Generals of the British Army: Portraits in Colour with Introductory and Biographical Notes
History
Generals of the British Army: Portraits in Colour with Introductory and Biographical Notes
Generals -- Great Britain; World War, 1914-1918 -- Biography
In June Sir Edmund Allenby was transferred to the command of the British
forces in Egypt.
In the European War some of the most brilliant infantry leaders have
come from the Cavalry--Haig, Gough, Kavanagh, Allenby. Sir Edmund
is a personification of the traditional qualities of an English
soldier--patient, tenacious, resolute; and his record in many fields has
shown that he possesses admirable military judgment and wide military
knowledge.
VI
GENERAL SIR HENRY SINCLAIR HORNE, K.C.B.
SIR HENRY HORNE was born on February 19th, 1861; a son of the late Major
James Horne, of Stirkoke, Caithness. He was educated at Harrow and
Woolwich, and entered the Royal Artillery in 1880. He served in the
South African War with distinction, and during the early stages of the
European War was soon recognised as one of the most able of our gunner
Generals.
He went to France with Sir Douglas Haig as Brigadier-General of
Artillery of the I Corps, and took part in the Retreat from Mons, the
Battle of the Aisne and the First Battle of Ypres. He commanded the 2nd
Division during the attack at Givenchy in connection with the Battle of
Neuve Chapelle in March, 1915. This Division was also in action at the
Battle of Loos in September, 1915, when it had much desperate fighting
on both sides of the La Bassée Canal.
In November, 1915, General Horne accompanied Lord Kitchener to Gallipoli
and was afterwards sent on to Egypt to report on the defences of the
Suez Canal. In January, 1916, he was appointed to the command of the XV
Corps in Egypt, which, in April, was transferred to the Somme area.
In the first part of the battle his Corps was in action as the second
from the British right. It was his men who took Fricourt and Mametz,
assisted in the capture of Contalmaison and Bazentin le Petit, and on
September 15th triumphantly entered Flers.
[Illustration: GENERAL SIR HENRY HORNE]
In the autumn of 1916 Sir Henry Horne took over the command of the First
Army and during the winter held the section of the British line between
General Plumer and General Allenby.
In the Battle of Arras he commanded the British left. His troops carried
the Vimy ridge and fought their way to the southern and western suburbs
of Lens. Sir Henry Horne's Army had now a similar general objective to
that which his Division had had at the earlier Battle of Loos.
Sir Henry Horne is one of the most trusted of British soldiers. Like the
Commander-in-Chief, he is a man of few words but of many deeds. Scotland
has played a great part in the war and has contributed more than her
share of brilliant Generals. The one Scottish Army Commander in the West
has nobly sustained the traditions of his country.
VII
LIEUT-GEN. SIR WILLIAM RIDDELL BIRDWOOD, K.C.B., K.C.S.I, K.C.M.G.,
C.I.E., D.S.O.
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