kuala Lumpur, December 1945</ref> was to meet any attempted Japanese invasion while at the same time training actively for [[jungle warfare]]. It first saw action, having become part of [[XV Corps (British India)|Indian XV Corps]], at the onset of the third [[Arakan Campaign 1944-1945|Arakan Campaign]] in March 1944 where it held and enlarged the [[Maungdaw Base]] and established superiority over the enemy.

In May 1944 command of the division was assumed by Major-General [[George Wood (British Army officer)|George Wood]], previously commanding British 4th Infantry Brigade in India. In November 1944, supported by destroyers of the [[Royal Australian Navy]], the division cleared the [[Mayu Range]] down to [[Foul Point]] and occupied [[Akyab Island]]. Following this, with [[3 Commando Brigade]] under command, it made a series of successful seaborne attacks down the coast, supported by [[Sloop-of-war|sloops]] of the [[Royal Indian Navy]] and winning four [[Victoria Crosses]] in the process. These actions included the decisive [[Battle of Kangaw]] and landings at [[Myebon]] and [[Ruywa]] to intercept the retreating Japanese.

In April 1945 the division was withdrawn to South India to prepare for '[[Operation Zipper]]', the invasion of [[British Malaya]], having been chosen for the assault landing ([[Amphibious warfare|amphibious]]) role. Although hostilities then ceased, the operation proceeded as planned and 25th Division was the first formation to land in Malaya, occupying the capital, [[Kuala Lumpur]], and then accepting the surrender of the Japanese Army.<ref>Alan Jeffreys, Duncan Anderson, 'The British Army in the Far East 1941-45,' Osprey Publishing, 2005, {{ISBN|1841767905}}, 51.</ref> The division was disbanded in Malaya in February and March 1946.

===Post-independence===
The division was re-raised within the post-independence [[Indian Army]] in 1948.<ref>Richard A. Renaldi and Ravi Rikhe, 'Indian Army Order of Battle,' Orbat.com for Tiger Lily Books: A division of General Data LLC, {{ISBN|978-0-9820541-7-8}}, 2011, 49.</ref> In October 1962 the division was under [[XV Corps (India)|XV Corps]] in the Army's [[Western Command (India)|Western Command]]. Its headquarters were at [[Poonch (town)|Poonch]], and it included the 80th, 93rd and 120th Infantry Brigades.<ref name=pmrwip />

== Composition During World War II ==
*[[19th King George's Own Lancers]] (Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment)
*[[Commander, Royal Artillery]]:
**Brigadier G.H. Johnstone (August 1942 - June 1943)
**Brigadier A.G. O'C. Scott (June 1943 - August 1944)
**Brigadier A.J. Daniell (August 1944 - April 1945)
**Brigadier [[Nigel Tapp]] (April 1945 - 1946)
**HQ
**8th & 27th Field Regts, [[Royal Artillery]]
**5th Indian Field Regt [[Indian Artillery]]
**[[33rd Indian Mountain Regiment, Royal Indian Artillery|33 Indian Mountain Regt IA]]
**7 Indian Anti-Tank Regt IA
*Indian Engineers: Sappers & Miners
**63rd & 425th Field Coys Q.V.O. Madras
**93rd FD Company Royal Bombay
**325th FD Park Coy Q.V.O. Madras
*25th Indian Div Signals
*7th Battalion, [[16th Punjab Regiment]]

===[[51st Indian Infantry Brigade]]===
Commanders:
*Brigadier T.H. Angus ( - Nov 1944)
*Brigadier R.A. Hutton (May 1944 - )
**HQ
**8th Battalion, [[York and Lancaster Regiment]] (until October 1944)
**2nd Battalion, [[2nd Punjab Regiment]] (from September 1944)
**16th Battalion, [[10th Baluch Regiment]]
**17th Battalion, [[5th Mahratta Light Infantry]] (until March 1945)
**8th Battalion, [[19th Hyderabad Regiment]] (from March 1944)

