page_title: India in World War II
section_title: South-East Asian theatre
hierarchical_section_title: India in World War II / British Indian Army / South-East Asian theatre
caption_attribution_description: English: The Far East- Singapore, Malaya and Hong Kong 1939-1945 Occupation and Captivity February 1942 - August 1945: The meagre rations resulted in many cases of severe malnutrition. An Indian prisoner of war from Hong Kong is attended to by nursing staff (Sick Berth Attendant Hodson and Leading Sick Berth Attendant Mitchell) on board the hospital ship OXFORDSHIRE after liberation.
context_page_description: During the Second World War, India was controlled by the United Kingdom, with the British holding territories in India including over six hundred autonomous Princely States; British-occupied India officially declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939. The British Raj, as part of the Allied Nations, sent over two and a half million soldiers to fight under British command against the Axis powers. The British government borrowed billions of pounds to help finance the war. India also provided the base for American operations in support of China in the China Burma India Theater.
  Indians fought with distinction throughout the world, including in the European theatre against Germany, in North Africa against Germany and Italy, in the South Asian region defending India against the Japanese and fighting the Japanese in Burma. Indians also aided in liberating British colonies such as Singapore and Hong Kong after the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Over 87,000 Indian soldiers and 3 million civillians died in World War II.
context_section_description: The British Indian Army was the key British Empire fighting presence in the Burma Campaign. The Royal Indian Air force's first assault mission was carried out against Japanese troops stationed in Burma. The British Indian Army was key to breaking the siege of Imphal when the westward advance of Imperial Japan came to a halt.
  The formations included the Indian III Corps, IV Corps, the Indian XXXIII Corps and the [[Foe trained in the present state of Madhya Pradesh under their commander then krishnasamy (later Major General) Orde Charles Wingate.
  These troops, popularly known as Chindits, played a crucial role in halting the Japanese advance into South Asia.
caption: An Indian prisoner of war from Hong Kong after liberation in 1945.
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