Auchinleck

The Lonely Soldier

Philip Warner

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781844153848
• eBook ISBN: 9781473812048
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African History
• Index: History

Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck was born in India and raised in conditions of near poverty. Yet his talent ensured his career flourished despite his Indian Army background and he was the first Commander of 8th Army in North Africa. Despite great political interference, he stopped Rommel's Afrika Corps at 1st Alamein only to be sacked by Churchill. After a spell in the wilderness he became C in C India during the dark period of Partition and, ironically, had to preside over the destruction of his beloved Indian Army. A private man of great humour and integrity he refused to be drawn into discussing or criticising his tormentors be they Churchill, Montgomery or Mountbatten. He always argued that history would be his judge. This is a super piece of military biography by one of the most respected post war military historians.

CONTENTS

Chronology

Introduction

1 Origins

2 India

3 War—1914–19

4 Unrest in India

5 Appalling Outlook—1938–40

6 ‘This Ramshackle Campaign’—Norway 1940

7 The Defence of England

8 ‘Generally Acclaimed’—C-in-C, India

9 ‘A New, Fresh Figure’—Middle Eastern Command

10 ‘Immensely Heartened’—The ‘Crusader’ Battles

11 ‘You Must Come Home’—Storm in the Desert

12 ‘These Critical Days’—Gazala and Mersa Matruh

13 ‘The Adverse Tide’—El Alamein and Dismissal

14 ‘A Good Day’—India Once More

15 A Changed World

16 The End of an Era

17 A New World

18 The Last of the Indian Army

19 A Long Sunset

20 The Dimbleby Interviews

21 Some Assessments

Appendices:

A Lessons of the Tirah Campaign

B Wellington College

C The Imperial Defence College

D The El Alamein Position

E A Correspondence in The Times

F The Auchinleck-Eadon Correspondence

Sources and bibliography

Index

MAPS

India before Independence

Mesopotamia, 1916–18

Norway, 1940

The Western Desert, 1941–42

Operation ‘Crusader, 18 November 1941–6 January 1942

The Retreat to Gazala, January–February 1942

Gazala, May–June 1942

The Retreat to El Alamein, June 1942

First Alamein, 30 June–27 July 1942

India and Pakistan, 1947

. . . I am become a name;

For always roaming with a hungry heart

Much have I seen and known; cities of men

And manners, climates, councils, governments,

Myself not least, but honour’d of them all;

And drunk delight of battle with my peers,

Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.

From Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson

CHRONOLOGY

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of the life and career of Field-Marshal
Sir Claude Auchinleck

21 June 1884 Born at Aldershot 1896–1901 Wellington College

January–December 1902 RMA, Sandhurst

March 1903 Joins KSLI in India while awaiting posting in Indian army

April 1904 Joins 62nd Punjab Regiment

1906–7 Frontier duties at Gyantse, Tibet

1907 Commands 2nd Detachment, Sikkim

1908 Benares

1909 Captain and Adjutant

1912 Assistant Recruiting Officer, North Punjab

4 August 1914 Outbreak of First World War

28 October 62nd sail for France, but diverted to defend Suez Canal

3 February 1915 62nd drive off Turkish attack on Canal

12 July 62nd embark for Aden

21 July Sheikh Othman battle—Turks defeated Operations against Turks and Arabs

31 December 62nd land at Basra for Mesopotamian campaign

7 January 1916 Join forces under Gen Aylmer attempting to relieve Maj-Gen Townshend’s division besieged in Kut-al-Amara

8 January 62nd in Sheikh Sa’ad battle

21 January Attack on Hanna Redoubt. 62nd suffer heavily. A. made Acting Adjutant

8 March Attack on Dujaila Redoubt. After heavy casualties and death of Lt-Col Commanding A. takes command of remaining 12 officers and 235 ORs

29 April Townshend surrenders Kut with 12,000 prisoners

August 1916–March 1917 62nd in operations (now under Gen Maude) to recapture Kut. A. temporary Regimental Commander 8 February 1917. Fall of Baghdad 11 March 1917. Operations north of Baghdad

Summer 1917 A. Brigade Major to 52 Brigade

2 November 1918 Turkey signs Armistice

Summer 1919 GS02 in Mosul

August 1919 GSOl operations in Kurdistan

Late 1919 Promoted Brevet Lt-Col, sent to Staff College, Quetta on 1 year’s course

Late 1920 1 year’s home leave. Married Jessie Stewart of Kinloch Rannoch, Scotland, 1921

1921–25 DAA and QMG, Simla

1925–27 2 i/c 1/1st Punjabis (formerly 62nd Punjabis)

