Archibald Murray

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Sir Archibald James Murray (April 23, 1860 - January 21, 1945) was a British military officer during World War I, most famous for his commanding the Egyptian Expeditionary Force from 1916-7.

At the outbreak of war, Murray commanded a division in the British Expeditionary Force, but ultimately was made chief of staff to their commander, Sir John French. Murray was given the position largely because the initial choice for the post, Sir Henry Wilson, became undesirable for political reasons. He and French did not work well together, and Murray was ultimately relieved in January 1915. He was made Chief of Imperial General Staff that September, but was replaced just a few months later by Sir William Robertson.

In January 1916, he was given command of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. Trying to prevent another Turkish attack against the Suez Canal, Murray reorganized his troops and led a counterattack, which captured most of the Sinai Peninsula, but became stymied in Palestine. Murray was unsuccessful in his attempts to seize Gaza (see First Battle of Gaza and Second Battle of Gaza) in 1917, and he was ultimately relieved of command, and replaced by the much more successful Edmund Allenby. He was known and criticized for his indecisive character and was not particularly well-liked by his men, largely because he ran his campaign more often than not by remote control from Cairo, rather than the field. He also authorized T.E. Lawrence's expedition to join the Arab Revolt against the Turks in Arabia, providing monetary and limited military support for Lawrence's attack on Aqaba.

Murray was reassigned, commanding reservists at Aldershot for the remainder of the war. He retired from the army in 1922 and died in obscurity in 1945.

He was portrayed by Donald Wolfit in the film Lawrence of Arabia.