Major-General Sir Francis Wilfred "Freddie" de Guingand, (28 February 1900 – 29 June 1979) was a
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 ...
officer who served as
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Sir
Bernard Montgomery
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...
's
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
from the
Second Battle of El Alamein until the end of the
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 opposin ...
. He played an important diplomatic role in sustaining relations between the notoriously difficult Montgomery and his peers and superiors.
A graduate of the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...
, de Guingand joined the
West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) in December 1919. He served in India and Ireland, and was
seconded
In deliberative bodies a second to a proposed motion is an indication that there is at least one person besides the mover that is interested in seeing the motion come before the meeting. It does not necessarily indicate that the seconder favors th ...
to the
King's African Rifles in
Nyasaland from 1926 to 1931. Through the intervention of Montgomery, with whom he had formed a friendship with during their service together the 1920s and 1930s, he secured a nomination to 1935–36 course at the
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...
. He served as Military Assistant to the
Secretary of State for War
The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...
,
Leslie Hore-Belisha
Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha, PC (; 7 September 1893 – 16 February 1957) was a British Liberal, then National Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Minister. He later joined the Conservative Party. He proved highly su ...
, from 1939 to 1940, in which role he had exposure to the most senior officers in the army and developed skills in diplomacy.
After Hore-Belisha resigned, de Guingand was posted to the new staff college at
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
in
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
as an instructor. In December 1940, on the recommendation of the Staff College's Commandant
Eric Dorman-Smith
Brigadier Eric Edward "Chink" Dorman-Smith (24 July 1895 – 11 May 1969), who later changed his name to Eric Edward Dorman O'Gowan, was an Irish officer whose career in the British Army began in the First World War and closed at the end of the ...
, he was posted to the Joint Planning Staff of
Middle East Command
Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
where he also took on the role of secretary to the Commanders-in-Chief Committee. In February 1942 Dorman-Smith, now Deputy Chief of the General Staff at Middle East Command, recommended him for the position of Director of Military Intelligence, Middle East. In this role he was successful, and after the
First Battle of El Alamein he was appointed the
Eighth Army's
Brigadier General Staff. When Montgomery assumed command of Eighth Army in August 1942 he became Montgomery's chief of staff. His diplomatic skills proved advantageous when serving with Montgomery. He proved indispensable not only in battle, but also in relations with the Americans – he was "liked and trusted by all". He formed a close relationship with
Walter Bedell Smith, the chief of staff to
Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Allies during World War I, and is currently used only within NATO for Supreme Allied Comm ...
,
General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
, and was able to smooth over many difficulties arising from Montgomery's personality and his problematic relationships with many of his peers and superiors.
De Guingand was on sick leave on several occasions, and only Montgomery's intervention kept the doctors from relieving him. After the end of hostilities in Europe he spent time recuperating but was still not recovered when he was appointed as
Director of Military Intelligence
The Director of Military Intelligence ("D J2") ( ga, Stiúrthóir Faisnéise Míleata) serves as the commanding officer of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, the intelligence section of the Irish Defence Forces, and the main foreign and do ...
(DMI) in September 1945. Montgomery had become aware that he was to succeed Alan Brooke as
Chief of the Imperial General Staff in June 1946 and told de Guingand he wanted him as his
Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff. However, de Guingand failed to impress Brooke as DMI and as a result the job went to
Frank Simpson. De Guingand retired from the army In February 1947 and emigrated to
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
to pursue a career in business, achieving considerable success. He wrote four books about his experiences: ''Operation Victory'' (1947), ''African Assignment'' (1953), ''Generals at War'' (1954), and ''From Brass Hat to Bowler Hat'' (1979).
Early life
Francis Wilfred de Guingand was born in
Acton, London, on 28 February 1900, the second of the four children of Francis Julius de Guingand, a
briar-wood tobacco pipe manufacturer, and his wife Mary Monica Priestman.
He had an older sister, Marine Pauline, and two younger brothers. The family lived comfortably near
Gunnersbury Park
Gunnersbury Park is a park in the London Borough of Hounslow between Acton, Brentford, Chiswick and Ealing, West London, England. Purchased for the nation from the Rothschild family, it was opened to the public by Neville Chamberlain, then ...
in London. He was educated at
St Benedict's School, Ealing
From The Smallest Beginnings
, established = 1902 (Renamed 1948)
, closed =
, type = Independent day school
, religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic
, president =
, head_label ...
, starting in 1909, and then from 1915 at
Ampleforth College. Encouraged by his father, who was elected
Vice-Commodore of the
Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club is a watersports organisation based at Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex.
History Early history
The club was founded at Erith, Kent in 1872 and moved to Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex in 1892. The Club provided the crew for th ...
in 1921, he acquired a passion for sailing. The family owned a
yacht
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
that was normally kept at
Burnham-on-Crouch
Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting.
The civil parish extends east of the town t ...
, and sailed it to France and Spain on summer vacations. De Guingand intended to join the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, but was rejected for being
colour blind, and joined 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 ...
instead.
De Guingand entered the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...
on 10 September 1918, ranked fifteenth in his class on entry. While there he acquired the nickname "Freddie", after Freddie the Frog, a popular cartoon character, an allusion to his French surname. On graduation he chose to join the
West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own), which had sponsored the
Officers' Training Corps unit at Ampleforth. He was commissioned as a
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the regiment on 17 December 1919. He was immediately sent to join its 2nd Battalion in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, where he was promoted to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
on 17 December 1921.
