Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army)
Contents |
Authorship
Research: Neelotpal Mishra
Neelotpal's sources
i)S. Subuhey, The Story Of I. N A., Being An Account Of The Indian National Army, The Azad Hind Government And The Trial Of Their Officers In The Red Fort (for the INA details).
ii) The information on Freies Indien: Neelotpal got from articles about the German Army.
iii) The Medals and ribbons: courtesy research on antique auctions and the Imperial War Musuem, London .
The Indian National Army
The Indian National Army was very well constituted and fully organized in every sense of the word, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was the Supreme Commander, who was assisted by a War Council consisting of the following eleven members :
1. Col. J. K. Bhonsle.
2. Col. M. Z. Kiani.
3. Lt. Col. Ehsan Qadir.
4. Lt. Col. Aziz Ahmad Khan.
5. Lt. Col. Habib-ur-Rehman.
6. Lt. Col. Oulzara Singh.
7. Sri N. Raghavan
8. Sri S. A. Ayer.
9. Sri Farmanand.
10. Col. A. C. Chatterji, Secretary.
11. Sri A. Yellappa, Co-opted Member.
The Defence Department which was under the charge of Col. J. K. Bhonsle consisted of the following personnel :
1. 'G' Lt.-Col. Shah Nawaz Khan, C.G.S.
2. Chief Administrator-Lt. Colonel A. D. Loganadan.
3. D. P. M. - Major Abdur Rashid.
4. Military Secretary - Major P. K. Sahgal.
5. Finance - Captain Krishna Murti.
6. O. T. S. - Lt. Col. Habib-ur-Rehman.
7. Reinforcements - Major Mata-ul-Mulk.
8. 'A' - Major C. J. Stracy.
9. Legal and Judicial - Captain D. C. Nag.
10. 'Q' - Major K. P. Thimaya.
11. D. M. S. - Captain S. N. Dey.
12. Establishment - Lt. D. C. Dutta.
13. Enlightenment Culture - Major A. D. Jahangir.
Structure
According to a document of April 17, 1943, the Army was under the command of Lt. Col. M. Z. Kiani, and consisted of the following branches :
(1) General Staff Branch :
(a) Operations Plans
(b) Special Duties Branch.
(c) Training Branch.
(2) A/Q Branch.bb
(3) Medical Branch :
(a) Base Hospitals.
(b) Medical Aid Parties.
(4) 'A' Branch :
(a) Establishment.
(b) Employment Planning.
(5) 'O' Branch:
(a) Ordnance
(i) Technical
(ii) Non-Technical.
(b) Supply and Transport.
The composition of the Indian National Army
The composition of the Indian National Army was as under:
(1) Headquarters (composition as above).
(2) I Hind Field Group under the command of Lt.-Col, S. M. Hussain.
(3) Guerrilla Regiments consisting of :
(a) Bose Brigade under Lt. CoL Shah Nawaz Khan.
(b) Gandhi Brigade under Lt. Col. I. J. Kiani
(c) Azad Brigade under Major Gulzara Singh.
(d) Nehru Brigade under Lt. Col. Aziz Ahmad Khan.
(4) Intelligence Group under Major S. A. Malik.
(5) Bahadur Group under Lt. Col. Burhanud-Din.
Divisions
The Army consisted of three Divisions.
No. 1 incorporated the Guerrilla Regiments;
No. 2 composed partly of Indian Military prisoners of war and partly of civilians
No. 3 composed of civilians mostly recruited by the Indian Independence League in Malaya.
Units in 1945
On the 1st March, 1945 the following units and formations of the I.N.A. were operating
1. Advance Div. H.Qrs.
2. H.Q. No. 1 Inf. Regiment
3. 2/1 Inf. Regiment.
4. H. Qrs. No. 2 Inf. Regiment.
5. 2/2 Inf. Regiment.
6. H. Qrs. No. 4 Guerrilla Regiment.
7. 2/4 Guerrilla Regiment.
8. No. 1 Anti-Tank Coy.
9. No. 2 A.B.O.D.
10. No. 2 M.E-S.
11. No. 2 Workshop.
12. P.O.L. Section.
13. No. 4 Engineer Coy.
14. Main Div. H. Qrs.
15. 1/1 Infantry Regiment.
16. 1/2 Infantry Regiment.
17- 3/1 Infantry Regiment.
18. 3/2 Infantry Regiment.
