Douglas Gracey - Second World War

Second World War

At the start of the war Gracey was commanding the 2nd Battalion 3rd Queen Alexandra's Own Gurkha Rifles on the North West Frontier of India. In March 1940 on promotion to full Colonel he became Assistant Commandant of the Staff College Quetta. In May 1941 he was promoted brigadier and given command of Indian 17th Infantry Brigade which as part of Indian 8th Infantry Division was sent shortly thereafter to Basra in Iraq but took no significant part in the Anglo-Iraqi War. In June 1941 the brigade was ordered to northwest Iraq to the Bec du Canard region in northeast Syria, part of the Syria-Lebanon Campaign. After this Gracey and his brigade remained in Iraq as part of Iraqforce (subsequently Paiforce), protecting the Middle East from a possible Axis thrust south from the Caucasus.

In April 1942 Gracey was promoted major-general and given the task of forming and then commanding Indian 20th Infantry Division. The division concentrated in Ceylon for training and in August 1943 was sent to join Fourteenth Army's Indian XV Corps in northeast India to take part in the Burma Campaign.

Shortly thereafter the division was moved to IV Corps based at Imphal on the India-Burma border. From early April to late July the division was in almost constant combat during the Battle of Imphal, latterly as part of Indian XXXIII Corps. There was then a four month period of rest and recuperation before the division was back in the front line with XXXIII which launched an attack across the Chindwin river in December and thrust south. In February 1945 the division created a bridgehead across the Irrawaddy and broke out in mid-March to cut the Japanese communications and supplies to the battles being fought at Mandalay and Meiktila. Fourteenth Army commander Bill Slim was later to write about this action:

break-out of the 20th Division was a spectacular achievement which only a magnificent division, magnificently led,could have staged after weeks of the heaviest defensive fighting.

Driving rapidly south the division captured Prome on 2 May, by which time the campaign was effectively over. Because of Gracey's close relationship with his men, afforded by his long service as commander, the 20th Division had a reputation as a happy and confident unit. Field Marshal Slim said of them:

"I have never seen troops who carry their tails more vertically."