Indian Army during World War II Cunningham. Over time, the Eighth Army would be commanded by Generals Neil Ritchie, Claude Auchinleck and Bernard Montgomery. In the early years of the war, the Eighth Army suffered from poor leadership and repeated reversals of fortune until the Second Battle of El Alamein when it advanced across Libya into Tunisia. The Ninth Army was formed on 1 November 1941 with the re designation of the Headquarters of the British Troops in Mandate Palestine and Transjordan. It controlled British and Commonwealth land forces stationed in the eastern Mediterranean. Its commanders were General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson and Lieutenant-General Sir William
Field marshal (India) Field marshal (India) Field marshal (or field marshal, abbreviated as FM) is a five–star general officer rank and the highest attainable rank in the Indian Army. Field marshal is ranked immediately above general, but not exercised in the regular army structure. It is a largely ceremonial or wartime rank, having been awarded only twice. A field marshal's insignia consists of the national emblem over a crossed baton and sabre in a lotus blossom wreath. Sam Manekshaw was the first field marshal of India, and was conferred the rank in January 1973. The second was Kodandera M. Cariappa, who was conferred