Between the wars
A serious case of
gallstones led to de Guingand being invalided back to the UK in 1922, but he recovered, and rejoined his regiment at
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
in Ireland. Later that year he became the officer in charge of the regimental training cadre at
Fulford Barracks in
Fulford, North Yorkshire, where he became friends with
Bernard Montgomery
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and t ...
, who was a staff officer with the
49th (West Riding) Infantry Division
The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division fought in the First World War in the trenches of the Western Front, in the fields of France and Flanders. During the Second World War, the divis ...
at the time. The two played
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
and
contract bridge
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...
together. Montgomery encouraged de Guingand to apply for staff college, but he was still too young to sit the entrance examination.
In 1926 de Guingand volunteered for service on
secondment with the
King's African Rifles. Overseas postings to colonial units were a popular option for young subalterns at the time, as they offered higher pay, greater responsibility, and occasional excitement. He served in
Nyasaland as
adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...
of the 1st Battalion, Kings African Rifles, and then on the staff of the Officer Commanding Troops, Nyasaland. During this time he was promoted to the temporary rank of
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
on 10 June 1929, and to the permanent rank on 8 March 1930.
De Guingand returned to his regiment in the UK in October 1931. He was appointed regimental adjutant with the 1st Battalion in Egypt in July 1932. He renewed his friendship with Montgomery, who commanded the 1st Battalion,
Royal Warwickshire Regiment
The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...
, another battalion in the
Canal Brigade. In 1934, the battalion moved on to
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
in the
Baluchistan Province of British India near the border with Afghanistan, where Montgomery was teaching as an instructor at the
staff college there. De Guingand passed the entrance exams to attend the
Staff College, Camberley
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...
but required a nomination from a senior officer. Entry was highly competitive; about 600 officers sat the examination each year for around 60 places. Those who scored highest were guaranteed places, but the remaining positions were filled from others who had passed the exam and were then given a place based on their service record. Montgomery arranged for a nomination from the
Chief of the General Staff (India). He also wrote to several of the instructors at Camberley recommending him.
After passing the staff college course in 1936, De Guingand returned to the 2nd Battalion of his regiment as a company commander but a staff assignment normally followed completion of the course. His next assignment was
brigade major of the
Small Arms School at
Netheravon
Netheravon is a village and civil parish on the River Avon and A345 road, about north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire, South West England. It is within Salisbury Plain.
The village is on the right (west) bank of the Avon, opposite Fit ...
in 1937. This gave him a chance to visit the corresponding schools of the French and German armies. He was not impressed by the dilapidated French one at
Camp de Châlons, but at the he found a lavishly-equipped facility, with weapons and training methods he considered superior to those of the British Army. He was promoted
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
on 1 August 1938.
Second World War
On 15 July 1939, De Guingand became the military assistant to the
Secretary of State for War
The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...
,
Leslie Hore-Belisha
Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha, PC (; 7 September 1893 – 16 February 1957) was a British Liberal, then National Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Minister. He later joined the Conservative Party. He proved highly su ...
, with the grade of
GSO2
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...
. Hore-Belisha had
civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
aides to assist him in his duties, but required an Army officer to advise him on military matters, to provide an Army point of view, and to assist in writing his speeches. As such, de Guingand accompanied Hore-Belisha on visits to military bases and establishments. Hore-Belisha was popular with the press and the people, but not so much with his
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
colleagues. Wide-ranging reforms that included the dismissal of many senior Army officers soon made him unpopular in the Army.
De Guingand gradually warmed to Hore-Belisha and assumed the role of a confidant. In this role he had exposure to the most senior officers in the Army and developed his skills in diplomacy. Hore-Belisha clashed repeatedly with the
Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS),
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Lord Gort
Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, (10 July 1886 – 31 March 1946) was a senior British Army officer. As a young officer during the First World War, he was decorated with the Victoria Cross for his acti ...
, whom he had promoted to the position over the heads of sixty more senior officers and after the outbreak of war in September 1939. Hore-Belisha removed Gort by recommending him to command the
British Expeditionary Force in France, but the difficulties between the two continued, with arguments over the state of fortifications in France. The friction with Gort led to Hore-Belisha being forced to resign in January 1940.
Middle East
De Guingand requested to be returned to his regiment, and on 21 January he reported to the West Yorkshire Regiment
depot
Depot ( or ) may refer to:
Places
* Depot, Poland, a village
* Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica
* Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica
* Depot Island Formation, Greenland
Brands and enterprises
* Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...
, but was immediately placed on leave. On 25 February he was posted to the new staff college at
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
as an instructor. The war had created an urgent requirement for more trained staff officers, and the new staff college had been created to fill this role. When he arrived the commandant was
Lieutenant-Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Alexander Galloway
Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Galloway, (3 November 1895 – 28 January 1977) was a senior British Army officer. During the Second World War, he was particularly highly regarded as a staff officer and, as such, had an influential role in the ...
but in August Galloway was replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel
Eric Dorman-Smith
Brigadier Eric Edward "Chink" Dorman-Smith (24 July 1895 – 11 May 1969), who later changed his name to Eric Edward Dorman O'Gowan, was an Irish officer whose career in the British Army began in the First World War and closed at the end of the ...
who had been an instructor at Camberley when de Guingand was there as a student. De Guingand soon became chief instructor.
