MIDDLE EASTERN COMMANDER

Southland Times, Issue 24827, 20 August 1942, Page 5

MIDDLE EASTERN COMMANDER

General Alexander

Appointed

(8.0.W.) RUGBY, August 18. It is officially announced that General Sir Harold Alexander, who led the British fighting withdrawal from Burma, succeeds General Sir Claude Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East, and that Lieutenant-General B. L. Montgomery succeeds LieutenantGeneral N. M. Ritchie as commander of the Bth Army. Major-General H. Lumsden is appointed to succeed Lieu-tenant-General W. H. Gott as commander of the 30th Corps. LieutenantGeneral Gott was killed. General Alexander at 50 years of age is recognized as one of the finest leaders of men in the British Army. His strength, toughness and determination are soon infused into the troops under his command. He is a believer in mfiltration tactics and in co-operation between the Army and the Air Force. Major-General H. Lumsden became famous in the Middle East as a fighting commander in the second battle _of Libya. He was continually in action and was always eager for an opportunity to hit the enemy _ hard. His favourite recreation is racing and on many occasions he has ridden winners. He has also ridden in the Grand National at Aintree.

The Daily Telegraph says it can now be revealed that LieutenantGeneral Gott, if he had lived, would have been the new Conunander-in-Chief in the Middle East It would be a fair inference that Mr Churchill while he was in Cairo discussed the changes with the officers concerned on the spot. Another source suggests it can be assumed that Mr Churchill discussed the changes with General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief in India, at Moscow. It is understood that General Alexander is already in Egypt. “The public will view the changes in the Middle East Army Command with deep concern,” says The Daily Mail. “It is said that the Germans appoint new generals more frequently, but we are entitled to ask why so many sent to the Middle East have been found unsuitable. The conditions there call not only for experts in desert warfare, but leaders thoroughly versed in tank warfare, for which the sandy wastes of Egypt and Libya are ideal. Yet. so far no soldier thoroughly grounded in mechanized experience has been appointed to any of the higher commands and this apparently is the rule even now. To say that General Alexander and Lieuten-ant-General Montgomery are infantrymen and Major-General Lumsden is a cavalryman casts no doubt on their abilities, for all have proved themselves. They may possess the. fast-moving minds essential, for directing high speed warfare, but we cannot, always proceed on the process of selection by trial and error. It has already proved far too costly.”

LAST MAN TO LEAVE DUNKIRK BEACH

Sir Harold Alexander first came into prominence in this war as the last man to leave the beach at Dunkirk. He took over command of the British Expeditionary Force from General Lord Gort when only three divisions were left to be embarked and he waited until the last soldier was aboard the rescuing ships. Then he toured the war-scarred, equipment-littered beach and, satisfied that all the men were on the ships, he himself embarked. Later he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Southern Command. He was called from this post last March to take command of the little British force in Burma and he conducted the four-months fighting retreat that ended in the hills of Assam. No finer tribute could be paid' to his leadership than to say that at the end of this, disheartening operation his few regiments were ready to take their position on the Indian border full of fight. An Irishman, Sir Harold Alexander gained his regimental experience in the Irish Guards and he commanded the regiment from 1928 to 1930. In the last war he was mentioned in dispatches five times and gained the D. 5.0., M.C., Legion of Honour and membership of the Russian Order of St. Anne. After tlie war he fought against the Bolsheviks in the Baltic States and Poland. Later he commanded a battalion of the Irish Guards at Constantinople and acted as Russian interpreter. . He impressed the Turks with his ability as a step-dancer on one occasion by dancing Irish jigs. He was in India from 1932 to 1938 and served in operations on the North-West Frontier. He became commander of the Ist Division in 1938 and next year he took it to France and later he led it throughout the Flanders campaign. Sir Harold was promoted from lieutenant-general to general during the Burma campaign. Lieutenant-General Montgomery entered the army in 1908. He was mentioned in dispatches and gained the D.S.O. in the last war. He commanded the Ist Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, from 1931 to 1934 and served as a staff officer at the Indian Staff College at Quetta from 1934 to 1937. He commanded the 9th Infantry Brigade from 1937 to 1938, the Bth Division from 1938 to 1939, another division from 1939 to 1940 and a corps from 1940 to 1941. Major-General Lumsden joined the Royal Artillery in 1915 and served throughout the rest of the Great War, gaining the M.C. He joined the 12th Royal Lancers in 1925 and commanded the regiment from 1938 to 1940.

MR CHURCHILL’S CAIRO VISIT (8.0.W.) RUGBY, August 19. Mr Churchill's visit to Cairo is summarized in the following official statement: “Mr Churchill arrived at Cairo by air recently for important discussions with service chiefs and other British authorities in the Middle East. On the conclusion of his Cairo visit Mr Churchill went to the Western Desert and passed a day with the troops on the Alamein front. Among those participating in the Cairo discussions were the Prime Minister of South Africa, General J. C. Smuts, and the - Com-mander-in-Chief in India, General Sir Archibald Wavell. This was the first meeting since the war began between Mr Churchill and General Smuts. During his stay in Cairo Mr Churchill was received by King Farouk and also by the Prime Minister, Nahas Pasha. In Cairo Mr Churchill reviewed the whole situation in the Middle East with the Minister of State, Mi - R. G. Casey, and the British Ambassador, Sir Miles Lampson.” FRESH AXIS FORCES REACH EL ALAMEIN (Rec. 10.35 p.m.) LONDON, Aug. 18. Squadrons of Messerschmitts have patrolled the El Alamein front in the last few days in an endeavour to hide Axis troop movements, but the attempt has failed, says The Daily Mail’s correspondent with the Bth Army. Our airmen fought their way through and made reconnaissance flights wherever they wished. The Italians and Germans are energetically reorganizing their front-line. Troop-carriers are regularly ferrying fresh infantry from Greece and Crete and the railway is again operating to bring up Axis supplies. Our listeningposts deep in No Man’s Land report hearing a large number of tanks and vehicles taking up new positions at night.