The 5th (Mhow) Division was a regular division of the British Indian Army and part of the Southern Army which was formed in 1903 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He instituted large-scale reforms, including merging the three armies of the Presidencies into a unified force and forming higher level formations, eight army divisions, and brigading Indian and British units. Following Kitchener's reforms, the British Indian Army was "the force recruited locally and permanently based in India, together with its expatriate British officers."^[1]

The Division remained in India on internal security duties during World War I, but some of its units were transferred to serve with other formations. The cavalry units formed the 5th (Mhow) Cavalry Brigade in the 1st Indian Cavalry Division and served in France and Egypt.^{[citation needed]}

Commanding General Major General Richard Lloyd Payne^[2][3]

• List of Indian divisions in World War I