2nd Infantry Division (India)

The 2nd Mountain Division is an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II created for deception purposes in order to control Line of Communications and Sub-area formations within Persia and Iraq Command. It was formed by the re designation of the 30th Indian Infantry Brigade on 15 August 1942. It was later converted to HQ Northern Iraq Area on 15 October 1944.

For the World War I formation, see 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division.

During the period 1942–44 the division was converted and re-converted from the 31st Indian Infantry Brigade and the 90th Indian Infantry Brigade.[1] 31 Indian Infantry Brigade was formed on 15 January 1943, from the Mosul-Teheran Lines of Communications Sub-Area. It only had two units assigned which were The Central India Horse (21st King George V's Own Horse) and the 2nd Hyderabad Infantry, Indian State Forces. On 15 May 1943 it was reconverted into 2 Indian Division. On 1 June 1943, 31 Indian Infantry Brigade was reformed from HQ Kermanshah LOC Sub-Area. The brigade was disbanded on 14 October 1944.[2]

Thus 2 Indian Division had been reformed on 15 May 1943. Three months later, on 13 August 1943, it was reorganised as 90 Indian Brigade under Lieutenant-Colonel GH Pulling. 90 Indian Brigade served for ten months and then was disbanded in June 1944.[3] Two days later, on 15 August 1943, 2 Indian Division was reformed again by the conversion of 30th Indian Infantry Brigade. This time, the division lasted fourteen months before being finally disbanded in October 1944 by conversion into Headquarters Northern Iraq Area.

One of the division's subordinate LOC areas/brigades was the 40th Indian Infantry Brigade. It was initially raised as Shaiba LOC Sub-Area in September 1942. What higher headquarters it was under at the time is not confirmable from present internet-accessible sources. However, the brigade then came under 2 Indian Division on 1 January 1943. In October 1944, when 2 Indian Division disbanded, the brigade was redesignated again as an lines of communication headquarters, this time as HQ South Iraq Area.

Post-war service

The division was re-raised after the 1962 Sino-Indian War in 1962 as a Mountain Division responsible for conduct of counter-insurgency operations in upper Assam and some parts of Western Assam. It is located in the extreme northeast of Assam.[4] Division headquarters is now at Dinjan,[5] and it is part of III Corps headquartered at Dimapur.

The division may include units of 82 Mountain Brigade, headquartered at Tezu in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh,[5] 181 Mountain Brigade based in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts, Dah Division Artillery Brigade based in Sibsagar district, and 25 Sector Assam Rifles based in Arunachal Pradesh.

References
  1. "oob.com". Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  2. "31 Indian Brigade". Order of Battle. Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  3. "90 Indian Brigade". Order of Battle. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
  4. Conboy et al, Elite Forces of India and Pakistan, p.8
  5. Paranoia after Ulfa threat; Army steps up vigilance in upper Assam Archived 2012-10-24 at the Wayback Machine, The Telegraph, Calcutta, India, Thursday, December 20, 2007
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