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We all know that India was a part of British Empire and before participating in ww1 Britain said that India will be given freedom post ww1 if they entered ww1 which India did but did we got freedom post ww1 no https://twitter.com/BlinkThinkn/status/1348862714777538561
Presenting you India's contribution in world war 2 which is always ignored
The British Raj entered the war in 1939 they only had 2 lakh soldiers by end of Aug 1945 it came up to 2.5 million men largest volunteer army in history they fought on 3 different continents Africa Asia and Europe
The British Indian Army fought in Ethiopia against the Italian Army, in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria against both the Italian and German Army, and, after the Italian surrender, against the German Army in Italy.
India fought for both factions Allies and Axis
the bulk of British Indian Army was committed to fighting the Japanese Army, first during the British defeats in Malaya and the retreat from Burma to the Indian border; later, after resting and refitting for the victorious advance back into Burma, as part of the largest British
Their valour was recognised with the award of some 4,000 decorations, and 18 members of British Indian Army were awarded the Victoria Cross or the George Cross.
British Indian Army fought in France when Britain and France lost the battle of Dunkirk British Indian Army troops were evacuated and were stationed in England
Indian Troops also fought with Allies when invasion of Italy started 8th 10th 4th division of Indian Army along with 43rd Independent Gurkha Infantry Brigade were in this battle
The 8th Division led the assault on the German defensive Bernhardt Line, crossed the Sangro River and advanced to just short of Pescara where Eighth Army halted to wait for better weather in the spring.
The 4th Indian Division took part in the second battle of Monte Cassino, In the final fourth battle of Monte Cassino on 11 May, on the Eighth Army front, XIII Corps had made two strongly opposed night crossings of the Rapido by the British 4th Division and 8th Indian Infantry
Division. By 18 May, the Germans had withdrawn to their next line.
On 29 April 1945, the Germans signed an instrument of surrender; hostilities in Italy formally ceased on 2 May.
Indian Army units formed part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in occupied Japan. BCOF was responsible for supervising demilitarisation and the disposal of Japan's war industries, as well as the occupation of the western prefectures of Shimane, Yamaguchi, Tottori,
Okayama, Hiroshima and Shikoku Island.
The 14th Indian Infantry Division and the 39th Indian Infantry Division were converted to training formations in 1943, and remained in India till the end of the war. Other units that only served in India include the 32nd Indian Armoured Division and the 43rd Indian Armoured
Division which never completed forming before being converted to the 44th Indian Airborne Division in 1943. The Assam-based 21st Indian Infantry Division was also broken up to form 44th Airborne in 1944. The 34th Indian Infantry Division provided the garrison for Ceylon
World War II cost the lives of over 87,000 soldiers, air crews and mariners from the Indian Empire, This included 24,338 killed and 11,754 missing in action. the overwhelming majority being members of the Indian Army. Another 34,354 more were wounded
Of the 79,489 Indian personnel who become prisoners of war (POWs), German and/or Italian forces held 15,000–17,000. Between 2,500 and 4,000 of these POWs subsequently enlisted in the Italian Battaglione Azad Hindustan with the intention of fighting the Allies
More than 40,000 Indian POWs captured by Japanese forces volunteered for the pro-Japanese Indian National Army (INA), which fought the Allies in Burma and north-east India.
And surprisingly whenever on the occasion of remembering of soldiers who died in ww2 Indian Army troops aren't remembered by European at all if Indian Army wouldn't have had given their contribution today the situation would've been different from current conditions
Operation Compass (4th Indian and 7th Armoured Division) was the first major Allied military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. It resulted in British and Commonwealth forces pushing across a great stretch of Libya and capturing almost all of
Cyrenaica, 115,000 Italian soldiers, hundreds of tanks and artillery pieces and more than 1,100 aircraft with very few casualties of their own.
In 1941, forces were required to participate in the Anglo-Iraqi War, to safeguard the overland supply route to the Soviet Union. In April, the 8th Indian Infantry Division landed at Basra and marched on Baghdad securing Iraq for the Allied cause from the pro German Rashid Ali.
Operation Barbarossa the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, placed the Persian oil fields in danger from the advancing German Army. In August 1941, the Indian 8th and 10th Infantry Divisions invaded southern Persia to secure the oil installations.
The Indian Army supplied the 5th brigade, 4th Indian Infantry Division which attacked from the south with the Australian I Corps and the 10th Indian Infantry Division which also had the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade, 8th Indian Infantry Division under command was part of Iraqforce
attack northern and central Syria from the east. 5th Brigade took part in the Battle of Kissoué and the Battle of Damascus, June 1941, and 10th Division the Battle of Deir ez-Zor in July. Obviously oil was crucial for both factions
