.
Creation Before World War II the
British Indian Army had been divided into regional commands supervised by the headquarters in New Delhi,
GHQ India. One of the commands was
Eastern Command, commanded by
Sir Charles Broad. On or about 21 April 1942, Eastern Command was reorganised as Eastern Army. It had both control of operations against the
Japanese Army in Burma, and large rear-area responsibilities, stemming from its pre-war task. In July 1942, Broad retired and
Lieutenant General Noel Irwin assumed command. The army HQ exchanged its location and role with that of
XV corps for the
Arakan campaign (1942–1943). After the failure of this offensive, Irwin was replaced by General
George Giffard in May 1943. In late 1943,
South East Asia Command was created, with
Lord Louis Mountbatten as Commander-in-Chief. Eastern Army was split. A reformed Eastern Command took over the rear areas of
Bihar,
Odisha and most of
Bengal. Eastern Army remained responsible for operations against the Japanese, as part of
British 11th Army Group (commanded by Giffard). Lieutenant General
William Slim, then commanding XV Corps, was appointed to the command of the Army. At least two sources report the story of Mountbatten's first or one of his initial meetings with Slim, who reportedly told Mountbatten "..Let's change this ghastly name Eastern Army. Let's just get a number." Fourteenth Army's principal subordinate formations were
IV Corps in
Assam and XV Corps in
Arakan. During the early part of 1944, the Army also had loose operational control over the
American and
Chinese Northern Combat Area Command, and the
Chindits operating behind enemy lines under Major General
Orde Wingate. Captain
Yavar Abbas, an Indian former member of the 14th Army who had previously served in the
11th Sikh Regiment commented that the Sikh regiment was "a version of
Dad's Army, in the company of white, middle-aged men as my fellow officers, who still considered
India to be a crown colony on which they'll have continuing control for the foreseeable future", while the 14th Army felt completely different: "It was wonderful camaraderie. There were British and Indians mixing with each other."
Defending British India rifleman. Near
Pallel, November 1944. In early 1944, the Allies began tentative advances into Burma. The Japanese responded with all-out offensives, intending to destroy the Allies in their base areas. The first Japanese move was a subsidiary attack in Arakan where XV Corps was advancing slowly south. After initial Allied setbacks, in which an Indian divisional HQ was overrun, the surrounded units defeated the Japanese at the
Battle of the Admin Box. A vital factor was the resupply of cut-off units by aircraft. The main Japanese offensive was launched on the central front in Assam. While a division advanced to
Kohima to isolate IV Corps, the main body attempted to surround and destroy IV Corps at
Imphal. Since the Japanese attack in Arakan had already failed, battle-hardened units were flown from Arakan to aid the besieged forces in Assam. Also,
XXXIII Corps was moved from southern India, where they had been training for amphibious operations, to relieve the garrison at Kohima and then push on to relieve Imphal. The result of the battles was a crushing Japanese defeat. The Japanese suffered 85,000 casualties, mainly from sickness and disease after their supplies ran out. The Allies had been continually supplied from the air, in the largest operation of its type to that date.
Retaking Burma In 1945, amphibious operations to recapture Burma had to be cancelled once again because of a shortage of resources. Instead, Fourteenth Army was to mount the main offensive. The Army was now subordinated to the headquarters of Allied Land Forces, South East Asia (ALFSEA), and consisted of IV Corps and XXXIII Corps. Since the Army's supply lines by land were long and precarious, air supply was once again to be vital. The Japanese attempted to forestall the Allied attacks by withdrawing behind the
Irrawaddy River. Fourteenth Army was nevertheless able to change its axis of advance. IV Corps, spearheaded by
armoured and
motorised units, crossed the river downstream of the main Japanese forces and
seized the vital logistic and communications centre of
Meiktila. As the Japanese attempted to recapture Meiktila, XXXIII Corps captured
Mandalay, the former capital which was of major significance to the majority
Burman population. The result of the Battles of Meiktila and Mandalay, known as the
Battle of Central Burma, was the destruction of most of the Japanese units in Burma, which allowed the subsequent pursuit. Fourteenth Army now advanced south. While XXXIII Corps advanced down the Irrawaddy River, IV Corps made the main effort along the
Sittang River, covering in a month. It was vital to capture
Rangoon, the capital and principal port of Burma, to allow the Army to be supplied during the monsoon. In the event, IV Corps was held up north of Rangoon by sacrificial Japanese rearguards, but its advance caused the Japanese to abandon Rangoon, which was occupied after an unopposed amphibious landing (codenamed
Operation Dracula) on 2 May. The Fourteenth Army was supported by the
Women's Auxiliary Service (Burma) who provided a canteen service for the troops of Burma Command and moved down through the country with the Army.
End of the War Shortly after the fall of Rangoon, the Army headquarters was relieved of responsibility for operations in Burma. A new
Twelfth Army headquarters was formed from XXXIII Corps HQ and took over IV Corps. Fourteenth Army HQ now moved to
Ceylon to plan operations to recapture
Malaya and
Singapore. It controlled XV Corps and the newly raised
Indian XXXIV Corps. General Slim was promoted to command Allied Land Forces in South East Asia. Lieutenant-General
Miles Dempsey was appointed to command Fourteenth Army. A seaborne landing on the west coast of Malaya, codenamed
Operation Zipper, was being prepared but was forestalled by the dropping of the atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and the Japanese surrender.
Zipper was nevertheless mounted unopposed as the quickest method of introducing troops to Malaya to enforce the surrender of the Japanese there and repatriate Allied
prisoners of war. Fourteenth Army was renamed
Malaya Command on 1 November 1945. ==Commonwealth Army==