Ronald Scobie

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Ronald MacKenzie Scobie
8th June 1893 - 1969
Allegiance	British
Years of service	1914 - 1945
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Royal Engineers
Commands	III Corps British 70th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Battle of Tobruk
Awards	KBE, CBE, CB, MC.

Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie KBE, CBE, CB, MC was a British Army officer. Born on the 8 June 1893 he was educated at Cheltenham and Woolwich and played rugby for Scotland in 1914.

He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1914 serving in the First World War .

In 1939 Scobie, a brigadier, was Deputy Director of Mobilisation at the War Office . After this he held staff positions in the Middle East and Sudan before being given command of the 70th Infantry Division , which was sent into to relieve the Australian 9th Division in Tobruk . Scobie was in command of the Tobruk fortress from 22 October 1941 to 13 December 1941 , when, as part of Operation Crusader , the 70th Infantry Division led the successful break-out from Tobruk.

In February 1942 he became Deputy Adjutant General for GHQ, Middle East. On 22 March 1943 Scobie was promoted to lieutenant-general and made Chief of the General Staff, GHQ Middle East. From 11 December 1943 he was given command of III Corps which was sent to Greece to expel the Germans but ended up becoming involved in the Greek Civil War. He remained in command of British forces in Greece until after the end of the Second World War.