Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Robert George Broadwood, CB (14 March 1862 – 21 June 1917) was Commander of British Troops in South China and also served in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

where played a large role in the

Battle of Driefontein The Battle of Driefontein on 10 March 1900 followed on the Battle of Poplar Grove in the Second Boer War between the British Empire and the Boer republics, in what is now South Africa. In the first half of 1900, the British made an offensive to ...

Military career

Robert was the third son and child of Thomas Broadwood and Mary Athlea Matthews and a grandson of

John Broadwood John Broadwood (6 October 1732 – 17 July 1812) was the Scottish founder of the piano manufacturer Broadwood and Sons. Life Broadwood was born 6 October 1732 and christened 15 Oct 1732 at St Helens, Cockburnspath in Berwickshire, and grew up in ...

, the founder of the Broadwood Piano Company. He was educated at Charterhouse School. He never married. He joined the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales) in 1881Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> and participated in the Dongola Expeditionary Force and Egyptian Campaign in 1896. Between 1893 and 1896 he worked closely with

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian forces allied with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and was present at

Atbara Atbara (sometimes Atbarah) ( ar, عطبرة ʿAṭbarah) is a city located in River Nile State in northeastern Sudan. Because of its links to the railway industry, Atbara is also known as the "Railway City'. As of 2007, its population is 1 ...

and

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

. As a Lieutenant Colonel he served under Lord Kitchener in the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief ( sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the ...

in Sudan during the Nile Campaign of 1898 launched to suppress the Sudanese Mahdist revolt. In this capacity he was placed in charge of the contingent of Egyptian cavalry fighting alongside Commonwealth regulars. At the start of the battle Lord Kitchener placed this contingent on the British right flank to protect a small hill there. The Sudanese initially attacked this flank and Broadwood was commended in the official dispatch back to the War Office in England for his adept leadership. He was also awarded the

Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh or Order of Osmaniye ( ota, نشانِ عثمانیہ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i ...

(Fourth Class) as a result of this incident. Broadwood served as a cavalry officer during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

(1899–1902). As a Brigadier General he commanded Commonwealth forces at the Surprise of Sanna's Post (aka Korn Spruit) in late March 1900. In this engagement

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

forces achieved complete tactical surprise and Broadwood's forces suffered over 150 fatalities in the resulting

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...

. Broadwood was mentioned in despatches dated 31 March 1900, when the commander-in-chief, Lord Roberts, described him as "commanding the 2nd Cavalry Brigade with exceptional ability and dash throughout the operations". For his services during the war, he was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB) on 29 November 1900, but was not invested until he was back in England, by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 8 August 1902. He later served as Commander of Troops in Natal, South Africa from 1903 to 1904. He went on to serve as Commander of British Troops in South China in 1906. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as Commanding General of the

1st Mounted Division The 1st Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of three ...

from 29 September 1914. In July 1916, he was still in command when the division was reorganized as the

1st Cyclist Division The 1st Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of three ...

. He took command of the 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division, which fought at the

Second Battle of Passchendaele The Second Battle of Passchendaele was the culminating attack during the Third Battle of Ypres of the First World War. The battle took place in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, in and around the Belgian village of Passchendaele, bet ...

, from 20 October 1916 until he died of wounds suffered in battle on 21 June 1917. He is buried in the Anzac Cemetery near

Sailly-sur-la-Lys Sailly-sur-la-Lys (, literally ''Sailly on the Lys''; vls, Zelleken) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Sailly-sur-la-Lys is a large farming and light industrial village situated s ...

.Anzac Cemetery
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadwood, Robert George 1862 births 1917 deaths British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army cavalry generals of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath 12th Royal Lancers officers British expatriates in China People educated at Charterhouse School Military personnel from London British Army lieutenant generals People from Chelsea, London Burials in Hauts-de-France