![British Generals 1939-1945 E22000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/British_Generals_1939-1945_E22000.jpg)
After a short period as Commandant of the newly-formed School of Combined Operations with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, he was posted in December 1940 to the Joint Planning Staff of General Headquarters (GHQ)
Middle East Command
Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
where he also took on the role of secretary to the Commanders-in-Chief Committee. De Guingand was involved in the planning of
Operation Lustre, the despatch of a British and Allied expeditionary force to Greece in March 1941 in response to the failed
Italian invasion of Greece and the looming threat of German intervention. He flew over the
Aliakmon
The Haliacmon ( el, Αλιάκμονας, ''Aliákmonas''; formerly: , ''Aliákmon'' or ''Haliákmōn'') is the longest river flowing entirely in Greece, with a total length of . In Greece there are three rivers longer than Haliakmon, Maritsa ( el ...
position where the British forces planned to make a stand, but this did nothing to dispel his doubts about whether the position could be held. He noted the extent of the front that would have to be held, and the ease with which a German
turning movement In military tactics, a turning movement is a form of maneuver in which the attacking force seeks to avoid the enemy's principal defensive positions by seizing objectives behind the enemy's current positions, thereby causing the enemy force to move o ...
could be executed.
On his own initiative de Guingand commenced joint planning with the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
and
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) for the evacuation of the expeditionary force from Greece at an early date. The Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir
Archibald Wavell
Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded ...
, and his chief of the general staff, Major-General
Arthur Smith, were initially unaware of this activity. When Smith found out about it, he reported it to Wavell, who ordered de Guingand to cease forthwith, as he feared that it would affect the morale of the expeditionary force in Greece and become self-fulfilling. With the support of the naval and air Commanders-in-Chief de Guingand was allowed to continue with his planning, but Wavell directed that Army component was not to be informed. When the full weight of the
German invasion of Greece fell on the Allied positions, it soon became evident that the Aliakmon Line could not be held for long. The plan eventually had to be put into action, and the force was evacuated from Greece. De Guingand was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the
1942 New Year Honours
The 1942 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1941.United Kingdom and Britis ...
.
Military intelligence
In February 1942, Dorman-Smith, by this time Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS) at GHQ, recommended de Guingand for the vacant post of Director of Military Intelligence, Middle East, with the rank of
brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
. The appointment of de Guingand, an officer with no experience in intelligence, said much about the state of intelligence in the British Army at the time, where it was assumed that staff college training and a good brain were all that was required. Nonetheless, de Guingand ultimately proved to be very successful in this role. He selected two promising young officers at GHQ, Captain
Bill Williams and Major
James Ewart, to serve on his staff. Ewart could speak German fluently and Williams, as a trained historian, was accustomed to drawing information from disparate sources together to produce a larger picture. According to de Guingand, "Ewart and Williams were an ideal combination. They understood each other perfectly. Both had first-class brains, both were university dons and hated soldiering as a profession!"
De Guingand had access to accurate intelligence through
Ultra
adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...
codebreaking, but its interpretation always required skill and care. De Guingand made use of the
Long Range Desert Group to confirm reports from other sources. Indications that the Germans and Italians were about to initiate what became the
Battle of Gazala
The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German and I ...
piled up in May 1942, allowing de Guingand to provide advance warning. In June 1942, he correctly predicted the
Axis capture of Tobruk
The Axis capture of Tobruk, also known as the Fall of Tobruk and the Second Battle of Tobruk (17–21 June 1942) was part of the Western Desert campaign in Libya during the Second World War. The battle was fought by the ( in Italian), a German ...
.
In July 1942, after the
First Battle of El Alamein, de Guingand was appointed the
Eighth Army's Brigadier General Staff (Operations) vice Brigadier
Jock Whiteley. The staff arrangements at the Eighth Army headquarters were confused; General Sir
Claude Auchinleck was both Commander-in-Chief Middle East and commander of the Eighth Army. Dorman-Smith, his DCGS in the former role, was present at Eighth Army headquarters, and as a major-general he outranked Whiteley. This created two lines of authority at the headquarters. De Guingand persuaded Auchinleck that Dorman-Smith would be more useful back in Cairo. De Guingand's General Staff branch had four GSO1s, Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Mainwaring (operations), Lieutenant-Colonel L. M. (Spud) Murphy (intelligence), Lieutenant-Colonel
Charles Richardson (plans) and Lieutenant-Colonel
David Belchem
Ronald Frederick King "David" Belchem (21 January 1911 – 19 July 1981) was a senior British Army officer who saw service in the Second World War.
A graduate of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where he was awarded the Anson Memor ...
(staff duties). To assist Murphy, de Guingand brought Williams from GHQ as the GSO2 (Intelligence).
Chief of staff to Montgomery
When Montgomery was appointed to command the Eighth Army in August 1942 he summoned de Guingand to meet him. He later wrote
Montgomery had sent a request to the new Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir
Harold Alexander
Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor Ge ...
