The Indian Army in WWII Italy

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p>For many folks, the most widely recognized pop culture image of Desi soldiers in WWII was Naveen Andrews’ portrayal of Kip, the Sikh soldier, in the film version of Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. Kip was a combat engineer / bomb removal expert for the British army in Italy and his love affair with Hana, the gorgeous nurse played by Juliet Binoche, formed one of the central plot lines of the movie.

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p align=left>Oh bury me at Cassino
My duty to England is done
And when you get back to Blighty
And you are drinking your whisky and rum
Remember the old Indian soldier
When the war he fought has been won!

–Indian 8th Infantry Division
War Song from the WWII Italian Campaign

When I saw the flick, I recall many a female audience member shuddering at Kip’s “hair scene” – much to my progressively follicle-challenged chagrin…

Still, Ondaatje’s use of Kip in such a significant role is laudable not just because Kip is a strong, attractive & clearly desi male in a leading romantic role but also because it implicitly frames the presence of folks like him as relatively commonplace. I recently stumbled across a fascinating, slick, Indian-produced documentary that goes into much more detail on the “real Kips” who participated in the Allied offensive in Italy. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, it appears the entire documentary is online and available for your viewing pleasure after the fold.

Naveen Makes It Look Easy

The facts, sights, and sounds of the video are an impressive testament to an often overlooked chapter in history. Desi losses in the multi-day assault on the Gustav line, for example, numbered over 1000 – a figure comparable to US losses on D-Day. An Italian countryside scene shows a field of Hindi-inscribed tombstones that hits you in the gut. The UK’s highest military honor, the Victoria Cross, was awarded to its youngest WWII recipient during these battles – 19 yr old Kamal Ram. As is common in these sorts of documentaries, snapshots of soldier’s daily lives provide poignant color – such as the Sikhs making Naan on makeshift ovens. Local Italians, some of whom were barely teenagers at the time, discuss their impressions of these “handsome” soldiers from afar who’ve come to fight for their liberation and attend modern day memorial services to commemorate their sacrifice.

The most powerful scenes, of course, are the interviews from the living veterans themselves. While contemporary folks occasionally see Desi history through a giant “British Colonialism was the Root of All Evil” lens, these veterans were clearly and deservedly proud of their role in “the last Good War”. They’re an apt example of the saying that “support the troops” is supposed to mean respecting them as fighters, rather than pitying them as victims. Amongst them, a place on the front line was an opportunity volunteered for & earned rather than just a place to become “cannon fodder” for the man. The Indian 8th division, having proved itself in Africa, earned Crack status as “the river crossing division” and became the theater’s recognized experts at one of the most difficult combat operations in all war across all time. And through all these things, they left their mark on the world in ways big and small.

So hopefully, while the debate about the significance and meaning of War will remain with us till the end of Time, perhaps we can put aside those contentious words for a bit and respect the warriors & their deeds profiled in the following videos –

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Part 1 –

Part 2 –

Part 3 –

Related – Previous SM Coverage of the Battles of Kohima and Imphal

30 thoughts on “The Indian Army in WWII Italy”

  1. Thanks for the links, Vinod. This is actually one of a series of documentaries made for/by NDTV, I think. Quite a find, thanks again.

  2. The movie and the book seem quite at odds. In the book Kip is very conflicted about his brother being in jail while he in some sense is fighting on the side of the jailer. He breaks down and nearly kills “The Patient”. I just saw the documentary, it is great. I view both the Allied & INA Indian troops as heros who did what they thought best under the circumstances

  3. Thanks Vinod! I’ve been meaning to learn more about India’s role during WWII, and I’ve just started. This looks excellent.

  4. There were Indian troops fighting on the Axis side, too – and some even fought in Italy against the Allies.

  5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocos_Islands_Mutiny No Sri Lankan combat regiment was deployed by the British in a combat situation after the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Indian troops, who made up the majority of the garrison on Christmas Island, rose up against the British troops and killed them in March 1942, before surrendering to the invading Japanese.

    The Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands mutinied on the night of 8/9 May, intending to hand the islands over to the Japanese. The plan was to arrest Captain Gardiner, the British Battery Commanding Officer and his Ceylonese second-in-command, to disarm the troops loyal to the British Empire, to turn the 6-inch guns on the CLI troops on Direction Island, and to signal the Japanese on Christmas Island. However, the soldiers all proved to be poor shots with small arms – one soldier was killed and another wounded. The rebels’ one Bren gun jammed at a crucial moment, when Gratien Fernando, the leader of the mutiny, had it trained on Gardiner. The rebels then attempted to turn the 6-inch guns on Direction Island, but were overpowered.

    Messages sent by Fernando were received in Sri Lanka, indicating that there was co-operation between him and the both CLI troops and the Australian signallers on Direction Island. He declared he had surrendered on condition that he would be tried in Colombo – it may be that he intended to give a speech from the dock to inspire his compatriots. However, the rebels were court martialled on the Cocos Islands.

    Fernando was defiant to the end, confidently believing that he would be remembered as a patriot, and refused a commutation of punishment. He was executed on 5 August 1942 at Welikada Prison, and two other mutineers shortly thereafter. Fernando’s last words were “Loyalty to a country under the heel of a white man is disloyalty”.

