India in World War II

See also: Indian Army during World War II, Indian Airforce in World War II, Indian Navy during World War II, and Propaganda and India in World War II

Infantrymen of the 1/5 Maratha Light Infantry during training, Florence, Italy, 28 August 1944 Indian Airforce Pilots after a mission during the Burma Campaign Victory Week Parade in Delhi to celebrate the final defeat of the Axis Powers, March 1946. Indian women training for air raid precautions (ARP) duties in Bombay, 1942. ARP Warden Service Efficiency Warrant issued to NH Karanjia, Bombay, June 1942 with Acknowledgement of Gratitude Card

During the Second World War (1939–1945), India was a part of the British Empire. British India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939.[1] India, as a part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers. India was also used as the base for American operations in support of China in the China Burma India Theater.

Indians fought valiantly and with distinction throughout the world, including in the European theatre against Germany, North African Campaign against fascist Italy, and in the southeast Asian theatre; while also defending the Indian subcontinent against the Japanese forces, including British Burma and the Crown colony of Ceylon. Indian troops were also redeployed in former colonies such as Singapore and Hong Kong, with the Japanese surrender in August 1945, after the end of World War II. Over 87,000 Indian troops, and 3 million civilians died in World War II.[2][3] Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, former Commander-in-Chief, India, stated that Britain "couldn't have come through both wars [World War I and II] if they hadn't had the Indian Army."[4][5]

There was pushback throughout India to expending lives supporting the colonial British Empire in Africa and Europe amidst movements for Indian independence. Particularly, Subhas Chandra Bose sought alliance with the Soviet Union and then ultimately with Nazi Germany as a tool for subverting the British empire. Many factions of the Indian Independence Movement did support Nazi Germany during the war, most notably the so-called Indian Legion which Bose was instrumental in creating and which was incorporated for some time as a division of the Waffen-SS. [6]

Viceroy Linlithgow declared that India was at war with Germany without consultations with Indian politicians.[7] Political parties such as the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha supported the British war effort while the largest and most influential political party existing in India at the time, the Indian National Congress, demanded independence before it would help Britain.[8][9] London refused, and when Congress announced a "Quit India" campaign in August 1942, tens of thousands of its leaders were imprisoned by the British for the duration. Meanwhile, under the leadership of Indian leader Subhash Chandra Bose, Japan set up an army of Indian POWs known as the Indian National Army, which fought against the British. A major famine in Bengal in 1943 led to between 0.8 and 3.8 million deaths due to starvation, and a highly controversial issue remains regarding Churchill's decision not to provide emergency food relief.[10][11]

Indian participation in the Allied campaign remained strong. The financial, industrial and military assistance of India formed a crucial component of the British campaign against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.[12] India's strategic location at the tip of the Indian Ocean, its large production of armaments, and its huge armed forces played a decisive role in halting the progress of Imperial Japan in the South-East Asian theatre.[13] The Indian Army during World War II was one of the largest Allied forces contingents which took part in the North and East African Campaign, Western Desert Campaign. At the height of the second World War, more than 2.5 million Indian troops were fighting Axis forces around the globe.[14] After the end of the war, India emerged as the world's fourth largest industrial power and its increased political, economic and military influence paved the way for its independence from the United Kingdom in 1947.[15] The Indian servicemen who served in the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force during World War II and still had service period remaining at the time of India's Independence would go on to become serving members of the future armies, navies, and air forces of post-Partition India and Pakistan.

## Quit India movement

[edit]

Prominent Indian leaders, including Gandhi, Patel and Maulana Azad, denounced Nazism as well as British imperialism.

The Indian National Congress, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Vallabhbhai Patel and Maulana Azad, denounced Nazi Germany but would not fight it or anyone else until India was independent.[16] Congress launched the Quit India Movement in August 1942, refusing to co-operate in any way with the government until independence was granted. The government, not ready for this, immediately arrested over 60,000 national and local Congress leaders, and then moved to suppress the violent reaction of Congress supporters. Key leaders were kept in prison until June 1945, although Gandhi was released in May 1944 because of his health. Congress, with its leaders incommunicado, played little role on the home front. Unlike the predominately Hindu Congress, the Muslim League rejected the Quit India movement and worked closely with the Raj authorities.[17]

Supporters of the British Raj argued that decolonisation was impossible in the middle of a great war. So, in 1939, the British Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow declared India's entry into the War without consulting prominent Indian Congress leaders who were just elected in previous elections.[1]

Subhas Chandra Bose (also called Netaji) had been a top Congress leader. He broke up with the Congress and tried to form a military alliance with Germany or Japan to gain independence. Bose, with the assistance of Germany, formed the Indian Legion from Indian students in Axis occupied Europe and Indian Army prisoners of war. With German reversals in 1942 and 1943, Bose and the Legion's officers were transported by U boat to Japanese territory to continue his plans. Upon arrival, Japan helped him set up the Indian National Army (INA) which fought under Japanese direction, mostly in the Burma Campaign. Bose also headed the Provisional Government of Free India, a government-in-exile based in Singapore. It controlled no Indian territory and was used only to raise troops for Japan.[18]

## British Indian Army

[edit]

Main article: British Indian Army

See also: Indian Army during World War II and List of Indian Army Brigades in World War II

Recruits line up to enlist with the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 1943.

In 1939 the British Indian Army numbered 205,000 men. It took in volunteers and by 1945 was the largest all-volunteer force in history, rising to over 3.35 million men.[19] These forces included tank, artillery and airborne forces.

Over World War II, officers and soldiers of the British Indian Army received 6,000 awards for gallantry. These included a total of 31 Victoria Crosses, the highest award in British and Commonwealth Forces for operational gallantry.[20] British, Indian, Nepalese as well as future Pakistani soldiers and officers of the British Indian Army taken together account for these Victoria Crosses, as well for the other thousands of gallantry awards attributed to the British Indian Army. Indians were also awarded the George Cross, the highest award for non-operational gallantry and equivalent to the Victoria Cross. Significantly, in World War II, several Indian officers also received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). The DSO was a level 2A order-cum-decoration, second only to the Victoria Cross, that could be bestowed only upon commissioned officers for operational gallantry and leadership under conditions of actual combat. The DSO became available to Indian officers largely following the gradual Indianisation of the officer ranks of the British Indian Army 1923 onwards. A rare exception was Hiraji Cursetji, an Indian military surgeon who was awarded the DSO during World War I. Level 3A decorations awarded to Indian officers in World War II included the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the Military Cross (MC), and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Other high military recognitions included appointments as officers or members of the Order of the British Empire (shortened as OBE and MBE respectively), both of which ranked below the DSO but above the level 3A decorations.[21]

### South-East Asian theatre

[edit]

An Indian prisoner of war from Hong Kong after liberation in 1945.

The British Indian Army was the key British Empire fighting presence in the Burma Campaign. The Royal Indian Air force's first assault mission was carried out against Japanese troops stationed in Burma. The British Indian Army was key to breaking the siege of Imphal when the westward advance of Imperial Japan came to a halt.

The formations included the Indian III Corps, IV Corps, the Indian XXXIII Corps and the Fourteenth Army. As part of the new concept of Long Range Penetration (LRP), Gurkha troops of the Indian Army were trained in the present state of Madhya Pradesh under their commander (later Major General) Orde Charles Wingate.

