Major General Sir Michael O'Moore Creagh, (16 May 1892 – 14 December 1970) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who served in both the

world war A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

s. He commanded the 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats, between 1939 and 1941.

Early life and military career

Creagh was born on 16 May 1892 to

O'Moore Creagh General Sir Garrett O'Moore Creagh (2 April 1848 – 9 August 1923), known as Sir O'Moore Creagh, was a senior British Army officer and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can ...

, a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

recipient and officer in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

, and his second wife Elizabeth (née Reade). Educated at Wellington College, he entered the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, and was then commissioned into the 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars in 1911. By the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Creagh had served as an aide de camp to the divisional commander Home Forces (1914–15), as a staff captain in France (1917–18) and a brigade major (1918–19). Creagh stayed in the army after the war, attending 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 ...

from 1924 to 1925, and commanded the

15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars The 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed by the amalgamation of the 15th The King's Hussars and the 19th Royal Hussars in 1922 and, after service in the Second World War, it was a ...

from 1934 to 1938.

Second World War

On 4 December 1939, three months after the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Creagh took over the Mobile Division (Egypt) stationed on the Egyptian frontier, succeeding the original

General officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC), Major General

Percy Hobart Major-General Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart, (14 June 1885 – 19 February 1957), also known as "Hobo", was a British military engineer noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division during the Second World War. He was responsible for ...

, who was retired by General Sir Archibald Wavell. In February 1940 the formation was renamed 7th Armoured Division and Creagh's tenure of command of this division was the longest of any of its GOCs.

Sidi Barrani

Creagh led the 7th Armoured Division through its earliest triumphs against the Italians after they entered the war on 10 June 1940. Under General Mario Berti, the Italian Tenth Army invaded Egypt and advanced 60 miles to

Sidi Barrani Sidi Barrani ( ) is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the Egypt–Libya border, and around from Tobruk, Libya. Named after Sidi es-Saadi el Barrani, a Senussi sheikh who was a head of its Zawiya, the village ...

where they halted. It was here that Creagh's 7th Armoured Division fought its first major battle in the

Operation Compass Operation Compass (also ) was the first large British military operation of the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) during the Second World War. British metropolitan, Imperial and Commonwealth forces attacked the Italian and Libyan forces of ...

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "Military exercise, war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objecti ...

on 8 December, joining with 4th Indian Division in the

Western Desert Force The Western Desert Force (WDF) was a British Army formation active in Egypt during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. On 17 June 1940, the headquarters of the British 6th Infantry Division was designated as the Western Des ...

to mount the attack. As a result, the Italians were driven back quickly into

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

, the eastern province of their colonial territory,

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Bardia and Tobruk

The small port of

Bardia Bardia, also El Burdi or Bardiyah ( or ) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called ''Bórdi Slemán''. The name Bardia is deeply rooted in the ancient ...

fell to advancing British, Australian and Indian forces in the Western Desert Force under the command of General Sir Richard O'Connor, followed as the new year of 1941 came in, by

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

as the Italians retreated along the

Via Balbia Via or VIA may refer to the following: Arts and entertainment * ''Via'' (Volumes album), 2011 * Via (Thalia Zedek album), 2013 * VIA (music), Soviet and Russian term for a music collective Businesses and organisations * Via Foundation, a Cz ...

, the metallised coastal road that led back to

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

and Tripoli. This was the top half of a semicircle, the bottom straight line of the semicircle was formed by rough rock-strewn desert, unpromising territory for armoured and mechanised military units like 7th Armoured Division.

Beda Fomm

Creagh's division was to travel via

Mechili Mechili () is a small village in Cyrenaica, Libya and the site of a former Turkish fort. It is nearly east of Benghazi and west of Timimi. Geography Because of its location in the desert, Mechili suffered in the past from isolation. However, i ...

, Msus and Antelat (the bottom of the semicircle), while the Australian 6th Division chased the retreating Italian Tenth Army along the coast road round the Jebel Akhdar mountains to the north (the curve of the semicircle). The poor terrain was hard going for the tanks, and Creagh took the bold decision to send a

flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appl ...

– christened " Combe Force" – south-west across the virtually unmapped Libyan Desert. Combe Force, under its namesake Lieutenant Colonel John Combe of the

11th Hussars The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...

, consisted of the 11th Hussars, a squadron of the King's Dragoon Guards, the 2nd Battalion

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

, an RAF armoured car squadron, anti-tank guns from

3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery in the British Army. They are currently based at Albemarle Barracks, Northumberland, England. The regiment is equipped with MLRS and provides Deep Fires to the 1s ...

and

C Battery The C battery (C size battery or R14 battery) is a standard size of dry cell battery typically used in medium-drain applications such as toys, flashlights, and musical instruments. As of 2007, C batteries accounted for 4% of alkaline primar ...

, 4th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery. The force totalled about 2,000 men. On 5 February, Combe Force succeeded in cutting off the Italians at Sidi Saleh and Beda Fomm. The small force held the Italians long enough to be joined by the armour of 4 Brigade on 6 February. The bulk of the Tenth Army surrendered the next day as a result of this successful blockade of their path. In March 1941 Creagh was appointed 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE). On 3 September 1941 he was relieved as commander of the division by Major General William Gott following the costly failure of

Operation Battleaxe Operation Battleaxe (15–17 June 1941) was a British Army offensive during the Second World War to raise the Siege of Tobruk and re-capture eastern Cyrenaica from German and Italian forces. It was the first time during the war that a signific ...

. Creagh commanded 3 Armoured Group from 1941 and Hampshire and Dorset District from 1942 before retiring in 1944. In retirement Creagh worked for the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA, pronounced ) was an international relief agency founded in November 1943 on the joint initiative of the United States, United Kingdom, USSR, and the Republic of China. Its purpose ...

References

Sources

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External links

British Unit Histories
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Creagh, OMoore British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley 1892 births Military personnel from County Clare 1970 deaths British Army major generals 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars officers British people of Irish descent Irish officers in the British Army People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire