8th Infantry Division (India)
The 8th Mountain Division was raised as the 7th Indian Infantry division of the British Indian Army. It is now part of the Indian Army and specialises in mountain warfare.
| 8th Indian Infantry Division 8th Mountain Division | |
|---|---|
Divisional badge during World War II. | |
| Active | 1940–1946 1963–present |
| Country | British India India |
| Allegiance | India |
| Branch | British Indian Army Indian Army |
| Type | Mountain Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Khumbathang |
| Nickname(s) | The Clovers |
| Engagements | |
| Battle honours | North Africa Italy |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Dudley Russell K. V. Krishna Rao Ved Prakash Malik Dalbir Singh Suhag |
The 8th Indian Infantry Division was formed as an infantry division in Meerut on 25 October 1940 under Major-General Charles Harvey, a British Indian Army officer, as part of the Indian Army during World War II. It served in the Middle East in the garrisoning of Iraq and then the invasion of Persia to secure the oil fields of the area for the Allies. A brigade was detached to the Western Desert to reinforce the British Eighth Army as it withdrew before the Axis forces. Following training in the Near East, the division entered the Italian Campaign landing at Taranto on mainland Italy.
The division was disbanded at the end of World War II in 1946, but re-formed again in 1963 as a specialist mountain division of the Indian Army.