WW1 officer,WW2 general made good?

[brownag]

As for our British candidates,Bill Slim as 14th Army Commander in Burma,the forgotten army, certainly takes the eye.Had a little advantage in that as a former common soldier he knew how to get common men achieve the uncommon.

Frank

Although of humble stock compared to some of his contemporaries I don't think you could call Slim a common soldier. He served in the Birmingham OTC pre-war even though he wasn't a student at the University, his brother wangled him a place, and then he was commissioned at the start of the War.

Up to now we've been covering Generals but how about Air Marshals and Admirals? Surely the way Arthur Harris conducted his bombing campaign was directly influenced by what he had seen in the First World War.

Adam

[mordac]

Andy McNaughton was a Canadian who successfully made the transition as a leader from WWI to WWII. McNaughton was a scientist/soldier served our country in many different roles. Here's a short biography of his life:

A.G.L. 'Andy' McNaughton (1887-1966)

1887 born in Moosomin, Saskatchewan.

1905 joined the Canadian militia when 18 years old.

1912 obtained a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from McGill University.

1914 led the Fourth Battery of the CEF. (In WWI, McNaughton applied science to military gunnery. Twice wounded in action, was one of the stars of Vimy, and by the war’s end he was commander of Canada’s artillery in France.)

1922 became Deputy Chief of the General Staff in Ottawa.

1925-1935 full Chief of the General Staff.

1925 developed a cathode-ray tube direction finder that led directly to the development of radar.

1935 became president of the National Research Council of Canada, the main federal scientific authority.

1939 as a Major-General he was named commander of the First Canadian Infantry Division.

1942 took command of a full Canadian army.

1943 resigned commission in a dispute with Canadian Minister of Defense J.R. Ralston.

1944-1945 became Canadian Minister of Defense in Prime Minister Mackenzie King's government. (Replace J.R. Ralston)

1946 presided over Canada’s Atomic Energy Board.

1946 represented Canada on the UN Atomic Energy Commission.

1948 served as president of the UN Security Council.

1950-1962 Canadian chairman of the International Joint Commission.

1950-1959 Canadian chairman of the Canadian-American Permanent Joint Defense Board.

Garth

[ianw]

Alanbrooke is mentioned at the beginning of this thread and I think his was an absolutely outstanding contribution to the winning of World War II - quite simply he fought day after day to stop Winston Churchill from losing it by his continuous interference and shenanigans and by focussing W.C's undoubted inspirational talents.

He was offered a field command by Churchill and really wanted to take it but knew where he was most useful. Still a relatively unsung hero. They also serve , those that drive a desk and put a muzzle on "black dogs".

[CROONAERT]

How about General (Field Marshall) von Paulus? - Remembering the slaughter at Verdun, had the balls to become the first German Field Marshall in history to allow himself to become a prisoner and throw the towel in at Stalingrad. Lose face to save lives. (Unfortunately, it didn't quite happen that way!).

Ernst Udet as another?

Dave.