https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=31st_Indian_Armoured_Division31st Indian Armoured Division - Revision history2026-07-31T01:42:58ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=31st_Indian_Armoured_Division&diff=374791&oldid=prevBot at 22:54, 10 June 20222022-06-10T22:54:52Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Armoured Division of the Indian army during World War II}}<br />
{{Infobox military unit<br />
|unit_name= 1st Indian Armoured Division<br>31st Indian Armoured Division<br />
|abbreviation=<br />
|image=31st indian armoured div.svg<br />
|caption=Formation sign of the 31st Indian Armoured Division.<ref>Cole p. 83</ref><br />
|dates= 1940-1945<br/>1972-<br />
|country= {{flagicon|British Raj}} [[British Raj|British India]]<br>{{flag|India}}<br />
|allegiance= {{flag|British Empire}}<br>{{flag|India}}<br />
|branch= [[File:British Raj Red Ensign.svg|26px]] [[British Indian Army]]<br>{{army|India}}<br />
|type= [[Armoured warfare|Armoured]]<br />
|role= <br />
|size= [[Division (military)|Division]]<br />
|command_structure= <br />
|equipment= [[Stuart tank]]<br>[[M3 Lee]]<br>[[M4 Sherman]]<br>[[T-90|T-90S Bhishma]]<br />
<!-- Commanders --><br />
|Past Commanders=<br />
|ceremonial_chief=<br />
|colonel_of_the_regiment=<br />
|notable_commanders=[[Thomas Corbett (Indian Army officer)|Thomas Corbett]]<br>[[Robert Wordsworth]]<br />
<!-- Insignia --><br />
|identification_symbol=<br />
|identification_symbol_2=<br />
<!-- Culture and history --><br />
|nickname= White Tiger Division<br />
|patron=<br />
|motto= <br />
|colors=<br />
|march=<br />
|mascot=<br />
|battles=[[World War II]]<br />
|anniversaries=<br />
|decorations=<br />
|battle_honours=<br />
}}<br />
The '''31st Indian Armoured Division''' was an [[Armoured warfare|armoured]] [[Division (military)|division]] of the [[Indian Army during World War II]], formed in 1940, originally as the '''1st Indian Armoured Division'''; it consisted of units of the [[British Army]] and the [[British Indian Army]]. When it was raised, it consisted of two Armoured Brigades (the 1st and 2nd Indian Armoured Brigades) and one Motor Brigade (the [[3rd Indian Motor Brigade]]).<br />
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==History==<br />
In October 1941,{{sfn|Renaldi|Rikhye|2011|p=52}} by which time the 1st Indian Support Group had joined the division, the 1st Indian Armoured Division was re-named as the 31st Indian Armoured Division. The brigades were re-named the 251st and 252nd Indian Armoured Brigades and the 31st Indian Support Group (the Motor Brigade's name remained unchanged).<br />
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In mid-1942, by which time the support group had been disbanded, the 251st Brigade was detached and the rest of the division was shipped to join the [[Tenth Army (United Kingdom)|Tenth Army]] and served in [[Iraq]], [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]]. At this time the [[General Officer Commanding]] was Major General [[Robert Wordsworth]] and the Commander Royal Artillery was Brigadier C. P. B. Wilson.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} The division never saw combat, although the [[3rd Indian Motor Brigade]] was detached to Egypt and saw much action in the [[Western Desert Campaign]] during 1941 and 1942 and again in 1944 and 1945 when, reformed as the [[43rd Indian Infantry Brigade (Lorried)]], it was sent to the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] as an independent brigade. The closest the rest of the division came to combat was in April 1944 when it was rushed to Egypt to crush a mutiny among the [[Greek 1st Infantry Brigade]].<br />
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The tank regiments received [[M4 Sherman]]s in November 1943, thought to be in preparation for a transfer to [[Italy]], which never came about and only drove them in Iraq, Syria and [[Egypt]].<ref>India's Armour. By [[Michael Bennighof|Mike Bennighof]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=avalanchepress|url=http://www.avalanchepress.com/IndianArmor.php}}</ref> The 31st Indian Armoured Division was re-named the [[1st Armoured Division (India)|1 Armoured Division]] of the soon-to-be independent Indian Army in October 1945.{{sfn|Renaldi|Rikhye|2011|p=34, 52}}<br />
