William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood

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Sir William Birdwood, 1915

William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood , GCB , GCSI , GCMG , GCVO , CIE , DSO (born September 13, 1865 in Kirkee , British India , † May 17, 1951 in Hampton Court Palace , England ) was a British field marshal . He became known as Commander in Chief of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during World War I and was Commander in Chief in India from 1925 to 1930 .

India and South Africa

Birdwood was born in Kirkee, India and attended Clifton College , Bristol . After attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , he initially served in the infantry for a short time before moving to a cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army . Between 1885 and 1899 he served in India on the North-West Frontier, among others .

During the Second Boer War Birdwood was employed on the staff of Baron Kitchener , with whom he had a particularly close relationship in the following years. Birdwood was badly wounded during the Boer War and was mentioned five times in Despatches .

After the war ended, Birdwood rose to the highest ranks in the British Indian Army . In 1911 he was promoted to major general .

Gallipoli

In November 1914, Birdwood was commissioned by Kitchener, who was now British Secretary of War , to form a corps from the Australian and New Zealand troops in Egypt . The ANZAC was landed on April 25, 1915 in ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula . Despite great bravery and perseverance, the troops failed to make a breakthrough, rather the landing zones remained small. Birdwood himself was head wounded in May 1915 but stayed with his troops. In October 1915 he was promoted to Lieutenant General . He then helped to organize the successful evacuation of the troops.

Western front

After the reorganization of the troops in Egypt and the beginning of the embarkation for France on March 13, 1916, Birdwood took command of the I. ANZAC Corps, which was first used at the end of July during the Battle of the Somme on the Western Front . His influence remained limited, however, as he was often overlooked by his superior, General Hubert Gough .

Birdwood was promoted to general in October 1917 , but, contrary to custom, initially remained corps commander. But he commanded the Australian Corps, the largest corps on the entire Western Front. However, on May 31, 1918, Birdwood took command of the 5th Army . Birdwood's forces liberated Lille on October 18 during the Hundred Days Offensive .

post war period

Birdwood's grave in London

After he had been personally knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India in 1915 , Birdwood was bestowed a hereditary knighthood in 1919 as Baronet , of Anzac and of Totnes in the County of Devon .

Birdwood served again in the British Indian Army after the war ended. In 1925 he was promoted to field marshal and became its commander in chief . In 1930 he retired from active service.

Considerations it the Governor-General of Australia to make, have not been implemented because the Australian Labor - Prime Minister James Scullin on the Australian Sir Isaac Isaacs was. Birdwood was then Master of the College Peterhouse the University of Cambridge . He gave up this dignity in 1938 and was raised to hereditary peer as Baron Birdwood , of Anzac and of Totnes in the County of Devon , thereby automatically receiving a seat in the House of Lords .

Birdwood died in 1951 and was buried with military honors.

Orders and awards

Birdwood has received numerous honors and awards throughout his life. Among other things he was:

Web links

Commons : William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files
predecessor Office successor
Claud Jacob Commander in Chief of the British Armed Forces in India
1925–1930 		Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode
New title created Baron Birdwood
1938-1951 		Christopher Birdwood
personal data
SURNAME Birdwood, William, 1st Baron Birdwood
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Birdwood, William Riddell Birdwood 1st Baron (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Field Marshal
DATE OF BIRTH September 13, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Kirkee , British India
DATE OF DEATH May 17, 1951
Place of death Hampton Court Palace , England