===[[53rd Indian Infantry Brigade]]===
Commanders:
*Brigadier G.A.P. Coldstream (to August 1944)
*Brigadier A.G.O'C. Scott (August 1944 to December 1944)
*Brigadier B.C.H. Gerty (from December 1944)
**HQ
**9th Battalion, [[York and Lancaster Regiment]]
**17th Battalion, [[5th Mahratta Light Infantry]]
**9th Battalion, [[9th Jat Regiment]]
**4th Battalion, [[18th Royal Garhwal Rifles]]

===[[74th Indian Infantry Brigade]]===
Commanders:
*Brigadier J.E. Hirst (to March 1945)
*Brigadier J.C.W. Cargill (from March 1945)
**HQ
**6th Battalion, [[Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry]]
**14th Battalion, [[10th Baluch Regiment]]
**3rd Battalion, [[2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)]]

===[[3 Commando Brigade|3rd Commando Brigade]]===
Commanders:
*Brigadier
**HQ
**[[No. 44 (Royal Marine) Commando]]
**[[42 Commando|No. 42 (Royal Marine) Commando]]
**[[No. 1 Army Commando]]
**[[No. 5 Army Commando]]

===Support Units===
*Royal Indian Army Service Corps
**18th, 39th and 59th Animal Transport Coys (Mules)
**68th, 81st and 101st Gp Tpt Coys
**Comp Supply Units
**Inland Water Tpt
*Medical Services
**I.M.S-R.A.M.C-I.M.D-I.H.C-I.A.M.C
**51st, 52nd, 53rd and 56th Indian Field Ambulances
*25th Indian Div Provost Unit
*Indian Army Ordnance Corps
**125th Ordnance sub-Park
*Indian Electrical & Mechanical Engineers
**76th, 77th & 78th Infantry Workshop Companies
**25th Indian Div Recovery Company

==Assigned brigades==
All these brigades were assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II
*[[51st Indian Infantry Brigade]]
*[[53rd Indian Infantry Brigade]]
*[[74th Indian Infantry Brigade]]
*[[22nd (East Africa) Infantry Brigade]]
*[[3 Commando Brigade]]
*[[2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade]]<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2009-10-22|publisher=Order of Battle|title=25 Division units|url=http://www.ordersofbattle.com/UnitData.aspx?UniX=6014&Tab=Sub}}{{Dead link|date=March 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last1=Cole|first1=Howard|title=Formation Badges of World War 2. Britain, Commonwealth and Empire|date=1973|publisher=Arms and Armour Press|location=London}}
* {{cite book | first=Philip| last=Mason | author-link = Philip Mason| title=The Indian Divisions Memorial, 1939-1945, [[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]] | publisher=Skeltons Press| location=Wellingborough| date=1982-06-09 }}
* {{cite book | author=Yeats-Brown, F | author-link=Francis Yeats-Brown | title=Martial India| publisher=[[Eyre and Spottiswoode]]| year=1945 | location=London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xa4DAAAAMAAJ }}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.ordersofbattle.com/OOBDefault.aspx |title=Orders of Battle.com |access-date=2007-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717145740/http://www.ordersofbattle.com/OOBDefault.aspx |archive-date=17 July 2007 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.unithistories.com/default.asp |title=World War II unit histories and officers|access-date=2007-07-25 |last=Houterman |first=Hans|author2=Koppes, Jeroen| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070626104300/http://www.unithistories.com/default.asp| archive-date= 26 June 2007 | url-status= live}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317010033/http://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/documents.php?aid=132&nid=15&start=0 British Military History - Indian Divisional Histories]

{{Indian Divisions in World War II}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:25 Indian Infantry Division}}
[[Category:Indian World War II divisions]]
[[Category:Divisions of the Indian Army]]
[[Category:British Indian Army divisions]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1942]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II]]
[[Category:Military units and formations in Burma in World War II|D]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1946]]

25th Indian Infantry Division - Revision history

Bot at 20:13, 24 September 2022