14th Indian Infantry Division

14th Indian Infantry Division
The Division formation sign.
Active	1941–1945
Country	British India
Allegiance	British Empire
Branch	British Indian Army
Type	Infantry/Training
Size	Division
Nickname(s)	Quetta Division
Engagements	Burma Campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd Noel Irwin

The 14th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It fought in the Arakan Campaign 1942–43, and was subsequently converted into a Training Division, providing drafts of replacements for units of the Fourteenth Army during the Burma Campaign.

The division was raised on 1 June 1941, at Quetta in Baluchistan. Its badge was a depiction in black and white of the ranges of mountains above Quetta, surrounded by a stylised letter "Q" in white on a black background. The division had temporary commanders while forming. On 15 October 1941, Major General Wilfrid Lewis Lloyd, who had a distinguished record as commander of a brigade in the Western Desert, was appointed commander.

When first formed, the division was intended to operate in Iraq and Persia, then under Allied military occupation, and first trained for mountain and desert warfare. It consisted of the 23rd, 36th and 37th Indian Infantry brigades. In December, war with Imperial Japan broke out. In March, after the Japanese captured Rangoon, the capital of Burma, the division was reassigned to the eastern frontier of India, and its existing brigades were dispersed to other divisions being formed. The 47th and 49th Indian Infantry Brigades were assigned to the division in March 1942, although the 49th Brigade was removed in May. The 23rd Indian Brigade was retitled the 123rd Indian Infantry Brigade and returned to the division in July.

In the aftermath of the Japanese conquest of Burma, the 14th Division was sent to garrison Chittagong, on the frontier with Burma. As part of the lessons learned by the British Indian Army in the retreat from Burma, the division's equipment was lightened and its establishment was reduced, to allow easier movement off roads and in difficult terrain. The divisional transport consisted of four jeep companies and six mule companies. The division was renamed 14th Indian (Light) Division to reflect these changes.