It served in the Middle East in the garrisoning of Iraq and then the invasion of Persia to secure the oil fields of the area for the Allies.

[2] Despite its relatively late introduction into the mainstream of battle, its members won nearly 600 awards and honours including 4 Victoria Crosses, 26 DSOs and 149 MCs.

[5] By the second half of June the brigade had moved to Mosul to defend British-owned oilfields from an anticipated thrust by Axis forces south through the Caucasus.

At the end of 1 June, 1/12th Frontier Force Regiment and 5/13th Frontier Force Rifles were detached from 17th Brigade to join two battalions from 20th Indian Infantry Brigade (part of 10th Indian Infantry Division) to take part in the Syria-Lebanon campaign and capture the Duck's Bill area in north east Syria and secure the Mosul to Aleppo railway.

[7] The British, having secured first the Iraqi oilfields and then Syria, now focused their concern on Persia (now Iran) where it had been estimated there were some 3,000 German nationals working as technicians, commercial agents and advisors.

[8] The division first saw shots fired in anger during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941 when 24th Brigade made a night-time amphibious assault across the Shatt al Arab to capture the oil refinery at Abadan in South Persia.

In June 1942 the 18th Brigade, having been rushed over to North Africa from Mosul, and with only two days to prepare defensive positions, was overrun by Erwin Rommel's tanks at Deir el Shein in front of the Ruweisat Ridge.

In the process, however, they gained valuable time for the British Eighth Army to organise the defences for what was to be the First Battle of El Alamein, halting Rommel's advance towards Egypt.

As the threat from the north faded following the Axis defeats at Alamein and Stalingrad the division withdrew in October 1942 to Kifri near Baghdad where it was joined by 21st Indian Infantry Brigade and the 3rd, 52nd and 53rd Field regiments of the Royal Artillery.

The 8th Indian Division moved in March 1943 to Damascus and continued to spend much of its time training, notably in mountain warfare and combined operations.

After frantic preparation and having loaded the first wave of ships, the division's participation was canceled when the Italian government surrendered and it was redirected to Italy which the German Army had continued to occupy.

From October 1943 to April 1944 the 8th Indian Division was part of the Allied thrust by the British Eighth Army, under General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, up the Adriatic front on the Eastern side of Italy.

Florence was occupied by the 21st Indian Infantry Brigade on 12 August where they had the unusual task to recover some of the world's greatest art treasures and arrange safe custody.

By mid-September the division was in the mountains again, breaking through the Gothic Line and then spending two months of grim (and ultimately unsuccessful) battling in foul weather towards the plains of Northern Italy, together with the British 1st Infantry, 78th Infantry and 6th Armoured Divisions, alongside the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, forming British XIII Corps.

In late December 1944, 19th and 21st Brigades were rapidly switched across the Apennines to reinforce the U.S. 92nd Infantry Division on the Fifth Army's left flank in front of Lucca.

By the time they had arrived the Germans had broken through but decisive action by Major-General Russell halted their advance and the situation was stabilised by the New Year.

In the aftermath of the Argenta fighting, the 8th Indian Division drove on rapidly through to Ferrara and across the Po and shortly thereafter to their last river crossing of the war, the Adige.

[18] The division under command of Major General Mohinder Puri moved north to take over the Dras-Mushkoh sector in the Kargil District.

The soldiers had to face the twin challenges of being moved to a high altitude environment and a frigid climate, without the benefit of acclimatization and adequate winter supplies.

Following initial reversals, units from the division went on to dislodge the Pakistani infiltrators and capture back Indian territories by using the strategy of preliminary artillery bombardment, followed by climbing near-vertical cliffs during night time in high altitude, multi-directional attacks with overwhelming force and close combat.

In its second incarnation, the formation sign of the division depicts a red dagger superimposed on two overlapping gold circles on a black background.