Indische Freiwilligen-Legion Regiment 950
Encyclopedia
The Legion Freies Indien ("Free India" Legion) or Indische Freiwilligen-Legion Regiment 950 (Indian Volunteer Legion Regiment 950) referred to colloquially as the Indische Legion (Indian Legion), variously known also as the Tiger Legion and the Azad Hind Fauj (in Hindi), was an Indian military unit raised in 1941 in Germany attached to the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) and later from August 1944 attached to the Waffen-SS
, ostensibly according to the concept of an Indian liberation force during World War II by its co-founder the prominent Subhash Chandra Bose
chairman of the Indian National Congress
and a leader of the Indian independence movement
, who in 1941 came to Berlin
after just escaping British house arrest
in India
. The initial recruits were Indian student volunteers resident in Germany at the time, and a handful from the Indian PoWs
captured by Rommel
during his North Africa Campaign. It would later draw a larger number of Indian PoWs as volunteers.
Raised initially as an assault group that would form a pathfinder to a German/Indian invasion of the western frontiers of British India, only a small contingent was ever put to its original intended purpose when a hundred of the Legionnaires were parachuted into eastern Iran
in 'Operation Bajadere
' to infiltrate into India through Baluchistan
and commence sabotage
operations against the British in preparation for an anticipated national revolt. A majority of the troops of the Indian Legion were only ever stationed in Europe – mostly in non-combat duties – from the Netherlands, to Atlantic Wall
duties in France till the Allied invasion of France. A small contingent, including the leadership and the officer corps, was transferred to Azad Hind after its formation and saw action in the INA's Burma Campaign
.
The unit saw action against British and Polish troops and also undertook anti-partisan
operations in Italy in 1944.
At the time of the surrender of the Third Reich in 1945, remaining troops of the Indian Legion made efforts to march to neutral Switzerland
over the Alps
, but these efforts proved futile as they were captured by American and French troops and eventually shipped back to India to face charges of treason
.
The origins of the idea of raising an armed force that would fight its way into India to bring down the Raj
goes back to World War I
, when the Ghadar Party
and the nascent embryo of the Indian Independence League
formulated plans to initiate rebellion in the British Indian Army
from Punjab
to Hong Kong
with German support. This plan failed after the information was leaked to British intelligence, but only after the Hong Kong garrison had rebelled.
, at some stage of their campaign against Britain, sought to support/exploit the armed revolutionary activities within India and aided the recruitment of a military force from disaffected Indian prisoners-of war
(PoWs) captured while serving with the British Commonwealth forces and Indian expatriates
, of which the most famous, and successful, was probably the Indian National Army
that came into being with the support of the Japanese Empire in the Far East.
By 1942, Fascist Italy had created the "Azad Hindustan Battalion (Battaglione Azad Hindoustan
). This unit was formed from ex-Indian Army personnel and Italians previously resident in India and Persia and ultimately served under the Military Regrouping Center (Ragruppamento Centri Militari). However, these efforts proved unsuccessful, given the overtly propagandist nature of their efforts that ultimately found little acceptance among the constituent soldiers, and the lack of a leadership that was deemed legitimate by the troops. By November 1942, following the defeats in El Alamein
, the Italian efforts had failed.
had passed resolutions conditionally supporting the fight against fascism, Indian public opinion was more hostile at Britain's unilateral decision to declare India a belligerent on the side of the Allies. Among the more rebellious amongst Indian political leaders of the time was Subhash Chandra Bose
, who was viewed as a sufficiently potent threat that when the war started, the Raj
put him under arrest, and later, house arrest
. Bose escaped from under British surveillance at his house in Calcutta on January 19, 1941, with the help of family members, members of his party – the Forward Bloc – and later the Abwehr
, he made his way through Afghanistan
to the Soviet Union. Once in Russia the NKVD
transported Bose to Moscow where he hoped that Russia's traditional enmity to British rule in India would result in support for his plans for a popular rising in India. However, Bose found the Soviets' response disappointing and was rapidly passed over to the German Ambassador in Moscow, Count von der Schulenberg, who arranged for Bose to be sent to Berlin at the beginning of April where he met Ribbentrop and later, Hitler. In Berlin, Bose set up the Azad Hind Radio
and the Free India Centre which commenced broadcasting to Indians on short wave frequencies. The Azad Hind Radio
broadcasts were estimated to have been regularly received by 30,000 Indians who possessed the requisite receiver. However, soon Bose's aim became to raise an army that he imagined would march to India's North-West Frontier Province
with German forces through the Caucasus
and trigger the downfall of the Raj.
The first troops of the Indian Legion were derived from Rommel
's Indian PoWs captured at El Mekili, Libya
during the Battles for Tobruk
. The Italians established three PoW camps to accommodate and indoctrinate these captured POW's – Centro A established for Arabs, Centro I for Indians and Centro T for Tunisians. At Centro I the Italians established a Battaglione Hazad Hindouston (Free Indian Battalion) but the Indians refused to serve under Italian officers and the experiment was disbanded. The German forces in the Western Desert then selected a core group of 27 POW's as potential officers and they were flown to Berlin in May 1941, to be followed, after the Centro I experiment, by POW's being transferred to Germany. The number of POW's grew to about 10,000 who were eventually housed at a camp known as Annaburg
, where Subhash Bose first met with these prisoners. From these, a group of approximately 6,000 men were transferred to the Frankenburg Camp, from which a further core of 300 soldiers were sent to Königsbrück
for training and induction. It was at Königsbrück that uniforms were issued, in German feldgrau with the badge of the Leaping Tiger of Azad Hind. The formation of the Indian National Army was announced by the German Propaganda Ministry in January 1942. It did not, however, take oath until 26 August 1942, as the Legion Freies Indien of the German Army. By May 1943, the numbers had swelled, aided by the enlistment as volunteers of Indian expatriates in Germany.
and Garhwalis
all served side-by-side. Approximately two-thirds of the Legion's members were Muslim
and one- third Hindu
and other religion
s, including a large number of Sikh
s. That Bose's idea of developing a unified racial-nationalist identity was successful is evident from the fact that when Himmler proposed in late 1943– after Bose's Departure to the Far East- that the Muslim soldiers of the I.R. 950 be recruited into the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
that was formed at the time, the head of the SS Head office Gottlob Berger
was obliged to point out that while the Bosnians perceived themselves as people of a European identity, the Indian Muslims perceived themselves as Indians. Hitler however showed little enthusiasm for the I.R. 950, at one stage insisting that their weapons be handed over to the newly created 18th SS Horst Wessel Division
, exclaiming that "....the Indian Legion is a joke!"
