Indian soldiers of the 4th, 8th and 10th Indian Divisions
Photograph of Indian soldiers of the 4th, 8th and 10th Indian Divisions giving the victory salute on their return to India after serving with PAIFORCE, February 1946. Persia and Iraq Force (PAIFORCE) was the British command formed to invade and subsequently occupy Iraq and Iran during World War Two. In 1941 the British sent a force to Iraq to suppress a coup d'etat by elements sympathetic to Nazi Germany and then invaded Iran in conjunction with Soviet forces from the north to safeguard the oil fields. Most of the troops of PAIFORCE were Indian. One of 233 official photographs collected by Capt Roy Wiltshire in his capacity as Editor of the Indian Army Review. The photographs mostly concern the Indian Army, India and the Far East, 1943 (c)-1946
