8th Infantry Division (India)
The 8th Mountain Division was raised as the 7th Indian Infantry division of the British Indian Army. It is now part of the Indian Army and specialises in mountain warfare.
Universal Carrier and mortar team of the 6th Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles, between Lanciano and Osogna on the central sector of the Eighth Army's front, 13 December 1943.
Men of 'A' Company of the 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment advance along a road past an abandoned German 75mm anti-tank gun in the Rapido bridgehead, Italy, 16 May 1944.
King George VI is driven past cheering Indian troops on his way to a ceremony to invest Sepoy Kamal Ram with the Victoria Cross, Italy, 26 July 1944.
Kargil War Memorial at Dras with the division's 'formation sign'
The Indian Army during British rule, also referred to as the British Indian Army, was the main military force of the British Indian Empire until 1947. It was responsible for the defence of both British India and the princely states, which could also have their own armies. As quoted in the Imperial Gazetteer of India, "The British Government has undertaken to protect the dominions of the Native princes from invasion and even from rebellion within: its army is organized for the defence not merely of British India, but of all possessions under the suzerainty of the King-Emperor." The Indian Army was an important part of the forces of the British Empire, in India and abroad, particularly during the First World War and the Second World War.
A painting showing a sowar of the 6th Madras Light Cavalry, c. 1845
117th Mahrattas at a fort in the North West Frontier, India, 1909
Flag party of the 52nd Sikhs (Frontier Force) at Kohat, with their regimental colours in 1905
Punjabi Muslim soldiers, France, WW1