Lambert, Frederick

From an ancient aristocratic family, the ancestors of Lambert were granted the title of Counts of Cavans in 1647. He graduated from the privileged College of Eton and the Royal Military College . Noble background and proximity to the royal family contributed to his military career.

Since 1885 he served in the Grenadier Guards Regiment in London and Dublin . Since 1891 he was adjutant to the Governor-General of Canada , in 1893 he returned to his regiment in the metropolis. He participated in the second Boer War . In 1900, after the death of his father, he succeeded the count's title, becoming the 10th Earl of Cavan. Since 1904 he was an adjutant of the battalion , since 1908 he commanded a battalion in the same regiment. In 1913, during the summer maneuvers, he temporarily commanded an infantry brigade. However, in the same year he acquired a large estate and retired.

With the outbreak of World War I he returned to service. Appointed commander of the 2nd London brigade of the territorial army, then received the temporary rank of brigadier general (later was approved by him). Sent to France and fought as part of the British Expeditionary Force. In October 1914, the commander of the 4th Guards Infantry Brigade, General R. Scott-Kerr , was wounded and Lambert was appointed in his place. Since June 1915 - commander of the 50th (Northumberland) Infantry Division . Since August of that year - commander of the guard division.

Since January 1916, he commanded the 14th Army Corps on the Western Front . In October-November 1917, the Italian army suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Caporetto on the Italian Front . To save his ally, the Anglo-French command hastily deployed a number of military units to Italy, including the Lambert Corps. In March 1918, he was appointed commander of the British forces on the Italian front (three infantry divisions, several separate units). In October 1918, he was appointed commander of the 10th Italian Army, in which a significant proportion were British troops. At the head of the army participated in the battle of Vittorio Veneto .

In British military-historical literature, Lambert's assessment prevails as one of the prominent British military leaders of the First World War. At the same time, other authors indicate that he did not prove anything special (he led the usual positional war at the head of the division and corps; after the Battle of Caporetto he arrived when the Austro-German offensive was already exhausted; under Vittorio Veneto, the enemy armies were already demoralized by they didn’t show significant resistance) and essentially became known not for his victories, but for avoiding defeats.

After the war, until 1919 he remained in Italy. Since 1920 - commander of the largest in England Aldershotsky military camp, as well as Lieutenant of the Tower of London and Adjutant General of King George V. In 1921 - 1922 he participated in the Washington Conference as part of the British delegation.

Since 1922 - Chief of the Imperial General Staff. In 1926 he retired.

Retired, Lambert played a large role in the royal court. From 1929 to 1931 he was captain of the Honorary Corps of the Military Guard (the honorary convoy of the king, formed from the officers dismissed from the army - cavaliers of the highest British awards). In October 1932, he was promoted to field marshal , although he had not been in military service for a long time (the last such case of the assignment of this military rank in Great Britain). Since 1915 he was a peer of England and held a seat in the House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain . He has held dozens of honorary posts and positions (Colonel of the Irish Guard since May 23, 1925, Colonel of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment since December 10, 1928, Honorary Doctor of Civil Law of the University of Oxford since 1926). During World War II, he commanded a self-defense unit of Hertfordshire.

He was buried at the Ayot St. Lawrence Church Cemetery in Hertfordshire.

• 1885 - lieutenant
• 1897 - captain
• 1902 - major
• 1908 - lieutenant colonel (lieutenant colonel)
• 1911 - Colonel
• 1914 - Brigadier General
• 1915 - Major General
• 1916 - Lieutenant General
• 1921 - General
• 1932 - Field Marshal

British Awards

• Knight of the Order of St. Patrick ( KR , November 18, 1916 )
• Knight of the Great Cross of the Order of the Bath ( GCB , 1926 )
• Knight of the Great Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George ( GCMG , 1919 )
• Knight of the Great Cross of the Royal Victorian Order ( GCVO , 1922 )
• Knight of the Great Cross of the Order of the British Empire ( GBE , 1927 )
• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( CWS , 1918 )
• Knight of the Order of the Bath ( CB , 1915 )
• Cavalier of the Royal Victorian Order ( MVO , 1910 )

Foreign Awards

• Commander of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor ( France , 1916)
• Cavalier of the Great Cross of the Order of Saints of Mauritius and Lazarus ( Italy , 1919))
• Great Officer of the Savoy Military Order ( Italy , 1919)
• Great Officer of the Order of the Crown ( Belgium , November 2, 1916)
• Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st class, 1st degree ( Estonia , April 29, 1925)
• Class 1 Striped Tiger Order ( Republic of China , 1920)
• Distinguished Service Medal ( USA , 1919)
• Military Cross 1914-1918 France , 1916)
• Military Cross for Military Valor (Croce di guerra al valor militare) ( Italy )

• Zalessky K. A. Who was who in the First World War. - M .: AST ; Astrel, 2003 .-- 896 p. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-019670-9 (ACT); ISBN 5-271-06895-1 (Astrel).
• The British Field Marshals 1736-1997 , Tony Heathcote, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5

• Biography of Frederick Lambert on the Chronos website
• The Papers of Field Marshal Lord Cavan