Henry Crerar
Henry Duncan Graham Crerar CH , CB , DSO , CD , PC (born April 28, 1888 in Hamilton (Ontario) , † April 1, 1965 in Ottawa ) was a Canadian general in World War II .
Life
Crerar attended Upper Canada College in Toronto and from 1906 to 1909 the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario. From 1912 he worked for the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario . In World War I he served in the artillery and was Lieutenant Colonel on the staff of the Canadian Corps at the end of the war .
In 1923 he completed a course at Staff College Camberley and then worked at the British War Department and from 1929 on the Canadian General Staff. After attending a course at Imperial Defense College , he became head of operations and reconnaissance in the Canadian General Staff in 1935 and in 1938 commander of the RMC.
After the outbreak of war in 1939 he was transferred to the Canadian headquarters in England to prepare for the arrival of Canadian troops. In July 1940 he was recalled to Canada, where he was appointed first deputy chief and then chief of the general staff. In December 1941 he took over command of the I. Canadian Corps stationed in England, which in 1942 took part in the attack on Dieppe in parts . From October 1943 he briefly commanded the corps in Italy, but was recalled to England in March 1944 in preparation for Operation Overlord to take command of the 1st Canadian Army . This was activated in France in July and was instrumental in closing the Falaise pocket in August. In September he gave up his command to Guy Simonds due to illness , then led the army again in Operation Veritable and in the final operations in the Netherlands and East Friesland. In 1946 Crerar retired from military service.
In the post-war period he worked in diplomatic functions in Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands and Japan. In 1964 he was accepted into the Canadian Privy Council .
literature
- Paul Douglas Dickson: The limits of professionalism. General HDG Crerar and the Canadian Army, 1914-1944. University of Guelph, 1994.
- Paul Douglas Dickson: A Thoroughly Canadian General. A Biography of General HDG Crerar. University of Toronto Press, Toronto 2007.
- JL Granatstein: The generals. The Canadian Army's senior commanders in the Second World War. Stoddart, Toronto 1993.
Web links
- Biography of the Juno Beach Center
- Bibliography of the Canadian Forces College
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Crerar, Henry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Crerar, Henry Duncan Graham (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 28, 1888 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamilton (Ontario) |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 1, 1965 |
| Place of death | Ottawa |