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 ...

Herbert William Lumsden, &

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

, MC (8 April 1897 – 6 January 1945) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," ...

who fought in both the First and

Second World Wars World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He commanded the 1st Armoured Division in the Western Desert campaign, and later commanded the X Corps at the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented ...

, before being relieved by his superior, Lieutenant-General

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and ...

. He was killed in action by the Japanese in early 1945, becoming the most senior combat casualty of the British Army of the Second World War.

Early life and military career

Herbert Lumsden was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

on 8 April 1897, the son of John and Anna Lumsden, née Dimalow. He was sent to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and was educated at The Leys School. At the outbreak of the

First World War 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 fig ...

, in August 1914, he was only 17 years old. He served in the ranks with the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

(TF) for ten months before passing into the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Si ...

, from where he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Artillery on 13 August 1916.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> On 26 July 1918 Lumsden 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 ...

. The citation read:

Between wars

On 19 April 1923, Lumsden married Alice Mary Roddick in Northaw. They had two sons, Jack and Peter. Lumsden continued to serve in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

until 24 June 1925, when he transferred to the cavalry regiment

12th Royal Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

. In August, he was promoted from

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

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 ...

after almost eight years in the former rank. He was an ardent horseman, despite his 6 ft height, and participated in a number of

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handica ...

s. In 1926, he won the

Grand Military Gold Cup The Grand Military Gold Cup is a National Hunt steeplechase in England which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 3 miles (3 miles and 37 yards or ), and it is scheduled ...

at Sandown riding Foxtrot. In 1929, Lumsden attended and passed 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 ...

course. Promoted to major in 1931, he held staff appointments in the cavalry for the next four years, being

GSO3 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 ...

of Aldershot Command and then brigade major of the 1st Cavalry Brigade. After a period of not being employed he became GSO2 at the Staff College, Camberley before being given command, in 1938, of his old regiment, the 12th Royal Lancers in succession to Colonel Richard McCreery. He was still in command of the regiment, now converted to armoured cars, at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Second World War

Lumsden was widely praised for his command of his regiment during the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940 as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). His regiment, the reconnaissance regiment of BEF General Headquarters (GHQ), was the first unit to cross the border from France into Belgium, occurring at roughly 13:00 on 10 May, the day of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

assault in the West. Amongst other actions he held off German attacks on Bernard Montgomery's 3rd Division's exposed left flank for which he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typi ...

(DSO) but Montgomery felt upstaged by the lower ranked Lumsden who had acted without orders and the relationship between the two men deteriorated.Latimer, John. "El Alamein". Harvard University Press, 2002. After returning to the United Kingdom Lumsden was promoted and commanded a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful e ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

before being appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the

6th Armoured Division The 6th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army, created in September 1940 during the Second World War and re-formed in May 1951 in the UK. History The division was formed in the United Kingdom under Northern Command on ...

in Home Forces in October 1941, taking over from Major-General

John Crocker General Sir John Tredinnick Crocker, (4 January 1896 – 9 March 1963) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both world wars. He served as both a private soldier and a junior officer in the First World War, and as a distinguished b ...

. His period in command was very brief, however, as on 5 November Lumsden was given command of the 1st Armoured Division, which was then just beginning to arrive in

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 Med ...

. It was in this role that he first saw service in the North African campaign. A forceful personality, he was wounded twice in 1942 (having to hand over his command to Frank Messervy from January to March), received a

to his DSO and on his return to service and the 1st Armoured Division, survived Lieutenant-General

's cull of Eighth Army commanders. Montgomery had been keen to sack Lumsden whom he still resented following the incident at Dunkirk but he was overruled by his Commander-in-Chief General Sir Harold Alexander. Lumsden was appointed commander of X Corps for the

upon the recommendation of Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, who turned the command down in his favour.

The Miteiriya Ridge controversy

During the night of 24/25 October 1942, after the

had begun, the British assault of infantry and engineers over the Miteiriya Ridge during the Second Battle of El Alamein failed. Despite having agreed to Montgomery's battle plan, Lumsden believed it was impossible for his X Corps armour to fight its way into the open without incurring appalling casualties from uncleared minefields and anti-tank fire. He wanted to pull his tanks back and send them into battle once the assault of infantry and engineers had taken place as originally planned. In the early hours of 25 October, Lumsden and Montgomery argued fiercely. The relationship between the two men was worse than ever, and Lumsden demanded that his armour should be pulled back whilst Montgomery insisted the attack continue. Lumsden asked one of his tank commanders, Major-General Alexander Gatehouse, commanding the 10th Armoured Division, to back him up. In a heated telephone conversation with Montgomery, Gatehouse said that he concurred with Lumsden and that to advance through uncharted and uncleared minefields, covered by strong batteries of anti-tank guns, with the noise from the tanks making surprise impossible, would be disastrous. Montgomery modified the scope of the attack from six armoured regiments to one: the Staffordshire Yeomanry. It lost all but fifteen of its tanks and the operation ended where it had begun, on the wrong side of the Miteiriya Ridge having failed to break through with the armour. War Office Second World War Official Collection E19874

War Office Second World War Official Collection E19874

The Allies were victorious at El Alamein but for Lumsden, his confrontation with Montgomery in the heat of battle proved ruinous. Lumsden was replaced by Horrocks, who had previously recommended Lumsden to Montgomery, while Gatehouse was also removed from command. On his return to London, on entering his club Lumsden was heard to comment, "I've just been sacked because there isn't room in the desert for two cads like Monty and me." After Lumsden's death in 1945 Montgomery, notoriously sensitive to criticism of his generalship, unjustly blamed the near failure of his attack on 24/25 October 1942 on Lumsden. Lumsden was liked and respected by Winston Churchill. After his dismissal by Montgomery he was given command of VIII Corps in Britain in January 1943 and command of II Corps in July, before being sent to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

as Winston Churchill's special military representative to

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

General Douglas MacArthur.

Death in action

On 4 January 1945 Japanese

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to ...

began a week-long assault on American naval forces transporting MacArthur's 6th Army to

Lingayen Gulf The Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central. The Agno River and the Bali ...

, site of the upcoming landing on

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

, the Philippines' most populous island. The escort carrier was badly damaged and had to be scuttled, suffering 100 casualties. A destroyer and tanker were hit but survived. Two Japanese destroyers tried to attack a convoy near Manila Bay but were fought off. One, the destroyer ''Momi'', was sunk. On 5 January kamikaze attacked Allied naval forces moving toward Lingayen Gulf. Escort carriers and , cruisers and HMAS ''Australia'', two destroyers and four other ships were damaged. On 6 January the Allies suffered their heaviest loss in the Pacific since Guadalcanal when kamikaze mauled the U.S. 7th Fleet as it began bombarding the invasion beaches at Luzon and minesweeping the Lingayen Gulf. Twenty-nine kamikaze hit 15 ships and Lumsden was killed by one while on the bridge of the battleship , becoming the most senior British Army combat casualty of the Second World War. Lumsden was the subject of obituaries in ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on M ...

'' and in the ''Times''.The Times, 12 January 1945 , Fallen Officers, "The Times" list of Casualties

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Biography of Lumsden
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lumsden, Herbert 1897 births 1945 deaths People from Santiago British Army personnel of World War I British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel killed in World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Horse Artillery officers 12th Royal Lancers officers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army lieutenant generals Academics of the Staff College, Camberley