, that several officers be sent out from the UK, including Brigadier
Frank Simpson, who had served as his
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
in the
3rd Division during the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
in 1940 and at
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to:
France
* 5th Army Corps (France)
* V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...
and
XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to:
* 12th Army Corps (France)
* XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army
* XII (Ro ...
in the UK. Montgomery warned de Guingand that he might be replaced, but that if this occurred, he would attempt to secure him a good position in the UK. He recommended that de Guingand take over as
Director of Military Intelligence
The Director of Military Intelligence ("D J2") ( ga, Stiúrthóir Faisnéise Míleata) serves as the commanding officer of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, the intelligence section of the Irish Defence Forces, and the main foreign and do ...
(DMI) at the
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
. In the event, owing to the death of another officer, the War Office decided that Simpson could not be spared from his duties as Deputy Director of Military Operations, and de Guingand served as Montgomery's
chief of staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
for the rest of the war.
Although common in other armies, the concept of a chief of staff was foreign to the British Army, where a staff was divided into separate general and administrative staff branches; at the Eighth Army headquarters the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) was Brigadier Sir
Brian Robertson, with Lieutenant-Colonel
Miles Graham
Major-General Sir Miles William Arthur Peel Graham, (14 August 1895 – 8 February 1976) was a general officer in the British Army. During the Second World War he was the chief administrative officer of the Eighth Army in the North African Ca ...
as his deputy. Under the chief of staff system, one officer was responsible for both operations and administration. This was a system that Montgomery strongly favoured; he had served as chief of staff of the
47th (1/2nd London) Division
The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force.
Formation
The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Res ...
during the
Great War.
![The Campaign in Sicily 1943 NA4088](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/The_Campaign_in_Sicily_1943_NA4088.jpg)
Montgomery moved the Eighth Army headquarters from
Ruweisat Ridge
Ruweisat Ridge is a geographical feature in the Western Egyptian desert, midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Qattara Depression. During World War II was a prominent part of the defence line in the First and Second Battle of El Alamein
...
back to
Borg El Arab
Borg el-Arab ( ar, برج العرب, lit=the Arabic tower) is an industrial city in the governorate of Alexandria, Egypt. It is located about 52 kilometers south-west of Alexandria and some seven kilometers from the Mediterranean coast. North o ...
on the Mediterranean coast, about south west of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, where it was collocated with that of the
Desert Air Force. De Guingand held a daily staff meeting at 07:00. He maintained personal contact with Robertson at Rear Army Headquarters and briefed Montgomery every night at 21:00 in the latter's map lorry.
Ultra
adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...
intelligence decrypted an appreciation by the German commander, ''
Generalfeldmarschall''
Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...
, that indicated that he intended to attack in late August. The
full moon
The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...
needed for a major night movement was on 26 August, and a prohibition on reconnaissance near the
Qattara Depression
The Qattara Depression ( ar, منخفض القطارة, Munḫafaḍ al-Qaṭṭārah) is a depression in northwestern Egypt, specifically in the Matruh Governorate. The depression is part of the Western Desert of Egypt.
The Qattara Depressi ...
indicated that a flanking attack near there was likely.
Montgomery fortified Alam el Halfa ridge and brought in the
44th (Home Counties) Division
The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex.
...
to defend it. De Guingand and Williams concocted a ruse whereby they prepared a fake "going" map indicating that an area of soft sand near the ridge was suitable for vehicles but it is uncertain as to whether the Germans were fooled. In any event, the German attack, delayed for several days by fuel shortages, was repulsed in the
Battle of Alam el Halfa. De Guingand urged that the Eighth Army carry out an immediate counter-attack but Montgomery did not consider that it was ready for this and passed up the opportunity in favour of a
set piece battle
A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...
.
Over the following weeks, de Guingand oversaw the preparations for the attack. When the preparations were complete, Montgomery decided that de Guingand looked tired and sent him back to Alexandria for a rest. De Guingand returned on 22 October. Contrary to his usual practice of locating himself at Main Headquarters (HQ) and paying daily visits to Montgomery at the forward Tactical Headquarters (Tac HQ), de Guingand established a small command post on the coast road near Tac HQ and those of
X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to:
France
* 10th Army Corps (France)
* X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army
* X ...
and
XXX Corps, which would be carrying out the operation. He took Richardson with him, leaving Mainwaring in charge back at Main HQ.
The
Second Battle of El Alamein commenced at 02:00 on 24 October. Progress was initially good but by 02:00 the following night de Guingand was sufficiently disturbed by reports indicating the attack on the southern corridor had faltered to call an 03:30 conference at Tac HQ with the corps commanders, Lieutenant-Generals
Oliver Leese (XXX Corps) and
Herbert Lumsden
Lieutenant-General Herbert William Lumsden, & Bar, MC (8 April 1897 – 6 January 1945) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars. He commanded the 1st Armoured Division in the Western Desert campai ...
(X Corps). De Guingand had to wake Montgomery, something that he later recalled he only had to do a few more times in the entire war. Montgomery agreed with de Guingand's evaluation of the situation. Operations on the southern corridor were suspended, and the forces there pulled back.
By 29 October, the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
had become concerned at the lack of progress and sent Alexander and the
Minister-Resident for the Middle East The Minister-Resident for the Middle East was a British Government cabinet position for most of the duration of World War II.
The position was created in 1941 and the holder was made a member of the war cabinet. The minister served as the overall e ...
