Did you know that...
During World War Two (1939-1945) the Indian Army expanded to over two million troops, the largest volunteer army in history. During the war, Indian troops served in North Africa, the Middle East, Italy and the Far East.
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Nearly 8000 Indian women served in the Army during World War Two? The Women’s Auxiliary Corps (India) was established in 1942 and performed similar duties to Britain’s Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). These included driving, clerical and cipher work and general services, such as ferrying supplies for the troops. By February 1944 there were 7993 women in the Corps. It was disbanded in 1947 when India gained its independence.
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The first major British land victory of World War Two was the Second Battle of El Alamein in October-November 1942. It turned the tide in the North African theatre in the Allies' favour. General Montgomery spent months building up an overwhelming advantage in men and armour, before launching his successful attacks against Field Marshal Rommel's German and Italian troops.
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The ‘Chindits’ were named after the Chinthe, the mythical guardian of Burmese temples. Formed and led by Major General Orde Wingate DSO, the Chindits operated deep behind Japanese lines in Burma. The first Chindit expedition occurred in February 1943, and was known as Operation Longcloth. It consisted of 3,000 men who marched 1,000 miles during the campaign. For many months they used guerrilla tactics and despite incurring heavy losses proved that British troops could take on the Japanese in the jungle. The second expedition in March 1944 was called Operation Thursday. On a much larger scale, it was the second biggest airborne operation of the war and consisted of 20,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers with American air support.
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The largest airborne assault in the history of warfare was Operation Market Garden in September 1944. It involved the seizure of a number of key Dutch bridges by the 101st and 82nd US and 1st British Airborne Divisions so that the British XXX Corps could advance over them and cross the Rhine into Germany. On 17 September the airborne troops landed by parachute and glider and eventually all the bridges were captured. The plan failed because of the presence in the area of two SS Panzer Divisions, unknown to British intelligence, that were able to counter-attack and re-take the objectives. XXX Corps could not reach the furthest bridge at Arnhem, 64 miles away, before the British airborne troops there were overwhelmed by German forces.
