Lord Wavell (1883-1941); A Military Biography
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1947. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. 488 pages. Frontis illustration. Illustrations. Folding maps (with some color). Eight appendices. Index. Foreword by Field-Marshal J. C. Smuts. Some endpaper discoloration. Some wear, small scuff/tear, and soiling to cover. Some page soiling and discoloration. Major-General Robert John Collins CMG DSO (22 August 1880 – 6 March 1950) was a British Army officer who became Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley. Educated at Marlborough College, Collins, after service with the 6th Warwick Militia during the Second Boer War, was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment in 1899. He fought in the Second Boer War and then served with the Egyptian Army until 1911 and attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1913 to 1914. He took part in the First World War, becoming Chief Instructor at the Staff School in Cambridge during the last year of the war. He was appointed Commander of 73rd Brigade later in 1918 and became an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley in 1919 before taking up a post as Director of Military Training in India in 1924. He went on to be Commandant of the Small Arms School in 1929 and General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 3rd (Meerut) Indian Division in 1934 before retiring in 1938. He was recalled at the start of the Second World War to be (GOC) of the 61st Infantry Division followed by being made Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley before retiring again in 1941. He was author of Lord Wavell, 1883-1941 - A military biography (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1947). Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, GCB, GCSI, GCIE, CMG, MC, KStJ, PC (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and World War I, during which he was wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres. He served in the Second World War, initially as Commander-in-Chief Middle East, in which role he led British forces to victory over the Italians in western Egypt and eastern Libya during Operation Compass in December 1940, only to be defeated by the German Army in the Western Desert in April 1941. He served as Commander-in-Chief, India, from July 1941 until June 1943 (apart from a brief tour as Commander of ABDACOM) and then served as Viceroy of India until his retirement in February 1947. In WWI, he was sent to France to a posting at General HQ of the British Expeditionary Force as General Staff Officer Grade 2, but shortly afterwards, in November 1914, was appointed brigade major of 9th Infantry Brigade. He was wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres of 1915, losing his left eye and winning the Military Cross. In March 1918 Wavell was made a temporary brigadier general and returned to Palestine where he served as the brigadier general of the General Staff (BGGS) with XX Corps, part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. In March 1932, he was appointed ADC to the King, a position he held until October 1933 when he was promoted to Major-General. In July 1939, he was named as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Middle East Command with the local rank of full General. Subsequently, on 15 February 1940, to reflect the broadening of his oversight responsibilities to include East Africa, Greece and the Balkans, his title was changed to Commander-in-Chief Middle East. Wavell mounted successful offensives into Libya (Operation Compass) in December 1940 and Eritrea and Ethiopia in January 1941. By February 1941, his Western Desert Force under Lieutenant General Richard O'Connor had defeated the Italian Tenth Army at Beda Fomm taking 130,000 prisoners and appeared to be on the verge of overrunning the last Italian forces in Libya, which would have ended all direct Axis control in North Africa. However, in February Wavell had been ordered to halt his advance into Libya and send troops to Greece where the Germans and Italians were attacking. He disagreed with this decision but followed his orders. The result was a disaster. In January 1943, Wavell was promoted to field marshal. On 15 June 1943 Churchill offered him the Viceroyalty of India. In September, he was formally named Governor-General and Viceroy of India. In 1947 Wavell returned to England, retired from the Army, and was created Earl Wavell and given the additional title of Viscount Keren of Eritrea and Winchester. Wavell died on 24 May 1950. A military funeral was held on 7 June 1950 with the funeral procession traveling along the Thames from the Tower to Westminster Pier and then to Westminster Abbey for the funeral service. This was the first military funeral by river since that of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson in 1806. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Archibald Wavell, Field Marshal, Staff College, War Office, First World War, Palestine, Ypres, Southern Command, 6th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Black Watch, Auchinleck, Sidi Barrani
[Book #83125]
Price: $200.00