,
Richard Casey to investigate. Montgomery convinced Alexander that matters were well in hand but de Guingand had to call on his diplomatic skills to dissuade Casey from sending a cable to London indicating that the outcome of the battle was still in doubt. It was won on 2 November and two days later de Guingand dined with Montgomery and ''General der Panzertruppe''
Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma
Wilhelm Josef Ritter von Thoma (11 September 1891 – 30 April 1948) was a German army officer who served in World War I, in the Spanish Civil War, and as a general in World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Th ...
, the commander of the
Afrika Korps, who was now a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
. Churchill ordered that church bells be rung throughout the kingdom to celebrate the victory. For his part in the battle, De Guingand received an immediate award of 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, typ ...
on 5 November 1942.
Health issues and personal life
Recurrent problems with gallstones struck de Guingand several times, often at crucial junctures and had the doctors had their way his tenure as the Eighth Army chief of staff would have been a short one. "The reaction of the ''bon viveur'' to his illnesses was unusual", Richardson later wrote, "he could not be called a
hypochondriac
Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. An old concept, the meaning of hypochondria has repeatedly changed. It has been claimed that this debilitating cond ...
, as there were very real, but he seemed to take an obsessive interest in their manifestations, and had an irrational faith in his many pills, and developed close friendships with his assorted medical advisors, so much so he was often in doubt whose advice to accept". During a visit to XXX Corps HQ near
Benghazi
Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...
on 21 November, he was struck down with excruciating pain and evacuated to a hospital in Cairo. The medical authorities recommended three months' sick leave in South Africa. De Guingand anticipated spending the rest of the war as a "
base wallah" but Montgomery flew to Cairo to see him on 8 December and asked de Guingand when he felt he would be fit to join him again. De Guingand said he thought he would be fine in two to three weeks, so Montgomery went and spoke to the doctors and the medical board's verdict was changed from three months to three weeks.
While on leave in Cairo, De Guingand married Arlie Roebuck Stewart, the Australian daughter of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
businessman Charles Woodhead, on 17 December 1942. She was the widow of a fellow officer in the West Yorkshire Regiment, Major Hugh Dalzell Stewart, who had been killed in the
Battle of Keren
The Battle of Keren ( it, Battaglia di Cheren) took place from 3 February to 27 March 1941. Keren was attacked by the British during the East African Campaign of the Second World War. A force of Italian regular and colonial troops defended th ...
in 1941 and had been working in Cairo for an intelligence organisation. They had one child, a daughter called Marylou who was born in 1944, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1957.
De Guingand returned to duty as chief of staff of the Eighth Army on 15 January 1943. He was advanced to
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
on 26 February "in recognition of outstanding services during the operations resulting in the capture of Tripoli" at the conclusion of the
Western Desert campaign.
When the first attack of the
Battle of Mareth failed on 20 March, the Eighth Army was confronted by its first setback since Auchinleck had been replaced. Montgomery told his staff "Send for Freddie". De Guingand and Montgomery discussed what could be done to retrieve the situation and resolved to strengthen the left hook manoeuvre being carried out by the
2nd New Zealand Division
The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry Division (military), division of the New Zealand Army, New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the World War II, Second World War. The division was ...
(Lieutenant-General
Bernard Freyberg
Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952.
Freyb ...
).
Air Vice Marshal
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...
Harry Broadhurst then came up with an innovative proposal to clear the way using fighters and forty light bombers. The attack was successful; the
Mareth Line
The Mareth Line was a system of fortifications built by France in southern Tunisia in the late 1930s. The line was intended to protect Tunisia against an Italian invasion from its colony in Libya. The line occupied a point where the routes into T ...
was breached and
Gabès was captured on 29 March. For his part in the campaign, de Guingand was
mentioned in despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
on 24 June 1943.
Italy
![The Campaign in Italy, September-december 1943- the Allied Advance To the Gustav Line- Personalities NA10338](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/The_Campaign_in_Italy%2C_September-december_1943-_the_Allied_Advance_To_the_Gustav_Line-_Personalities_NA10338.jpg)
While the Eighth Army was still engaged in the
Tunisian campaign
The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...
, planning was in train in
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
and Cairo for
Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. Unable to devote much time to it but concerned at how it was progressing, Montgomery decided that de Guingand would go to Cairo as his deputy, in charge of the planning group known as Force 545. In view of his new status and increased responsibility, de Guingand was granted the local rank of
major-general. He arrived in Cairo on 15 April. On taking over the planning for Operation Husky, he became concerned that it called for a series of dispersed landings based on the assumption that the German and Italian forces would not mount a fierce resistance. This ran contrary to the Eighth Army's experience with them in the North African campaign. Montgomery listened to de Guingand's appreciation on 23 April and then sent a message to the
Supreme Allied Commander
Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Allies during World War I, and is currently used only within NATO for Supreme Allied Comm ...
,
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
in Algiers, urging that the invasion plan be changed to concentrate the landings.
Montgomery flew back to Tunisia on 26 April. His message had not been not received warmly in Algiers and Alexander had called a conference to discuss it. Montgomery fell ill, so he asked de Guingand to attend in his place. De Guingand's plane landed at
El Adem to refuel. On attempting to take off, it crashed. The aircraft was a write-off but none of those on board were killed. De Guingand suffered a series of fractures and a concussion. He was unconscious for several hours and was flown back to Cairo in an ambulance plane. Staff officers retrieved his briefcase containing the invasion plans for Operation Husky from his wife's flat in Cairo. After consulting some X-ray images, the doctors gave him two weeks' sick leave.
