Launcelot Edward Kiggell

Launcelot Edward Kiggell

Sir Launcelot Edward Kiggell , KCB , KCMG (born October 2, 1862 in Ballingarry , County Limerick , † February 23, 1954 in Felixstowe , Suffolk ) was a British officer, most recently a lieutenant general and served on the Western Front during the First World War from 1915 to 1917 .

Life

Kiggell was the confidante of General Sir Douglas Haig and was promoted to major general in 1914 after a year as commandant of Staff College Camberley . He served in the War Ministry until November 1915 and was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Expeditionary Corps by Haig in December . Until then, Kiggell had no practical leadership experience and was an advocate of traditional, schematic methods of attack. This turned out to be fateful and costly for the British Expeditionary Force in the course of the Somme battles , as Kiggell Haig urged to adhere to this rigid approach. Meanwhile with the rank of lieutenant general, Kiggell found himself exposed to increasing criticism from other general staff officers for this approach. In late autumn 1917, after the fighting ended, he visited the front and suffered a nervous breakdown.

After his recovery, he was given command as Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey in 1918 .

literature

• Gerhard Hirschfeld, Gerd Krumeich, Irina Renz: Encyclopedia First World War. Schöningh, Paderborn 2014, ISBN 978-3-8252-8551-7 .

predecessor	Office	successor
William Robertson	Commandant of Staff College Camberley 1913–1914	closed because of the First World War from 1919 Hastings Anderson