These troops, popularly known as Chindits, played a crucial role in halting the Japanese advance into South Asia.[22]

#### Capture of Indian territory

[edit]

Main articles: Invasion and occupation of the Andaman Islands during World War II, Battle of Kohima, and Battle of Imphal

By 1942, neighbouring Burma was invaded by Japan, which by then had already captured the Indian territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Japan gave nominal control of the islands to the Provisional Government of Free India on 21 October 1943, and in the following March, the Indian National Army with the help of Japan crossed into India and advanced as far as Kohima in Nagaland. This advance on the mainland of South Asia reached its farthest point on India territory, with the Japanese finally retreating from the Battle of Kohima and near simultaneous Battle of Imphal in June 1944.[23]

#### Recapture of Axis-occupied territory

[edit]

In 1944–45 Japan was under heavy air bombardment at home and suffered massive naval defeats in the Pacific. As its Imphal offensive failed, harsh weather and disease and withdrawal of air cover (due to more pressing needs in the Pacific) also took its toll on the Japanese and remnants of the INA and the Burma National Army. In spring 1945, a resurgent British army recaptured the occupied lands.[24]

#### Notable Indian recipients of gallantry awards

[edit]

For the highest gallantry in the South East Asian theatre, the Victoria Cross was awarded to Fazal Din, Abdul Hafiz, Karamjeet Judge, Ganju Lama, Bhandari Ram, Sher Shah, Gian Singh, Nand Singh, Parkash Singh, Prakash Singh Chib, Ram Sarup Singh, and Umrao Singh. In the same theatre, the George Cross was awarded to Mateen Ansari, Islam-ud-Din, Abdul Rahman, and Mahmood Khan Durrani (future Pakistan Army officer).

For their gallant leadership and personal bravery in different battles during the Burma Campaign, the DSO was awarded to Kondandera Subayya Thimayya (future COAS, Indian Army), Lionel Protip Sen (future CGS, Indian Army), S.P.P. Thorat (future CGS, Indian Army), Harbans Singh Virk, and Sarbjit Singh Kalha. Siri Kanth Korla, a future division commander of the Indian Army during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, was awarded the DSO, the MC, and two Mentions in Dispatches for gallantry in different episodes of this Campaign. The Indian DSO winners in Burma also included Akbar Khan, future leader of Pakistani irregular forces in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48 as well as a future CGS, Pakistani Army.

Gurbakhsh Singh was awarded the DSO and appointed as an OBE for leading a contingent the British Indian Army in Japanese captivity in Singapore, and for preventing defection of his men to the Indian National Army during this internment. Abrar Hussain, a future divisional commander of the Pakistan Army in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war, was appointed as an MBE for a similar feat with interned personnel of the 2/10 Baluch in Singapore.

K.M. Cariappa, the future second Field Marshall of the Indian Army, was appointed as an OBE for non-combat service in this theatre.

Miyan Hayaud Din, another future CGS, Pakistan Army, was appointed as MBE and awarded the MC for his actions in Burma.

Sam Manekshaw (the future first Field Marshall of the Indian Army) and A.A.K. Niazi, who would go on to lead the Indian and Pakistani armies respectively during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, were both awarded the MC in the Burma Campaign. Naveen Chand Rawlley, future VCOAS, Indian Army, was also awarded the MC in Burma.

### Middle East and African theatre

[edit]

Indian troops in North Africa, 6 October 1940.

Main articles: Western Desert Campaign, Anglo-Iraqi War, Syria-Lebanon Campaign, East African Campaign (World War II), and Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran

The British government meanwhile sent Indian troops to fight in West Asia and northern Africa against the Axis. India also geared up to produce essential goods such as food and uniforms.

The 4th, 5th and 10th Indian Divisions took part in the North African theatre against Rommel's Afrika Korps. In addition, the 18th Brigade of the 8th Indian Division fought at Alamein. Earlier, the 4th and 5th Indian Divisions took part in the East African campaign against the Italians in Somaliland, Eritrea and Abyssinia capturing the mountain fortress of Keren. In the Battle of Bir Hacheim, Indian gunners played an important role by using guns in the anti tank role and destroying tanks of Rommel's panzer divisions.

#### Notable Indian recipients of gallantry awards

[edit]

Premindra Singh Bhagat (future co-author of the Henderson Brooks - Bhagat report), Richhpal Ram, and Chhelu Ram were awarded the Victoria Cross in the Middle East and African Theatre.

PP Kumaramangalam and Rajendrasinjhi Jadeja (both future COAS, Indian Army), and Vidya Dhar Jayal, a future brigade commander of the Indian Army during the 1947-48 Indo-Pakistani War, were awarded the DSO in this theatre.

Jayanto Nath Chaudhari, future COAS, Indian Army, was appointed as an OBE for gallant service in the Middle East.

Muhammad Musa (future head of the Pakistani Army during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war) was appointed as an MBE for his action in the Middle East.

### Invasion of Italy

[edit]

German prisoners being escorted by Indian troops after the Battle of the Sangro, Italy, December 1943.

Indian forces played a role in liberating Italy from Nazi control. India contributed the third largest Allied contingent in the Italian campaign after US and British forces. The 4th, 8th and 10th Divisions and 43rd Gurkha Infantry Brigade led the advance, notably at the gruelling Battle of Monte Cassino. They fought on the Gothic Line in 1944 and 1945.

#### Notable Indian recipients of gallantry awards

[edit]

Yashwant Ghadge, Namdeo Jadhav, Kamal Ram, and Ali Haider (future Pakistani Army officer) were awarded the Victoria Cross during the Invasion of Italy. Subramaniam and Ditto Ram were awarded the George Cross for actions in Italy.

Thakur Mahadeo Singh, future first native commandant of the Indian Military Academy, was awarded the DSO for actions in Italy.

Kashmir Singh Katoch, future VCOAS, Indian Army, was awarded the MC in Italy. Bakhtiar Rana, future corps commander of the Pakistan Army in West Pakistan during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, was also awarded the MC in this theatre.

## Royal Indian Air Force

[edit]

Main article: Royal Indian Air Force

World War II photo: Arjan Singh (middle) as Flight Lieutenant. He went on to become Marshal of the Air Force.

During World War II, the IAF played an instrumental role in halting the advance of the Japanese army in Burma, where the first IAF air strike was executed. The target for this first mission was the Japanese military base in Arakan, after which IAF strike missions continued against the Japanese airbases at Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in northern Thailand.

The IAF was mainly involved in strike, close air support, aerial reconnaissance, bomber escort and pathfinding missions for RAF and USAAF heavy bombers. RAF and IAF pilots would train by flying with their non-native air wings to gain combat experience and communication proficiency. Besides operations in the Burma Theatre IAF pilots participated in air operations in North Africa and Europe.[25]

Pilots of No. 263 Squadron pose in front of their Typhoon. Pilot Officer Thyagarajan, an Indian pilot is seated on the engine cowling

83 Squadron aircrew in front of their Lancaster R5868, Squadron Leader Shailendra Eknath Sukthankar, an Indian Navigator stands in the middle.

During the war, the IAF experienced a phase of steady expansion. Many Indian airmen in the Royal Air Force were seconded or transferred to the expanding IAF. New aircraft added to the fleet included the US-built Vultee Vengeance, Douglas Dakota, the British Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, Bristol Blenheim, and Westland Lysander.

Subhas Chandra Bose sent Indian National Army youth cadets to Japan to train as pilots. They went on to attend the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy in 1944.[26]

In recognition of the valiant service by the IAF, King George VI conferred the prefix "Royal" in 1945. Thereafter the IAF was referred to as the Royal Indian Air Force. In 1950, when India became a republic, the prefix was dropped and it reverted to being the Indian Air Force.[27]

Post war, No. 4 Squadron IAF was sent to Japan as part of the Allied Occupation forces.[28]

### Notable Indian recipients of gallantry awards

[edit]

In addition to the IAF, many native Indians and some 200 Indians resident in Britain volunteered to join the RAF and Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). One such officer volunteer was Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist of Indian origin who joined the WAAF, in November 1940, to fight against Nazism. Noor Khan served bravely as a secret agent with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France, but was eventually betrayed, captured, and executed by the Nazis.[25] She was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

Mehar Singh, Indian flying prodigy, was awarded the DSO for his actions in Burma.

Karun Krishna Majumdar, the first Indian to reach the rank of Wing Commander, was awarded the DFC & bar. Arjan Singh (future Marshal of the Indian Air Force), Pratap Chandra Lal (future chief of the IAF during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971), and Ramaswamy Rajaram (future VCAS, IAF) were awarded the DFC in Burma. The brothers Aspy Engineer and Minoo Merwam Engineer, who both later became Air Marshalls of the IAF, were also awarded the DFC.

## Royal Indian Navy

[edit]

Main article: Royal Indian Navy

HMIS Bombay in Sydney Harbour, 1942. Royal Indian Naval personnel on board a landing craft during combined operations off Myebon, Burma, January 1945. HMIS Sutlej leaves Hong Kong for Japan as part of the Allied forces of occupation.