1927 1 year’s course at Imperial Defence College, London

1929–30 CO 1/1st Punjabis. Promoted full Colonel

1930–33 Instructor, Staff College, Quetta

1933–36 Commander, Peshawar Brigade. Operations against Upper Mohmands, 1933. Promoted Brigadier. Operations against Mohmands, 1935

1936–8 DCGS, Army HQ, India. Promoted Major-General

1938 Commander, Meerut District. Member, Expert Committee on the Defence of India (Chatfield Committee), October 1938

January 1939 To London to complete Chatfield report

3 September 1939 Declaration of war. A. in Scotland on leave

October 1939 Resumes command of Meerut District

January 1940 Return to England to take command of IV Corps, destined for France. Promoted Lieutenant-General

April Appointed GOC-in-C, Northern Norway

10 May Sails for Norway

27–28 May Allies capture Narvik

3–7 June Allied evacuation of Norway. Dunkirk evacuation ends on 3rd

9 June Norway surrenders

14 June Takes command of V Corps, Southern Command. Germans enter Paris

19 July-21 November GOC-in-C, Southern Command. Maj-Gen Montgomery takes over V Corps

January 1941 Arrives in India to take over from Gen Cassels as C-in-C, with rank of General and knighthood (GCIE)

April-May Rashid Ali revolt in Iraq. Battle at Habbaniya. Actions against Vichy French in Syria (Vichy surrender in Syria 11 June)

15–18 June Failure of Gen Wavell’s ‘Battleaxe’ offensive in W. Desert. Tobruk still cut off (since April) and Allies driven back to frontier

30 June A. arrives in Cairo to take over from Wavell as C-in-C, Middle Eastern Command

31 July-10 August A. in London for discussions with Churchill and COS

26 September Western Desert Force renamed Eighth Army

18 November 1941–6 January 1942 ‘Crusader’ (Sidi Rezegh) offensive. Rommel pushed back to El Agheila, Tobruk relieved, Benghazi, Bardia and Halfaya retaken, Cyrenaica cleared of Germans.

25 November 1941 Lt-Gen Cunningham replaced by A. during Sidi Rezegh battles; Acting Lt-Gen Ritchie takes over command of Eighth Army

21 January 1942 Rommel counterattacks

29 January Rommel retakes Benghazi. Ritchie falls back on Gazala line. German advance halts on 2 February

7 March A. ordered to London— refuses and continues to refuse

20 March Cripps and Gen Nye visit A. in Cairo on Churchill’s orders. They confirm sense of A.’s plans

26 May Rommel attacks Gazala line

29 May–11 June Ritchie fails to drive Rommel from the Cauldron, and suffers heavy losses. 150 Brigade overrun and Gazala line breached. Bir Hacheim lost

12–14 June ‘Knightsbridge’ box battles— Ritchie orders withdrawal from Gazala line

14 June A. orders line west of Tobruk to be held. Pre-empted by Ritchie, who decides to fall back to frontier. Beginning of ‘Gazala Gallop’

20 June Tobruk cut off—Ritchie decides to fall back beyond frontier to Mersa Matruh

21 June Tobruk captured with loss of 33,000 Allied prisoners

25 June A. dismisses Ritchie and personally takes command of Eighth Army

25–29 June Holding action at Mersa Matruh (falls 29 June). Eighth Army falls back on El Alamein

1–27 July First Alamein. A. checks Rommel then counter-attacks, causing havoc, notably among Italians. British positions strengthened

27 July Eighth Army goes back onto defensive

3 August Churchill, Brooke, Smuts and Wavell arrive in Cairo to discuss Middle East command situation

5 August Churchill decides to replace A. with Gen Alexander as C-in-C, with Maj-Gen Gott in command of Eighth Army

7 August Gott killed. Montgomery chosen as Eighth Army commander

8 August A. notified, by letter, of his dismissal

12 August Montgomery arrives in Cairo. Takes over command of Eighth Army on next day, though official hand-over date fixed for 15th

15 August A. hands over officially to Alexander, and leaves for India

August 1942–June 1943 A. in India without formal position, having refused Iraq-Persia Command

30 August–1 July 1942 Second Alamein (Alam Halfa)

18 June 1943 A. appointed C-in-C India for the second time with effect from the 20th, with Wavell as Viceroy

24 August Formation of SE Asia Command, with Mountbatten as Supreme Commander. Indian Army operations in Burma and other theatres

