Slim, William

Young years

William Joseph Slim was born on August 6, 1891 in the Bishopston area, in Bristol, in the family of small entrepreneur John and his wife Charlotte (nee Tucker) Slim, where he was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Bonaventure. Soon the family moved to Birmingham . In this city, he graduated from St. Philip School and the King Edward School. After school, he worked as a teacher in an elementary school, then from 1910 to 1914 he worked as a clerk in a metal pipe manufacturing company. From 1912 he studied at the Birmingham Training Officers Corps.

World War I

Entered the British Army in 1914 , on August 22 enrolled in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in the rank of second lieutenant. In 1915 he took part in the Dardanelles operation and the subsequent battles on the Gallipoli front. He was seriously wounded, after recovery he was sent from England to the British Indian Army and in its composition in October 1916 he fought on the Mesopotamian front . March 4, 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant ^[1] . In 1917 he was wounded again. On February 7, 1918 he was awarded the Military Cross for actions in Mesopotamia ^[2] .

Interwar Time

From November 2, 1918, he served in the 6th Gurkha Regiment ^[3] . May 22, 1919 officially promoted to captains and transferred to the British Indian Army ^[4] . In 1921 he became adjutant of the battalion. He graduated from the Quetta headquarters college in 1926 and the Camberley headquarters college in 1937 . From 1929 he served as an officer of the General Staff in British India . From 1938 he commanded a battalion in the 7th Gurkha regiment , from 1939 - the head of the senior officers' school in the Indian city of Belgaum .

World War II

Operations in Africa and the Middle East

Immediately after the start of the Second World War in September 1939, he was appointed commander of the 10th Indian Brigade, hastily redeployed to British Somalia . He took part in hostilities during the East African campaign . There was also wounded for the third time. At the beginning of 1941 he was appointed commander of the 10th Indian division, at the head of which he took part in the Syrian-Lebanese operation . Then the division of Sliema redeployed to Iraq and in August 1941 took part in the introduction of British-Soviet troops in Iran . His troops attacked from the south of the Persian Gulf coast and met with Soviet troops in the Tehran area.

Burma

In March 1942, Slim was urgently sent to Burma . This British colony has just been almost completely occupied by Japanese troops , who now stood on the border of British India . Initially appointed commander of the 1st Burmese Corps, then the commander of the 15th Army Corps. He put in order the broken parts, formed from them combat-ready units. With a huge length of the front and a small number of troops, Slim was able to find effective tactics against the actions of the Japanese. He took into account the most difficult natural conditions of the region, above all the minimum number of roads suitable for moving troops.

Slim began to organize powerful fortified areas on the main passes and crossroads, the retention of which deprived the enemy of the ability to conduct offensive operations. Such fortified areas were initially prepared for long-term defense in complete isolation and had airfields to communicate with the main British forces. To create a threat to the stretched Japanese communications, Slim formed numerous sabotage teams. He paid great attention to attracting to his side the indigenous people of Burma, who at first treated the Japanese with sympathy, as liberators from British colonial rule. Given the inability of the local road network to cope with the supply of its troops, the main emphasis in the supply was on aviation (for which he built a dense aerodrome network) and on horse-drawn and load transport.

In 1943, he formed the 14th British Army (mainly from Indian and African units) and became its commander. In 1943, in a number of private operations, he managed to repel the scattered attacks of the Japanese and inflict sensible losses on them, as well as to begin moving westward. A steady relationship was established with the Chinese troops in the north of Burma. In the first half of 1944, when the Japanese command strengthened its units and tried to take revenge, in the fierce battles of Imphal, they repelled the Japanese offensive and inflicted a heavy defeat on the enemy (5 Japanese divisions were defeated, Japanese losses were 54,000 against 17.5 Allied forces) . This was the first significant defeat of the Japanese ground forces.

