El Alamein, Tobruk, Tunisia: Indians fought the Italians, the Germans and the elements in the North African desert

A tankard made from brass shells left on the battlefields of North Africa. Engraved on it is a map on which over 3000 Indians sacrificed their lives.

In the searing heat and freezing cold, over 25,000 Indian troops fought in North Africa. Specifically, the 4th, 5th and 10th Indian Infantry Divisions helped secure a victory that marked a strategic shift in the war. But it didn't end here for them – it became what Churchill called a 'springboard', for Indian troops to cross the Mediterranean and fight on in Italy.