36th Infantry Division ( United Kingdom ) The 36th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army during the Second World War . The division was subsequently redesignated as a British Army formation , the 36th Infantry Division . It served in India and during the Burma Campaign . After the end of the war it was disbanded and its remaining British units were transferred to the 2nd Infantry Division . History . 36th Indian Division . The division was formed in India on 15 December 1942 . Its constituent formations were the 29th Independent Infantry Brigade Group ( under command from 26 January 1943 ) , which had already fought as an independent brigade group in the Battle of Madagascar , and 72nd Indian Infantry Brigade confusingly composed of entirely British combat units . 72nd Indian Infantry Brigade was re - designated the new 72 Infantry Brigade ( the previous 72 Inf Bde had become 5 Para Bde ) on 28 April 1944 . Most of the division ' s engineer , medical and service units were Indian . The division ' s formation sign was two interlinked rings , one white and one red , on a black square background . In January 1943 , Brigadier Francis Festing was promoted from command of the 29th Brigade to that of the division . ( His replacement as commander of 29th Brigade was Brigadier Hugh Stockwell . ) Parts of the division were present in the First Arakan campaign in early 1943 . It was intended that part of the division was to launch an amphibious assault on Akyab Island , but this operation was cancelled . The division was initially in reserve for the Second Arakan campaign in early 1944 , but was called on to relieve the besieged Indian 7th Division after early setbacks . After the Japanese were defeated at the Battle of Ngakyedauk , 7th Division was withdrawn and 36th Division took over the offensive in the Kalapanzin River Valley . Units of the division captured the vital eastern railway tunnel linking the Kalapanzin valley with the port of Maungdaw , but at this point the Arakan offensive was called off to release troops and aircraft for the more important battles of Imphal and Kohima in Assam . The division withdrew for a brief rest at Shillong in Assam , and was then despatched to Ledo , where it came under command of the American - led Northern Combat Area Command . 36th Infantry Division . Early in July 1944 , the division started to fly in to Myitkyina airfield in North Burma , with 72nd Brigade being the first formation to land . On 1 September 1944 , shortly after the division had started advancing down the " Railway valley " from Mogaung towards Indaw on the right flank of NCAC , the division was redesignated as the British 36th Division . On 14 December , a third brigade was added to the division ; confusingly , this was the first Indian formation that the division commanded ( the 26th Indian Infantry Brigade , of one British and two Indian battalions ) . The division was distinguished for being the only British division to rely entirely on air supply , mainly by the United States ' Tenth Air Force , for an extended period . The United States Army Air Force also provided the division with 12 light aircraft equipped for casualty evacuation and a US Army engineer company to construct its airstrips . Initially , the division was without its own divisional artillery and instead relied on a Chinese artillery group under US command . The Indian 32 Mountain Regiment eventually joined the division after carrying its guns by mule for over . The division , having linked up with the main body of British Fourteenth Army , crossed the Irrawaddy River and advanced independently down the eastern side of the river . Units from the division suffered losses forcing the crossing the 300 yard wide Shweli River , but the division continued to advance until the fall of Mandalay in March 1945 . On 1 April 1945 the division transferred from NCAC to Fourteenth Army . The 26th Indian Brigade became the British 26th Brigade on 6 April and the Indian battalions were replaced by British battalions from other Indian brigades by 19 April . As there were now more troops in Burma than could be supplied ( and the transport aircraft allocated to NCAC were being withdrawn to China ) , the division was returned to India , officially arriving on 12 May , and joined XXXIV Corps ( India ) on 28 May . Its officially recognised battles were Mandalay 12 / 13 February - 21 March 1945 and Rangoon Road 1 April - 6 May 1945 . In independent India . The division is at Sagar , Madhya Pradesh , as part of I Corps , South Western Command . The formation sign is a golden falcon . The division includes the 18th Armoured Brigade ( Gwalior ) and 72nd and 115th Infantry Brigade s ( Gwalior and Dhana , respectively ) . Originally intended for raising as a cadre division , it was raised in 1966 at Sagar as a standard division . The division , like I Corps HQ , was within the boundaries of Central Command . ( 25 May 1945 - 31 August 1945 ) ( these three battalions were all former Chindit units )