In the campaign of 1945, Sliema’s army launched a decisive offensive and forced the Irrawaddy River . The combined attack of the ground forces, naval and airborne assault forces destroyed the troops in the coastal part of Burma and took its capital, Rangoon . However, after such a decisive success, the higher command tried to relocate Slim to the post of commander of the 12th army . While the 14th Army, created by Slim, was preparing for a deep invasion of British Malaya , the 12th Army's task was to suppress the centers of resistance of the scattered remnants of the Japanese troops in Burma. Slim entered into a sharp conflict with his immediate superior and, thanks to the intervention on his side, the commander-in-chief of the allied forces in Southeast Asia, Lord Mountbetten, remained at his former post. Lieutenant-General Oliver Liz , who was trying to remove Sliema, was dismissed from his post in June 1945 and Slim was appointed to his position, becoming the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied land forces in Southeast Asia.

British and American historians appreciate the actions of Sliema in Burma. Indeed, he was able to find effective ways to counter Japanese offensive tactics based on impudence. Having the command of the overwhelming majority of the British, not the British, but colonial units, Slim successfully led the fight against experienced enemy troops. He gained decisive superiority only in the campaign of 1945, which he also skillfully used.

Post-war time

Since 1946 - director (commandant) of the Imperial College of Defense. From February 1947 also Adjutant General of His Majesty. In the same year he was offered the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. However, Slim refused this post, citing the fact that with the granting of independence of India, this post becomes nominal and retired. He was appointed deputy chairman of the British Railways, and the post of adjutant general was also retained. From November 1, 1948 - again in the service, he was appointed to the highest military post in the country, becoming head of the Imperial General Staff. January 4, 1949 promoted to field marshal . November 1, 1952 dismissed.

As Governor-General of Australia

December 10, 1952 became the Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, along with his appointment as Governor-General of Australia ^[5] , which he occupied on May 8, 1953 . January 2, 1953 became a Knight of the Order of St. John ^[6] .

Slim was a good choice for the post of governor-general, since he was a genuine war hero who fought with the Australians in Gallipoli and the Middle East. In 1954, he received Queen Elizabeth II with the first visit of the reigning monarch to Australia. For services to the queen during his visit, on April 27, 1954, he became a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order ^[7] . During the entire term of Sliema in office, the post of Prime Minister was held by the leader of the liberals, Robert Menzies .

Allegations of child abuse

During the tenure of Slim, there was no disagreement. He was also the patron saint of the Fairbridge Farm migrant school in Australia. In 2007, three former students made statements that Slim had sexually abused them during his visits ^[8] . Statements were again aired on ABC on “The Long Journey Home” on November 17, 2009, the day after the parliamentary apology to forgotten Australians ^[9] .

On March 13, 2014 , the Royal Commission on the Investigation of Sexual Abuse of Children heard allegations that Slim had molested migrant children who were present at Fairbridge Farm School in the west of New South Wales in the 1950s when he was Governor-General . A former migrant child who went to school said that Slim used to take children on trips in his Rolls Royce and put his hands on their shorts, while David Hill, the former managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , who was also present at the school, said, that he spoke with two other boys, who said that Slim was molested by him ^[10] .

Resignation and Death

In 1959, Slim retired and returned to the UK , where he published his memoirs, Unofficial History. Earlier, in 1956, he had already published his personal story about the campaign “Defeat in victory” in Burma (“Defeat into Victory”). On April 24, 1959, he became a Knight of the Order of the Garter ^[11] . On July 15, 1960, he was awarded the title of Viscount (1st Viscount Slim Yarralumla) in the territory of the capital of Australia and Bishopstone in the city and district of Bristol ^[12] . After a successful career on the boards of large British companies, on June 18, 1964, he was appointed by the Constable and the governor of Windsor Castle ^[13] .

William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim Yarralumlasky died on December 14, 1970 in London at the age of 79 years. Dust buried at Windsor Castle in the Church of St. George. A plaque is installed in the Cathedral of St. Paul .

In London , Whitehall has a monument to William Slim.

• 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 .

• William Slim. Biography
• William Slim
• William Slim