The uniform issued to the Indian Legion were the standard German Army uniform of feldgrau in winter and Khaki in Summer. Additionally, the troops wore on their right upper arm a specially designed arm badge in the shape of the shield with three horizontal stripes of the saffron, white and green – the colours of the flag of Azad Hind- and featuring a leaping tiger on the white middle band. The legend Freies Indien inscribed in black featured on a white background above the tricolor. A saffron, white and green transfer was also worn on the left side of their helmets. Sikhs in the Legion were permitted to wear a turban, of a color appropriate to their uniform as dictated by their religion instead of the usual peaked field cap.
The standard
of the Indian Legion - presented as regimental colours in 1942 – featured the same design as the arm badge of the IR 950 consisting of saffron, white and green horizontal bands in the stated order from top to bottom. The white middle band was approximately three times the width of the two colored bands. The words "AZAD" and "HIND" in white were inscribed over the saffron and green bands respectively. Also over the white middle band featured a leaping tiger. This is essentially the same design that the Azad Hind Government later adopted as their flag, although photographic evidence shows that the later Indian National Army
, at least during the Burma Campaign, may not have carried it as their Battle Standard, opting for the Flag of the Congress instead
this
It also consisted of Hospital staff and Training & Maintenance Staff (Ausbildungs und Betreutungsstab)
To this end, Operation Bajadere
was launched in January 1942 when a detachment of the Freies Indien, numbering about one hundred and having trained with the German Special Forces
, were paradropped into Eastern Persia tasked to infiltrate into India through Baluchistan
. They were also tasked to commence sabotage operations in preparation for the anticipated national revolt. Information passed on to Abwehr headquarters in Berlin from their office in Kabul
indicate that they were successful.
Following German defeat in Europe at Stalingrad
and in North Africa at El Alamein
it became clear that an Axis assault through Iran or even USSR was unlikely. Bose had in the mean time travelled to the Far East where the Japanese troops were threatening India. Bose's army in South Asia, the Indian National Army
successfully engaged the allies along with the Japanese 15th Army in Burma and ultimately entered India through Moirang
to lay siege on Imphal. The German Naval High Command at this time made the decision to transfer the leadership and a segment of the Freies Indien to the Azad Hind Government in South Asia and on 21 January, it was formally made a part of the Indian National Army
.
A majority of the troops of the Indian Legion, however, were to remain in Europe through the war and were never utilized in their original perceived role over Persia and Central Asia. The Legion was transferred to Zeeland
in the Netherlands in April 1943 as part of the Atlantic Wall
duties and later to France in September 1943, attached to 344 Infanterie-Division, and later the 159 Infanterie-Division of the Wehrmacht.
From Beverloo in Belgium, I Battalion was reassigned to Zandvoort
in May 1943 where they stayed until relieved by Georgian troops in August. In September 1943, the battalion was deployed on the Atlantic coast of Bordeaux
on the Bay of Biscay
. The II Battalion moved from Beverloo to the island of Texel
in May 1943 and stayed there until relieved in September of that year. From here, it was deployed to Les Sables-d'Olonne
in France. The III Battalion remained at Oldebroek
as Corps Reserve until the end of September 1943, where they gained a "wild and loathsome" reputation amongst the natives.
region of Bordeaux
at the time of the Normandy landings and remained there for up to two months after D-Day. On 8 August, 1944 Himmler Authorized its control was to be transferred to the Waffen SS (as was that of every other volunteer unit of the German Army). Command of the legion was very shortly transferred from Kurt Krapp to Heinz Bertling. The Indian personnel noticed a change of command was at hand and started to complain. Noting he wasn't "wanted" Bertling kindly refused the assignment and headed back to Berlin. On 15 August, the unit pulled out of Lacanau to make its way back to Germany. It was in the second leg of this journey, from Poitier to Chatrou that it suffered its first combat casualty (Lt. Ali Khan) while engaging French Regular forces in the town of Dun. The unit also engaged with allied armour at Nuis St. Georges while retreating across the Loire
to Dijon. It was regularly harassed by the French Resistance, suffering two more casualties (Lt. Kalu Ram and Capt. Mela Ram). The unit moved from Remiremont, through Alsace
, to Oberhofen near the town of Heuberg in Germany in the winter of 1944, where it stayed until March 1945.
With the defeat of the Third Reich imminent in May 1945, the Indian Legion sought sanctuary in neutral Switzerland. The remainder of the unit undertook a desperate 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi) march along the shores of Lake Constance
, attempting to enter Switzerland via the alpine passes. This was, however, unsuccessful and the Legion was captured by US and French forces and delivered to British and Indian forces in Europe. There is some evidence that some of these Indian troops were shot by French Moroccan
troops in the town of Immenstadt
after their capture. The captured troops would later be shipped back to India where a number of the troops would stand trial for treason. It is alleged that a number of the Indian soldiers were shot by French troops before their delivery to British Forces.
ist army of the Third Reich, and the other as the realization of a 'liberation' army against the British Raj in India. Comparisons have been made to the Vlasov
movement in Russia.
The Free India Legion was conceived with the same doctrine as the Indian National Army and the entire Azad Hind movement, it has found little exposure since the end of the war even in Independent India, possibly due to a perception that their fight was far removed from the Battlefields of Burma, a land much closer to India where the troops of the INA fought and died and caught the public imagination. To consider the legacy of Free India Legion, however, one has to consider both the Azad Hind Movement (of which the Legion was possibly a birth mother, and certainly an integral plan of Bose's initial plans) and the events that happened at the time, both in and away from the public eye.
Abandoned by its leader Subhash Chandra Bose under desperate circumstances, the legion surrendered to the British and the Americans soon after.