In 1934, the Royal Indian Marine changed its name, with the enactment of the Indian Navy (Discipline) Act of 1934. The Royal Indian Navy was formally inaugurated on 2 October 1934, at Bombay.[29] Its ships carried the prefix HMIS, for His Majesty's Indian Ship.[30]

At the start of the Second World War, the Royal Indian Navy was small, with only eight warships. The onset of the war led to an expansion in vessels and personnel described by one writer as "phenomenal". By 1943 the strength of the RIN had reached twenty thousand.[31] During the War, the Women's Royal Indian Naval Service was established, for the first time giving women a role in the navy, although they did not serve on board its ships.[29]

During the course of the war six anti-aircraft sloops and several fleet minesweepers were built in the United Kingdom for the R.I.N. After commissioning, many of these ships joined various escort groups operating in the northern approaches to the British Isles. HMIS Sutlej and HMIS Jumna, each armed with six-high angle 4" guns, were present during the Clyde "Blitz" of 1941 and assisted the defence of this area by providing anti-aircraft cover. For the next six months these two ships joined the Clyde Escort Force, operating in the Atlantic and later the Irish Sea Escort Force where they acted as the senior ships of the groups. While engaged on these duties, numerous attacks against U-boats were carried out and attacks by hostile aircraft repelled. At the time of action in which the Bismarck was involved, the Sutlej left Scapa Flow, with all despatch as the senior member of a group, to take over a convoy from the destroyers which were finally engaged in the sinking of the Bismarck.[32]

Later HMIS Cauvery, HMIS Kistna, HMIS Narbada, HMIS Godavari, also antiaircraft sloops, completed similar periods in the U.K. waters escorting convoys in the Atlantic and dealing with attacks from hostile U-boats, aircraft and glider bombs. These six ships and the minesweepers all eventually proceeded to India carrying out various duties in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Cape stations en route. The fleet minesweepers were HMIS Kathiawar, HMIS Kumaon, HMIS Baluchistan, HMIS Carnatic, HMIS Khyber, HMIS Konkan, HMIS Orissa, HMIS Rajputana, HMIS Rohilkhand.[32]

HMIS Bengal was a part of the Eastern Fleet during World War II, and escorted numerous convoys between 1942 and 1945.[33]

The sloops HMIS Sutlej and HMIS Jumna played a role in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily by providing air defence and anti-submarine screening to the invasion fleet.[34][35]

Furthermore, the Royal Indian Navy participated in convoy escort duties in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean and was heavily involved in combat operations as part of the Burma Campaign, carrying out raids, shore bombardment, naval invasion support and other activities culminating in Operation Dracula and the mopping up operations during the final stages of the war.[36]

### Royal Indian Naval combat losses

[edit]

The sloop HMIS Pathan sunk in June 1940 by the Italian Navy Submarine Galvani during the East African Campaign[37][38][39][40]

In the days immediately following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, HMS Glasgow was patrolling the Laccadive Islands in search of Japanese ships and submarines. At midnight on 9 December 1941, HMS Glasgow sank the RIN patrol vessel HMIS Prabhavati with two lighters in tow en route to Karachi, with 6-inch shells at 6,000 yards (5,500 m). Prabhavati was alongside the lighters and was mistaken for a surfaced Japanese submarine.[41][42][43]

HMIS Indus was sunk by Japanese aircraft during Burma Campaign on 6 April 1942.[44]

### Royal Indian Naval successes

[edit]

HMIS Jumna was ordered in 1939, and built by William Denny and Brothers. She was commissioned in 1941,[45] and with World War II underway, was immediately deployed as a convoy escort. Jumna served as an anti-aircraft escort during the Java Sea campaign in early 1942, and was involved in intensive anti-aircraft action against attacking Japanese twin-engined level bombers and dive bombers, claiming five aircraft downed from 24 to 28 February 1942.

In June 1942 HMIS Bombay was involved in the defence of Sydney Harbour during the attack on Sydney Harbour.

On 11 November 1942, Bengal was escorting the Dutch tanker Ondina[46] to the southwest of Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. Two Japanese commerce raiders armed with six-inch guns attacked Ondina. Bengal fired her single four-inch gun and Ondina fired her 102 mm and both scored hits on Hōkoku Maru, which shortly blew up and sank.[46][47]

On 12 Feb 1944, the Japanese submarine RO-110 was depth charged and sunk east-south-east off Visakhapatnam, India by the Indian sloop HMIS Jumna and the Australian minesweepers HMAS Launceston and HMAS Ipswich (J186). RO-110 had attacked convoy JC-36 (Colombo-Calcutta) and torpedoed and damaged the British merchant Asphalion (6274 GRT).[45][48]

On 12 August 1944 the German submarine U-198 was sunk near the Seychelles, in position 03º35'S, 52º49'E, by depth charges from HMIS Godavari and the British frigate HMS Findhorn.[49][44]

#### Notable Indian recipients of gallantry awards

[edit]

HMS Choudri, the future first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani Navy, was appointed as an MBE for his services in the Royal Indian Navy in 1945.

Nilakanta Krishnan, future commander of the Indian Navy in the Bay of Bengal during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, was awarded the DSC in 1941.

## Collaboration with the Axis powers

[edit]

See also: Indian National Army, Indische Legion, and Battaglione Azad Hindoustan

Several leaders of the radical revolutionary Indian independence movement broke away from the main Congress and went to war against Britain. Subhas Chandra Bose, once a prominent leader in the Indian National Congress, volunteered to help Nazi Germany and Japan; he claimed in speeches that Britain's opposition to Nazism and Fascism was "hypocrisy", since Britain was itself denying individual liberties to Indians.[50] Moreover, he argued that it was not Germany and Japan but the British Raj which was the enemy, since the British were over-exploiting Indian resources for the war.[50] Bose suggested that there was little possibility of India being attacked by any of the Axis powers provided it did not fight the war on Britain's side.[50]

Captured soldiers of the British Indian Army who refused to join the INA were executed by the Japanese.[51]

Nazi Germany was encouraging but gave little help. Bose then approached the Japanese Empire at Tokyo, which gave him control of Indian forces it had organised.[52]

The Indian National Army (INA), formed first by Mohan Singh Deb, consisted initially of prisoners taken by the Japanese in Malaya and at Singapore who were offered the choice of serving the INA by Japan or remaining in very poor conditions in POW camps. Later, after it was reorganised under Subhas Chandra Bose, it drew civilian volunteers from Malaya and Burma. Ultimately, a force of under 40,000 was formed, although only two divisions ever participated in battle. Intelligence and special services groups from the INA were instrumental in destabilising the British Indian Army in the early stages of the Arakan offensive. It was during this time that the British Military Intelligence began propaganda work to shield the true numbers who joined the INA,[verification needed] and also described stories of Japanese brutalities that indicated INA involvement. Further, the Indian press was prohibited from publishing any accounts whatsoever of the INA.[citation needed]

As the Japanese offensive opened, the INA was sent into battle. Bose hoped to avoid set-piece battles for which it lacked arms, armament as well as man-power.[53] Initially, he sought to obtain arms as well as increase its ranks from British Indian soldiers he hoped would defect to his cause. Once the Japanese forces were able to break the British defences at Imphal, he planned for the INA to cross the hills of North-East India into the Gangetic plain, where it was to work as a guerrilla army and expected to live off the land, garner support, supplies, and ranks from amongst the local populace to ultimately touch off a revolution.

Prem Kumar Sahgal, an officer of the INA once Military secretary to Subhas Bose and later tried in the first Red Fort trials, explained that although the war itself hung in balance and nobody was sure if the Japanese would win, initiating a popular revolution with grass-root support within India would ensure that even if Japan lost the war ultimately, Britain would not be in a position to re-assert its colonial authority, which was ultimately the aim of the INA and Azad Hind.

Troops of the Indische Legion guarding the Atlantic Wall in France in March 1944. Subhas Chandra Bose initiated the legion's formation, intended to serve as a liberation force from the British occupation of India.