  10. Great video’s. My grandfather fought in Italy, so it is nice to see a little of what he went through.

  16. This is a great post Vinod! Both my grandfathers were in the INA during WWII, although neither of them saw combat. One was in the Military Engineer Service and the other worked on troop logistics from India. They both passed away a few years ago, and in missing them and wanting to learn more about them, I’ve become very interested in the Indian Army’s role in WWII– especially those who were involved in battle, because it’s a side of the war so rarely heard about (at least in my experience).

  17. Very cool! if you get a chance, check out Indigenes (Days of Glory) about the Africa division (North Africans, pied noirs, goummiers), about France’s colonial WWII divisions.

  19. Very moving video. Thanx Vinod. And kudos to Ondaatje for putting the Kip character in his book. By the way who’s the handsome presenter with the sexy desi accent.

  21. Thanks for this post, Vinod. This is a chapter of the diaspora’s history about which I know absolutely nothing. I’m looking forward to checking out the clips.

  22. A friend of mine whose father fought in WWII sent me an interesting dissertation by a US Army Major, containing lots of details on the role of the Indian Army in Africa and Asia. Here’s the link to the pdf file: http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/p4013coll3&CISOPTR=1209&filename=1210.pdf

    The same guy also discusses parallels between the British campaign in Mesopotamia in WW1 (which, as he points out, was “primarily an Indian Army operation”), and the current Iraq war. The link for that is: http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usacsl/Publications/S04-07.pdf

  23. This is a great post Vinod! Both my grandfathers were in the INA during WWII, although neither of them saw combat. One was in the Military Engineer Service and the other worked on troop logistics from India

    I think you meant the Indian Army – INA refers to the Indian National Army – led by SC Bose – who fought against the British.

  25. Very interesting post on a subject that needs a lot more research work. There are even French postcards from World War I of Indian troops who fought in that country. Some of the context and voices around Indian soldiers from Punjab who fought in World War II can be found here too: http://www.harappa.com/shah/shah0.html – just press the World War II button and you will see home movie footage of recruiting and the voices of fighters.

  26. Great post! While I had always known that my great-uncle fought in Italy I only recently learned of the existence of some pictures he had kept from his time there. The most notable pictures featured a smiling Italian woman with a baby (makes me sort of wonder…). I haven’t watched all of the videos yet but I wonder if there is much in the way of documentation regarding the relationships that Indian soldiers may have cultivated with local folk?

  27. I think you meant the Indian Army – INA refers to the Indian National Army – led by SC Bose – who fought against the British.

    Oh jeez, yeah. I actually wasn’t sure about that abbreviation and I looked it up in Wikipedia before I was going to post, but I got distracted for a little while. When I came back to my computer I just hit post and forgot to change it. Thanks for the correction 🙂

  28. Thank you so much for this. My maternal grandfather was in the INA. I have a picture of him with Netaji that I keep on the wall. I also had another relative who fought in WWII in Italy… some of the stories he told me were amazing. It’s sad that they had to be on opposite sides.

  29. Hi, I am Dutch, born 1956 at the border between The Netherlands and Germany. I have just watched the video’s and I am moved to tears. My father fought at Indonesia against the Japanese. When I asked him about the war he said he doesn’t know anything about Indian soldiers. I personally think the role of the Indian soldiers got snowed under by the American and British who were hailed as our “saviours”. I am from after the war, si I don’t know anything about it. I saw The English Patient twice, as I am a big Naveen Andrews fan. I always thought it was all fictional, until I recognised the fresco’s in the church that Kip showed to Hannah. Later on I recognised much more from the surroundings, the nature and the buildings. I have been to Italy when I was 18 and I remember the country vividly. Watching these video’s sent cold shivers along my spine. I have seen the cities, the artwork, the archeology there and I was thinking this:”The Indian have saved the Romans!” At least cultural. I am so sad I never knew anything about the great offerings the Indian people made to my part of the world, Europe. I wanted to let you know that I know now and am deeply grateful and I also wanted to ask your permission to copy and save this to my own website on Livejournal, because I feel the strong urge to bring back people from all cultures, races, religions and traditions together again. Because once we all were ONE. Namaste. With love and light, Lizzy.

  30. Lizzy, I too admire the fighting spirit of the Indian soldiers who fought and sacrificed for the liberation of your country and all of Nazi-occupied western Europe during WW2. They were -, as the Germans found out to their regret, brave, resourceful, and ferocious warriors whose contributions to the fight are often forgotten or overlooked. This is lamentable, and I believe that military history will one day correct this. That will be right and just. But I note in your tone an implication that the title of “saviors” of your country awarded to the British and the Americans is somehow undeserved and inaccurate. Do not beguile yourself from reality this way. Ask the elders of your country who were atually there in 1944-45. The British and American boys who WERE the saviors of your country “snowed under” the contributions of all others not with false press and propaganda, but with blood and the bodies of their dead. As a former soldier, I ask you to remember that the truth is reflected on tombstones. I’m sure you’ve been to Britain. Come to my country someday and visit Arlington or other military cemeteries to see how many futures ended on the soil of yours. Ron