Indian National Army

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The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; Azad Hind Fauj ; lit. 'Free Indian Army') was a Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian anti-colonial nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose. It consisted primarily of British Indian Army POWs taken by Japan. Indian civilians in the region were also enlisted, with around 18,000 joining. The INA aimed to liberate India from British rule. After winning Japanese assent for its goal, the INA furnished support to the Japanese Army. The Japanese and INA forces invaded India from Rangoon in 1944, and Bose's nominal Provisional Government of Azad Hind declared war on Britain. Losses inflicted by the British in the Battle of Imphal in Manipur caused the invasion to be halted. A long and exhausting withdrawal, accompanied by a lack of supplies, malnutrition, and death, ensued, some victorious soldiers in the Indian Army not taking INA battlefield surrender kindly. The remaining INA...

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