As Japan opened its offensive towards India, the INA's first division, consisting of four Guerrilla regiments, participated in Arakan offensive in 1944, with one battalion reaching as far as Mowdok in Chittagong. Other units were directed to Imphal and Kohima, as well as to protect Japanese flanks to the south of Arakan, a task it successfully carried out. However, the first division suffered the same fate as did Mutaguchi's Army when the siege of Imphal was broken. With little or no supplies and supply lines deluged by the Monsoon, harassed by Allied air dominance, the INA began withdrawing when the 15th Army and Burma Area Army began withdrawing, and suffered the same terrible fate as wounded, starved and diseased men succumbed during the hasty withdrawal into Burma. Later in the war however, the INA's second division, tasked with the defence of Irrawaddy and the adjoining areas around Nangyu, was instrumental in opposing Messervy's 7th Indian Infantry Division when it attempted to cross the river at Pagan and Nyangyu during the successful Burma Campaign by the Allies the following year. The 2nd division was instrumental in denying the 17th Indian Infantry Division the area around Mount Popa that would have exposed the flank of Kimura's forces attempting to retake Meiktila and Nyangyu. Ultimately however, the division was obliterated. Some of the surviving units of the INA surrendered as Rangoon fell, and helped keep order till the allied forces entered the city. The other remnants began a long march over land and on foot towards Singapore, along with Subhas Chandra Bose. As the Japanese situation became precarious, Bose left for Manchuria to attempt to contact the Russians, and was reported to have died in an air crash near Taiwan.

The only Indian territory that the Azad Hind government controlled was nominally the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. However, they were bases for the Japanese Navy, and the navy never relinquished control. Enraged with the lack of administrative control, the Azad Hind Governor, Lt. Col. Loganathan, later relinquished his authority. After the War, a number of officers of the INA were tried for treason. However, faced with the possibility of a massive civil unrest and a mutiny in the Indian Army, the British officials decided to release the prisoners-of-war; in addition, the event became a turning point to expedite the process of transformation of power and independence of India.[54][page needed]

## Bengal famine

[edit]

Main article: Bengal Famine of 1943

Child who starved to death during the Bengal famine of 1943.

The region of Bengal in India suffered a devastating famine from 1943 to 1944. Some of the key reasons for this famine are:

1. Japanese invasion of Burma which cut off food and other essential supplies to the region;
2. British export of food and material for the war in Europe;
3. British denial orders destroying essential food transportation throughout the Eastern region;
4. British banned transfer of grain from other provinces, turning down offers of grain from Australia;
5. mismanagement by British Indian regional governments;
6. constructing 900 airfields (2000 acres each) taking that huge amount of land out of agriculture in a time of dire need;
7. price inflation caused by war production
8. increase in demand partially as a result of refugees from Burma and Bengal.

The British government denied an urgent request from Leopold Amery, the Indian secretary of state, and Archibald Wavell, the Viceroy of India, to stop exports of food from Bengal in order that it might be used for famine relief. Winston Churchill, then prime minister, dismissed these requests in a fashion that Amery regarded as "Hitler-like," by asking why, if the famine was so horrible, Gandhi had not yet died of starvation.[55]

Indian Economist Amartya Sen (1976) challenged this orthodoxy, reviving the claim that there was no shortage of food in Bengal and that the famine was caused by inflation.[56]

## Princely states

[edit]

Maharaja Jam Sahib celebrates Christmas with Polish children he rescued from Soviet camps, 1943

During World War II, in 1941, the British presented a captured German BF 109 single-engined fighter to the Nizam of Hyderabad, in return for the funding of 2 RAF fighter squadrons.[57]

There was a campsite for Polish refugees at Valivade, in Kolhapur State, it was the largest settlement of Polish refugees in India during the war.[58][59][60] Another such campsite for Polish refugee children was located in Balachadi, it was built by K. S. Digvijaysinhji, Jam Saheb Maharaja of Nawanagar State in 1942, near his summer resort. He gave refuge to hundreds of Polish children rescued from Soviet camps (Gulags).[58][61][62] The campsite is now part of the Sainik School.[63]

## 1944–45 Insurgency in Balochistan

[edit]

From 1944 to 1945, Daru Khan Badinzai led an insurgency against the authorities of the Raj. It began in the first half of 1944, when rebels of the Badinzai tribe began interfering with road construction on the British side of the Balochistan border.[64] The insurgency had subsided by March 1945.[65]

## Mazrak Zadran's invasion of India

[edit]

See also: Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947

In 1944, the Southern and Eastern provinces of Afghanistan entered a state of turmoil, with the Zadran, Safi and Mangal tribes rising up against the Afghan government.[66] Among the leaders of the revolt was the Zadran chieftain, Mazrak Zadran,[67] who opted to invade British India in late 1944. There he was joined by a Baloch chieftain, Sultan Ahmed.[68] Mazrak was forced to retreat back into Afghanistan due to British aerial bombardment.[69]

## See also

[edit]

* India portal

* Propaganda and India in World War II
* Burma Campaign
* U Go offensive
* Bombing of Calcutta
* Indian Army during World War II
* List of Indian divisions in World War I
* Military history of India
* Military production during World War II
* Military history of the British Commonwealth in the Second World War

