Major General Sir Victor Morven Fortune (21 August 1883 – 2 January 1949) was a senior officer of the British Army. He saw service in both World War I and World War II. He commanded the

51st (Highland) Infantry Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

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 ...

and was subsequently trapped and obliged to surrender to the Germans on 12 June 1940.

Military career

After being educated at

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Fortune 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 British Army from 1903, joining the 1st Battalion,

The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd Regiment of Foot, 42nd (Roy ...

. On the outbreak of the First World War he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant and was serving as a Platoon Commander in A Company under Major Lord George Stewart-Murray. The battalion sailed to France in August 1914 where Fortune saw initial action during The Retreat from Mons and the First Battle of the Marne. In September 1914 he was promoted to Captain, taking command of A Company following the death of Major Lord Stewart-Murray at the First Battle of the Aisne. Fortune led A Company ably through The First Battle of Ypres before moving up to Battalion Headquarters as Adjutant on 11th November 1914 where he saw further action at Givenchy, Cuinchy,

Neuve Chapelle Neuve-Chapelle ( vls, Nieuwkappel) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It was the site of a First World War battle in 1915. Geography Neuve-Chapelle is situated some northeast of Béthune and ...

and Aubers Ridge. He served as Battalion Adjutant until 30th September 1915 when he was appointed as Brigade Major to the 1st Infantry Brigade, serving in this key role during the costly Battle of Loos. Fortune returned to 1st Battalion

almost exactly a year later on 16th September 1916 when as Acting Lieutenant Colonel he was appointed

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 ...

(CO) during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. He led the battalion competently through final stages of the Battle of the Somme and the later

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

before a transfer to command the Fourth Army Musketry School in January 1918. Fortune ended the war as Commander of the 46th Brigade with the rank of Acting Brigadier General. During his wartime service Fortune was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and five times

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

. After 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 i ...

from 1920 to 1921, he returned to Sandhurst, this time as instructor. Promoted Major in January 1923, he was appointed Assistant Commandant, Small Arms School, Hythe which was followed in 1925 by a brief return to the 1st Battalion

in India and then in 1927 having been promoted Lieutenant Colonel he was appointed CO of the 1st Battalion,

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

and subsequently commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade in 1930. He became General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowland ...

in 1935 and GOC of the

in 1937. The 51st Division remained in France after the general evacuation from Dunkirk, having been assigned to the French IX Corps. After naval evacuation proved impossible and supplies of ammunition had been exhausted, Major-General Fortune was forced to surrender the greater part of the Highland Division at

St Valery en Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Caux'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. The addition of an acute accent on the "e" (Valéry) is incorrect. Geography The town is locate ...

. Fortune spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. As a senior British officer in captivity in Germany, he worked to improve the conditions of the men under his command. He suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 1944 but refused repatriation. He was finally liberated in April 1945 and made KBE shortly after. Several British writers have questioned the decision to remain with the French during the battle. However, General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

stated, 'For my part, I can say that the comradeship of arms, sealed on the battlefield of Abbeville in May–June 1940, between the French armoured division, which I had the honour to command, and the gallant 51st Scottish Division under General Fortune, played its part in the decision which I made to continue the fight at the side of the Allies, to the end, come what may'. And he concluded by quoting the old motto of the Garde Ecossaise: ''omni modo fidelis'' – faithful in every way.

References

Bibliography

External links

Recollections of Susan Fortune. Victor Fortune's daughter-in-law
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune, Victor 1883 births 1949 deaths Scottish military personnel British Army major generals British Army generals of World War I British Army generals of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Deputy Lieutenants of Perthshire People from Castle Douglas Black Watch officers People educated at Winchester College Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Academics of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst