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  • 5th Infantry Division (India)
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  • Indian 5th Infantry Division was an infantry division in the Indian Army during World War II which fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the "ball of fire". It was one of the few Allied divisions to fight the Italians, Germans and Japanese.
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Branch
Nickname
  • "Ball of Fire".
Country
  • India
Type
Caption
  • Ball of Fire
Dates
  • 1939
Unit Name
  • 5
notable commanders
Battles
Size
  • Division
abstract
  • Indian 5th Infantry Division was an infantry division in the Indian Army during World War II which fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the "ball of fire". It was one of the few Allied divisions to fight the Italians, Germans and Japanese. The division was raised in 1939 in Secunderabad with two brigades under command. In 1940 the 5th Division moved to Sudan and took under command the three British infantry battalions there and was reorganised into three brigades of three battalions each. The division fought in the East African Campaign in Eritrea and Ethiopia during 1940 and 1941, thence moving to Egypt, Cyprus and Iraq. In 1942 the division was heavily engaged in the Western Desert Campaign and in the fighting withdrawal to Alamein. From late 1943 to the Japanese surrender in August 1945 it fought continuously from India through the length of Burma. After the end of the war, it was the first unit into Singapore and then fought pro-Independence forces in Eastern Java.
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