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Kux, Dennis (1992). India and the United States: estranged democracies, 1941–1991. DIANE Publishing, 1992. ISBN 978-1-4289-8189-8.
2. ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission Annual Report 2013-2014 Archived 4 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, page 44. Figures include identified burials and those commemorated by name on memorials.
3. ^ Gupta, Diya (8 November 2019). "Hunger, starvation and Indian soldiers in World War II". Livemint. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
4. ^ "The Indian Army in the Second World War". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016.
5. ^ "Armed and ready". Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
6. ^ Douds, G. J. (2004). "The men who never were: Indian POWs in the Second World War". South Asia. 27 (2): 183–216. doi:10.1080/1479027042000236634. S2CID 144665659.
7. ^ Mishra, Basanta Kumar (1979). "India's Response To The British Offer Of August 1940". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 40: 717–719. JSTOR 44142017.
8. ^ Broad, Roger (27 May 2017). Volunteers and Pressed Men: How Britain and its Empire Raised its Forces in Two World Wars. United Kingdom: Fonthill Media. ISBN 978-1-78155-396-1. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
9. ^ Manu, Bhagavan (2 March 2012). The Peacemakers: India And The Quest For One World. India: HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 978-93-5029-469-7. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
10. ^ "Has India's contribution to WW2 been ignored?". BBC News. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
11. ^ Mishra, Vimal; Tiwari, Amar Deep; Aadhar, Saran; Shah, Reepal; Xiao, Mu; Pai, D. S.; Lettenmaier, Dennis (28 February 2019). "Drought and Famine in India, 1870–2016". Geophysical Research Letters. 46 (4): 2075–2083. Bibcode:2019GeoRL..46.2075M. doi:10.1029/2018GL081477. S2CID 133752333. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
12. ^ Weigold, Auriol (6 June 2008). Churchill, Roosevelt and India: Propaganda During World War II. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-203-89450-7. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2015 - via Google Books.
13. ^ Nolan, Cathal J. (21 April 2019). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of International Relations: F-L. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-30742-3. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2015 - via Google Books.
14. ^ Leonard, Thomas M. (21 April 2019). Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-57958-388-0. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2015 - via Google Books.
15. ^ Cohen, Stephen P. (13 May 2004). India: Emerging Power - By Stephen P. Cohen. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-8157-9839-3. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
16. ^ Frank Moraes (2007). Jawaharlal Nehru. Jaico Publishing House. p. 266\. ISBN 978-81-7992-695-6. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
17. ^ Sankar Ghose (1993). Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography. Allied Publishers. pp. 114–18. ISBN 978-81-7023-343-5. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
18. ^ Leonard A. Gordon, Brothers Against the Raj: A Biography of Indian Nationalists Sarat & Subhas Chandra Bose (2000)
19. ^ Compton McKenzie (1951). Eastern Epic. Chatto & Windus, London., p. 1
20. ^ Sherwood, Marika. "Colonies, Colonials and World War Two". BBC History. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
21. ^ "Awards and decorations of the British Armed Forces", Wikipedia, 29 April 2024, retrieved 19 May 2024
22. ^ Peter Liddle; J. M. Bourne; Ian R. Whitehead (2000). The Great World War, 1914–45: Lightning strikes twice. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-472454-6.
23. ^ Allen, Louis (1998). Burma: The Longest War. Phoenix Giant. p. 638\. ISBN 978-0753802212.
24. ^ Edward M. Young and Howard Gerrard, Meiktila 1945: The Battle To Liberate Burma (2004)
25. ^ a b "Royal Indian Air Force". RAF Museum. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
26. ^ Burma to Japan with Azad Hind: A War Memoir (1941–1945) Archived 13 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine Air Cmde R S Benegal MVC AVSM
27. ^ Ahluwalia, A. (2012). Airborne to Chairborne: Memoirs of a War Veteran Aviator-Lawyer of the Indian Air Force. Xlibris Corporation. p. 41\. ISBN 978-1-4691-9657-2. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
28. ^ http://indianairforce.nic.in/show_unit.php?ch=7 Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL]
29. ^ a b Bhatia (1977), p. 28
30. ^ D. J. E. Collins, The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–45, vol. 1 (Bombay, 1964)
31. ^ Mollo, Andrew (1976). Naval, Marine and Air Force uniforms of World War 2. Macmillan. p. 144\. ISBN 0-02-579391-8.
32. ^ a b The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945 – Collins, p. 248
33. ^ Kindell, Don. "Eastern Fleet – January to June 1943". Admiralty War Diaries of World War 2. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
34. ^ Inmed Archived 24 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
35. ^ The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945 –Collins, p. 252
36. ^ The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945 – Collins, pp. 255–316
37. ^ Rohwer & Hummelchen, p. 23
38. ^ Collins, D.J.E. (1964). "Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India & Pakistan)". The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945, Official History of the Indian Armed Forces In the Second World War. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
39. ^ "House of commons debate - Indian, Burman, and Colonial War Effort". House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 20 November 1940. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
40. ^ "Fighting the U-boats = Indian Naval forces". Uboat.net. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
41. ^ "Allied Warships – HMIS Prabhavati". Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
42. ^ The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945 – Collins, p. 96
43. ^ Neil MacCart, Town Class Cruisers, Maritime Books, 2012, ISBN 978-1-904-45952-1, p. 153
44. ^ a b Collins, J.T.E. (1964). The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945. Official History of the Indian Armed Forces In the Second World War. New Delhi: Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India and Pakistan). Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
45. ^ a b "HMIS Jumna (U 21)". uboat.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
46. ^ a b Visser, Jan (1999–2000). "The Ondina Story". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
47. ^ L, Klemen (2000). "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
48. ^ The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945 – Collins, p. 309
49. ^ "HMIS Godavari (U 52) of the Royal Indian Navy – Indian Sloop of the Black Swan class – Allied Warships of WWII – uboat.net". Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
50. ^ a b c Bose, Subash Chandra (2004). Azad Hind: writings and speeches, 1941–43. Anthem Press. ISBN 978-1-84331-083-9.
51. ^ Aldrich, Richard J. (2000), Intelligence and the War Against Japan: Britain, America and the Politics of Secret Service, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, p. 371, ISBN 978-0-521-64186-9, archived from the original on 22 October 2020, retrieved 6 November 2013
52. ^ Horn, Steve (2005). The second attack on Pearl Harbor: Operation K and other Japanese attempts to bomb America in World War II. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-388-8.
53. ^ Fay 1993, pp. 292, 298
54. ^ Fay 1993
55. ^ Mishra, Pankaj (6 August 2007). "Exit Wounds". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2019 - via www.newyorker.com.
56. ^ Khan, Yasmin (2008). The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12078-3.
57. ^ Manu Pubby (4 November 2006). "A mystery behind the history plane". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
58. ^ a b Piotrowski, Tadeusz (2015). The Polish Deportees of World War II: Recollections of Removal to the Soviet Union and Dispersal Throughout the World. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5536-2. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
59. ^ Phadnis, Samrat (13 February 2014). "Over 70 Polish refugees to visit city in March, relive WW-II memories". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020.
60. ^ Deshpande, Devidas (31 July 2011). "The last Pole of Valivade". Pune Mirror. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019.
61. ^ "Little Warsaw Of Kathiawar". Outlook. 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
62. ^ "Good Maharaja saves Polish children – beautiful story of A Little Poland in India". newdelhi.mfa.gov.pl. 10 November 2013. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
63. ^ "Origin and History". Welcome to Sainik School Balachadi. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
64. ^ Preston, Paul; Partridge, Michael; Yapp, Malcolm (1997). British Documents on Foreign Affairs – reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Eastern Affairs, January 1944 – June 1944. University Publications of America. p. 141\. ISBN 978-1-55655-671-5. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
65. ^ Preston, Paul; Partridge, Michael; Yapp, Malcolm (1997). British Documents on Foreign Affairs – reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Eastern affairs, July 1944 – March 1945. University Publications of America. p. 348\. ISBN 978-1-55655-671-5. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
66. ^ Giustozzi, Antonio (November 2008). "Afghanistan: transition without end" (PDF). Crisis States Working Papers. p. 13\. S2CID 54592886.
67. ^ "Coll 5/73 'Afghan Air Force: Reports on' [57r] (113/431)". Qatar Digital Library. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
68. ^ Yapp, Malcolm (2001). British documents on foreign affairs: reports and papers from the foreign office confidential print. From 1946 through 1950. Near and Middle-East 1947. Afghanistan, Persia and Turkey, January 1947 – December 1947. University Publications of America. p. 34\. ISBN 978-1-55655-765-1. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
69. ^ Preston, Paul; Partridge, Michael; Yapp, Malcolm (1997). British Documents on Foreign Affairs – reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Eastern affairs, July 1944 – March 1945. University Publications of America. p. 348\. ISBN 978-1-55655-671-5. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar. From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India (2004) [ISBN missing]
* Barkawi, Tarak. "Culture and Combat In the Colonies: The Indian Army In the Second World War," Journal of Contemporary History (2006) 41#2 pp 325–355 doi:10.1177/0022009406062071 online
* Bhatia, Harbans Singh, Military History of British India, 1607–1947 (1977) [ISBN missing]
* Brown, Judith M. Modern India: The Origins of an Asian Democracy (1994)
* Brown, Judith M. Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope (1991) [ISBN missing]
* Fay, Peter W. (1993), The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence, 1942–1945., Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press., ISBN 0-472-08342-2.
* Collins, D.J.E. The Royal Indian Navy (1964 online official history
* Gopal, Sarvepalli. Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography (1976)
* Herman, Arthur.  Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age (2009), pp 443–539.
* Hogan, David W. India-Burma. World War II Campaign Brochures. Washington D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-5. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
* Jalal, Ayesha. The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan (1993),
* James, Lawrence. Raj: the making and remaking of British India (1997) pp 545–85, narrative history.
* Joshi, Vandana. "Memory and Memorialisation, Interment and Exhumation, Propaganda and Politics during WWII through the lens of International Tracing Service (ITS) Collections", in MIDA Archival Reflexicon (2019), pp. 1–12.
* Judd, Dennis. The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj, 1600–1947 (2004)
* Karnad, Raghu. Farthest Field – An Indian Story of the Second World War (Harper Collins India, 2015) ISBN 93-5177-203-9
* Khan, Yasmin. India At War: The Subcontinent and the Second World War (2015), wide-ranging scholarly survey excerpt; also published as The Raj At War: A People's History Of India's Second World War (2015)' online review
* Marston, Daniel. The Indian Army and the end of the Raj (Cambridge UP, 2014).
* Moore, Robin J. "India in the 1940s", in Robin Winks, ed. Oxford History of the British Empire: Historiography (2001), pp. 231–242
* Mukerjee, Madhusree. Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War II (2010).
* Raghavan, Srinath. India's War: World War II and the Making of Modern South Asia (2016). wide-ranging scholarly survey excerpt
* Read, Anthony, and David Fisher. The Proudest Day: India's Long Road to Independence (1999) detailed scholarly history of 1940–47
* Roy, Kaushik. "Military Loyalty in the Colonial Context: A Case Study of the Indian Army during World War II." Journal of Military History 73.2 (2009): 497–529.
* Voigt, Johannes. India in The Second World War (1988).
* Wolpert, Stanley A. Jinnah of Pakistan (2005). [ISBN missing]

