The campaigns of Alexander of Tunis 1940-1945

275 Pages·2008·4.29 MB·English

by  Alexander of Tunis

First published in Great Britain in 2008 by
Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright © Adrian Stewart 2008
9781783460595

The right of Adrian Stewart to be identified as Author of this Work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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To the memory of Brigadier Bryan Watkins
and in recognition of his help and encouragement.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART 1 - The Saviour of Armies
Chapter 1 - The Corps Commander: Dunkirk
Chapter 2 - The Army Commander: Burma
Chapter 3 - The Theatre Commander: Middle East
Chapter 4 - The Army Group Commander: North Africa
Part 2 - The Liberator of Italy
Chapter 5 - Success in Sicily
Chapter 6 - Success in the South
Chapter 7 - Deadlock
Chapter 8 - Diadem
Chapter 9 - The Road from Rome
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Military Formations and Units
Acknowledgements
My grateful thanks to: Bryan Watkins, my guide and adviser throughout; Bobby
Gainher, my editor; Brigadier Henry Wilson and his team at my publishers, Pen
& Sword Books Ltd.; Andrew Hewson and his team at my agents, Johnson &
Alcock Ltd.; Sylvia Menzies-Earl for her help with the manuscript; Philip Fisher
and the staff at the Birmingham Institute & Library and the staff of the Taylor
Library for their help with the photographs. My thanks and my appreciation.
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders but where this has
proved unseccessful, sincere apologies are offered.
Introduction
Nothing ever disturbed or rattled him, and duty was a full
satisfaction
in itself, especially if it seemed perilous and hard. But all this was
combined with so gay and easy a manner that the pleasure and
honour of his friendship were prized by all those who enjoyed it,
among whom I could count myself.
The officer to whom Winston Churchill was referring in that quotation from The
Second World War, was the then Lieutenant General Sir Harold Alexander who,
in the fullness of time, would become Field Marshal the Earl Alexander of
Tunis. To have gained the friendship and respect of the man who was Britain’s
Prime Minister throughout most of the greatest war in human history might seem
advantageous for a serving soldier, particularly since Churchill’s high opinion of
him was shared by the majority of Alexander’s military equals and superiors. In
reality it might almost be said that the reverse was the case, for whilst it did not
save Alexander from being the recipient of harsh, unrealistic criticism from the
Prime Minister, it did ensure that he was entrusted with a whole succession of
difficult tasks. Indeed few, if any, generals throughout history can have been
thrust deliberately into so many potentially disastrous situations or emerged from
them all with such credit.
That this achievement is recognized all too rarely may also be due, in part at
least, to Churchill’s admiring attitude. It was perhaps inevitable that Harold
Rupert Leofric George Alexander, son of the Earl of Caledon, married to a
daughter of the Earl of Lucan, educated at Harrow and commissioned into the
Irish Guards, should appear different and remote from the majority of his brother
officers. He never presumed upon his position, being a model of courtesy and
quiet good manners. Nonetheless, his instinctive air of authority, increased by
striking good looks and an invariably immaculate turnout, often overawed those
who did not know him well, and caused them to mistake his natural modesty and
a reluctance to push himself forward for haughtiness and aloofness. When the