Wilson, Henry Maitland

The eldest son of the average landowner, retired captain of the British Army. He was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst . Enrolled in the British Army in March 1900 with the rank of second lieutenant and in the rifle brigade sent to the Anglo-Boer War . Since 1908 he served in Ireland with the rank of captain . Since 1911 - Adjutant Commander of the unit at Oxford.

The entire First World War was conducted on the Western Front as part of the British Expeditionary Force. He fought in 1914 as a major in the 16th Irish Infantry Division. Since 1915 - 2nd officer of the headquarters of the 41st Infantry Division, then in the headquarters of the 19th Corps. Took part in the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Paschendale .

Since October 1917 - the first staff officer in the New Zealand Infantry Division.

After the war he served in the headquarters of the division. He graduated from Headquarters College at Camberley and Sandhurst. From 1927 he commanded a battalion on the border of British India and Afghanistan . Since 1930 - taught at the staff college at Camberley. At the same time he was engaged in research work, a supporter of the development of armored forces. Since 1934, commanded the 6th Infantry Brigade. Since 1935 - Major General , was appointed commander of the 1st mechanized brigade. Since 1937 - the commander of the 2nd Infantry Division. In June 1939, with the rank of lieutenant general, he was sent to Egypt to the post of commander of the British forces in Egypt ( Nile army ).

Subordinate to Wilson, the troops began fighting on the border with Libya in June 1940 , after the entry of Italy into the war. Using the indecisive actions of the Italian command, he stopped the Italian offensive in the Egyptian operation in September 1940. Then he played a major role in the defeat of the Italian troops in North Africa during the Libyan operation , including in December 1940, he won Sidi Barrani . In February 1941 he was appointed military governor of the province of Cyrenaica in Libya with the rank of full general.

However, in the same month he was appointed commander of the British Expeditionary Force, sent to Greece . The bulk of the corps troops were Australian and New Zealand troops. The main task of the corps was to assist the Greek troops in defeating the Italians. which by that time had already been ousted by the Greeks into Albania during the Italo-Greek war . However, partly due to the uncoordinated actions of the governments of Great Britain and Greece, and partly due to the fact that the command of the allied armies failed to coordinate their actions, tangible results were not achieved. Moreover, alarmed by the appearance of British troops in Greece, Hitler ordered the development of a German invasion of Greece. In April 1941, the Germans occupied the country during the Greek operation and forced the Greek army to capitulate on April 26th . Wilson led the evacuation of his troops to Crete , and then to Egypt . His corps was defeated, losing out of 62.6 thousand people over 2 thousand killed and wounded, as well as 14 thousand prisoners.

From May 7, 1941 - Commander of the British troops in Palestine and Transjordan . During the Syrian-Lebanese operation, the British defeated the French forces of the Vichy government and secured their surrender. From October 1941 - Commander of the 9th Army in Syria and Adjutant General of His Majesty. Since 1942 - the commander of the British troops in Iran .

In February 1943 he was appointed commander-in-chief in the Middle East . In this position, in the summer of 1943 he conducted amphibious operations to seize the Greek islands of Kos , Leros and Samos , trying to take advantage of the favorable situation after the surrender of Italy. However, the German command sent its forces to the islands and repulsed them, capturing the British and Italian garrisons. From December 1943 - Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in the Mediterranean , but in fact Wilson’s influence on the course of hostilities was limited, as the leadership of combat operations in Italy was in the hands of Field Marshal Harold Alexander . In 1944 he received the rank of field marshal .

Wilson planned and led the preparation of the South French amphibious operation in August 1944. In November-December 1944, he led the fighting to defeat the national liberation movement in Greece . In December of the same year, he was appointed head of the British military mission in the United Council of Chiefs of Staff in Washington instead of the deceased Field Marshal Dill , who remained until 1947. Participated in the Yalta and Potsdam conferences in 1945 .

In January 1946 he received the title of Viscount of Libyan and Stounlengtoft.

In 1947, he was dismissed. In 1955 - 1960 he held the honorary post of constable of the Tower of London . The author of memoirs.

British awards

• Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath ( GCB , June 8, 1944 )
• Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire ( GBE , March 4, 1941 )
• Knight - Commander of the Order of the Bath ( CWS , July 11, 1941 )
• Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB , February 1, 1937 )
• Order For Distinguished Service ( DSO , January 1, 1917 )
• Royal South African Medal ( 1901 )

Foreign awards

• Legion of Honor Order Commander ( USA , November 1945 )
• Military Cross Class I ( Greece , 1942 )
• Order "For Military Valor" ( Poland , 1944 )

• Zalessky K.A. Who was who in the Second World War. Allies of the USSR. - M .: AST , 2004. - T. 1. - 702 p. - ISBN 5-17-025106-8 .

• Biography of Henry Wilson on the site "Chronos"