Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer

Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer

Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer GCB , GCMG , GCVO , GBE (born March 13, 1857 in Kensington , London , † July 16, 1932 in Knightsbridge , London) was a British military and colonial official. He became famous for his victory over the German army at the Battle of Messines in 1917.

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Plumer grew up as the second son of a middle-class family in Yorkshire. He received his training in Eton . After graduating from school in 1876, he joined the Army and became a sub-lieutenant in the 65th Regiment of Foot, later the 1st Battalion of The York and Lancaster Regiment. In 1882 he was promoted to captain. In March 1884, the battalion, which was originally supposed to return home, was transferred to Sudan because of the Mahdi uprising , where the unit was used shortly after arriving in the fighting around El-Teb . Later the battalion was also involved in the bloody fighting in Tamai . After the battalion's return to Great Britain in April, he was commended and received the Medjidie Order of Fourth Class. On July 22nd, 1884 he married his great cousin Annie Constance Goss with whom he had 4 children. From 1885 he attended the Staff College in Camberley for two years , which he graduated as the 19th of 26 officers. Then he returned to his old unit. In May 1890 he moved to Jersey as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General (DAAG). However, after this transfer ended, he was not called to the staff service, as he initially hoped.

Time in South Africa

Plumer during the Boer War

Plumer therefore returned in November 1893 to the 2nd Battalion of The York and Lancaster Regiment, the former 84th Regiment of Foot. At the time, it was stationed in Natal in southern Africa. After the prospect of a staff post was again lost during a six-month stay in England, he was close to quitting military service.

On his return to South Africa, he became Military Secretary to the Army Commander Lieutenant-General William Goodenough . During this time, Plumer, who has now been appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, protected the white colonists from the Matabele with a unit . Plumer worried about his troops and, among other things, introduced a commemorative fund. During this time he wrote the treatise "An Irregular Corps in Matabeleland" published in 1897 . After a brief activity as DAAG and instructor in Aldershot from 1898, he returned to South Africa in 1899 and took an active part in the Second Boer War. Plumer was instrumental in relieving Mafeking . In August 1900 he took over the post from Robert Baden-Powell , after which he was charged with building a police force. In the same year he was promoted to colonel. Plumer commanded a unit until March 1902 that pursued Christiaan De Wet's guerrilla forces . On May 12, 1902, Plumer was knighted and received the Bath Order, third class. In November of the same year he was promoted to major general and was given command of the 4th Infantry Brigade stationed in Aldershot.

In late 1903 he took command in the Colchester District. However, he soon moved to the newly created Army Council as the third military, responsible for transport and supplies. In April 1906 he briefly commanded the 5th Division in Curragh, Ireland. Since there were no other tasks for him, he was given half pay after this command . In 1908 he received the Bath Order, Second Class, and was promoted to Lieutenant General.

First World War

Field Marshal John French wanted Plumer to be in charge of the II Corps of the British Expeditionary Army. However, Lord Kitchener chose Smith-Dorrien . Plumer came to France in December 1914. He was given command of the V Corps, a unit of the 2nd Army under Smith-Dorrien. His unit had to bear the brunt of the German attack in the Second Battle of the Ypres . After the battle, Smith-Dorrien was relieved of command by French and Plumer received command of the 2nd Army on May 6, 1915. With the new British Commander-in-Chief Douglas Haig , who replaced French in December 1915, he did not get along well, as he had previously given him bad marks in an examination. Plumer, however, was always loyal to him. In the same year he was promoted to general. In June 1917 he was responsible for the Battle of Messines , which was victorious for the British. Here he succeeded in achieving the intended goals faster than planned. The losses were also lower than expected. In particular, his "bite-and-hold" tactic was one of the best strategies of the war. Then he was commissioned to restore the Allied front after the disastrous Third Battle of Flanders , which he succeeded.

On November 9, 1917, Plumer was transferred to Italy to the 14th Army to stabilize the Entente front after the Battle of Caporetto . After the disenchantment of the third Battle of Flanders, Lloyd George tried to replace William Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff with Plumer. However, this refused. After his successor as commander of the 2nd Army, Rawlinson , was sent as a representative of the military to the negotiations in Versailles, Plumer returned to the front in Flanders on March 13, 1918. Shortly afterwards the German spring offensive had to be parried.

post war period

Plumer with the Archbishop of Nablus and the Latin Patriarch in August 1926

After the war, until April 1919, Plumer commanded the British Army of the Rhine , which occupied the Rhineland. On July 31, 1919 he was promoted to field marshal. He also received a reward of £ 30,000 and was on 18 October 1919 entitled Baron Plumer of Messines and of Bilton in the County of York in the hereditary nobility raised. His seat in the House of Lords was also associated with the title . In response to his intervention, the measures relating to the Treaty of Versailles were slightly relaxed as far as they concerned the food situation. After the time in Germany he was appointed governor and commander in chief in Malta. He held this position until May 1924. On August 25, 1925, he was appointed second High Commissioner for the Mandate Palestine . His term of service until July 1928 is considered to be the quietest period of the entire British mandate. During his time he stayed largely out of politics in Palestine. He was admired by his staff and recognized by the Jews and Arabs as high commissioner. Plumer saw the government of Palestine as purely administrative. He saw all of his measures under economic and practical aspects. During his tenure, Palestinian citizenship and a local currency were introduced. The Menenpoort in Ypres was unveiled by Plumer in 1927. On July 24, 1927, he laid the foundation stone (also in Ypres) for St. George's Memorial Church , which was consecrated 20 months later .

On June 3, 1929 he was given the hereditary title Viscount Plumer . He also assumed the presidency of the Marylebone Cricket Club and was an active participant in the British House of Lords.

Herbert Plumer died on July 16, 1932 and was buried in Westminster Abbey . His title of nobility was inherited by his son Thomas Hall Rokeby Plumer, 2nd Viscount Plumer (1890–1944).

Rating

Herbert Plumer is considered one of the most successful and most respected generals of the First World War. With his stocky figure, his white hair, and the mustache he had an appearance that was completely atypical for a general. He was very popular because of his meticulous strategic planning, professional climate and concern for the subordinate troops.

literature

• Charles Harington: Plumer of Messines. Murray, London 1935.
• Geoffrey Powell: Plumer, the Soldier's General. A Biography of Field-Marshal Viscount Plumer of Messines. Cooper, London 1990, ISBN 0-85052-605-1 .
• Frank W. Sykes: With Plumer in Matabeleland. An account of the operations of the Matabeleland Relief Force during the rebellion of 1896. Constable & Co, Westminster 1897 (reprints: Books of Rhodesia, Bulawayo 1972 (= Rhodesiana Reprint Library 21, ZDB -ID 1476793-4 ) and: Negro Universities Press , New York NY 1969, ISBN 0-8371-1640-6 ).

Web links

Commons : Herbert Plumer, 1. Viscount Plumer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Career information at the Liddell Hart Center for Military Archives

Footnotes

1. ^ The London Gazette : No. 31610, p. 12890 , October 21, 1919.
2. ↑ Tom Segev : Once upon a time in Palestine. Pantheon, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-570-55009-5 , p. 317.
3. ^ The London Gazette: No. 33501, p. 3665 , May 31, 1929 (Supplement).

predecessor	Office	successor
Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen	Governor of Malta 1919–1924	Walter Norris Congreve
Herbert Louis Samuel	High Commissioner of Palestine 1925–1928	Harry Charles Luke (acting)
New title created	Baron Plumer 1919-1932	Thomas Plumer
New title created	Viscount Plumer 1929-1932	Thomas Plumer