The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia

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 Command	Charles N.F. Broad		India Command	Redesignated Eastern Army 1942-4
IV Indian Corps	Sir Francis P. Nosworthy		Eastern Command
14 Indian Division	Wilfrid L. Lloyd	Northern India	IV Indian Army Corps	Consisted of recruits from Punjab. Fought well once committed. Included 47, 55, and 123 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
70 Division			IV Indian Army Corps	Army reserve. Composition included 14, 16, and 23 Brigades. Used largely for internal security throughout eastern India. One brigade was on Ceylon. Later broken up to become the cadre for the Chindits
Southern Army	Sir Arthur B. Haig		India Command
19 Indian Division			Southern Army	Still training. Included a brigade of Ghurkas (48 Indian Brigade) as well as 62 Indian Brigade.
7 Indian Division	Arthur V.T. Wakely		India Command	Composed of 14 and 33 Indian Brigades.
34 Indian Division	Francis I.S. Tuker	Jhansi	India Command	Transferred to Ceylon as its garrison early in 1942. Disbanded mid-1943.
1 Indian Brigade			India Command
98 Indian Brigade		Bareli	India Command
99 Indian Brigade		Lucknow	India Command
Ceylon Command	Roland D. Inskip		India Command
222 Group		Colombo	Ceylon Command
Colombo Fighter Squadron		Colombo	222 Group	42 Hurricane
Trincomalee Fighter Squadron		Trincomalee	222 Group	22 Hurricane
11 Squadron		Trincomalee	222 Group	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	Included 113 Brigade. Redesignated as 39 Indian Division in late 1942 and later designated a light division. Eventually became a training division without seeing combat again.
1 Burma Brigade		Shan States	1 Burma Division
2 Burma Brigade		Tavoy	1 Burma Division	A total of four indigenous battalions and a mortar company. 4 Burma Rifles Battalion was with the brigade headquarters at Tavoy.
2 Burma Rifles Battalion		Mergui	2 Burma Brigade
6 Burma Rifles Battalion		Victoria Point	2 Burma Brigade
8 Burma Rifles Battalion		Moulmein	2 Burma Brigade
13 Indian Brigade		Mandalay	1 Burma Division	Army reserve
16 Indian Brigade		Moulmein	Burma Command	Just completing movement to Burma when war broke out. Composed of just two battalions of Gurkhas and indigenous troops.
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. Badly undermanned; for example, none of the Indian divisions had its third brigade. 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	The Indian units on Malaya had been milked of their best officers and men as cadre for formations committed to the Middle East, and the replacements included numerous 17- and 18-year-olds with little training.
9 Indian Division	A.E. Barstow	Kuantan	III Corps
8 Indian Brigade		Kota Baharu	9 Indian Division	Had some relatively well-trained Dogra troops and was likely the only overstrength unit in the command.
12 Indian Brigade		Port Dickson	9 Indian Division	Army reserve. Best-trained unit in Malaya.
22 Indian Brigade		Kuantan	9 Indian Division	Understrength.
11 Indian Division	D.M. Murray-Lyon	Jitra	III Corps	Composed of 6 and 15 Indian Brigades
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 I
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
7 Squadron		Kota Baharu	Norgroup	7 Vildebeeste
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 (Seletar) 7 PBY Catalina (Koggala)
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.
Eastern Fleet	Thomas S.V. Philipps	Changi	Royal Navy	Also known as Far East Fleet. Redesignated East Indies Fleet 1944-11
Force Z	Thomas S.V. Philipps	Changi	Eastern Fleet
BB Prince of Wales			Force Z
BC Repulse			Force Z
Cruiser Division 9			Eastern Fleet
CL Danae			Cruiser Division 9
CL Dragon			Cruiser Division 9
CL Durban			Cruiser Division 9
Destroyer Division Far East			Eastern 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			Eastern 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?	Eastern Fleet	Also known as Cruiser Squadron 4
CA Exeter			East Indies Squadron
CA Cornwall		Trincomalee	Eastern Fleet
CL Delhi		Trincomalee	Eastern Fleet
CL Despatch		Trincomalee	Eastern Fleet
CL Diomede		Trincomalee	Eastern Fleet
PG Kedah		Jesselton?	Eastern Fleet?
Royal Indian Navy	Herbert Fitzherbert	Bombay?	Royal Navy
Sloop Indus		Bombay?	Royal Indian Navy
Naval Air Station, Indian Ocean			Eastern Fleet

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