David h
"In early April 1942 the 4th Indian Division was ordered to disperse."
Great info so far. But the statement quoted above certainly crys for more detail. 4th Indian under Tuker was active at the Casino battle as part of II NZ Corps.
what does dispersed mean in this context? Do you have some more history on the Div?
thanks
Michael
5th Indian Infantry Brigade
Moderator: John W. Howard
After the retreat following Rommel's attack in Jan 1942 the 4th Indian Division was c 4,500 men under strength and had lost much of its equipment. As a result it was decided to disperse its component brigades as follows:
5th Indian Infantry Brigade to Cyprus
7th Indian Infantry Brigade to Syria
11th Indian Infantry Brigade to Egypt to train in amphibious landings.
These moves were also associated by a number of unit changes.
The 11th Indian Infantry Brigade in fact joined the 5th Indian Infantry Division in May 1942, then joined the Tobruk garrison where it surrendered.
5th Indian Infantry Brigade left Syria for Libya in June 1942 joining the 10th Indian Infantry Division It lost c 30% of its strength at Mersa Matruh. It then joined the 5th Indian Infantry Division at Ruweisat and Alamein.
7th Indian Infantry Brigade was moved back to Egypt in late August 1942..
With the return of the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade to Egypt and the presence of the 5th Indian infantry Brigade there, Gen Tuker was able to reclaim these units plus a number of others that had been across the Middle East and the 4th Indian Infantry Division was reformed during September 1942.
The third brigade was the 161st Indian Infantry Brigade which joined the 4th Indian Infantry Division on 4/9/42.
The 4th Indian Infantry Division was present at the Battle of El Alamein late October 1942 and continued to serve well throughout the rest of the North African Campaign and then into Italy.
Central India Horse
unfortunately I have seen no listing of equipment held by the Central India Horse so far. If I fin d any I will post them.[/u]
5th Indian Infantry Brigade to Cyprus
7th Indian Infantry Brigade to Syria
11th Indian Infantry Brigade to Egypt to train in amphibious landings.
These moves were also associated by a number of unit changes.
The 11th Indian Infantry Brigade in fact joined the 5th Indian Infantry Division in May 1942, then joined the Tobruk garrison where it surrendered.
5th Indian Infantry Brigade left Syria for Libya in June 1942 joining the 10th Indian Infantry Division It lost c 30% of its strength at Mersa Matruh. It then joined the 5th Indian Infantry Division at Ruweisat and Alamein.
7th Indian Infantry Brigade was moved back to Egypt in late August 1942..
With the return of the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade to Egypt and the presence of the 5th Indian infantry Brigade there, Gen Tuker was able to reclaim these units plus a number of others that had been across the Middle East and the 4th Indian Infantry Division was reformed during September 1942.
The third brigade was the 161st Indian Infantry Brigade which joined the 4th Indian Infantry Division on 4/9/42.
The 4th Indian Infantry Division was present at the Battle of El Alamein late October 1942 and continued to serve well throughout the rest of the North African Campaign and then into Italy.
Central India Horse
unfortunately I have seen no listing of equipment held by the Central India Horse so far. If I fin d any I will post them.[/u]