World War II: The unsung role of India and its soldiers in the global conflict

Although the Indian Army fielded the largest volunteer force and fought on battlefields across the globe, there is little by way of a comprehensive archive documenting its experiences

Published - September 02, 2026 06:39 am IST

Indian troops on the Eritrean front during World War II. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Photo Archives

The years spanning the Second World War, from Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, to Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945, remain etched in history as a global conflict that lasted six years and involved millions of people across four continents. Approximately 85 million people lost their lives, most of them civilians, due to mass killings, genocide, starvation, and disease

World War II, which also bears the grim distinction of being the only conflict in which nuclear weapons were used, was fought between the Axis powers, principally Nazi Germany, Italy and Imperial Japan, and the Allied powers, including Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States, France and China.

Also read | When the world went to war

India’s forgotten history

In India, memories of the war have largely receded from public consciousness, as the years between 1939 and 1945 are remembered chiefly as the closing phase of the struggle for Independence.

Although the Indian Army fielded the largest volunteer force and fought on battlefields across Africa, Europe and Asia, there is little by way of a comprehensive archive documenting its experiences. Britain, the United States and France have fared better, with museums and archival institutions ensuring that the memories and lessons of war are preserved.

Also read | Remembering the war, reminiscing forgotten Indians

Between war and nationalism

India’s reticence towards the two World Wars stems from the uneasy relationship between its contribution to the fight against fascism abroad and the nationalist movement at home. The success of the former is often viewed as having come at the expense of the latter. The roots of this perception lie in the dashed expectations of greater autonomy after India supported Britain during the First World War.

Britain had already alienated many Indian nationalists through the imposition of martial law after the First World War, culminating in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in April 1919. Matters were further complicated when Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declared war on Germany on India’s behalf in 1939 without consulting Indian leaders. The situation became even more contentious when Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army aligned itself with the Axis powers in the belief that doing so could hasten India’s freedom.

India’s pivotal role in World War II

India raised the largest volunteer Army in history for the Second World War, with 2.5 million men serving. More than 87,000 of them are buried or commemorated in war cemeteries in India and abroad. Soldiers from undivided India were awarded 31 Victoria Crosses, accounting for about 15% of all such honours conferred during the conflict.

Also read | The guns at last light

Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, Britain’s last Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, acknowledged years later that without Indian soldiers, non-combatant labourers, material resources and financial support, the course of both World Wars might have been very different.

More than 1,61,000 personnel laid down their lives in the two World Wars. Yet the prevailing perception is that these were wars fought for someone else and in distant lands. As a result, India’s substantial contribution has often been marginalised in historical narratives.

But these were not just European wars to defend foreign lands. During the Second World War, Japanese forces advanced through Burma, now Myanmar, posing a direct threat to India. Their advance was halted at the battles of Imphal and Kohima between March and July 1944.

Indians fought not only across South Asia but also in several parts of Africa, Europe and the West Asia. India also served as a crucial geographical barrier between Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, preventing the two Axis powers from linking up through the West Asia. Maintaining this separation was vital to the success of the Allies in the war. Had Germany and Japan been able to coordinate their campaigns more closely and gain access to the oil resources of the West Asia, the balance of the war could have shifted dramatically in favour of the Axis powers.

Also read | Retracing Chennai’s role in the Second World War

World War II in Visakhapatnam