9th Infantry Division (India)

The 9th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. The division formed part of Indian III Corps in the Malaya Command during the Battle of Malaya. It was commanded by Major-General Arthur Edward Barstow.

9th Indian Infantry Division
Formation sign of the 9th Indian Infantry Division.[1]
Active15 September 1940–15 February 1942 (Surrendered)
CountryBritish Raj British India
Allegiance British Empire
Branch British Indian Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsBattle of Malaya
Battle of Kota Bharu
Commanders
Notable CommanderArthur Edward Barstow

History

The 9th Indian Infantry Division was formed on 15 September 1940 at Quetta, India before being transferred to Malaya. On 15 September 1940 the three original brigades of the division were the 15th, 20th, and 21st Indian Infantry Brigades.[2] The 3/17th Dogra Regiment from the 9th Division was the first British Commonwealth Army unit to see action against the Japanese at the Battle of Kota Bharu on 8 December 1941.[3] The 9th Indian Division fought a relatively successful defensive retreat down Malaya's east coast until the 22nd Brigade was cut off from the rest of the division at a demolished railway bridge near the village of Layang Layang in the state of Johore. Major-General Barstow was killed crossing the bridge, while attempting to contact the brigade. The 22nd Brigade was destroyed whilst trying to find another way to Singapore.[3]

What was left of the division was amalgamated with the 11th Indian Division.

Component Units 1941 – 1942

8th Indian Infantry Brigade – Brigadier Berthold Wells (Billy) Key

22nd Indian Infantry Brigade – Brigadier George Painter

Support Units

Footnotes

  1. Cole p. 79
  2. "9 Division units". Order of Battle. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  3. Smith

Books

  • Cole, Howard (1973). Formation Badges of World War 2. Britain, Commonwealth and Empire. London: Arms and Armour Press.
  • Alan Jeffreys; Duncan Anderson (2005). British Army in the Far East 1941–45. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-790-5.
  • Colin Smith (2006). Singapore Burning. England: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-101036-6.
  • Tsuji, Masanobu (1997). Japan's Greatest Victory, Britain's Worst Defeat. Margaret E. Lake, tr. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 1-873376-75-8.
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