Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

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Sir Archibald Wavell

Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, GCB, GCSI, GCIE, CMG, MC, PC (May 5, 1883 – May 24, 1950) was a British Field Marshal and the commander of British Army forces in the Middle East during World War II. He led British forces to victory over the Italians, only to be defeated by the German army.

Wavell was born in Colchester but spent much of his childhood in India. Wavell's father was a major-general in the British Army and Wavell followed his father's career choice.

Wavell attended Winchester College and Sandhurst. He joined the Black Watch in 1900 and fought in the second Boer War. In 1903, he was transferred to India and fought in the Bazar Valley campaign of 1908. In 1911, Wavell spent a year as a military observer with the Russian Army.

Wavell was working as a staff officer when World War I began. He was transferred to a combat unit and was wounded in the Battle of Ypres in 1915, losing an eye. Following his recovery, he was assigned as a liaison-officer to the Russian Army in 1916, this time in the field in Turkey. In 1918, he was transferred to Sir Edmund Allenby's staff in Palestine.

Wavell was given a number of assignments between the world wars. In 1937, he was transferred back to Palestine, where there was a growing uprising. In July 1939, he was named as the head of Middle East Command and was in that post when World War II began.

The Middle Eastern theatre was quiet for the first few months of the war until Italy's declaration of war in June 1940. The Italian forces in North Africa greatly outnumbered the British. Wavell however was able to not only defend against the Italian attacks but to defeat the Italians and occupy their colonies in Ethiopia and Somaliland. By February 1941, the British appeared to be on the verge of overrunning the last Italian forces in Libya, which would have ended Axis control in all of Africa.

Wavell meets Lt. General Quinan, commander of British and Indian Army forces in Iraq in April 1941

But at this same time the Germans and Italians were attacking Greece. Wavell was ordered to halt his advance against Libya and send troops to Greece. He disagreed with this decision but followed his orders. The result was a disaster. The Germans had an opportunity to reinforce the Italians in North Africa, the British were unable to set up an adequate defense on the Greek mainland and were forced to withdraw to Crete with heavy losses, and a pro-Axis faction took over the government of Iraq leading to the brief Anglo-Iraqi War.

Wavell was replaced as Commander of British forces in the Middle East by Sir Claude Auchinleck in July 1941. He was then transferred to India, where he served as Commander-in-Chief. He once again had the misfortune of being placed in charge of an undermanned theatre which became a warzone when the Japanese declared war on the United Kingdom in December 1941. He was made overall commander in charge of ABDA (American-British-Dutch-Australian) Command, but was forced to evacuate his headquarters from Java following the break-up of ABDA.

Wavell, despite his abilities, did not have the resources to defend the territory he was responsible for and was unable to prevent the Japanese from capturing Singapore, Malaya, and Burma.

Wavell as Viceroy of India (centre), with the C-in-C of the Indian Army Auchinleck (right) and Montgomery.

Wavell was again replaced in his military post by Auchinleck, who by this point had also experienced setbacks in North Africa. In 1943, Wavell was created a viscount and was named Viceroy of India. His mandate there was to maintain the status quo in India during the war and he remained in this post until he was replaced by Lord Mountbatten of Burma in 1947. Wavell is generally considered the best Viceroy and Governor General of India, for not only he had done all his homework before he became viceroy, but he is also considered one of those British personalities who touched Indian souls and understood them. His understanding of the Indian situation and the ignoring of his requests and proposals by Winston Churchill had made him quite frustrated. He was relieved to see Clement Attlee replace Churchill as Prime Minister in July 1945; however, he was unhappy with Attlee's slowness to make decisions. He had himself requested several times to be removed from his post, but his requests were turned down by London. However, had Wavell not been there, the communal tension and civic strife could have been prolonged and more bloody. Wavell was against the Partition of India, as he knew this would lead to bloodshed which neither Indians nor the British would be able to control. He wanted to be prepared for anything and had worked on preparations for a situation in which India were to be partitioned. When it was decided that the British policy was to partition India, it was Wavell who laid the foundations for the work of Border Commission chairman Sir Cyril Radcliffe; this work eventually became the Radcliffe Line.

Wavell returned to England and was made High Steward of Colchester in 1947. He died in 1950.

[edit] Quotes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Archibald Wavell

• "I think he (Benito Mussolini) must do something, if he cannot make a graceful dive he will at least have to jump in somehow; he can hardly put on his dressing-gown and walk down the stairs again."
• "After the 'war to end war' they seem to have been pretty successful in Paris at making a 'Peace to end Peace.'" (commenting on the treaties ending World War I; this quote was the basis for the title of Fromkin, David (1989), A Peace to End All Peace, New York: Henry Holt, ISBN 0-8050-6884-8)

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