Eventually Montgomery managed to convince
Major-General Walter Bedell Smith, Eisenhower's chief of staff, of the merit of his plan and Smith was able to convince Eisenhower on 3 May. With the notable exception of
Operation Ladbroke
Operation Ladbroke was a glider landing by British airborne troops during the Second World War near Syracuse, Sicily, that began on 9 July 1943 as part of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. The first Allied mission using ...
the airborne landing, which failed, the Eighth Army's assault on 10 July was successful. Montgomery went ashore the following day, only to find that his headquarters vehicles were missing. A sharp signal was sent to de Guingand, who managed to sort the problem out. For his services in Sicily, de Guingand was appointed
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Companion may refer to:
Relationships Currently
* Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance
* A domestic partner, akin to a spouse
* Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach
* Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...
on 12 October.
Even before the conclusion of the campaign in Sicily, preparations had commenced for the
Allied invasion of Italy. Once again a series of dispersed landings was contemplated, based on the expectation that Italy would soon surrender and the Germans would withdraw from Italy. The Eighth Army had a supporting role, conducting
Operation Baytown, a landing on the southern tip of Italy, while the
US Fifth Army
The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the United States Army. An Army Service Component Command (ASCC) subordinate to United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM. made the main assault,
Operation Avalanche
Operation Avalanche was the codename for the Allied landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion, but ...
, at
Salerno
Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
. Neither Montgomery nor de Guingand was in favour of the plan, with de Guingand arguing that Baytown should be cancelled. As they feared, the Germans did resist and as the weather deteriorated in October, the Eighth Army's advance ultimately came to a halt on the
Winter Line
The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section of ...
.
North West Europe
Operation Overlord
When Montgomery departed from the Eighth Army on 3 December 1943 to assume command of the
21st Army Group
The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...
in
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
, the Allied invasion of
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, he took several officers with him. These included de Guingand, Graham, Williams and Brigadier
George Richards. It was not the normal practice in the British Army for generals to take staff with them from one assignment to the next but Montgomery judged correctly that his fame as the victor of the Battle of El Alamein would overcome any objections. De Guingand and Graham were granted the acting rank of major-general on 15 January 1944, with de Guingand's promotion backdated to 1 December 1943. At 21st Army Group, de Guingand replaced Major-General
William Morgan, who went to the Italy as Alexander's chief of staff. There were comments in London clubs to the effect that "the Gentlemen are out and the Players are just going in to bat."
![Major General Freddie de Guingand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Major_General_Freddie_de_Guingand.jpg)
De Guingand arrived in the UK on 1 January and went over the Overlord plan with Smith the following day. The two were impressed by the amount of work that had been done by the staff of the Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander designate (COSSAC), Lieutenant-General
Frederick Morgan, but they had concerns regarding the size of the assault, its narrow frontage and the speed of the build up. Taken together, these factors made it unlikely that the port of
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
would be captured in less than two weeks but changing the plan to address these factors would require more aircraft, ships and landing craft; securing them would impose a delay. De Guingand and Smith arranged for a presentation to be given to Montgomery when he arrived and for a three-day conference at Montgomery's headquarters at
St Paul's School, London where the plan and alternatives were discussed with the COSSAC, air and naval staffs. Eisenhower arrived in the UK on 15 January and another conference was held at his headquarters at
Norfolk House on 21 January, where Montgomery's plan was tentatively accepted. Montgomery's rejection of the Overlord plan did not sit well with the COSSAC staff, who now formed part of Eisenhower's
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...
(SHAEF).
Montgomery once wrote to the CIGS, General Sir
Alan Brooke about de Guingand, "I do not know what I should do without him as he is quite 1st class". De Guingand was indispensable to Montgomery, not only in battle but also in relations with the Americans. Montgomery was unpopular with them. In part this was due to
American nationalism, but this was only a contributing factor. Montgomery's abrasive personality, his arrogance, condescension and frequent tactlessness, often worked against him and the British cause. Recognising his own limitations and de Guingand's diplomatic skill, Montgomery would often send de Guingand to meetings in his place, but this practice could also cause resentment.
In de Guingand Montgomery had a diplomatic but forceful advocate on controversial issues. De Guingand formed a close relationship with Bedell Smith, now Eisenhower's chief of staff at SHAEF and was able to smooth over many difficulties arising from Montgomery's poor relationships with many of his peers and superiors. De Guingand was highly respected by the Americans,
General of the Army Omar Bradley, who served under Montgomery's command as the commander of the
First United States Army
First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...
and
US 12th Army Group
The Twelfth United States Army Group was the largest and most powerful United States Army formation ever to take to the field, commanding four field armies at its peak in 1945: First United States Army, Third United States Army, Ninth United Stat ...