As a prologue to the main debate on these issues, it is necessary to consider the views of the founder and leader of the Free India Legion, Subhas Chandra Bose (for Bose was the life blood of the entire Free India Movement in Germany, and later in South Asia). Bose, in 1931, had organized and led protest marches against the Japanese invasion of Manchuria
and of China itself in 1938 when he was Congress president. In 1937 he published an article attacking Japanese Imperialism in the Far East, although he betrayed some admiration for other aspects of the Japanese regime. Bose's earlier correspondence (prior to 1939) also reflects his deep disapproval of the racist practices of, and annulment of democratic institutions in Nazi Germany. He also, however, expressed admiration for the authoritarian methods (though not the racial ideologies) which he saw in Italy and Germany during the 1930s, and thought they could be used in building an independent India.
However, this does not address whether the men of the Freies Indien were party to or in collaboration with the Nazi machinery. In these contexts, it is doubtful that the Indian PoWs were party to or held any loyalty to the Nazi ideology of racial supremacy. Although, the Nazis regarded Indians as members of the Aryan race, the small number of Indians and their particular usefulness in Germany's situation resulted in Indians not receiving the best treatment. It is also fallacious to say that the soldiers of the Free India Legion were mere mercenaries who fought with the Reich, for money or power. Indeed, when the first PoWs were brought to Annaburg camp and met by Subhash Chandra Bose, there was marked open hostility towards him as a Nazi propaganda puppet. Subsequent to this, at a time when Bose's efforts and views had gained more sympathy, a persistent query among the (then) PoWs had been "How would the Legionary stand in relation to the German soldier?". Neither were they prepared to fight Germany's war for Germany's people for Germany's interests. Italy had in 1942 created the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan
, with Indian PoWs captured by Italy, and Italians previously resident in India and Persia and led by an Indian resident in Rome for a long-time, Iqbal Shedai, whose rallying cry was to raise an Indian Unit to fight for India. In November 1942 the unit was three hundred and fifty strong, having been trained by Italian officers. Much has been said of the "dubious loyalty" of this unit. On 9 November, after the Allied landing in North Africa, the Italian high command made the decision to send the men to Libya to fight the allies instead of to India to fight for India's freedom, contrary to Shedai's promises. The men refused to go and mutinied, insisting that they were only willing to fight for the Indian cause Shedai refused to intervene. Consequently, the Centro Militare India was disbanded. The men of the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan are later said to have been either integrated into the Free India Legion or sent back to PoW camps. In another instance, immediately prior to the first deployment of the Free India Legion in the Netherlands in April 1943, after departure of I Battalion from Koenigsbrueck, two Companies within the II Battalion refused to move. The Free India Centre- in charge of the Legion after the departure of Bose in January 1943 for South Asia- came to face a number of grievances, prime of which stood out two in particular; some were influenced by a rumour that Netaji had abandoned them and had gone off leaving them entirely in German hands; a second grievance was a perception that the Wehrmacht was now going to use them in the Western Front, instead of sending them to the East to fight for India's liberation. Even in the east, where the Indian National Army
took its colossal shape, the first efforts under Capt. Mohan Singh came to nought essentially because Rash Behari Bose
, who led the Indian Independence League (of which the first INA in the east was integrally linked) lost credence among the troops, appearing as a Japanese pawn. These goes to show that the men never possessed loyalty either to the Fascist or the Nazi cause or ideology and that their motivation was to fight for India' liberation, their loyalty lay to India. They were unwilling to fight for an alien nation and for a cause that was distant to the one for which they had abandoned their oath to the King Emperor.
Netaji sought and got agreement from the Germans that the Wehrmacht would train the Indians in the strictest military discipline, and they were to be trained in all branches of infantry in using weapons and motorized units the same way a German formation is trained; the Indian legionaries were not to be mixed up with any of the German formations; that they were not to be sent to any front other than in India for fighting against the British, but would be allowed to fight in self-defence at any other place if surprised by any enemy formation; that in all other respects the Legion members would enjoy the same facilities and amenities regarding pay, clothing, food, leave, etc., as a German unit.
As for having participated in the Nazi war effort, in Europe the unit's deployments in the Netherlands and France appear to be solely for training purposes, according to Bose's plans for the unit to be trained in some aspects of coastal defence. Bose had also had the German High Command committed to not deploying the unit for purposes of German military interests and strategy. Indeed after the invasion of France by the Allies, the unit was ordered back to Germany. Even though the unit participated in atrocities, especially in the Medoc region in July 1944 , and in the region of Ruffec and the departement of Indre during their retreat , the allegations that the Free India Legion was nothing more than a collaborationist Heer
unit is a very simplistic view of a formation of men who possibly imagined themselves as patriots and pioneers and not as Nazis or collaborators. However, the effects of the limited actions the unit undertook in anti-partisan role in Italy also ought to be considered while making a definitive conclusion. Briefly, the Free India Legion fought for a Nazi and Japanese victory, in the hope of gaining an independent India. Whether this would have also achieved a free India in a Nazi German and Imperial Japanese ruled world, or whether Chandra Bose's plan to establish a centralized state in India would have made it a free state, are both open to doubt.
Were, then, Bose's plans for the Azad Hind Legion too grandiose for its own capability? In terms of military capability, that answer is a definitive yes, for the fate of the Free India Legion was tied like a corpse to that of the Axis. But in political terms, to consider the Azad Hind Legion a paper tiger can be debated, for it ignores a number of events that occurred within India and more specifically the British Indian Armed Forces in the post-war demobilisation scenario. To consider the effects that the Legion had, it is necessary, however, to consider the effects that the entire Azad Hind movement (for they were a part of the same strategy and movement) had on the culmination of the British Raj in India.
After the war ended, the stories of the INA and the Free India Legion were seen as so inflammatory that, fearing mass revolts and uprisings — not just in India, but across its empire — the British Government forbade the BBC
from broadcasting their story. The Raj also brought to trial soldiers and officers of the INA (as well as the Free India Legion, of which not much is known). However, the stories of the trials at the Red Fort filtered through. The Raj observed with alarm the turnaround in the perception of Azad Hind and its army as traitors and collaborators to the greatest among the patriots.
During the trial, inspired to a large extent by the stories of the INA soldiers that were going around the country at the time mutiny broke out in the Royal Indian Navy
(the mutiny had other underlying social and political causes as well; see article), incorporating ships and shore establishments of the RIN throughout India, from Karachi
to Bombay and from Vizag to Calcutta. The most significant, if disconcerting factor for the Raj, was the significant militant public support that it received. A wave of nationalist sentiments swept through the Indian troops who had fought with the Allies and were in the process of being de-mobilised. The Navy mutiny was followed up by another among the ground crew in the Royal Indian Air Force. Another Army mutiny took place at Jabalpur during the last week of February 1946, soon after the Navy mutiny at Bombay. This was suppressed by force, including the use of the bayonet by British troops. It lasted about two weeks. After the mutiny, about 45 persons were tried by court martial. Forty-one were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment or dismissal. In addition, a large number were discharged on administrative grounds.
