Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

David Tennant Cowan, (9 October 1896 – 15 April 1983), also known as "Punch" Cowan, was an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and British Indian Army during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

s. He led the 17th Indian Infantry Division during almost the entire Burma campaign.

Early career and inter-war years

Cowan was educated at

Reading School Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...

and Glasgow University. He was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1915. Awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

and mentioned in despatches, he was attached to the Indian Army in 1917, his appointment being confirmed in March 1918 whilst serving with the 4th battalion

3rd Gurkha Rifles The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars and Khas/Chhetri tribes. Th ...

. He later joined the

6th Gurkha Rifles The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Compa ...

. Between the wars, he served on the North-West frontier (where he was again mentioned in despatches for service in

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

) and in various staff positions. From 1932 to 1934, he was the Chief Instructor at the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

and in 1937 he was once more mentioned in despatches during a further tour of duty in Waziristan. By the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was in command of the 1st Battalion,

Field hockey

Cowan also played field hockey in regimental army teams in United Kingdom and India. He was appointed the captain of the Indian Army national field hockey team for their first international tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1926. He also served as the team manager for the tour.

Second World War

He was appointed a General Staff Officer, 1st grade in India from 18 September 1940 to 17 February 1941. Appointed acting brigadier, he was Director of Military Training in India from 18 February 1941 to 30 September 1941, then deputy director of Military Training in India 1 October 1941 to 14 December 1941, then Director of Military Training in India from 15 December 1941 to 1 March 1942. When the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

invaded

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, he was posted to Rangoon, initially as a staff officer in Burma Army HQ with rather ill-defined duties, but was appointed acting Major-General and commander of the Indian 17th Infantry Division when its previous commander, Jackie Smyth VC, was relieved after a bridge was blown behind the retreating division and much of it was cut off. He remained in command of the division for the rest of the Burma Campaign: during the retreat into India, the fighting around Tiddim in 1943, the

Battle of Imphal ) , partof = the Operation U-Go during the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II , image = Imphalgurkhas.jpg , image_size = 300 , caption = Gurkhas advancing with Grant tanks ...

in 1944 and the drive into Central Burma in 1945. Early in 1945, his son was killed whilst serving as an officer in Cowan's old unit (1/6 Gurkha Rifles). He fought the decisive

Battle of Meiktila A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

having suffered this loss, although only a few close friends were aware of it. For his leadership in Burma he was twice awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

. His army commander, Bill Slim, was later to write about Cowan's handling of the Meiktila battle: Major General David Cowan inspects Indian troops in Kure, Japan, 1946

Major General David Cowan inspects Indian troops in Kure, Japan, 1946

He was promoted to the rank of substantive Major-General on 12 February 1945.Half Yearly Army List January 1946 A fine picture of the soldier's life, fighting in his Division, is found in George MacDonald Fraser's memoir ''Quartered Safe Out Here'' (London, Harvill 1993). He was intended to lead the Indian army contingent of the

Commonwealth Corps The Commonwealth Corps was the name given to a proposed British Commonwealth army formation, which was scheduled to take part in the planned Allied invasion of Japan during 1945 and 1946. The corps was never formed, however, as the Japanese surr ...

being tentatively formed to participate in the planned invasion of Japan. The surrender of Japan changed these plans, and Cowan instead led the joint British-Indian division BRINDIV, part of the

British Commonwealth Occupation Force The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, ...

, in Japan. In 1947, he handed over command of this force and retired from the army.

Career summary

* Commissioned 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (1915) * Transferred to

, British Indian Army (1917) * Attended Command and Staff College,

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...

(1927–1928) * Assistant Military Secretary,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(1930–1932) * Chief Instructor at Indian Military Academy (1932–1934) * General Staff Officer 2, India, Waziristan (1936–1938) * Commanding Officer 1st Battalion 6th Gurkha Rifles (1939–1940) * General Staff Officer 1, India (1940–1941) * Deputy Director of Military Training, India (1941–1942) * General Officer Commanding Indian 17th Infantry Division,

(1942) * General Officer Commanding 17th Indian Light Division, Burma (1942–1944) * General Officer Commanding 17th Indian Division, Burma (1944–1945) * General Officer Commanding Force152 (1945) * General Officer Commanding BRINJAP Division, Japan (1945–1947) * Retired (1947)

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Indian Army Officers 1939–1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, David Tennant 1896 births 1983 deaths Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers British Army personnel of World War I Indian Army personnel of World War I Indian Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign People educated at Reading School Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta Deputy Lieutenants of Devon Alumni of the University of Glasgow British Indian Army generals British people in colonial India Indian male field hockey players British male field hockey players British expatriates in Spain