8 May 1945 Unconditional surrender of Germany

June All-Party Conference in India. Jinnah proposes separate Pakistan

July General Election in Britain. New Labour government formed under Attlee

6 and 9 August A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

14 August Unconditional surrender of Japan

November Start of trials in Delhi of former members of Indian National Army

1945–1946 General elections in India confirm desire for independence

January–February 1946 Strikes at RAF stations in India. Mutiny of Royal Indian Navy at Bombay. Rioting in Calcutta in support of ex-INA soldiers

April British Cabinet Mission to India. Publishes proposals in May for transfer of power—rejected by Jinnah

1 June Auchinleck promoted Field- Marshal. Divorce from wife announced.

16 August Muslim League’s ‘Direct Action Day’. Severe rioting in Calcutta and elsewhere. Visit of F-M Montgomery, now CIGS

20 February 1947 Announcement by British government for date for transfer of power—‘not later than June 1948’. Mountbatten succeeds Wavell as Viceroy

March Violence in Punjab. Date for transfer brought forward by Mountbatten to 31 December 1947

4 June Mountbatten advances date again to 14 August 1947

23 June Second visit of Montgomery

18 July Indian Independence Bill becomes law. A. now Supreme Commander of armed forces of India and Pakistan

14/15 August Last Indian Army order. Indian Independence and Partition. Nehru Prime Minister of India, Mountbatten Governor-General. Liaquat Ali Khan Prime Minister of Pakistan, Jinnah Governor-General

August–September Punjab massacres

29 August Dissolution of Boundary Force, the last of the old Indian Army. Opinion in India and Pakistan hardens against post of Supreme Commander. Mount batten writes to A. suggesting he begin to wind up Supreme HQ

27 September A. offered peerage, which he refuses

October A. prevents Jinnah’s attempted take-over of Kashmir, which accedes to India

30 November Supreme HQ closed

1 December A. leaves India

1948–67 A. in Italy, London and Beccles. Moves to Marrakech in 1967

1974 Interviewed by David Dimbleby for BBC TV production The Auk at 90 (1975)

1976 Further interviews with Dimbleby

23 March 1981 A. dies at his home in Marrakech

5 June Memorial Service in Westminster Abbey

INTRODUCTION

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In 1884, when a son was born to Colonel John Auchinleck, no one of military background expected the boy to become a general, still less a commander-in-chief. Anyone who thought that either he himself, or his son, might become a field-marshal would probably be considered to have been affected by the sun in one of the less attractive stations of his service. But Auchinleck’s boy, christened Claude John Eyre, was destined to be just that, and more; three times a commander-in-chief, an honoured field-marshal, he would also be, in the eyes of many, the best general of the Second World War.

Yet the man who was to become so skilled at seeing and defeating his country’s enemies would be sadly inept at perceiving and frustrating his own. His nature, however, would be such that he would bear neither resentment nor malice against fate and its instruments. He would be endowed with a magnanimity which would forgive, though not forget, and with a temperament which would exclude any form of self-pity; from his origins and his experience he would fashion a spirit at once humble yet self-sufficient, austere yet tolerant. An honest ambition to excel would bring him some of the richest rewards of service, and it would also bring him three blows each of which, singly, might have broken the spirit of a lesser man.

It might seem that a man who achieves the rank of field-marshal and lives to an advanced age in good health, admired and loved, has no cause for sorrow or regrets, and certainly Auchinleck displayed neither. But it cannot be easy to suffer the frustration of having one’s achievements credited to another while being pushed oneself towards obscurity; to lose one’s wife, after twenty-four years, to a friend and fellow commander; and then to be given the task of presiding over the destruction of an army to which one has given a lifetime. All these might seem ample reasons for bitterness, but there was none.

I have tried to show both the causes and the effects of Auchinleck’s magnanimity. He was not a saint, and would have been horrified to have been thought so; for all his courage and skill he could be obstinate and, perhaps, over-fatalistic, and his kindness to others would lead to the sometimes well-founded charge that he ‘could not pick his subordinates’. Those who hold that belief will cite his choice of Cunningham, Ritchie, Corbett, Dorman-Smith, perhaps forgetting that he also chose de Guingand, that Ritchie retrieved and convincingly won ‘Crusader’, and that under Auchinleck were formed or flourished the Long-Range Desert Group, the ‘Jock Columns’, the Special Air Service, and the Chindits—all of them well established among the legends of warfare.

In the end, Auchinleck was a soldier, an ‘honest-to-God soldier’; in that, perhaps, lie the seeds of his loneliness. Superbly professional, his grasp of a battle, and his command of often ill-trained and ill-equipped— and som...

Table of contents

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• Half-Title
• About the Author
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