, described de Guingand as
Headquarters organisation
In the lead up to Operation Overlord, Montgomery left dealing with the details up to de Guingand and the staff, while he spent most of his time touring the country and talking to the troops. In his absence, de Guingand was in charge at St Paul's. He chaired the daily staff conferences and attended inter-staff meetings with his opposite numbers from the Royal Navy and RAF,
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
George Creasy
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Elvey Creasy, (13 October 1895 – 31 October 1972) was a senior Royal Navy officer. After serving as a junior officer in the First World War, during which he took part in operations at Heligoland Bight in 1917, h ...
and Air Vice Marshal
Philip Wigglesworth. Montgomery noticed that de Guingand was showing signs of stress and fatigue and instructed Lieutenant-Colonel
Harry Llewellyn
Sir Henry Morton Llewellyn, 3rd Baronet, (18 July 1911 – 15 November 1999) was a British equestrian champion. He was born the second son of a colliery owner, Sir David Llewellyn, 1st Baronet.
Background
A younger son, Llewellyn was seco ...
to report to him if de Guingand was unable to carry out his duties. For the first time Montgomery's command included large numbers of American soldiers, so he asked Eisenhower to provide him with an American
aide-de-camp. Eisenhower sent him two to choose from: Captains J. R. (Ray) BonDurant and Edwin (Bill) Carver. Montgomery chose BonDurant and with Eisenhower's permission also kept Carver, who became an aide to de Guingand. The American aides accompanied them on visits to American units.
A Tac HQ was organised under Major Paul Odgers, who was brought from the Eighth Army Tac HQ for the purpose. De Guingand was disturbed at this; while a Tac HQ was appropriate for a
field army
A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps and may be subordinate to an army group. Likewise, air armies are equivalent formation within some air forces, and with ...
commander, he was not so sure that it was the best option for the commander-in-chief of an
army group
An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organization handled by ...
, who should have been able to function from main headquarters. De Guingand failed to convince Montgomery of this. One problem that de Guingand saw was that the most senior officers at Tac HQ were three lieutenant-colonels; the rest were all majors or below. He felt that a more senior officer was required, one that could act in his stead. De Guingand chose Colonel Leo Russell. Although Odgers liked him, Russell had an abrasive personality and no battlefield experience, which made it hard for him to earn the respect of the more operationally experienced officers at Tac HQ. He later came into conflict with Montgomery over the theft of a pig and Montgomery had him removed from Tac HQ.
![Major General Freddie de Guingand is knighted](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Major_General_Freddie_de_Guingand_is_knighted.jpg)
On
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
, Allied forces secured a lodgement in Normandy, but it was not as deep as planned, and the city of
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,[British logistics in the Normandy campaign worked well. De Guingand was frustrated by the separation of Main HQ and Tac HQ by the ]English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, which meant that he was no longer in daily face-to-face contact with Montgomery, although the two spoke on a scrambler
In telecommunications, a scrambler is a device that transposes or inverts signals or otherwise encodes a message at the sender's side to make the message unintelligible at a receiver not equipped with an appropriately set descrambling device. Wher ...
phone. Main HQ finally moved to Bayeux
Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France.
Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...
in the second half of July.
For his role in Operation Overlord, de Guingand was further promoted in the Order of the British Empire when he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
on 29 June 1944. This was an unusual (although not unprecedented) honour for a temporary major-general, particularly one who still held the substantive rank of major. He was invested
Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort.
In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
with his knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in the field by King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
at Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,[Miles Dempsey and John Crocker. De Guingand's substantive rank was advanced to colonel on 1 December.
]
Final campaigns
When American and British relations were strained in January 1945 after the Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
by Montgomery's continued advocacy of the appointment of an Allied land forces commander, Eisenhower threatened to send a signal to the Combined Chiefs of Staff indicating that there was an unbridgeable gap between him and Montgomery. De Guingand feared that Montgomery was about to be sacked. He was able to persuade Eisenhower not to send the message and was then able to persuade Montgomery to send a heartfelt and apologetic one to Eisenhower. He then arranged to meet with the war correspondents committee, which was chaired by Alan Moorehead
Alan McCrae Moorehead, (22 July 1910 – 29 September 1983) was a war correspondent and author of popular histories, most notably two books on the nineteenth-century exploration of the Nile, ''The White Nile'' (1960) and ''The Blue Nile'' (196 ...
and expressed his reservations about the news coverage of the battle and its effect on inter-Allied relations.
In March 1945, Montgomery summoned de Guingand to his caravan, where Brigadier Ernest Bulmer, the consulting physician to the 21st Army Group, was sitting beside him. Montgomery informed de Guingand that Bulmer had rendered a professional opinion that de Guingand was exhausted and needed a rest. When de Guingand protested, Bulmer listed the reasons behind his diagnosis. Montgomery and de Guingand then rounded on Bulmer, who offered to treat de Guingand with sedatives to help him sleep, on the proviso that de Guingand check in to a hospital in Brussels for 24 hours every two or three weeks. This deal was made subject to the war ending within three months. If it did not, then de Guingand would be relieved. That night, Montgomery brought de Guingand a cup of hot Ovaltine
Ovaltine (also known by its original name Ovomaltine) is a brand of milk flavoring product made with malt extract (except in the blue packaging in the United States), sugar (except in Switzerland), and whey. Some flavors also have cocoa. Ovaltin ...
to help him sleep. Neither it nor the drugs had the desired effect.
For his part in the campaign in Borth West Europe, de Guingand was mentioned in despatches twice more, on 9 August and 8 November 1945. His services were recognised by the Americans with the award of the Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
in the degree of commander in April 1945 and the US Army Distinguished Service Medal in January 1948, and by the Netherlands with the Knight Grand Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau with Swords on 17 October 1946.
