17th Infantry Division (India)
17th Indian Infantry Division | |
---|---|
Active | 1941–1946 1960– |
Country | British India India |
Allegiance | British Empire India |
Branch | British Indian Army Indian Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Garrison/HQ | Gangtok[1] |
Nickname(s) | "The Black Cat Division" |
Engagements |
|
Burma | |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Major General Gambhir Singh[2] |
Notable commanders | Sir John Smyth David Tennant Cowan WA Crowther KP Candeth Sagat Singh Siri Kanth Korla RC Tiwari |
The 17th Infantry Division is a formation of the
Second World War
The division was first raised at
1942
The Japanese attacked Burma on January 22, 1942. It was soon apparent that the British and Indian troops in Burma were too few in number, wrongly equipped and inadequately trained for the terrain and conditions. After failing to hold the Kawkareik Pass, Moulmein and Kuzeik, the division fell back to the Bilin River, where it was joined by 48th Indian Infantry Brigade.
The Bilin was not a proper defensive position, and the division tried to retreat over the
The division was reinforced with
1943
For the campaigning season of 1943, the division was reorganised as a "Light" formation, with two brigades only (48th and 63rd), supported by mountain artillery, and with mules and jeeps only for transport. It disputed the mountainous and jungle-covered region around
1944
In 1944, the Japanese launched a major invasion of India. During the long Battle of Imphal, the 17th Division first successfully fought its way out of encirclement at Tiddim, and then disputed the vital Bishenpur sector south of Imphal (with 32nd Indian Infantry Brigade temporarily under command). In July, the Japanese were broken by heavy casualties and starvation, and retreated. Some units of the 17th Division had suffered nearly 100% casualties.
During the late monsoon season, the division was temporarily withdrawn to India and reorganised once again. The 48th and 63rd Brigades were fully equipped with vehicles to become
1945
In late February 1945, the motor elements of the division, with the bulk of
The division now broke the last Japanese defensive position at
In the last months of the campaign, the division participated in the mopping up of Japanese stragglers in Burma. After the war ended, elements of it formed part of the Commonwealth Occupation force in Japan (under Cowan). The division was disbanded in India in 1946.
Order of Battle, as of May 1, 1944
- General Officer Commanding – Major General David Tennent Cowan
- Commander, Royal Artillery – Brigadier the Baron de Robeck
- 17 Division HQ and Signals
- 48th Indian Infantry Brigade – (Brigadier Ronald Thomas Cameron)
- 9th Battalion, Border Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, 5th Gurkha Rifles
- 1st Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles
- 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade – (Brigadier Arthur Edward Cumming )
- 1st Battalion, 3rd Gurkha Rifles
- 1st Battalion, 4th Gurkha Rifles
- 1st Battalion, 10th Gurkha Rifles
- 1st Battalion,
- Divisional Units
- 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (attached)
- 4th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment (Divisional reconnaissance unit)
- 7th Battalion, 10th Baluch Regiment (Divisional defence / machine gun unit)
- 129th (Lowland) Jungle Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (RA)
- 21st Mountain Regiment, Indian Artillery (IA)
- 29th Mountain Regiment, IA
- 82nd Light Anti-aircraft / Anti-tank Regiment RA
- 60th Field Company, Indian Engineers (IE)
- 70th Field Company, IE
- Tehri Garhwal Field Company
- 414th Field Park Company IE
Assigned brigades
All these brigades were assigned or attached to the division at some time during World War II
- 44th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 45th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 46th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 2nd Burma Infantry Brigade
- 16th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 48th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 7th Armoured Brigade
- 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 37th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 49th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 32nd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 50th Indian Parachute Brigade
- 99th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 255th Indian Tank Brigade
- 9th Indian Infantry Brigade[6]
Post independence
The division was re-raised at
Operations
- Operation Vijay - The division under the command of Major General KP Candeth moved from Ambala and participated in the Goa military operations in 1961. It had two brigades under its command - the 63rd Brigade and the 48th Brigade. The swift operations between the 17th and 19th December 1961 culminated in the surrender by the Portuguese. General Candeth was immediately appointed Goa's first Indian administrator (acting as the Military Governor), a post he held till June 1962.[3][7][8]
- Sikkim - On November 15, 1963, the division relocated to Sikkim and took on the role of guarding a portion of the Tibet-India border. Under the then GOC, Major General Sagat Singh, it performed credibly during the Nathu La and Cho La clashes of 1967.[9] The formation also played a role in the merger and statehood of Sikkim in 1975. The division is presently deployed in East and South East Sikkim.[3] It was involved in the Doklam standoff in 2017.[4][10]
Formation Sign
The division had two different formation signs. The first was a lightning bolt (white) on a blue background. This was used until the middle of 1942. Major General CT Cowan decided to change the formation sign to a black cat on a yellow/orange background. It is said that the General wanted to motivate his troops to fight back the Japanese and he felt that no one fights more fiercely and aggressively than a cornered cat. The division is sometimes called The Black Cat Division based on its second and current formation sign. The present formation sign has a black background signifying an infantry division and black cat drawn with a yellow outline.[3]
External links
- "17 Infantry Division". Orders of Battle.com.
Further reading
- Jon Latimer, "Burma: The Forgotten War", London: John Murray, 2004 ISBN 0-7195-6576-6
Memoirs
- George Macdonald Fraser, Quartered Safe Out Here (1992), a memoir of his experiences as an infantryman in the Border Regiment, part of 17th Infantry Division, during the Burma Campaign of World War II
References
- ^ "Doklam: How India misjudged China's intentions and it escalated into a major standoff". 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ "Maj Gen Rohit Sawhney inaugurates Band Display on Army Day". 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ a b c d "17 Mountain Division-Army Postal Cover". 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ a b Gurung, Shaurya Karanbir (2018-08-12). "Weather and terrain biggest challenges in Doklam". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ "17th Indian Infantry Division". July 2019. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ "17 Division units". Order of Battle. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
- ^ "The Goa Daman and Diu Operations". Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ "The visionary warrior Sagat Singh". 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ "The romance of a paltan". 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- ^ "Post Doklam resolution, Nirmala Sitharaman to visit tri-junction border area". The Times of India. 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2021-09-23.