In the aftermath of the mutiny, the weekly intelligence summary issued on the 25th of March, 1946 admitted that the Indian army, navy and air force units were no longer trustworthy, and, for the army, "only day to day estimates of steadiness could be made". It was decided that: if wide-scale public unrest took shape, the armed forces (including the air force – for Quit India had shown how it could turn violent) could not be relied upon to support counter-insurgency operations as they had been during the Quit India movement
of 1942, and drawing from experiences of the Tiger Legion and the INA, their actions could not be predicted from their oath to the King Emperor.
Reflecting on the factors that guided the British decision to relinquish the Raj
in India, Clement Attlee
, the then British prime minister, cited several reasons, the most important of which were the INA activities of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which weakened the Indian Army – the foundation of the British Empire in India – and the RIN Mutiny that made the British realise that the Indian armed forces could no longer be trusted to prop up the Raj.
Although Britain had made, at the time of the Cripps' mission
in 1942, a commitment to grant dominion status to India after the war; these events and views held in 1946 by the administrations of the Raj would suggest to the reader that, contrary to the usual narrative of India's independence struggle (which generally focuses on Congress and Mahatma Gandhi), the INA and the revolts, mutinies, and public resentment it germinated were one factor in the complete withdrawal of the Raj
from India.
In the same breath, whether awarded any credit for India's independence or not, the events at the time show that the strategy of Azad Hind (derived from the embryo of the Free India Legion) of achieving independence from Britain by fomenting revolts and public unrest – although militarily a failure – remains, politically, a significant and historic success. Ironically, the military failure, probably worked just as well for the cause, as the Axis victory would have likely led to bondage for India, by the foreign dictatorships it was aiding.It should also be noted that officers of the INA & Bose were ready to fight the Japanese in case of exploitation of the Indian nation by them. As mentioned earlier in this article, Bose was against invasion of Manchuria & China in 1938 the first place so it would be highly unlikely that the INA would have left India to Japanese or the axis exploitation.
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
, ostensibly according to the concept of an Indian liberation force during World War II by its co-founder the prominent Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhas Chandra Bose known by name Netaji was an Indian revolutionary who led an Indian national political and military force against Britain and the Western powers during World War II. Bose was one of the most prominent leaders in the Indian independence movement and is a legendary figure in...
chairman of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and a leader of the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, who in 1941 came to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
after just escaping British house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The initial recruits were Indian student volunteers resident in Germany at the time, and a handful from the Indian PoWs
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
captured by Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
during his North Africa Campaign. It would later draw a larger number of Indian PoWs as volunteers.
Raised initially as an assault group that would form a pathfinder to a German/Indian invasion of the western frontiers of British India, only a small contingent was ever put to its original intended purpose when a hundred of the Legionnaires were parachuted into eastern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
in 'Operation Bajadere
Operation Bajadere
Operation Bajadere was a special forces operation launched in January 1942 by a hundred strong paratroop force of the Indische Legion ....
' to infiltrate into India through Baluchistan
Baluchistan (Chief Commissioners Province)
The Chief Commissioner's Province of Baluchistan was a province of British India located in the northern parts of the modern Balochistan province.- History :...
and commence sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
operations against the British in preparation for an anticipated national revolt. A majority of the troops of the Indian Legion were only ever stationed in Europe – mostly in non-combat duties – from the Netherlands, to Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
duties in France till the Allied invasion of France. A small contingent, including the leadership and the officer corps, was transferred to Azad Hind after its formation and saw action in the INA's Burma Campaign
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
.
The unit saw action against British and Polish troops and also undertook anti-partisan
Partisan
-Political matters:*Partisan In politics, partisan literally means organized into political parties. The expression "partisan politics" usually refers to fervent, sometimes militant, support of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea...
operations in Italy in 1944.
At the time of the surrender of the Third Reich in 1945, remaining troops of the Indian Legion made efforts to march to neutral Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
over the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, but these efforts proved futile as they were captured by American and French troops and eventually shipped back to India to face charges of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
.
Background
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
goes back to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when the Ghadar Party
Ghadar Party
The Ghadar Party was an organization founded by Punjabi Indians, in the United States and Canada with the aim to liberate India from British rule...
and the nascent embryo of the Indian Independence League
Indian Independence League
The Indian Independence League was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organize those living outside of India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India...
formulated plans to initiate rebellion in the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
from Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
with German support. This plan failed after the information was leaked to British intelligence, but only after the Hong Kong garrison had rebelled.
Japanese and Italian recruitment
During World War II, all the three major Axis PowersAxis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
, at some stage of their campaign against Britain, sought to support/exploit the armed revolutionary activities within India and aided the recruitment of a military force from disaffected Indian prisoners-of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
(PoWs) captured while serving with the British Commonwealth forces and Indian expatriates
Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin
A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
, of which the most famous, and successful, was probably the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
that came into being with the support of the Japanese Empire in the Far East.
By 1942, Fascist Italy had created the "Azad Hindustan Battalion (Battaglione Azad Hindoustan
Battaglione Azad Hindoustan
The Battaglione Azad Hindoustan was a foreign legion unit formed in Fascist Italy under the Raggruppamento Centri Militari in July 1942...
). This unit was formed from ex-Indian Army personnel and Italians previously resident in India and Persia and ultimately served under the Military Regrouping Center (Ragruppamento Centri Militari). However, these efforts proved unsuccessful, given the overtly propagandist nature of their efforts that ultimately found little acceptance among the constituent soldiers, and the lack of a leadership that was deemed legitimate by the troops. By November 1942, following the defeats in El Alamein
El Alamein
El Alamein is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. As of 2007, it has a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.- Climate :...
, the Italian efforts had failed.
German recruitment
However at this time in India, although the Congress PartyIndian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
had passed resolutions conditionally supporting the fight against fascism, Indian public opinion was more hostile at Britain's unilateral decision to declare India a belligerent on the side of the Allies. Among the more rebellious amongst Indian political leaders of the time was Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhas Chandra Bose known by name Netaji was an Indian revolutionary who led an Indian national political and military force against Britain and the Western powers during World War II. Bose was one of the most prominent leaders in the Indian independence movement and is a legendary figure in...
