William Gott

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Lieutenant-General William Henry Ewart "Strafer" Gott CB, CBE, DSO, MC (13 August 1897 - 7 August 1942) was a British Army officer during both the First and Second World Wars, reaching the rank of Lieutenant-General when serving in the British Eighth Army.

An officer in the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC), Gott served with distinction with the BEF in France during World War I. His nickname was a pun on the phrase Gott strafe England.

Arriving in Egypt in 1939 as a Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 1st Battalion KRRC, he was successively General Staff Officer, Grade I (ranked Lieutenant-Colonel), commander of the Support Group (Brigadier), and commanding officer (Major-General) of the famed 7th Armoured Division (the Desert Rats). Gott was promoted to Lieutenant-General, given command of XIII Corps in early 1942 and led that formation in the battles of Gazala and First Alamein. A big man with an aggressive, outgoing personality, he was popular with soldiers under his command, but as a senior commander he was considered by some to be out of his depth.

In August 1942, Prime Minister Winston Churchill removed General Sir Claude Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief Middle East and acting General Officer Commanding Eighth Army. Gott's aggressive, somewhat impetuous personality appealed to Churchill, and Gott was chosen to take over Eighth Army.

This was despite the reservations of Auchinleck and General Sir Alan Brooke,^[1] the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, who perceived shortcomings as a large-scale commander, highlighted by the confused see-saw of fighting before and during First Alamein. Whatever his skills as an inspiring divisional leader, of 7th Armoured for example, he seemed unable to translate these into the strategic sphere where co-ordination and co-operation between and among various fighting elements is essential.

Before he could take up his post, Gott was killed when an unarmed transport plane - a Bristol Bombay - he had hitched a lift in, was shot down by a German fighter of JG27, while returning to Cairo from the battle area.^[2][3] There is speculation that the Germans were aware that he was onboard the aircraft through signals interception but this has never been proved. The German view of the action by is recorded The Bombay aircraft of 216 Squadron RAF was flown that day by the then 19 year old Flight Sergeant Hugh "Jimmy" James. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for the action - his outstanding flying saved several lives - and survived the war. He recently (2006) told the full story of the incident, and the meeting, some 60 years later, of the pilot who had shot him down. This story is told here, and is based on a first-hand interview with him.

Gott's replacement was Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery.

Gott is buried in a Commonwealth War Grave ^[4] at the El Alamein War Cemetery.

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