19. 1/4 Guerrilla Regiment.
20. 3/4 Guerrilla Regiment.
21. No. 2 Div. Signals.
22. No.2 F.P.S.C.
23. Pt. Amn. Dump.
24. No.2 S.I.S.
25. Medical Aid Party.
26. Dett. M.P.
Strength
Various figures are given regarding the strength of the Indian National Army, but the official total strength was in the tune of 40,000 heads. Recruits were drawn both from the Indian prisoners of war and from the Indian civilians ofthe South-East Asia.
Uniform
The troops were dressed in Khaki like British Indian troops and were organized on lines similar to those of the British Indian Army.
Badges
Officers and men of the I N. A. wore a badge about 1/2 inches in length and 1 inch in width on the left side of the forage cap. On the top of the badge were inscribed the word "I. N. A." with a map of India in the centflfe. At the bottom of the badge were inscribed in Roman script: "Ittifaq ; Etmad and Qurbani" meaning Unity, Confidence and Sacrifice.
They also used to wear another badge on the right side of their uniform. It was 1 inch by 1 inch in size, and was marked with the tri-colour map of India. A locket-sized badge bearing a miniature of Netaji was worn on the left side of the uniform by all members of the I. N. A. Officers and men of the various Guerrilla Brigades had badges of different colours for the sake of distinction. Each Brigade was assigned a particular colour for the badge in the following order:
1. Bose Brigade Bed and green
2. Gandhi Brigade - Green
3. Nehru Brigade - Brown
4. Azad Brigade - White.
Each battalion was assigned the colour identical to that of its Brigade for the purpose of the badges, but the men had to wear them according to the under mentioned order of their shapes:
No. 1 Battalion - Round
No, 2 Battalion - Triangular
No. 3 Battalion - Square.
The officers of the I.N.A. had the following distinguishing marks on their shoulder straps: Lt. Colonel - Golden star between two bars, and red tap on collar supporting a golden bar on either side.
Captain - Three blue bars.
Lieutenant - Two blue bars.
Sub-Lieutenant - One blue bar.
Subordinate officers - No bar.
Egalitarian
In the Indian National Army there was no difference between a man and a man. All were treated on the
same footing irrespective of caste, creed or colour.
Their only ambition was to liberate India from the foreign domination. Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were all one for the achievement of this aim. They ate from one kitchen, in common plates, drank from common mugs, all officers and common soldiers Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.
They kept the picture of India, their common Motherland always before there eyes, and saluated with "JAI HIND" the national Tricolour. That was the spirit of the I. N. A.
Women's Organization of the I. N. A.
The Women's Organization of the I. N. A. was also an important wing of the Fauj, A women's Regiment was raised in July, 1943 under the command of Captain Mrs. Laxmi Sawaminathan. The members of this Regiment were drawn from the Indian civilian population of the South-East Asia. The Regiment was named after the famous Rani of Jhansi, who had died fighting bravely against the British forces in 1857, and consisted of 856 women trained for active service. Mrs. Laxmi as the Captain of the Regiment played a unique part in inspiring and organising the women into Red Cross units, reKef squads, ambulance workers and emergency nurees.
Salaries
Officers and men of the Indian National Army were regularly paid in cash by the Government of Azad Hind besides being provided with food, clothing, etc. They were distinctly told that since the Fauj was fighting for the freedom of their Motherland, each member thereof had to make a sacrifice, physically and materially.
The rates of pay were therefore fixed as under:
Colonel Rs. 400 ; Major Rs. 180 ; Captain Rs. 125 ; Lieutenants Rs. 80 per mensem. The Indian National Army went into action on February 4, 1944. The distribution of the forces was :
1. Assam Front One Division
2. Rangoon One Division
3. Malaya One Division.
Half the soldiers in these Divisions were the Indian prisoners of war and the other half were Indian civilian volunteers. There was no Japanese soldier or officer in them.
Each of these Divisions had four brigades. The first Division which fought in Imphal and in the Arakan comprised of the following brigades:
1. Subhas Brigade : Commanding Col, Shah Nawaz Khan, 3,200 men.
2. Gandhi Brigade : Commanding Col. I. Z. Kiani, 2,800 men.
3. Azad Brigade : Commanding Col. Gulzara Singh, 2,800 men.
4. Nehru Brigade : Commanding Col. G. S. Dhillon, 3,000 men.
Triumphs
On March 18, 1944 the LN.A. captured Tiddim and crossed the Indo-Burma Frontier for the first time. The Japanese armies joined them in the plains of Imphal. Their allied forces first cut off the road to Dinapur and thereafter captured Eishenpur and Kohima. The renewed campaign of the Indian National Army lasted from January to August 1945. The Subhas, Gandhi and Nehru Brigades fought bravely and suffered great losses to stem the tide of the British 14th Army into Burma.