, who was viewed as a sufficiently potent threat that when the war started, the Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
put him under arrest, and later, house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. Bose escaped from under British surveillance at his house in Calcutta on January 19, 1941, with the help of family members, members of his party – the Forward Bloc – and later the Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
, he made his way through Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to the Soviet Union. Once in Russia the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
transported Bose to Moscow where he hoped that Russia's traditional enmity to British rule in India would result in support for his plans for a popular rising in India. However, Bose found the Soviets' response disappointing and was rapidly passed over to the German Ambassador in Moscow, Count von der Schulenberg, who arranged for Bose to be sent to Berlin at the beginning of April where he met Ribbentrop and later, Hitler. In Berlin, Bose set up the Azad Hind Radio
Azad Hind Radio
Azad Hind Radio was a propaganda radio service that was started in leadership of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Germany in 1942 to encourage Indians to fight for freedom. Though initially based in Germany, its headquarters were shifted to Singapore and later Rangoon following the course of the war...
and the Free India Centre which commenced broadcasting to Indians on short wave frequencies. The Azad Hind Radio
Azad Hind Radio
Azad Hind Radio was a propaganda radio service that was started in leadership of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Germany in 1942 to encourage Indians to fight for freedom. Though initially based in Germany, its headquarters were shifted to Singapore and later Rangoon following the course of the war...
broadcasts were estimated to have been regularly received by 30,000 Indians who possessed the requisite receiver. However, soon Bose's aim became to raise an army that he imagined would march to India's North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
with German forces through the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and trigger the downfall of the Raj.
Origin
Rommel
Erwin Rommel was a German World War II field marshal.Rommel may also refer to:*Rommel *Rommel Adducul , Filipino basketball player*Rommel Fernández , first Panamanian footballer to play in Europe...
's Indian PoWs captured at El Mekili, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
during the Battles for Tobruk
Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...
. The Italians established three PoW camps to accommodate and indoctrinate these captured POW's – Centro A established for Arabs, Centro I for Indians and Centro T for Tunisians. At Centro I the Italians established a Battaglione Hazad Hindouston (Free Indian Battalion) but the Indians refused to serve under Italian officers and the experiment was disbanded. The German forces in the Western Desert then selected a core group of 27 POW's as potential officers and they were flown to Berlin in May 1941, to be followed, after the Centro I experiment, by POW's being transferred to Germany. The number of POW's grew to about 10,000 who were eventually housed at a camp known as Annaburg
Annaburg
Annaburg is a small town in Wittenberg district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was the seat of the former Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Annaburg-Prettin.- Constituent communities :Annaburg has two centres, one also called Annaburg, and the other Purzien....
, where Subhash Bose first met with these prisoners. From these, a group of approximately 6,000 men were transferred to the Frankenburg Camp, from which a further core of 300 soldiers were sent to Königsbrück
Königsbrück
Königsbrück is a town in the Bautzen district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated west of Kamenz, and northeast of the Saxon capital Dresden...
for training and induction. It was at Königsbrück that uniforms were issued, in German feldgrau with the badge of the Leaping Tiger of Azad Hind. The formation of the Indian National Army was announced by the German Propaganda Ministry in January 1942. It did not, however, take oath until 26 August 1942, as the Legion Freies Indien of the German Army. By May 1943, the numbers had swelled, aided by the enlistment as volunteers of Indian expatriates in Germany.
Organization
The British Indian Army organized regiments and units on the basis of religion and regional identity. Bose, from very early on, sought to end this practice and build up one unified Indian identity. Consequently, the Indian Legion was organized as mixed units so that Moslems, Hindus, Sikhs, Jats, Rajputs, Marathas, KumaonisKumauni people
Kumauni or Kumaoni are people from Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India.They include all those who speak the Kumaoni language or any of its numerous dialects, living in the Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Nainital,Bijnor,Udham Singh Nagar,Moradabad, districts of Uttarakhand,...
and Garhwalis
Garhwali people
Garhwali people are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who primarily live in the Garhwal Himalayas of the north-western Indian state of Uttarakhand...
all served side-by-side. Approximately two-thirds of the Legion's members were Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and one- third Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and other religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s, including a large number of Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s. That Bose's idea of developing a unified racial-nationalist identity was successful is evident from the fact that when Himmler proposed in late 1943– after Bose's Departure to the Far East- that the Muslim soldiers of the I.R. 950 be recruited into the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)
The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Its recruits were composed of Muslim Bosniaks. The Handschar division was a mountain infantry formation, the equivalent of the German "Gebirgsjäger" ...
that was formed at the time, the head of the SS Head office Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Berger was a German Nazi who held the rank of Obergruppenführer during World War II and was later convicted of war crimes.In 1939, he was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's main recruiting officer...
was obliged to point out that while the Bosnians perceived themselves as people of a European identity, the Indian Muslims perceived themselves as Indians. Hitler however showed little enthusiasm for the I.R. 950, at one stage insisting that their weapons be handed over to the newly created 18th SS Horst Wessel Division
18th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Horst Wessel
The 18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Horst Wessel was formed in 1944 around a cadre from the 1 SS Infantry Brigade and included mainly Hungarian ethnic Germans or Volksdeutsche .It was used for anti-partisan duties until it was sent to the Eastern...
, exclaiming that "....the Indian Legion is a joke!"
Uniform and Standard
The standard
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
of the Indian Legion - presented as regimental colours in 1942 – featured the same design as the arm badge of the IR 950 consisting of saffron, white and green horizontal bands in the stated order from top to bottom. The white middle band was approximately three times the width of the two colored bands. The words "AZAD" and "HIND" in white were inscribed over the saffron and green bands respectively. Also over the white middle band featured a leaping tiger. This is essentially the same design that the Azad Hind Government later adopted as their flag, although photographic evidence shows that the later Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
, at least during the Burma Campaign, may not have carried it as their Battle Standard, opting for the Flag of the Congress instead
this
Medals
In 1942 Bose instituted several medals and orders for service to Azad India. As was typical for German decorations, crossed swords were added when they were issued for action in combat. How many, if any, actual medals were issued remains uncertain.Structure and Units
The Indian Legion was organized as a standard German army infantry regiment of three battalions of four companies each, with, at least initially all the commissioned officers German. It has been later referred to as Panzergrenadier Regiment 950 (indische), indicating the unit was partially motorized. It was equipped with 81 motor vehicles and 700 horses. In this structure, the legion came to consist of- I. Bataillon |Infanterie Kompanien 1 to 4
- II. Bataillon |Infanterie Kompanien 5 to 8
- III. Bataillon |Infanterie Kompanien 9 to 12
- 13th Infanteriegeschütz Kompanie (Infantry-Gun Company |consisting of six 7.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 187.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18The 7.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18 was an infantry support gun of the German Wehrmacht used during World War II.- History :...
