Timeline

A chronological timeline of Commonwealth involvement.

The Forgotten Army

A remembrance timeline of the contributions given by commonwealth soldiers to the second world war effort

This website supports a collaboration project between the Royal British Legion, British Future and Liverpool John Moores University to recognise and celebrate the vast, yet often overlooked, contribution of Commonwealth Soldiers. In particular it follows the Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, and Gurkha soldiers and their female counterparts across Asia and Europe.

1920s

Image context

1920s:  

  • Indian men are first permitted to attend military training at Sandhurst. 

  • The Indian Military college opens in Dehra Dun. 

1930s

The Royal Ulster Rifles engaged in skirmishes on the North West Frontier

An Indian pack mule company , which came through Dunkirk, March past His Highness.

1930s:

  • 1936/7:

  • The ‘Wazistan’ Campaign, nicknamed ‘Was Div’, starts against the Faqir of Ipi. It was to re-establish British control of the border areas and used Indian armies as they had local knowledge and were mobile. 

  • Racial tensions develop in the 1930s in Burma, including Anti-India riots.

  • 1939:  

  • There was no conscription for soldiers in the Indian National Army (INA), all the army was made up of volunteers. By the end of WW1 nearly 1 million Indian men were serving overseas.  

    “The exigencies of war simply overwhelmed the remnants of Martial Race theory” 

  • Out of the 60,000 soldiers who were killed nearly 50% were from Punjab. Figures grew from fewer than 250,000 in 1939 to 2.5 million in 1945.

  • A great amount of Indian Army soldiers were involved in the Battle of Dunkirk. 

1940s

Men at the R.A.F. at forward aerodromes at Tunisia are making themselves at home in a strange country and getting acclimatised to new and very different conditions.

IWM (IND 1254)

New recruits for the Indian Army in Northern India receive an advance of pay on enrolment. Recruiting is proceeding apace throughout Indian, unaffected by the congress campaign.

IWM (NA 14565)

The two Indian escapees : L/Nk. Mohammed Sharie (left) Dvr. Mehtab Khan.

1940s: 

  • 1940:

  • Nanu Abu’s men were noticed for their hard work. An English soldier mentioned how…

    “I used to see the Indian troops often in Lille and their conduct in comparison to my own people, who I’m sorry to say let the side down pretty badly at weekends.”  

  • 1941:

  • The Indian army expands massively.

  • 1942:

  • The first INA formed in 1942, brainchild of Major Fujiwara. INA was nicknamed the ‘Bose Brigade’ after Subha Chandra Bose.

  • India was a major wartime challenge to British internal security but India also faced potential Japanese invasion.

  • Ghandi’s ‘Quit India’ campaign starts - a mass movement of non-violence. This attempted to remove troops associated with Britain and push for the fall of the Raj.

  • The Indian National Army argued that brutality would be met with non-cooperation. Ghandi among others is arrested by the British. This was followed by two weeks of rioting.

  • ‘Quit India’ campaign required an entire British invasion.

  • The number of Hindus (excluding Gurkha’s) deployed overseas amounted to 84,000.

  • 80,000 Muslims were involved in the army.

  • Jan Janczak and his colleagues (Polish soldiers) invited three Indian sweepers to toast together in their tent when stationed at Ahvaz at Easter.

  • 1943:

  • 14th Army is formed in 1943 by General William Slim.

  • The Indian Army’s attack in Burma at Arakan failed, Morale was very low at this point. Soldiers were met with bad conditions and poor equipment.

  • There were now 12,000 members of the Indian National Army in Japanese Prisoner of war camps.

  • General Auchileck (Commander in Chief) gave Indian soldiers more responsibilities including commands of British troops. He increased rates of pay, visited villages in order to boost morale, and visited Princes to enlist.

  • Equipment also arrived in abundance for the troops.

  • At this point the Indian Army was vital for the War effort and Britain became very proud of the troops.

  • The Japanese started progressing Northwards, expelling British troops in Burma across to India and Indians were left unprotected from the Burmese.

  • British and Indian troops defeated by Japanese troops at Arakan in Burma.

  • 1944:

  • The Great Epinal Escape – 500 Indian soldiers escaped from a Nazi Prisoner of War Camp. There were also Hindu’s, Sihks, Muslim and Gurkha soldiers involved in the escape.

  • 1945:

  • The End of the war.

  • Red Fort Trials: Three Indian men accused on treason against the British King.

  • All three men were Indian Commissioned Officers (ICOs).

  • Captain Shah Nawaz Khan, Lieutenant Gurbaksh Singh Dillon of 1st battalion, 14th Punjab regiment and Captain Prem Kumar Sahgal.

  • These men were charged with murder, plotting war against the King and desertion of the British Indian Army.

  • The Red Fort Trials were a massive turning point in terms of India’s independence.

  • In May the 14th Army retook most of Burma.