| Battaglione Azad Hindoustan | |
|---|---|
| Italian:Battaglione India libera | |
 Muhammad Iqbal Shedai is at the sixth from left, in a white turban, with Lt Col. Massimo Invrea at eight, Ajit Singh at fourteenth and other officers of Battalion Azad Hindustan | |
| Active | May 1942 – November 1942 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Branch |  Royal Italian Army |
| Type | Airborne forces Motorized infantry |
| Role | Anti-tank warfare Artillery observer Close-quarters battle Combined arms Counter-battery fire Direct fire Guerrilla warfare HUMINT Indirect fire Long-range penetration Maneuver warfare Military communications Military engineering Military intelligence Military logistics Mountain warfare Parachuting Raiding Reconnaissance Urban warfare |
| Size | c. 400 (maximum)[1] |
| Garrison/HQ | Rome |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
|
Battaglione Azad Hindoustan (inItalian:Battaglione India libera - "Free India Battalion") was a foreign legion unit formed inFascist Italy under theRaggruppamento Centri Militari in July 1942. The unit, raised initially asCentro I, was headed byMohammad Iqbal Shedai[2] – a long term Indian resident ofRome – and comprised Indian formerprisoners of war fromBritish India.[1]
Raised along with units dedicated toTunisia (Centro T) and theArabs (Centro A), it was tasked with airborne operations for sabotage behind enemy lines, commando style raids, frontline military intelligence gathering, guerrilla warfare, long-range penetration, maneuver warfare, and reconnaissance. A part ofCentro I was renamedBattaglione Azad Hindoustan in August 1942 when theRaggruppamento Centri Militari itself was redesignated asRaggruppamento Frecce Rosse ("Red Arrows group").[3] By the time of its disbandment in November 1942,Battaglione Azad Hindoustan's strength came to be between 350[2] and 400.[1]
Units of theRaggruppamento Frecce Rosse were intended to infiltrate on the ground, from submarines and by parachuting. Accordingly, a further unit was raised within theBattaglione Azad Hindoustan to form theplotone paracadutisti ("parachute platoon"). The chosen troops were sent for paratroopers combat training to the parachute school atTarquinia.[3]
The soldiers of theBattaglione Azad Hindoustan wore standardItalian military uniforms. However – unlike the troops of the German-raisedLegion Freies Indien, who had peakedfield caps – all the troops of theBattaglione Azad Hindoustan wore aturban of the colour of the ItalianSaharianatunic. Additionally, the troops wore on their tunics collar patches with three vertical stripes in thesaffron,white andgreen (reflecting the colours of theIndian National Congress that was at the time the focus of thenationalist movement). Italians serving in theBattaglione Azad Hindoustan were distinguished by stars on the collar patches that were not worn by the Indian troops. The Tarquinia detachment sent for parachute training wore their own collar patches above paratroop-pattern patches, as well as the paratroop badge depicting an open yellow parachute embroidered in rayon thread on the left upper arm.[3]
According to the order of battle of the ItalianRaggruppamento Centri Militari in May 1942, the unit had the following under its control:comando ("headquarters") commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Massimo Invrea;Centro T consisting of Italians from Tunisia;Centro A consisting of Italians from Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Arabia; plus Arabs and Sudanese ex-prisoners-of-war and lastly;Centro I consisting of Italians from India and Persia and Indian ex-prisoners-of-war. In all, theRaggruppamento Centri Militari collected together approximately 1,200 Italians, 400 Indians and 200 Arabs. In August 1942, theRaggruppamento was renamedRaggruppamento Frecce Rosse ("Red Arrows group") a name chosen by the commanding officer in memory of his service with the ItalianDivisione Frecce Nere ("Black Arrows Division") of the ItalianCorpo Truppe Volontarie ("Corps of Volunteer Troops") in the Spanish Civil War. The threeCentri Militari received new designations at the same time.
According to the order of battle of the ItalianRaggruppamento Frecce Rosse in August 1942, the following units comprised the force structure:comando ("headquarters"),Battaglione d'Assalto Tunisia ("Tunisia Assault Battalion"), which was formerlyCentro T;Gruppo Italo-Arabo ("Italo-Arab Group"), formerlyCentro A; andBattaglione Azad Hindoustan ("Free Indian Battalion"), formerlyCentro I.
TheBattaglione Azad Hindoustan was created out ofCentro I using both the ex-Indian Army personnel (the Indian Army was under British operational command) and Italians previously resident in India and Persia (Iran).[4]
The order of battle of theBattaglione Azad Hindoustan in August 1942 was:[3]
Despite their investment in training the Indians in infiltration combat, the Italians considered the Indian troops ofBattaglione Azad Hindoustan to be of doubtful loyalty and this view was confirmed when the Indians mutinied on learning of the Axis defeat atEl Alamein in November 1942. Following this, the battalion was disbanded and the Indians returned to their prisoner-of-war camps.[5]