5th Infantry Division (India)

5th Infantry Division
Insignia of the 5th Infantry Division
Active	1939–present
Country	British India India
Allegiance	India
Branch	British Indian Army  Indian Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Part of	IV Corps
Garrison/HQ	Rupa
Nickname(s)	"Ball of Fire".
Engagements	East Africa Western Desert Campaign Burma Campaign Battle of Kohima Operation Tiderace Battle of Surabaya
Commanders
Current commander	Maj Gen KS Grewal
Notable commanders	Lewis Heath Harold Rawdon Briggs Geoffrey Evans

The 5th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the Indian Army. It was raised during the second world war and fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the "Ball of Fire". It was one of the few Allied divisions to fight against three different armies - the Italian, German and Japanese armies.^[1]

The division was raised in 1939 in Secunderabad with two brigades under command. In 1940, the 5th Indian Division moved to Sudan and took under command three British infantry battalions stationed there and was reorganised into three brigades of three battalions each. The division fought in the East African Campaign in Eritrea and Ethiopia during 1940 and 1941, thence moving to Egypt, Cyprus and Iraq. In 1942, the division was heavily engaged in the Western Desert Campaign and the First Battle of El Alamein. From late 1943 to the Japanese surrender in August 1945, it fought continuously from India through the length of Burma. After the end of the war, it was the first unit into Singapore and then fought pro-Independence forces in Eastern Java. The division was converted into a Mountain division in 1963.