) - 14th Panzerjäger Kompanie (Anti-tank Company | consisting of six PanzerabwehrkanonePanzerabwehrkanonePanzerabwehrkanone:* 3.7 cm PaK 36* 7.62 cm PaK 36* 5 cm PaK 38* 7.5 cm PaK 97/38* 7.5 cm PaK 40* 4.2 cm PaK 41* 7.5 cm PaK 41* 8.8 cm PaK 43* 12.8 cm PaK 44...
) - 15th Pionier Kompanie (Engineer Company)
- Ehrenwachkompanie (Honour Guard Company)
It also consisted of Hospital staff and Training & Maintenance Staff (Ausbildungs und Betreutungsstab)
Freies Indien in operation
It is doubtful that Subhash Chandra Bose envisaged the Free India Legion (or Azad Hind Legion as it came to be more popularly known by the time he left Germany for the far east) as an army sufficient or strong enough to conduct a campaign across Persia into India on its own. Instead, most historians accept that the IR 950 was to become the pathfinder and would precede a much larger Indo-German force in a Caucasian campaign into the western frontiers of British India that would encourage public resentment of the Raj and incite the British Indian Army into revolt.To this end, Operation Bajadere
Operation Bajadere
Operation Bajadere was a special forces operation launched in January 1942 by a hundred strong paratroop force of the Indische Legion ....
was launched in January 1942 when a detachment of the Freies Indien, numbering about one hundred and having trained with the German Special Forces
Brandenburgers
The Brandenburgers were members of the Brandenburg German Special Forces unit during World War II.Units of Brandenburgers operated in almost all fronts - the invasion of Poland, Denmark and Norway, in the Battle of France, in Operation Barbarossa, in Finland, Greece and the invasion of Crete,...
, were paradropped into Eastern Persia tasked to infiltrate into India through Baluchistan
Baluchistan (Chief Commissioners Province)
The Chief Commissioner's Province of Baluchistan was a province of British India located in the northern parts of the modern Balochistan province.- History :...
. They were also tasked to commence sabotage operations in preparation for the anticipated national revolt. Information passed on to Abwehr headquarters in Berlin from their office in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
indicate that they were successful.
Following German defeat in Europe at Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
and in North Africa at El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
it became clear that an Axis assault through Iran or even USSR was unlikely. Bose had in the mean time travelled to the Far East where the Japanese troops were threatening India. Bose's army in South Asia, the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
successfully engaged the allies along with the Japanese 15th Army in Burma and ultimately entered India through Moirang
Moirang
Moirang is a city and a municipal council in Bishnupur district in the Indian state of Manipur.Moirang is a town situated in the north east of India, 45 km from Imphal, Manipur. The Moirang C.D. Block came into existence on 4 April 1985 with its headquarters at Moirang Khunou about 1.5 km...
to lay siege on Imphal. The German Naval High Command at this time made the decision to transfer the leadership and a segment of the Freies Indien to the Azad Hind Government in South Asia and on 21 January, it was formally made a part of the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
.
Netherlands and France
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
in the Netherlands in April 1943 as part of the Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
duties and later to France in September 1943, attached to 344 Infanterie-Division, and later the 159 Infanterie-Division of the Wehrmacht.
From Beverloo in Belgium, I Battalion was reassigned to Zandvoort
Zandvoort
Zandvoort is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.Zandvoort is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach, bordered by coastal dunes...
in May 1943 where they stayed until relieved by Georgian troops in August. In September 1943, the battalion was deployed on the Atlantic coast of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
on the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
. The II Battalion moved from Beverloo to the island of Texel
Texel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
in May 1943 and stayed there until relieved in September of that year. From here, it was deployed to Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.-Events:...
in France. The III Battalion remained at Oldebroek
Oldebroek
Oldebroek is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands and it has almost 6000 inhabitants.-Population centres:Bovenveen, Eekt, Hattemerbroek, Kerkdorp, 't Loo, Mullegen, Noordeinde, Oldebroek, Oosterwolde, Posthoorn, Voskuil and Wezep.-Sport:...
as Corps Reserve until the end of September 1943, where they gained a "wild and loathsome" reputation amongst the natives.
Indische Freiwilligen Legion der Waffen SS
The Legion was stationed in the LacanauArrondissement of Bordeaux
The arrondissement of Bordeaux is an arrondissement of France, located in the Gironde department, in the Aquitaine region. It has 25 cantons and 82 communes.-Cantons:The cantons of the arrondissement of Bordeaux are:# Bègles# Blanquefort...
region of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
at the time of the Normandy landings and remained there for up to two months after D-Day. On 8 August, 1944 Himmler Authorized its control was to be transferred to the Waffen SS (as was that of every other volunteer unit of the German Army). Command of the legion was very shortly transferred from Kurt Krapp to Heinz Bertling. The Indian personnel noticed a change of command was at hand and started to complain. Noting he wasn't "wanted" Bertling kindly refused the assignment and headed back to Berlin. On 15 August, the unit pulled out of Lacanau to make its way back to Germany. It was in the second leg of this journey, from Poitier to Chatrou that it suffered its first combat casualty (Lt. Ali Khan) while engaging French Regular forces in the town of Dun. The unit also engaged with allied armour at Nuis St. Georges while retreating across the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
to Dijon. It was regularly harassed by the French Resistance, suffering two more casualties (Lt. Kalu Ram and Capt. Mela Ram). The unit moved from Remiremont, through Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, to Oberhofen near the town of Heuberg in Germany in the winter of 1944, where it stayed until March 1945.