Post war
Military career
After the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945, Churchill proposed that de Guingand be appointed Montgomery's deputy military governor of the British Zone in Allied-occupied Germany
Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...
, but the War Office rejected the proposal, and de Guingand was sent on six months' sick leave instead. He spent time recuperating but was still not recovered in July when Montgomery informed de Guingand that he had become aware that he was to succeed Brooke as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and that he wanted de Guingand as his Vice Chief of the Imperial General Staff (VCIGS), provided that he was fit enough. De Guingand replied that he should be fine in three months' time, but Montgomery replied that it could not wait that long; Lord Alanbrooke wanted de Guingand to first gain some experience working at the War Office, which had changed greatly since de Guingand had last worked there in 1940. He wanted him to take over as DMI at the War Office, a post Montgomery had first recommended him for in 1942. Montgomery said he would talk to the doctors.
De Guingand took up the appointment on 19 September 1945, but he was still suffering from insomnia and depression. He also had some personal problems: his wife Arlie was unimpressed with austere post-war Britain, and decided to pay a visit to her family in Australia. Although he had served as Director of Military Intelligence at Middle East Command, the job was quite different, as was the strategic environment. There was a considerable difference between dealing with threats that required immediate action, and the long-term issues and parsimonious government policies of the post-war world. His War Office colleagues were wary of him, fearing that he was the advance guard of another Montgomery "new broom" like the one that had swept through the Eighth Army in 1942, and the 21st Army Group in 1944.
The position of VCIGS came up sooner than expected. In January 1946, the VCIGS, Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Nye
Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Edward Nye, (23 April 1895 – 13 November 1967) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. In the latter he served as Vice-Chief of the Imperial General Staff (VCIGS).
After the Second W ...
, was appointed Governor of Madras
This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
English Agents
In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized be ...
. Montgomery and Alanbrooke met to discuss Nye's successor. Montgomery wanted de Guingand, but de Guingand had failed to impress Alanbrooke as DMI, and Alanbrooke said he wanted to appoint Lieutenant-General Sir Richard McCreery instead. Montgomery baulked at this. Alanbrooke felt that the war had not been won by the Eighth Army and 21st Army Group alone, and that there were many fine officers who had served elsewhere who should be reassured that they still had a place in the British Army. Montgomery and Alanbrooke then compromised in Simpson.
On 26 February 1946, Alanbrooke told de Guingand that his health was no longer good enough to perform effectively as DMI, and he was being placed on sick leave. He departed for Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
in the south of France with his wife, child and daughter's nanny the following day. En route, he broke his nose in a fall at the Gare du Nord
The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capital ...
. It was later repaired by plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe
Sir Archibald Hector McIndoe (4 May 1900 – 11 April 1960) was a New Zealand plastic surgeon who worked for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He improved the treatment and rehabilitation of badly burned aircrew.
Early life
Archi ...
. In Cannes the family lived in a villa that Aly Khan
Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV.
A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...
lent them. Food was scarce in southern France, but the War Office supplied him with British Army rations for five people. While there he worked on his memoirs.
On 27 June 1946, de Guingand relinquished his temporary rank of major-general and reverted to his substantive rank of colonel. After representations from Eisenhower, he was promoted to the substantive rank of major-general on 10 September 1946, with seniority backdated to 22 March 1945. In February 1947 de Guingand retired from the army. He hoped to secure the post of Governor of Southern Rhodesia
The Governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. The Governor was appointed by The Crown and acted as the local h ...
, but despite Montgomery's endorsement, he was passed over in favour of Major-General Sir John Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
.
Business career
De Guingand moved to Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
, where he was involved in an unsuccessful business venture with David Stirling, the wartime commander of the Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
, as chairman of Gemsbok, a construction company founded by Stirling and his brother Bill. He moved to Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
in South Africa in October 1947, and pursued a career in business as deputy chairman of Tube Investments Ltd. In 1960, he joined the tobacco firm Rothmans Rothmans may refer to:
* Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, a Canadian tobacco company
* Rothmans International, a former British tobacco manufacturer, founded by Louis Rothman
See also
* Rothman, a surname
* Rothmans 12 hours, a series of sports car ra ...
as chairman of their Britain subsidiary. He was the head of the South Africa Foundation, an organisation founded in 1959 by Harry Oppenheimer, whose chief goal was to block economic sanctions against South Africa
Disinvestment (or divestment) from South Africa was first advocated in the 1960s, in protest against South Africa's system of apartheid, but was not implemented on a significant scale until the mid-1980s. The disinvestment campaign, after bei ...
due to its Apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
policies. On the occasion of his retirement on 9 December 1971, de Guingand strongly criticised Apartheid and the government of South Africa, saying that it had become a pariah state with a network of despicable laws. This reflected an evolution of his own thinking.
De Guingand wrote books about his experiences. His wartime memoir, ''Operation Victory'', was published in January 1947. The title was suggested by Moorehead. The book became a best-seller; it was serialised in ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' and ran through seven editions and two paperback impressions, but de Guingand unwisely directed his literary agent to negotiate a lump sum from the publisher, Hodder and Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.
History
Early history
The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher ...
, instead of the royalties provided by the default contract. The book contained some controversial passages, most notably an account of the broad front versus narrow front controversy of late 1944, which would sour the post-war relationship between Eisenhower and Montgomery. Montgomery wrote a letter to de Guingand in