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to India in World War II at Wikimedia Commons

Links to related articles

* v
* t
* e

World War II

* Outline
* Battles
* Operations
* Leaders
* Allied
* Axis
* Commanders
* Casualties
* Conferences

General|

| Topics|

* Air warfare of World War II
* In Europe
* Blitzkrieg
* Comparative military ranks
* Cryptography
* Declarations of war
* Diplomacy
* Governments in exile
* Home front
* Australian
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Lend-Lease
* Manhattan Project
* British contribution
* Military awards
* Military equipment
* Military production
* Naval history
* Nazi plunder
* Opposition
* Technology
* Allied cooperation
* Mulberry harbour
* Total war
* Strategic bombing
* Puppet states
* Women
* Art and World War II
* Music in World War II
* Weather events during World War II

|

Theaters|

* Asia and Pacific
* China
* South-East Asia
* Pacific
* North and Central Pacific
* South-West Pacific
* Indian Ocean
* Europe
* Western Front
* Eastern Front
* Mediterranean and Middle East
* North Africa
* East Africa
* Italy
* West Africa
* Atlantic
* timeline
* Americas

Aftermath|

* Chinese Civil War
* Cold War
* Decolonization
* Division of Korea
* First Indochina War
* Expulsion of Germans
* Greek Civil War
* Indonesian National Revolution
* Keelhaul
* Marshall Plan
* Occupation of Germany
* Occupation of Japan
* Osoaviakhim
* Paperclip
* Soviet occupations
* Baltic
* Hungary
* Poland
* Romania
* Territorial changes of Germany
* Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany
* United Nations

War crimes|

* Allied war crimes
* Soviet war crimes
* British war crimes
* United States war crimes
* German war crimes
* forced labour
* Wehrmacht war crimes
* The Holocaust
* Aftermath
* Response
* Nuremberg trials
* Italian war crimes
* Japanese war crimes
* Nanjing Massacre
* Unit 731
* Prosecution
* Croatian war crimes
* Genocide of Serbs
* Persecution of Jews
* Romanian war crimes
* Sexual violence
* German military brothels
* Camp brothels
* Rape during the occupation of Germany / Japan / Poland
* Rape during the liberation of France / Serbia
* Sook Ching
* Comfort women
* Rape of Manila
* Marocchinate

Participants|

| Allies|

* Algeria
* Australia
* Belgium
* Brazil
* Bulgaria (from September 1944)
* Canada
* China
* Cuba
* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* Ethiopia
* Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
* Finland (from September 1944)
* France
* Free France
* Greece
* India
* Italy (from September 1943)
* Luxembourg
* Mexico
* Netherlands
* Newfoundland
* New Zealand
* Norway
* Philippines
* Poland
* Romania (from August 1944)
* Sierra Leone
* South Africa
* Southern Rhodesia
* Soviet Union
* Tuva
* United Kingdom
* British Empire
* United States
* Puerto Rico
* Yugoslavia

|

Axis|

* Albania protectorate
* Bulgaria (until September 1944)
* Wang Jingwei regime
* Independent State of Croatia
* Finland (until September 1944)
* German Reich
* Hungary
* Azad Hind
* French Indochina
* Iraq
* Italy (until September 1943)
* Italian Social Republic
* Empire of Japan
* Manchukuo
* Philippines
* Romania (until August 1944)
* Slovak Republic
* Thailand
* Vichy France
* Collaboration

Neutral|

* Afghanistan
* Andorra
* Bhutan
* Ireland
* Liechtenstein
* Portugal
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Tibet
* Vatican City

Resistance|

* Albania
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Czech lands
* Denmark
* Dutch East Indies
* Estonia
* Ethiopia
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hong Kong
* Italy
* Japan
* Jews
* Korea
* Korean Liberation Army
* Korean Volunteer Army
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malaya
* Netherlands
* Northeast China
* Norway
* Philippines
* Poland
* Romania
* Thailand
* Soviet Union
* Slovakia
* Western Ukraine
* Vietnam
* Quốc dân Đảng
* Viet Minh
* Yugoslavia

POWs|

* Finnish prisoners in the Soviet Union
* German prisoners
* Soviet Union
* Azerbaijan
* United States
* United Kingdom
* Italian prisoners in the Soviet Union
* Japanese prisoners
* Soviet Union
* German atrocities against Polish POWs
* Soviet prisoners
* Finland
* atrocities by Germans
* Polish prisoners in the Soviet Union
* Romanian prisoners in the Soviet Union

Timeline|

| Prelude|

* Africa
* Second Italo-Ethiopian War
* Asia
* Second Sino-Japanese War
* Battles of Khalkhin Gol
* Europe
* Anschluss
* Munich Agreement
* Occupation of Czechoslovakia
* Operation Himmler
* Italian invasion of Albania

|

1939|

* Invasion of Poland
* Battle of the Atlantic
* Phoney War
* First Battle of Changsha
* Battle of South Guangxi
* Winter War
* 1939–1940 Winter Offensive

1940|

* Norwegian campaign
* German invasion of Denmark
* Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
* German invasion of Luxembourg
* German invasion of the Netherlands
* German invasion of Belgium
* Battle of France
* Dunkirk evacuation
* Battle of Britain
* Battle of the Mediterranean
* North Africa
* West Africa
* British Somaliland
* Hundred Regiments Offensive
* Baltic states
* Eastern Romania
* Japanese invasion of French Indochina
* Italian invasion of Greece
* Compass

1941|

* Battle of South Henan
* Battle of Shanggao
* Invasion of Yugoslavia
* German invasion of Greece
* Battle of Crete
* Anglo-Iraqi War
* Battle of South Shanxi
* Syria–Lebanon campaign
* East African campaign
* Invasion of the Soviet Union
* Summer War
* Finland (Silver Fox)
* Lithuania
* Battle of Kiev
* Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
* Second Battle of Changsha
* Siege of Leningrad
* Battle of Moscow
* Bombing of Gorky
* Siege of Sevastopol
* Attack on Pearl Harbor
* Japanese invasion of Thailand
* Fall of Hong Kong
* Fall of the Philippines
* Battle of Guam
* Battle of Wake Island
* Malayan campaign
* Battle of Borneo
* Japanese invasion of Burma
* Third Battle of Changsha
* Greek famine of 1941–1944

1942|

* Fall of Singapore
* Battle of the Java Sea
* St Nazaire Raid
* Battle of Christmas Island
* Battle of the Coral Sea
* Battle of Madagascar
* Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign
* Battle of Gazala
* Battle of Dutch Harbor
* Battle of Midway
* Aleutian Islands campaign
* Kiska
* Attu
* Blue
* First Battle of El Alamein
* Battle of Stalingrad
* Kokoda Track campaign
* Rzhev
* Jubilee
* Second Battle of El Alamein
* Guadalcanal campaign
* Torch
* Chinese famine of 1942–1943

1943|

* Black May
* Tunisian campaign
* Battle of West Hubei
* Battle of Attu
* Bombing of Gorky
* Battle of Kursk
* Allied invasion of Sicily
* Smolensk
* Solomon Islands campaign
* Cottage
* Battle of the Dnieper
* Allied invasion of Italy
* Armistice of Cassibile
* Burma
* Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
* Changde
* Second Battle of Kiev
* Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
* Tarawa
* Makin
* Bengal famine of 1943

1944|

* Tempest
* Monte Cassino / Anzio
* Korsun–Cherkassy
* Narva
* Ichi-Go
* Overlord
* Neptune
* Mariana and Palau
* Bagration
* Western Ukraine
* Second Battle of Guam
* Tannenberg Line
* Warsaw Uprising
* Eastern Romania
* Liberation of Paris
* Dragoon
* Gothic Line
* Belgrade offensive
* Lapland
* Market Garden
* Estonia
* Crossbow
* Pointblank
* Vietnamese famine of 1944–1945
* Philippines (1944–1945)
* Leyte
* Syrmian Front
* Hungary
* Budapest
* Burma (1944–1945)
* Ardennes
* Bodenplatte
* Dutch famine of 1944–1945