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With the 31st Division re-named, there was no division numbered '31' in the post-independence Indian Army after 1947 for over twenty years. The '''31 Armoured Division''' was re-established as part of the [[Indian Army]] in 1972.{{sfn|Renaldi|Rikhye|2011|p=52}} It was raised at [[Jhansi]] and remains headquartered there as part of [[XXI Corps (India)|XXI Corps]]. It is also known as the '''White Tiger Division'''.<br />
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==Structure in 1942==<br />
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===[[252nd Indian Armoured Brigade]]===<br />
*Brigade Commander G.Carr-White<br />
**[[14th/20th Hussars]]<br />
**[[14th Prince of Wales's Own Scinde Horse]]<br />
**1/[[4th Bombay Grenadiers]]<br />
<br />
===[[3rd Indian Motor Brigade]]===<br />
[[Image:IWM-E-10355-ACV-IP-19420410.jpg|right|thumb|500px|An Indian Pattern Carrier Mk IIA named 'Dhar IV', North Africa of the type used by 3rd Indian Motor Brigade]]<br />
*Brigade Commander A.A.E. Filose <br />
**[[2nd Lancers (Gardner's Horse)]]<ref name="CM71">Mackenzie (1951), p. 71</ref><br />
**[[11th Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry (Frontier Force)]]<ref name="CM71"/><br />
**[[18th King Edward's Own Cavalry]]<ref name="CM71"/><br />
*after January 1943<br />
**2/[[6th Gurkha Rifles]]<br />
**2/[[8th Gurkha Rifles]]<br />
**2/[[10th Gurkha Rifles]]<br />
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===Divisional Units===<br />
**[[13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers]]<br />
**15th Field Regiment, [[Royal Artillery]]<br />
**[[Sussex Yeomanry#144th Field Regiment (Surrey & Sussex Yeomanry Queen Mary's)|144th (Surrey & Sussex Yeomanry Queen Mary's) Field Regiment]], R.A.<br />
**79th Antitank Regiment, R.A.<br />
**32nd Field Squadron, QVO Madras Sappers & Miners, [[Indian Engineers]]<br />
**39th Field Park Squadron, QVO Madras Sappers & Miners, I.E.<br />
**31st Indian Armoured Divisional Signals <ref>{{cite web|title=orbat|url=http://orbat.com/site/uk_orbats/files/6/42-09-15PAIFORCE(version3).pdf|access-date=2008-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061218104725/http://orbat.com/site/uk_orbats/files/6/42-09-15PAIFORCE(version3).pdf|archive-date=2006-12-18|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
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==Citations==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==References==<br />
*{{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}}<br />
*{{cite book | first=Compton|last=Mackenzie |author-link=Compton Mackenzie| title=Eastern Epic| publisher=Chatto & Windus| location=London | year=1951 | pages=623 pages| oclc=1412578| no-pp=y}}<br />
*{{cite book|ref={{harvid|Renaldi|Rikhye|2011}}|author1=Richard A. Renaldi |author2=Ravi Rikhye|title=Indian Army Order of Battle|publisher=Orbat.com for Tiger Lily Books: A division of General Data LLC|isbn=978-0-9820541-7-8|date=2011}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
*https://web.archive.org/web/20111126065316/http://www.indianmilitaryhistory.org/divisions/31div.htm<br />
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{{Sister project links}}<br />
{{Indian Divisions in World War II}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:31 Indian Armoured Division}}<br />
[[Category:Indian World War II divisions]]<br />
[[Category:Divisions of the Indian Army]]<br />
[[Category:British Indian Army divisions]]<br />
[[Category:Armored divisions]]<br />
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1940]]<br />
[[Category:Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II]]</div>Bot