North Africa , Egypt. During the war, the 4th Indian Division was in the vanguard of nine campaigns in the
Mediterranean theatre. Major-General The Hon.
P. Gerald Scarlett appears to have been the division's first commander, from October 1939 to January 1940. The British
14th Infantry Brigade was attached to the division from 1 June to 20 July 1940; the British
16th Infantry Brigade was attached from 9 September 1940 to 14 December 1940. In the first of
Archibald Wavell's operations in
Egypt, as part of the
Western Desert Force, it took part in
Operation Compass in December 1940. The division was involved in the battles of that campaign in the camps around
Sidi Barrani. Along with the
7th Royal Tank Regiment, the
11th Indian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Indian Infantry Division destroyed the Italian
Maletti Group at the Nibiewa Camp.
East Africa In December 1940, the division was rushed to the British
Sudan to join with the
5th Indian Infantry Division in order to prevent the numerically vastly superior Italian forces (ten divisions in total) from threatening
Red Sea supply routes to Egypt as well as Egypt itself and the
Suez Canal from the south. The
East African campaign culminated in March 1941 with the
battles at Keren in Eritrea. It was at Keren that
Subadar Richhpal Ram of the 4/
6th Rajputana Rifles,
5th Indian Infantry Brigade, 4th Division, was awarded a posthumous
Victoria Cross. In April 1941, Beresford-Peirse was promoted to command the
Western Desert Force and Major General
Frank Messervy assumed command.
North Africa and Syria Having returned to Egypt, the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade was hurried across to
Syria and participated in the advance on Damascus during the
Syria-Lebanon campaign (June 1941). From 14 to 17 June 1941, the British
4th Armoured Brigade was attached to the division. The rest of the 4th Indian Division, having been rejoined by the 5th Brigade returning from Syria, was involved in the fighting, which ebbed and flowed past
Tobruk from June 1941 into the autumn of 1941. For most of this period, the division was dispersed, with units temporarily attached to other formations, much to the disgust of Major General
Francis Tuker, who had assumed command of the division in December 1941. Notable at this time was the break-out at the end of January by 7th Brigade, having been cut off at Benghazi during the Axis counter-offensive from Agheila and moving 200 miles avoiding the enemy to rejoin the new
Eighth Army. Early in April 1942, the 4th Division was again dispersed, with the 7th Brigade going to
Cyprus, the 5th Brigade to Syria, the 11th Brigade to the
Suez Canal Zone for training and the
Central India Horse to
Iraq after a period of training. By May 1942, the 11th Brigade was back in the fighting at Tobruk (attached to the
5th Indian Infantry Division). The 11th Brigade was caught in the siege of Tobruk, which fell on 21 June, and disappeared from the
order of battle for the next 18 months. The 5th Brigade was rushed to the desert in June 1942; after escaping from Mersa Matruh, the brigade held the vital Ruweisat Ridge during the
First Battle of El Alamein in July–August 1942. The situation had become so confused that General
Erwin Rommel, also known as the Desert Fox, lost his way and was forced to spend a night in the open. With the dawn came the realization that he was in the company of 4th Division. With a sigh of relief, he slipped away, undetected. Shortly before the
Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942, the 4th Indian Division was reunited with the 7th Brigade returning from Cyprus and the
161st Indian Infantry Brigade was attached (until December 1942) to replace the lost 11th Brigade. The division had a relatively subsidiary role in the battle, holding in stiff fighting, as a diversionary tactic, the Ruweisat Ridge, which was at the centre of the Allied front, whilst the breakthrough was planned further north. By December 1942, the division was dispersed again but strong representations by its
General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major-General Tuker (including his asking to be relieved of command), resulted in the 4th Indian Division being brought together as a fighting entity in March 1943. It fought with distinction in the
Tunisia Campaign, right through to the fall of Tunis in May 1943, gaining a particular reputation for its prowess in mountainous country. The division had the honour of capturing General
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim in Tunisia, bringing an end to the war in North Africa. Its major battles in North Africa were
Benghazi,
Tobruk,
Wadi Akarit,
Enfidaville and
Tunis.
Italy The division then moved in January 1944 to Italy (joined by the re-constituted 11th Brigade), where it took part in the
Italian Campaign. It fought in the second
Battle of Monte Cassino and suffered many casualties (in Tuker's absence through illness it was commanded by Brigadier
Harry Dimoline, the divisional Commander
Royal Artillery). During the battle, the division was to attack in an arc towards the south and south-west, taking Point 593 and then moving south-east, up the heights towards the Abbey. The Indian Division would only advance on the Abbey once the
2nd New Zealand Division had attacked south and south-east, taking the town of Cassino. The main attack eventually commenced just after last light with the NZ Division's
28 (Maori) Battalion to cross the Rapido River and to seize the station south of Cassino town, establishing a bridgehead for the corps armour to move into the town and to the foot of the Cassino massif—the attack starting at 2:130. The 28th Battalion attack failed and so did the 4th Indian Division attack on Point 593. inspecting Indian troops of the 4th Indian Division, Salonika, 1 March 1945. The division also suffered many casualties during the third battle (in March 1944), when it was commanded by Major-General
Alexander Galloway, who had been released from command of the British
1st Armoured Division. Command of the division was assumed by Major-General
Arthur Holworthy late in March 1944 and the division took part in the advance from Cassino after the fourth battle in May 1944 to the
Trasimene Line in Central Italy and then the
Gothic Line. As part of the attachments and detachments for the campaign, the British
9th Armoured Brigade was attached to the division from 8 July 1944 to 19 July 1944. In November 1944, the division was shipped to
Greece to help stabilise the country after the
Axis withdrawal. Holworthy was succeeded by Major-General
Charles Hamilton Boucher in January 1945 who commanded the division until the end of hostilities.
Conclusion , 2 February 1946. According to author Chand Das, during the Second World War, the "division captured 150,000 prisoners and suffered 25,000 casualties, more than the strength of a whole division. It won over 1,000 honours and awards which included four Victoria Crosses and three George Crosses".
Field Marshal Lord Wavell wrote: "The fame of this Division will surely go down as one of the greatest fighting formations in military history, to be spoken of with such as The
Legio X Equestris (Tenth Legion), The
Light Division of the Peninsular War and Napoleon's
Old Guard". Das wrote, "Even beyond its fighting reputation, it will be remembered for the spirit of mutual trust and fellowship maintained between all ranks coming from so many different races and creeds". ==Formation during World War II==