Italy
II Battalion, 9th Company, of the Legion also saw action in Italy. Having been deployed in the spring of 1944, it faced the British 5th Corps and the Polish 2nd Corps before it was withdrawn from the front to be used in anti-partisan operations. It surrendered to the Allied forces April 1945, still in Italy.End of the Legion Freies Indien
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
, attempting to enter Switzerland via the alpine passes. This was, however, unsuccessful and the Legion was captured by US and French forces and delivered to British and Indian forces in Europe. There is some evidence that some of these Indian troops were shot by French Moroccan
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
troops in the town of Immenstadt
Immenstadt
Immenstadt im Allgäu is a town in the Upper Allgäu, far southern region of Bavaria, Germany, in the German Alps.-External links:*...
after their capture. The captured troops would later be shipped back to India where a number of the troops would stand trial for treason. It is alleged that a number of the Indian soldiers were shot by French troops before their delivery to British Forces.
Legacy of the Free India Legion
The integral associations of the Free India Legion with Nazi Germany and (later) Japan means its legacy is judged from two distinct view points – one of a collaborationCollaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
ist army of the Third Reich, and the other as the realization of a 'liberation' army against the British Raj in India. Comparisons have been made to the Vlasov
Vlasov
Vlasov or Vlasoff is a common Russian surname formed from the first name Vlas or from the Slavonic vlas meaning hair. The feminine form of the surname is Vlasova...
movement in Russia.
The Free India Legion was conceived with the same doctrine as the Indian National Army and the entire Azad Hind movement, it has found little exposure since the end of the war even in Independent India, possibly due to a perception that their fight was far removed from the Battlefields of Burma, a land much closer to India where the troops of the INA fought and died and caught the public imagination. To consider the legacy of Free India Legion, however, one has to consider both the Azad Hind Movement (of which the Legion was possibly a birth mother, and certainly an integral plan of Bose's initial plans) and the events that happened at the time, both in and away from the public eye.
Abandoned by its leader Subhash Chandra Bose under desperate circumstances, the legion surrendered to the British and the Americans soon after.
Perceptions as collaborators
In considering the history of the Free India Legion and the ramifications of its creation, the most controversial aspect comes to be its integral link to the Nazi Germany, with a prevailing perception among some historians that they were mere mercenaries and collaborators of the Third Reich by the virtue of their uniform, oath and field of operation. To properly assess this, one has to first assess what actions it is that may be termed collaborationist. Throughout Europe, during and after the war, collaboration came to be defined broadly as; being party to the Nazi philosophy of Aryan- and even more so, German- supremacy as a race; actively supporting and participating in the Nazi atrocities against inferior races and occupied people in support of furthering the Nazi ideology, and; actively supporting the Nazi war effort.As a prologue to the main debate on these issues, it is necessary to consider the views of the founder and leader of the Free India Legion, Subhas Chandra Bose (for Bose was the life blood of the entire Free India Movement in Germany, and later in South Asia). Bose, in 1931, had organized and led protest marches against the Japanese invasion of Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
and of China itself in 1938 when he was Congress president. In 1937 he published an article attacking Japanese Imperialism in the Far East, although he betrayed some admiration for other aspects of the Japanese regime. Bose's earlier correspondence (prior to 1939) also reflects his deep disapproval of the racist practices of, and annulment of democratic institutions in Nazi Germany. He also, however, expressed admiration for the authoritarian methods (though not the racial ideologies) which he saw in Italy and Germany during the 1930s, and thought they could be used in building an independent India.
However, this does not address whether the men of the Freies Indien were party to or in collaboration with the Nazi machinery. In these contexts, it is doubtful that the Indian PoWs were party to or held any loyalty to the Nazi ideology of racial supremacy. Although, the Nazis regarded Indians as members of the Aryan race, the small number of Indians and their particular usefulness in Germany's situation resulted in Indians not receiving the best treatment. It is also fallacious to say that the soldiers of the Free India Legion were mere mercenaries who fought with the Reich, for money or power. Indeed, when the first PoWs were brought to Annaburg camp and met by Subhash Chandra Bose, there was marked open hostility towards him as a Nazi propaganda puppet. Subsequent to this, at a time when Bose's efforts and views had gained more sympathy, a persistent query among the (then) PoWs had been "How would the Legionary stand in relation to the German soldier?". Neither were they prepared to fight Germany's war for Germany's people for Germany's interests. Italy had in 1942 created the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan
Battaglione Azad Hindoustan
The Battaglione Azad Hindoustan was a foreign legion unit formed in Fascist Italy under the Raggruppamento Centri Militari in July 1942...
, with Indian PoWs captured by Italy, and Italians previously resident in India and Persia and led by an Indian resident in Rome for a long-time, Iqbal Shedai, whose rallying cry was to raise an Indian Unit to fight for India. In November 1942 the unit was three hundred and fifty strong, having been trained by Italian officers. Much has been said of the "dubious loyalty" of this unit. On 9 November, after the Allied landing in North Africa, the Italian high command made the decision to send the men to Libya to fight the allies instead of to India to fight for India's freedom, contrary to Shedai's promises. The men refused to go and mutinied, insisting that they were only willing to fight for the Indian cause Shedai refused to intervene. Consequently, the Centro Militare India was disbanded. The men of the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan are later said to have been either integrated into the Free India Legion or sent back to PoW camps. In another instance, immediately prior to the first deployment of the Free India Legion in the Netherlands in April 1943, after departure of I Battalion from Koenigsbrueck, two Companies within the II Battalion refused to move. The Free India Centre- in charge of the Legion after the departure of Bose in January 1943 for South Asia- came to face a number of grievances, prime of which stood out two in particular; some were influenced by a rumour that Netaji had abandoned them and had gone off leaving them entirely in German hands; a second grievance was a perception that the Wehrmacht was now going to use them in the Western Front, instead of sending them to the East to fight for India's liberation. Even in the east, where the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
took its colossal shape, the first efforts under Capt. Mohan Singh came to nought essentially because Rash Behari Bose
Rash Behari Bose
Rashbehari Bose was a revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India and was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar conspiracy and later, the Indian National Army.-Early life:...
, who led the Indian Independence League (of which the first INA in the east was integrally linked) lost credence among the troops, appearing as a Japanese pawn. These goes to show that the men never possessed loyalty either to the Fascist or the Nazi cause or ideology and that their motivation was to fight for India' liberation, their loyalty lay to India. They were unwilling to fight for an alien nation and for a cause that was distant to the one for which they had abandoned their oath to the King Emperor.
