- XV Corps (India)
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Indian XV Corps
caption=
dates=1942 -1945 , postwar to present
country=British India
allegiance=
branch=British Indian Army
type=
role=
size=
command_structure=
garrison=
equipment=
current_commander=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
notable_commanders=Lieutenant GeneralNoel Beresford-Peirse
Lieutenant GeneralWilliam Slim
Lieutenant GeneralPhilip Christison
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_2=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=Burma Campaign
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=The Indian XV Corps was a British Commonwealth
corps , which was formed in India duringWorld War II . It took part in theBurma Campaign and was disbanded after the end of the war, but reformed within the post-IndependenceIndian Army .World War II
When Japan entered the war and drove British, Indian and Chinese forces from
Burma in early 1942, XV Corps was formed from the Assam and [Bengal] Presidency District HQ, onMarch 30 ,1942 , to defendBengal . The Corps badge was an arrangement of three "V"s (signifying fifteen in Roman numerals) in black on a red background. Its first commander was Lieutenant GeneralNoel Beresford-Peirse .On
June 9 , Beresford-Peirse was appointed to India's Southern Command (an army-level administrative HQ) and Lieutenant GeneralWilliam Slim , former commander of the disbandedBurma Corps , took over XV Corps. At this point, XV Corps HQ was atBarrackpur nearCalcutta . The Corps had the multiple roles of defending Bengal andOrissa from Japanese invasion, maintaining internal security and training its raw units. In July,Eastern Army took over direct control of operations in the Burmese coastal province ofArakan (a move which in hindsight proved to be unwise), and XV Corps HQ was transferred toRanchi inBihar , with a training and internal security role.On
April 5 1943 , XV Corps was hastily summoned toChittagong to resume control of operations in Arakan, where a Japanese counter-attack had driven back the British and Indian troops. It proved too late to restore the situation with the exhausted troops, and the Corps fell back to the Indian frontier before themonsoon halted operations.On
October 15 , Slim was promoted to command Eastern Army (which subsequently becameBritish Fourteenth Army ). His replacement was Lieutenant-General SirPhilip Christison . Under Fourteenth Army, XV Corps resumed the advance in Arakan towards the end of the year. In the early months of1944 , the Corps gained the first significant success against the Japanese in the South East Asia, when they defeated a Japanese offensive in an engagement which came to be known as theBattle of the Admin Box . After capturing the defended area of the Mayu Range, operations in the Arakan were curtailed to allow resources to be concentrated on the central front inAssam .After their victories at the
Battle of Kohima and theBattle of Imphal , Fourteenth Army subsequently concentrated on the advance into Central Burma. Command of XV Corps passed from Fourteenth Army toAllied Land Forces South East Asia so that the Corps could conduct an independent campaign through Arakan and down the coast of Burma. When the general offensive began in late 1944, XV Corps advanced through the Arakan, capturing Akyab Island (with a vital airfield), launching amphibious flanking moves to intercept and defeat the retreating Japanese troops, and subsequently capturing the Burmese port ofTaungup and the islands of Ramree and Cheduba.Finally, units of the Corps mounted an amphibious assault on Rangoon, the Burmese capital. The assault,
Operation Dracula was not needed in the end, as British forces were within a few miles of Rangoon when XV Corps landed.Following the capture of Rangoon, XV Corps was withdrawn from Burma to prepare for
Operation Zipper , an amphibious assault to recapture Malaya. However, the operation was overtaken by the Japanese surrender, and the XV Corps was disbanded shortly after the end of hostilities.Post World War II
The Corps was reestablished after India gained independence, as part of the
Indian Army . It took part in all of the wars againstPakistan .As of 2004 , it is based atSrinagar .External links
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