1945|

* Vistula–Oder
* Battle of Manila
* Battle of Iwo Jima
* Indochina
* Vienna offensive
* Project Hula
* Western invasion of Germany
* Bratislava–Brno offensive
* Battle of Okinawa
* Second Guangxi campaign
* West Hunan
* Italy (Spring 1945)
* Battle of Berlin
* Prague offensive
* Surrender of Germany
* document
* Borneo
* Taipei
* Naval bombardment of Japan
* Manchuria
* Atomic bombings
* Debate
* South Sakhalin
* Kuril Islands
* Shumshu
* Surrender of Japan
* Potsdam Declaration
* document
* End of World War II in Asia

* World portal
* Bibliography
* Category

* v
* t
* e

British Empire battles of the Second World War

Africa|

East Africa
Invasion of British Somaliland
Capture of Italian Somaliland
Recapture of British Somaliland
Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia

North Africa
First Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
Italian invasion of Egypt
Operation Compass
Run for Tunis
Siege of Giarabub
Siege of Tobruk
Capture of Tobruk
Operation Brevity
Operation Skorpion
Operation Sonnenblume
Occupation of Libya

Southern Africa
Battle of Madagascar

West Africa
Battle of Dakar
Operation Postmaster

Europe|

Arctic
Battle of the Barents Sea
Evacuation of Norway
Occupation of Iceland
Evacuation of Spitsbergen
Faroe Islands occupation

Balkans
Reinforcement of Greece
Battle of Crete (Rethymno
Thermopylae
Vevi)

Mediterranean
Convoy AN 14
Attack on Mers-el-Kébir
Battle of Calabria
Campobasso Convoy
Battle of Cape Bon
Battle of Cape Matapan
Battle of Cape Passero
Battle of Cape Spada
Battle of Cape Spartivento
Cigno Convoy
Duisburg Convoy
Espero Convoy
Battle of the Ligurian Sea
Battle of Skerki Bank
Battle of the Strait of Otranto (1940)
Battle of Taranto
Tarigo Convoy
Battle off Zuwarah
Operation Abstention
Operation Agreement
Operation Albumen
Operation Excess
Operation Grog
Operation Harpoon
Operation Pedestal
Operation Scylla
Operation Vigorous
Operation White
Raid on Alexandria
Raid on Souda Bay
Siege of Malta

Battle of Grand Harbour
Malta convoys

Western Europe
Battle of the Heligoland Bight
BEF
Battle of France (Arras)
Battle of Belgium
Battle of the Netherlands
Dunkirk evacuation
Battle of Britain
The Blitz
Dieppe Raid
Channel Dash
Operation Gisela
Operation Steinbock
Operation Diver
Evacuation of Gibraltar
Juno Beach
Gold Beach
Sword Beach
Operation Windsor
Clearing the Channel Coast
Operation Market Garden (Battle of Arnhem, Battle of Nijmegen)
Battle of the Scheldt
Operation Blackcock
Battle of the Reichswald
St Nazaire Raid
Liberation of Belgium
Liberation of the Netherlands

Far East|

Hong Kong
Battle of Kowloon and New Territories
Battle of Hong Kong Island

Malay
Japanese invasion of Malaya
Battle of Jitra
Defence of Johore

Singapore
Fall of Singapore

Burma
Japanese invasion of Burma
Arakan Campaign 1942–43
Recapture of Burma

India
Invasion of India
Operation U-Go
Battle of Imphal
Battle of Kohima

Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean disaster
Indian Ocean retreat
Cocos Islands mutiny
Indian Ocean raid
Battle of Ceylon
Evacuation of British Somaliland
Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands
Indian Ocean raid (1944)
Indian Ocean strike
Battle of the Malacca Strait
Bombing of Sumatra
Bombardment of Andaman Islands
Bombardment of Northern Malaya

Middle East|

Iraq
Invasion of Iraq
Battle of Fallujah
Siege of Habbaniya
Battle of Basra
Capture of Baghdad

Iran
Invasion of Khuzestan
Invasion of Central Iran

Syria–Lebanon
Invasion of Lebanon
Capture of Beirut
Invasion of Syria
Capture of Damascus

Americas|

Atlantic
Battle of the River Plate
Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Battle of the Denmark Strait
Newfoundland Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Western Local Escort Force
Western Approaches Escort Force

* v
* t
* e

History of World War II by region and country

Africa|

* Belgian Congo
* British Somaliland
* Egypt
* Ethiopia
* French Somaliland
* French West Africa
* The Gambia
* Gold Coast
* Kenya
* Liberia
* Madagascar
* North Africa
* Tunisia
* Morocco
* Nyasaland
* Sierra Leone
* South Africa
* Southern Rhodesia

North America|

* Canada
* Cuba
* El Salvador
* Greenland
* Mexico
* Newfoundland
* United States
* Arizona
* California
* Nevada
* New Mexico
* Puerto Rico
* Native Americans

South America|

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Colombia
* Latin America
* Suriname
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Burma
* Ceylon
* China
* Manchuria
* Dutch East Indies
* New Guinea
* West Sumatra
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indochina
* Cambodia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Malaya
* Mongolia
* Nepal
* Philippines
* Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, and British North Borneo
* Singapore
* Thailand
* Tibet
* Turkey
* Tuva

Europe|

* Albania
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Military history
* Basque Country
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary (Carpathian Ruthenia)
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Slovakia
* Soviet Union
* Azerbaijan
* Byelorussia
* Ukraine
* Spain
* Basque Country
* Catalonia
* Galicia
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* British Empire
* Wales
* Channel Islands
* Gibraltar
* Vatican City
* Yugoslavia (Slovenia)

Oceania and
Antarctica|

* Antarctica
* Australia
* Gilbert Islands
* Nauru
* New Guinea
* New Zealand
* Solomon Islands
* Pacific Islands

* v
* t
* e

Indian National Army

Historical|

* Revolutionary conspiracy of WWI
* Rash Behari
* Har Dayal
* Ghadr
* Chatto
* Berlin Committee
* Bagha Jatin
* Barkatullah
* Kabul mission
* Provisional Government of India
* Imperial Japan
* Pan Asianism
* Greater East Asia
* more

Indian Independence
League (IIL)|

* Pritam Singh
* Swami Satyananda Puri
* Indian National Council
* I Fujiwara
* F Kikan
* K.P.K. Menon
* A.M. Sahay
* S.A. Ayer
* Rash Behari Bose
* Bidadary Resolutions
* Tokyo Conference
* H Iwakuro
* I Kikan
* Bangkok Conference
* Azad Hind
* Hikari Kikan
* Azad Hind Dal
* more

Subhas Chandra Bose|

* Indian National Congress
* C.R. Das
* Sarat Bose
* Purna Swaraj
* Bengal Volunteers
* Emilie Schenkl
* Forward Bloc
* Indian Legion
* U-180
* Azad Hind
* Habib-ur-Rahman
* Death controversy
* more

Indian National
Army|

* Battle of Malaya
* Mohan Singh
* Fall of Singapore
* Farrer Park
* First INA
* First Arakan offensive
* Hindustan Field Force
* Jiffs
* Azad Brigade
* Gandhi Brigade
* Nehru Brigade
* Subhas Brigade
* Bahadur Group
* Tokyo Boys
* Rani of Jhansi Regiment
* Andaman and Nicobar Islands
* Mohammed Zaman Kiani
* Lakshmi Sahgal
* A.D. Loganathan
* J.R. Bhonsle
* Janaki Davar
* Rasammah Bhupalan
* Shaukat Malik
* John Thivy
* Battles
* Burma theatre
* Admin Box
* U-Go
* Battle of Imphal
* Battle of Kohima
* Battle of Irrawaddy
* Battle of Meiktila
* Surrender of Japan
* more

Red Fort trials|

* CSDIC
* Dhillon
* Sahgal
* Shah Nawaz
* Burhan-ud-Din
* INA Defence Committee
* Kailash Nath Katju
* Asaf Ali
* Tej Bahadur Sapru
* Bhulabhai Desai
* Jawaharlal Nehru
* Bombay mutiny
* more

