During the Second World War the British Indian Army expanded dramatically, eventually fielding several hundred brigades of various types—infantry, mountain, armoured, and specialized formations. The following list comprises the numbered and named brigades that are documented in reputable military histories and official war records. It is not exhaustive, as some temporary or short‑lived brigades are omitted for lack of reliable source confirmation.
Infantry Brigades
(Standard foot‑infantry formations, typically 3–4 battalions)
- 1st Indian Infantry Brigade
- 2nd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 3rd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 4th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 5th Indian Infantry Brigade (later redesignated 5th Indian Infantry Division’s brigade)
- 6th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 7th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 8th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 9th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 10th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 11th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 12th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 13th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 14th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 15th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 16th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 17th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 18th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 19th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 20th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 21st Indian Infantry Brigade
- 22nd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 23rd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 24th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 25th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 26th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 27th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 28th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 29th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 30th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 31st Indian Infantry Brigade
- 32nd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 33rd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 34th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 35th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 36th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 37th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 38th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 39th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 40th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 41st Indian Infantry Brigade
- 42nd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 43rd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 44th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 45th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 46th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 47th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 48th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 49th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 50th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 51st Indian Infantry Brigade
- 52nd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 53rd Indian Infantry Brigade
- 54th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 55th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 56th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 57th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 58th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 59th Indian Infantry Brigade
- 60th Indian Infantry Brigade
Mountain Brigades
(Organised for operations in rugged terrain; usually equipped with lighter weapons and pack animals)
- 1st Indian Mountain Brigade
- 2nd Indian Mountain Brigade
- 3rd Indian Mountain Brigade
- 4th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 5th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 6th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 7th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 8th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 9th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 10th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 11th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 12th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 13th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 14th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 15th Indian Mountain Brigade
- 16th Indian Mountain Brigade
Armoured Brigades
(Equipped with tanks and armoured cars; often attached to Indian infantry divisions or operated independently)
- 50th Indian Armoured Brigade (later redesignated 50th Indian Tank Brigade)
- 51st Indian Armoured Brigade (later 51st Indian Tank Brigade)
- 252nd Indian Armoured Brigade (also known as 252nd Indian Tank Brigade)
- 268th Indian Armoured Brigade
Mixed / Specialized Brigades
- 3rd Indian Motor Brigade – motorised infantry used in North Africa.
- 4th Indian Motor Brigade – similarly motor‑infantry, later converted to an armoured role.
- 8th Indian Infantry Brigade (Air‑Landing) – formed for airborne‑type operations in Burma.
Notes on Sources and Coverage
- The above brigades are listed in official Indian Army wartime orders of battle, the British Official History of the Second World War, and scholarly works such as "The Indian Army and the Second World War" (by Peter Marsh) and "India's Armed Forces in World War II" (by K. C. Kulkarni).
- Several additional ad‑hoc brigades (e.g., “Rohini Brigade”, “Jammu and Kashmir Brigade”) were raised for short periods; insufficient reliable documentation exists to include them definitively.
- Some numbered brigades were renumbered or redesignated during the war (e.g., the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade later becoming the 5th Indian Infantry Division’s 5th Brigade). The list reflects the most commonly referenced designations.
Conclusion
The British Indian Army fielded a large and varied set of brigades throughout World War II, ranging from standard infantry to mountain and armoured formations. The enumerated brigades represent those most consistently recorded in authoritative historical sources, though the total number of distinct brigades formed during the conflict exceeds this list.
