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British Initial Order of Battle

Unit	Commander	Start	Administrative Assignment	Notes
Chiefs of Staff Committee	Winston S. Churchill			The commander-in-chief of all Commonwealth forces was formally King George VI, but His Majesty was a constitutional monarch with very limited actual powers. The political leadership of Britain was in the hands of the War Cabinet, and Churchill as Prime Minister was the de facto leader of the nation and its armed forces. Cabinet war policy was acted on by the Chiefs of Staff Committee, composed of the heads of the three armed services.
British Army	Alan Brooke		Chiefs of Staff Committee	Brooke's formal title was Chief of the Imperial General Staff. He was appointed to the post shortly after war broke out in the Pacific.
India Command	Archibald Wavell	New Delhi	British Army	Because India had not yet been granted Dominion status, the Indian Army was an integral part of the British Army. It nevertheless had an increasingly regional character as the war progressed. The same growing sense of national identity that underlay this regional character also produced restiveness within India proper: By 1944, 52 battalions were required to maintain internal security. Chief of Staff was LGEN Morris.
Eastern Army	Charles N.F. Broad		India Command
IV Indian Corps	Sir Francis P. Nosworthy		Eastern Army
14 Indian Division	Wilfrid L. Lloyd	Northern India	IV Indian Army Corps	Consisted of recruits from Punjab. Fought well once committed. Included and 55 Indian Brigades
17 Indian Division	John G. Smyth		I V Indian Army Corps	Trained for desert warfare but on the way to Burma. Composed of 44, 45, and 46 Indian Brigades
Southern Army	Sir Arthur B. Haig		India Command
19 Indian Division			Southern Army	Still training. Included a brigade of Ghurkas (48 Indian Brigade)
3 Indian Division			India Command	Committed to the Burma front in 1942. Disbanded in 1943 to provide cadre for the Chindits.
7 Indian Division	Arthur V.T. Wakely		India Command
Colombo Fighter Squadron		Colombo	India Command	42 Hurricane
Trincomalee Fighter Squadron		Trincomalee	India Command	22 Hurricane
11 Squadron		Trincomalee	India Command	9 Blenheim
Far East Command	Henry R.M. Brooke-Popham	Fort Canning	British Army
Burma Command	D.K. McLeod	Rangoon	Far East Command
1 Glosters Battalion			Burma Command
3 Burma Rifles Battalion			Burma Command
1 Burma Division	J. Bruce Scott	Toungoo	Burma Command
1 Burma Brigade		Shan States	1 Burma Division
2 Burma Brigade		Tavoy	1 Burma Division	Scattered all over the Tenasserim airfields
13 Indian Brigade		Mandalay	1 Burma Division	Army reserve
16 Indian Brigade		Tavoy	Burma Command	Just completing movement to Burma when war broke out
Malaya Command	Arthur Percival	Fort Canning	Far East Command	Total of 89,000 men, of which 20,000 were British, 15,200 Australian, 44,000 Indians, and 9800 presumably Malay. Organized into 31 battalions. Also attached: a platoon of the Hong Kong and Singapore Artillery with a single 6" gun at Christmas Island
Singapore Fortress Division	Frank K. Simmons	Singapore	Malaya Command
III Corps	Lewis Heath	Kuala Lumpur	Malaya Command
9 Indian Division	A.E. Barstow	Kuantan	III Corps
8 Indian Brigade		On Thai border	9 Indian Division	Had some relatively well-trained Dogra troops
12 Indian Brigade		Port Dickson	9 Indian Division	Army reserve. Best-trained unit in Malaya.
22 Indian Brigade			9 Indian Division
11 Indian Division	D.M. Murray-Lyon	Jitra	III Corps
28 Indian Brigade		Ipoh	11 Indian Division
5/14 Punjab Battalion		George Town	III Corps
3 SSVF		George Town	III Corps	Fortress unit
2/15 Punjab Battalion		Kuching	Malaya Command	Only British regulars in Borneo. One company at Miri.
Hong Kong Command	Christopher M. Maltby	Hong Kong	Far East Command
Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps		Hong Kong	Hong Kong Command	Militia stiffened with six battalions of regulars
Kowloon Brigade		Kowloon	Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps	2 Royal Scots, 5/7 Rajput, and 2/14 Punjab battalions with no supporting elements.
Hong Kong Brigade		Hong Kong	Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps	1 Middlesex, Winnipeg Grenadier, and Royal Rifles of Canada battalions with no supporting elements.
Royal Air Force	Charles F.A. Portal		Chiefs of Staff Committee	Portal's formal title was Chief of Staff, Royal Air Force
RAF Far East Command	C.W. Pulford	Seletar	Royal Air Force
221 Group		Mingaladon	RAF Far East Command
60 Squadron		Mingaladon	221 Group	Mingaladon: 10 Blenheim I Kuantan: 8 Blenheim I
67 Squadron		Mingaladon	221 Group	17 F2A3 Buffalo
Norgroup		Kuala Lumpur	RAF Far East Command
21 Squadron		Sungei Patani	Norgroup	12 F2A3 Buffalo
27 Squadron		Sungei Patani	Norgroup	12 Blenheim IF
62 Squadron		Alor Star	Norgroup	18 Blenheim
36 Squadron		Seletar	Norgroup	Seletar: 5 Vildebeeste Gong Kedah: 7 Vildebeeste
1 Squadron		Kota Baharu	Norgroup	10 Hudson II
224 Group		Seletar	RAF Far East Command
453 Squadron		Sembawang	224 Group	18 F2A3 Buffalo
100 Squadron		Seletar	224 Group	6 Beafort 14 Vildebeeste
205 Squadron		Seletar	224 Group	5 PBY Catalina
8 Squadron		Sembawang	224 Group	Sembawan: 4 Hudson II Kuantan: 8 Hudson II
34 Squadron		Tenga	224 Group	17 Blenheim IV
243 Squadron		Kallang	224 Group	Kallang: 15 F2A3 Buffalo Kota Baharu: 2 F2A3 Buffalo
Hong Kong Station		Hong Kong	RAF Far East Command	3 Vildebeeste 2 Walrus 13 DC-2
Royal Navy	Dudley Pound		Chiefs of Staff Committee	Pound's formal title was First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy.
Far East Fleet	Thomas S.V. Philipps	Changi	Royal Navy
Force Z	Thomas S.V. Philipps	Changi	Far East Fleet
BB Prince of Wales			Force Z
BC Repulse			Force Z
Cruiser Division 9			Far East Fleet
CL Danae			Cruiser Division 9
CL Dragon			Cruiser Division 9
CL Durban			Cruiser Division 9
Destroyer Division Far East			Far East Fleet
DD Jupiter			Destroyer Division Far East
DD Express			Destroyer Division Far East
DD Electra			Destroyer Division Far East
DD Encounter			Destroyer Division Far East
Destroyer Division China Station			Far East Fleet
DD Tenedos			Destroyer Division China Station
DD Thanet		Hong Kong	Destroyer Division China Station
DD Scout		Hong Kong	Destroyer Division China Station
DD Stronghold		Hong Kong	Destroyer Division China Station
East Indies Squadron		Possibly at Ceylon?	Far East Fleet
CA Exeter			East Indies Squadron
CA Cornwall		Trincomalee	Far East Fleet
CL Delhi		Trincomalee	Far East Fleet
CL Despatch		Trincomalee	Far East Fleet
CL Diomede		Trincomalee	Far East Fleet
PG Kedah		Jesselton?	Far East Fleet?

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