Netaji sought and got agreement from the Germans that the Wehrmacht would train the Indians in the strictest military discipline, and they were to be trained in all branches of infantry in using weapons and motorized units the same way a German formation is trained; the Indian legionaries were not to be mixed up with any of the German formations; that they were not to be sent to any front other than in India for fighting against the British, but would be allowed to fight in self-defence at any other place if surprised by any enemy formation; that in all other respects the Legion members would enjoy the same facilities and amenities regarding pay, clothing, food, leave, etc., as a German unit.
As for having participated in the Nazi war effort, in Europe the unit's deployments in the Netherlands and France appear to be solely for training purposes, according to Bose's plans for the unit to be trained in some aspects of coastal defence. Bose had also had the German High Command committed to not deploying the unit for purposes of German military interests and strategy. Indeed after the invasion of France by the Allies, the unit was ordered back to Germany. Even though the unit participated in atrocities, especially in the Medoc region in July 1944 , and in the region of Ruffec and the departement of Indre during their retreat , the allegations that the Free India Legion was nothing more than a collaborationist Heer
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
unit is a very simplistic view of a formation of men who possibly imagined themselves as patriots and pioneers and not as Nazis or collaborators. However, the effects of the limited actions the unit undertook in anti-partisan role in Italy also ought to be considered while making a definitive conclusion. Briefly, the Free India Legion fought for a Nazi and Japanese victory, in the hope of gaining an independent India. Whether this would have also achieved a free India in a Nazi German and Imperial Japanese ruled world, or whether Chandra Bose's plan to establish a centralized state in India would have made it a free state, are both open to doubt.
A 'liberation' army?
The Free India Legion did not engage in its original conceived role in the western front of British India, so it is not possible to hold any arguments as to whether they did – or could have[although meant to be] – fulfilled the destiny that the men of the Legion had dreamt of. Moreover, the Legion was, and still remains, far removed from public perception in India because it did not engage its enemy, the British Raj as did the Indian National Army in Burma, which was much closer to the home of the common Indian. Even the 9th Company's engagements in Italy with British forces are hardly known outside those circles with an interest in World War II history.Were, then, Bose's plans for the Azad Hind Legion too grandiose for its own capability? In terms of military capability, that answer is a definitive yes, for the fate of the Free India Legion was tied like a corpse to that of the Axis. But in political terms, to consider the Azad Hind Legion a paper tiger can be debated, for it ignores a number of events that occurred within India and more specifically the British Indian Armed Forces in the post-war demobilisation scenario. To consider the effects that the Legion had, it is necessary, however, to consider the effects that the entire Azad Hind movement (for they were a part of the same strategy and movement) had on the culmination of the British Raj in India.
After the war ended, the stories of the INA and the Free India Legion were seen as so inflammatory that, fearing mass revolts and uprisings — not just in India, but across its empire — the British Government forbade the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
from broadcasting their story. The Raj also brought to trial soldiers and officers of the INA (as well as the Free India Legion, of which not much is known). However, the stories of the trials at the Red Fort filtered through. The Raj observed with alarm the turnaround in the perception of Azad Hind and its army as traitors and collaborators to the greatest among the patriots.
During the trial, inspired to a large extent by the stories of the INA soldiers that were going around the country at the time mutiny broke out in the Royal Indian Navy
The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny
The Royal Indian Navy mutiny encompasses a total strike and subsequent mutiny by Indian sailors of the Royal Indian Navy on board ship and shore establishments at Bombay harbour on 18 February 1946...
(the mutiny had other underlying social and political causes as well; see article), incorporating ships and shore establishments of the RIN throughout India, from Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
to Bombay and from Vizag to Calcutta. The most significant, if disconcerting factor for the Raj, was the significant militant public support that it received. A wave of nationalist sentiments swept through the Indian troops who had fought with the Allies and were in the process of being de-mobilised. The Navy mutiny was followed up by another among the ground crew in the Royal Indian Air Force. Another Army mutiny took place at Jabalpur during the last week of February 1946, soon after the Navy mutiny at Bombay. This was suppressed by force, including the use of the bayonet by British troops. It lasted about two weeks. After the mutiny, about 45 persons were tried by court martial. Forty-one were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment or dismissal. In addition, a large number were discharged on administrative grounds.
In the aftermath of the mutiny, the weekly intelligence summary issued on the 25th of March, 1946 admitted that the Indian army, navy and air force units were no longer trustworthy, and, for the army, "only day to day estimates of steadiness could be made". It was decided that: if wide-scale public unrest took shape, the armed forces (including the air force – for Quit India had shown how it could turn violent) could not be relied upon to support counter-insurgency operations as they had been during the Quit India movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
of 1942, and drawing from experiences of the Tiger Legion and the INA, their actions could not be predicted from their oath to the King Emperor.
Reflecting on the factors that guided the British decision to relinquish the Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
in India, Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
, the then British prime minister, cited several reasons, the most important of which were the INA activities of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which weakened the Indian Army – the foundation of the British Empire in India – and the RIN Mutiny that made the British realise that the Indian armed forces could no longer be trusted to prop up the Raj.
Although Britain had made, at the time of the Cripps' mission
Cripps' mission
The Cripps mission was an attempt in late March 1942 by the British government to secure Indian cooperation and support for their efforts in World War II...
in 1942, a commitment to grant dominion status to India after the war; these events and views held in 1946 by the administrations of the Raj would suggest to the reader that, contrary to the usual narrative of India's independence struggle (which generally focuses on Congress and Mahatma Gandhi), the INA and the revolts, mutinies, and public resentment it germinated were one factor in the complete withdrawal of the Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
from India.
In the same breath, whether awarded any credit for India's independence or not, the events at the time show that the strategy of Azad Hind (derived from the embryo of the Free India Legion) of achieving independence from Britain by fomenting revolts and public unrest – although militarily a failure – remains, politically, a significant and historic success. Ironically, the military failure, probably worked just as well for the cause, as the Axis victory would have likely led to bondage for India, by the foreign dictatorships it was aiding.It should also be noted that officers of the INA & Bose were ready to fight the Japanese in case of exploitation of the Indian nation by them. As mentioned earlier in this article, Bose was against invasion of Manchuria & China in 1938 the first place so it would be highly unlikely that the INA would have left India to Japanese or the axis exploitation.