Related topics|

* Azad Hind Radio
* Battaglione Azad Hindoustan
* Special Bureau for India
* Azad Hind Decorations
* Selarang Barracks incident
* Japanese occupation of Burma
* Burma Area Army
* Masakasu Kawabe
* India in World War II
* 14th Army
* William Slim
* Malaysian Indian Congress
* INA treasure
* Peter Fay
* Joyce Lebra
* Hugh Toye
* more

* v
* t
* e

India topics

History

| Overviews|

* Timeline
* Years

* Astronomy
* Clothing
* Coinage
* Economics
* LGBT
* Linguistics
* Maritime
* Mathematics
* Metallurgy
* Military
* Paper currency
* Postal
* Science and technology

|

Ancient |

* Stone Age
* Indus Valley Civilisation
* Vedic period
* Mahajanapadas
* Mauryas
* Yavana Kingdom
* Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley
* Indo-Parthian Kingdom
* Kushan Empire
* Alchon Huns
* Seleucid–Mauryan war

Middle Kingdoms|

* Middle kingdoms
* Chola

Middle Ages|

* Medieval India
* Hoysala
* Pala
* Kakatiya
* Delhi Sultanate
* Vijayanagara

Early Modern|

* Mughals
* Marathas
* European trade
* Bengal War

Late modern|

* Colonial
* Princely state
* East India Company
* Plassey
* 1857 rebellion
* British Raj
* Railways
* Economy
* Army
* Commander-in-Chief
* Zamindari
* Bengal Renaissance
* Political reforms
* Partition of Bengal
* Independence movement
* 1943 famine
* World War II
* Partition

Republic|

* Integration
* Non-Aligned Movement
* Five-Year Plans
* Sino-Indian War
* Indo-Pakistani wars
* Green Revolution
* White Revolution
* Naxal Insurgency
* Smiling Buddha
* Space programme
* The Emergency
* Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)

Contemporary|

* History of India (1947–present)
* Economic liberalisation
* Pokhran-II
* COVID-19 pandemic

Geography

| Geology|

* Fossil Parks
* Geology of India
* Indian Plate

|

Heritage|

* National Geological Monuments of India
* Sacred groves of India
* Sacred mountains of India
* Sacred rivers of India
* Stones of India

Environment|

* Biogeographic classification
* Biosphere reserves
* Climate
* Climate change
* Earthquakes
* Ecoregions
* Environmental issues
* Fauna
* Forests
* Flora
* Geology
* National parks
* Protected areas
* Wildlife
* sanctuaries

Landforms|

* Beaches
* Canals
* Coasts
* Desert
* ECZ
* Extreme points
* Glaciers
* Highest point by states
* Islands
* Lakes
* Mountains
* Mountain passes
* Plains
* Indo-Gangetic
* Eastern coastal
* Western coastal
* Rivers
* Valleys
* Volcanoes
* Waterfalls

Regions|

* Central
* East
* North
* Northwest
* Northeast
* South
* Southwest
* Southeast
* West

Subdivisions|

* Autonomous administrative divisions
* Borders
* Towns
* Cities
* Districts
* Municipalities
* States and union territories

See also|

* National monuments of India
* National parks of India
* Nature worship in Indian-origin religions
* World Heritage Sites in India
* Culture of India
* History of India
* Tourism in India

Politics

| Government|

* Agencies
* Energy policy
* Foreign relations
* Parliament
* Lok Sabha
* Rajya Sabha
* President
* Vice President
* Prime Minister
* Union Council of Ministers
* Civil Services
* Cabinet Secretary
* State governments
* State legislative assemblies
* State legislative councils
* Governors, Lieutenant Governors and Administrators
* Chief Ministers
* Chief Secretaries

|

Law|

* Constitution
* Penal Code
* Fundamental rights, principles and duties
* Human rights
* LGBT
* Supreme Court
* Chief Justice
* High Courts
* District Courts

Enforcement|

| Federal|

* Border Security Force (BSF)
* Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
* Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
* Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
* National Security Guard (NSG)
* Railway Protection Force (RPF)
* Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)
* Special Protection Group (SPG)

|

Intelligence|

* Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D)
* Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
* Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)
* Enforcement Directorate (ED)
* Intelligence Bureau (IB)
* Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC)
* Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)
* National Investigation Agency (NIA)
* Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW)

Military|

* Army
* Navy
* Air Force

Politics|

* Censorship
* Citizenship
* Elections
* Democracy
* Nationalism
* Political parties
* Reservations
* Scandals
* Scheduled groups
* Secularism
* Women in politics

Economy

| Companies|

* BSE SENSEX
* NIFTY 50

|

Governance|

* Ministry of Finance
* Finance ministers
* Ministry of Commerce and Industry
* Finance Commission
* Economic Advisory Council
* Central Statistical Office
* Securities and Exchange Board of India
* Enforcement Directorate
* External debt
* Foreign trade
* Foreign direct investment
* Foreign exchange reserves
* Remittances
* Taxation
* Subsidies
* Industrial licensing
* Voluntary guidelines
* NITI Aayog
* Make in India
* Atmanirbhar Bharat

Currency|

* Indian rupee
* Sign
* History
* Historical Forex
* Digital rupee
* Coinage
* Paisa
* Reserve Bank of India
* Governor
* Mint
* Inflation

Financial services|

* Banking
* Insurance
* Multi Commodity Exchange
* Bullion
* Black money
* Bombay
* National

History|

* COVID-19 impact
* Economic development
* Liberalisation
* Licence Raj
* Green revolution
* Government initiatives
* Numbering system

People|

* By net worth
* Demography
* Income
* Poverty
* Labour law
* Pensions
* EPFO
* NPS
* PPF

States|

* Andhra Pradesh
* Assam
* Bihar
* Delhi
* Goa
* Gujarat
* Haryana
* Himachal Pradesh
* Jammu and Kashmir
* Jharkhand
* Karnataka
* Kerala
* Ladakh
* Madhya Pradesh
* Maharashtra
* Mizoram
* Odisha
* Punjab
* Rajasthan
* Tamil Nadu
* Telangana
* Uttarakhand
* Uttar Pradesh
* West Bengal

Sectors|

* Agriculture
* Livestock
* Fishing
* Automotive
* Chemical
* Construction
* Defence
* Education
* Energy
* Electricity
* Nuclear
* Oil and gas
* Solar
* Wind
* Electronics and semiconductor
* Entertainment
* Forestry
* Gambling
* Healthcare
* Hospitals
* Information technology
* Media
* Cinema
* FM Radio
* Television
* Printing
* Mining
* Coal
* Iron and Steel
* Pharmaceuticals
* Pulp and paper
* Retail
* Science and technology
* Biotechnology
* Space
* Telecommunications
* Textiles
* Tourism
* Transport
* Aviation
* Civil
* Ports
* Rail
* Roads
* Electricity
* Water
* Power

Regulator|

* IRDAI
* RBI
* SEBI
* IBBI
* PFRDA

Other|

* NCLT
* NCLAT
* BIFR
* IBBI
* IBC
* SARFESI Act
* Income Tax Act
* Companies Act
* Banking Act
* Insurance Act
* FEMA
* Mumbai Consensus

* Society and culture

| Society|

* Caste system
* Corruption
* Crime
* Demographics
* Indians
* Education
* Universities in India
* Medical colleges in India
* Law colleges in India
* Engineering colleges in India
* Ethnic relations
* Health
* Languages
* Life expectancy
* Literacy
* Poverty
* Prisons
* Religion
* Socio-economic issues
* Standard of living
* Water supply and sanitation
* Women
* Sexuality
* Youth

|

Culture|

* Arts and entertainment
* Architecture
* Blogging
* Cinema
* Comics
* Webcomics
* Cuisine
* wine
* Dance
* Dress
* Folklore
* Festivals
* Literature
* Media
* television
* Martial arts
* Music
* Painting
* Physical culture
* Public holidays
* Sculpture
* tallest
* Sport
* Traditional

Authority control databases: National |

* United States
* Israel

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template