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 Nigel Thomas Bagnall, (10 February 1927 – 8 April 2002) was Chief of the General Staff (CGS), the professional head of the British Army, from 1985 to 1988. Early in his military career he saw action during the Palestine Emergency, the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

, the Cyprus Emergency and the

Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation or Borneo confrontation (also known by its Indonesian / Malay name, ''Konfrontasi'') was an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesia's opposition to the creation of the Federation of ...

, and later in his career he provided advice to the British Government on the future role of Britain's nuclear weapons.

Army career

Born the son of Lieutenant Colonel Harry Stephen Bagnall and Marjory May Bagnall and educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

,Debrett's People of Today 1994 Bagnall undertook National Service for a year before being commissioned into the Green Howards on 5 January 1946. Shortly afterwards, however, on 13 February 1946 he transferred to the Parachute Regiment and was deployed to

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 ...

where the British Mandate was about to end. Promoted to lieutenant on 24 September 1949, he served in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, where as a platoon commander, he was awarded the Military Cross in 1950, and a

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to the Military Cross in 1952. Promoted to

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 February 1954, he returned to the Green Howards in summer 1954 and then took part in counter-insurgency operations against

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA; ; el, Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, lit=National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) was a Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνο� ...

units in Cyprus in 1955. He transferred to the

4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922. It served in the Second World War. However following the reduction of forces at the end of the Cold War and proposals contained in the Options for Change ...

on 24 April 1956. He was promoted to

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 10 February 1961 and appointed Military Assistant to the Vice-Chief of Defence Staff in May 1964 and then became the Senior Staff Officer dealing with intelligence activities for operations in Borneo in March 1966. Promoted to

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 colone ...

on 31 December 1966, he became the

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in 1967 and served in that capacity in Omagh in Northern Ireland and Sennelager in Germany. Promoted to colonel on 31 December 1969, he became Commander Royal Armoured Corps in 1st (British) Corps in December 1970, before receiving further promotion to brigadier on 31 December 1970. He went on to be Secretary of the Chiefs of Staff Committee at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

in September 1973. He was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 4th Division on 21 September 1975 with the substantive rank of major general from 1 November 1975 and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Policy) at the

on 7 January 1978. The Warrior of British Forces in Germany

He became commander of 1st (British) Corps on 1 November 1980 with the rank of lieutenant general and, having been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the New Year Honours 1981, went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine and Commander of NATO's Northern Army Group with the rank of general on 1 July 1983. As Commander of the Northern Army Group he grappled with NATO's strategy of forward defence, when he persuaded the Germans that some ground would have to be surrendered to withstand a massive Soviet Army attack. and see also After being advanced to a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

1985 and also becoming

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatment ...

to the Queen on 30 July 1985, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff in August 1985 in which capacity he was closely involved in the debate about the future role of Britain's nuclear weapons. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 9 September 1988 on his retirement from the British Army. He was also appointed Colonel Commandant of the

Army Physical Training Corps The Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC) is the British Army corps responsible for physical fitness and physical education and has been headquartered in Aldershot since its foundation in 1860. Its members are all Royal Army Physical Trainin ...

on 5 February 1981 and Colonel Commandant of the Royal Armoured Corps on 1 August 1985. In retirement he became a military historian and fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. He wrote a history of the

Punic wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and i ...

published in 1990 and, two years after his death, he had a history of the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

published. He died on 8 April 2002.

Family

In 1959 he married Anna Caroline Church; they had two daughters.

Historiographical works

* Bagnall, Nigel, ''The Punic Wars: Rome, Carthage and the Struggle for the Mediterranean'', London: Hutchinson, 1990, . * Bagnall, Nigel, ''The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta and the Struggle for Greece'', London: Pimlico, 2004, .

Army career

Family

Historiographical works

References

Further reading