Major-General James Bruce Scott (25 December 1892 – 30 May 1974) was a

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

officer who commanded the

1st Burma Division 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 reco ...

during the

Japanese invasion of Burma The Japanese invasion of Burma was the opening phase of the Burma campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, which took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. During the first year of the campaign (December 1941 to mid-1942) ...

in 1942.

Early life

Scott was the son of James Scott CIE. He was educated at

Exeter School Exeter School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2019, there were around 200 pupils in the Junior School and 700 in the Senior School. History The School traces its ...

and 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 ...

Military career

He was commissioned onto the Unattached List for the Indian Army on 20 January 1912. He was appointed to the Indian Army on 13 March 1913 and the

33rd Punjabis The 33rd Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the Allahabad Levy. It was designated as the 33rd Punjabis in 1903 and became 3rd Battalion 16th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1947, it was allocated to ...

. During the First World War he served in Egypt in 1914, France in 1915, Egypt & Aden in 1916 and German East Africa in 1917. He was wounded and was 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 i ...

in 1918.Indian Army List Supplement 1941 He was appointed a company commander and second in command of the 2nd battalion, 28th Punjabis on 23 August 1918. Following the war he served during the Afghanistan & North West Frontier operations in 1919. He served on the

Waziristan campaign (1919–20) Waziristan campaign or Waziristan expedition may refer to: * Waziristan campaign (1919–20) * Waziristan campaign (1921–24) * Waziristan campaign (1936–39) * Waziristan War, the 2004–present conflict in North-West Pakistan {{disambig ...

and

Waziristan campaign (1921–24) Waziristan campaign or Waziristan expedition may refer to: *Waziristan campaign (1919–20) Waziristan campaign or Waziristan expedition may refer to: * Waziristan campaign (1919–20) * Waziristan campaign (1921–24) * Waziristan campaign (1936� ...

was Mentioned in Despatches. He joined the 1st Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles on 20 July 1922 and appointed a company commander 8 July 1924. He served on North West Frontier during 1930-31 operations and was Mentioned in Despatches. Scott served as a

General Staff Officer 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 ...

grade 2 from 1 April 1932 to 31 December 1933 on the staff of the Directorate of Military Operations at the Headquarters of the Army in India. He then served on the North West Frontier (Mohmand) operations in 1933. He was appointed an Assistant Director, Intelligence at Peshawar from 1 January 1934 until November 1935 when he was posted to the 1st Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles as second in command and officiating commandant.January 1936 Indian Army List On 2 November 1936, Scott was promoted lieutenant-colonel and assumed command of the 1st Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles. On 29 June 1939, Scott was transferred to Burma where he was appointed to command the newly formed Maymyo Brigade and promoted to the rank of local brigadier.London Gazette On 1 July 1941, Scott was promoted acting major-general and assumed command of the embryonic

. This formation was raised in response to the increased tension in South East Asia, and comprised the Maymyo Brigade (re-designated as the

1st Burma Infantry Brigade The 1st Burma Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the British Burma Army during World War II. It was formed in July 1941, when it was converted from the Maymyo Infantry Brigade Area and assigned to the 1st Burma Infantry Division. In J ...

) the newly formed

2nd Burma Infantry Brigade The 2nd Burma Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Burma Army during World War II. It was formed in July 1941. The Brigade was then disbanded in June 1942, and reformed in October 1942, to command battalions of the newly formed Burma ...

and the

13th Indian Infantry Brigade The 13th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in October 1940, at Campbellpore and assigned to the 7th Indian Infantry Division. It was transferred to the 1st Burma Divis ...

, which had arrived from India in April 1941. The 1st Burma Division was one of only two British divisional formations in Burma at the time of the Japanese invasion. Scott commanded the division throughout the difficult Burma campaign of 1942. In the retreat from Rangoon his division was trapped in the vicinity of Yenangyaung and his force had to fight its way out of the encirclement to link up with the force sent to rescue it. During the campaign, Scott was promoted temporary major-general on 1 July 1942. He successfully extracted his division from Burma and led it into India. Scott was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 28 October 1942 for his leadership in Burma. On arrival in India, the 1st Burma Division was re-designated as the 39 Indian Infantry Division on 20 June 1942. Scott was appointed as the Inspector of Infantry in India with effect from 28 March 1943, his promotion to major-general being made substantive on 20 June 1943. On 12 November 1943, he was appointed General Officer Commanding Peshawar District in India. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 1 January 1944. After three years in post, Scott relinquished his command on 12 November 1946, retiring from the Indian Army on 10 May 1947. Scott died in 1974, aged 81.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
*Indian Army List Supplement 1941 {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James Bruce 1892 births 1974 deaths British Indian Army generals Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Indian Army generals of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Exeter School Indian Army personnel of World War I Burmese military personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British people in colonial India