Decorations and medals
An "Azad Hind" (Free India) decoration was also instituted by Bose in 1942 in four grades each of which could be awarded with or without swords in the German fashion. Both Indian and German members of the Legion were eligible to receive the decoration. Almost half of the Indian Legion's members received one or more of these awards.
Order of "Azad Hind"
Grand Star: "Sher-e-Hind" (Tiger of India)
1st Class Star: "Sardar-e-Jang" (Leader of Battle)
2nd Class Star: "Vir-e-Hind" (Hero of India)
Medal: "Shahid-e-Bharat" (Martyr of the Fatherland)
Legion Freies Indien
The Legion Freies Indien of the German Army and took their oath of allegiance in a ceremony on 26th August 1942. The ranks of the new Legion were swelled by hundreds of new members some of whose participation was far from voluntary until by mid-1943 it boasted approximately 2,000 members and was also referred to as Indisches Infanterie Regiment 950.
I.R. 950 (ind) / Freies Indien Legion 1943-44
Legionskommandeur (Legion Commander): Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) Kurt Krappe (until 25/6/43)
Ausbildungs und Betreutungsstab (Training & Maintenance Staff) formed on 27/4/43 then renamed on 7/7/43 as: Regiments-Stab (ind.) Infanterie Regiment 950
I. Bataillon: w/ 4x Infanterie Kompanien (Nr. 1 - 4)
II. Bataillon: w/ 4x Infanterie Kompanien (Nr. 5 - 8)
III. Bataillon: w/ 4x Infanterie Kompanien (Nr. 9 - 12)
13th Infanteriegeschütz Kompanie (Infantry-Gun Company w/ 6x 7.5cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz {Light Infantry Gun} 18)
14th Panzerjäger Kompanie (Anti-tank Company w/ 6x Panzerabwehrkanone {anti-tank gun})
15th Pionier Kompanie (Engineer Company)
Ehrenwachkompanie (Honour Guard Company)
Hospital / Convalescent Home
‘Win over Netaji’s INA is UK’s greatest battle’
By Anon, PTI, 22 April 2013
Britain’s struggle to repel a combined force of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-led Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) and Japan during World War II, around Imphal and Kohima in 1944 has been adjudged as the ‘greatest ever battle involving British forces’, a report said.
The clashes that took place in northeastersn corner of India were voted the winner of a contest run by the National Army Museum here, to identify ‘Britain’s Greatest Battle’.
The battles of Imphal and Kohima saw the British and Indian forces, under the overall command of Lieutenant-General William Slim, repel the Japanese invasion of India and helped turned the tide of the war..
The Japanese, along with soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj, eventually lost (dead and missing) 53,000 in the battles. The British sustained 12,500 casualties at Imphal while the fighting at Kohima cost them another 4,000.
The campaign of Imphal-Kohima was on a shortlist of five battles which topped a public poll. Finally, it was selected as the winner by an audience of more than 100 guests at a special event at the museum in Chelsea on Saturday.
Imphal-Kohima received almost half of all votes. It was far ahead of D-Day and Normandy, in 1944 which received 25% of the vote and came second, followed by the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815 (22%).
At the event, each contender had their case made by a historian giving a 40-minute presentation. The case for Imphal and Kohima was made by Dr Robert Lyman, an author and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
“I had thought that one of the bigger names like D-Day or Waterloo would win so I am delighted that Imphal-Kohima has won. You have got to judge the greatness of a battle by its political, cultural and social impact, as much as its military impact,” he was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.
“Imphal and Kohima were really significant for a number of reasons, not least that they showed that the Japanese were not invincible and that that they could be beaten, and beaten well. The victories demonstrate this more than the US in the Pacific, where they were taking them on garrison by garrison,” Lyman added.
The fight for Imphal went on longer than that for Kohima, lasting from March until July. Kohima was smaller in scale, and shorter, from April to June — but the fighting was so intense it has been described as the ‘Stalingrad of the East’. PTI
