Bing, Julian

From an old aristocratic family, the grandson of Field Marshal John Bing and the son of a member of the House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain . The clan was not rich, and besides Julian, the family had 12 more brothers and sisters, so his father could not materially provide him with a military career in the elite troops worthy of his clan. Julian graduated (by his own admission - “with considerable difficulty”) from the privileged Eton College and chose a military career. Due to lack of funds, in 1879 he entered the service not in the British Army, but in the Royal Regiment of the Riflemen Police.

However, a few years later, in 1883 , his father's acquaintance with Edward, Prince of Wales (the future king of Great Britain Edward VII) helped his father achieve the transfer of his son to the 10th Royal Hussars . Three months later, the regiment was sent to British India . In 1884, he took part in the colonial expedition of the British troops to Sudan to suppress the Mahdi uprising. Despite the two field battles won, the expedition ended in failure due to the guerrilla war unfolded by the rebels. In 1885, the regiment returned to the mother country and was stationed in the Aldershot military camp. Since 1886 he was a regimental adjutant . From 1891 he served with a regiment in Ireland , in 1894 he graduated from the Staff College of Camberley and was appointed squadron commander. Since 1897 - adjutant of the cavalry brigade in Aldershot.

Since 1899 he participated in the Boer War , where he managed to excel. There, Bing formed a regiment of light cavalry from local colonists, at the head of which he participated in the lifting of the siege from Ladysmith and in subsequent hostilities. For the war he was awarded the order, received an extraordinary military rank and was mentioned five times in orders published in the press about the most distinguished officers. Given these differences, as well as the fact that his longtime patron Prince of Wales became king of Great Britain, Bing's career began to develop rapidly. In 1902, Bing was appointed commander of his 10th Royal Hussar Regiment, which by then had again served in British India . Since 1904 - the head of the cavalry school. Since 1905, he commanded cavalry brigades: the 2nd in Canterbury and the 1st in Aldershot (since 1906).

Since 1910, he commanded the East English Territorial Division. Since 1912 - commander of the British forces in formally independent, but actually occupied by the British Egypt .

After the outbreak of World War I in October 1914, recalled to England. Appointed commander of the 3rd Cavalry Division, sent to France and fought as part of the British Expeditionary Force . Participated in the battle of Flanders . In May 1915 he was appointed commander of a separate cavalry corps.

In August of the same year, Bing was sent to the Gallipoli Peninsula and was appointed commander of the 9th British Army Corps , at the head of which he participated in the Dardanelles operation . When this adventurous operation was declared failed, Bing evacuated his troops from the peninsula in December 1915. He returned to the Western Front and in February 1916 was appointed commander of the 17th Army Corps. Since May 1916 he commanded the Canadian Corps. In this post in April 1917, he won the battle of Vimy . Given the fact that the offensive on the other sectors of the front failed, Bing's actions were rated very highly and in June he was appointed commander of the 3rd British Army, which he commanded until the end of the war.

In November-December 1916, Bing's army conducted an offensive operation at Cambrai . Here Bing refused preliminary artillery preparation, and in order to achieve success he launched the first massive tank attack in history. At the front of 15 kilometers, 360 tanks simultaneously attacked, which broke through the lines of German defense (a total of 476 tanks participated in the operation). However, Bing was late with the introduction of a cavalry corps into the breakthrough, and the Germans managed to stop his advance at new frontiers and supplant British troops. Nevertheless, the operation at Cambrai had a huge impact on the course of the war and on the development of military science.

In the Spring Offensive of 1918, the 3rd Bing Army and the neighboring 5th Hoff Army fell the main blow of the German troops. But if the 5th Army was defeated, the 3rd Army put up stubborn resistance, bleeding the advancing strike groups and playing a large role in the failure of the German offensive. In the Amiens operation , acting on an auxiliary direction, he managed to independently break through the German defense and contributed to the success of the operation. Bing’s army also successfully operated at the last maneuvering stage of the war ( Day Offensive ).

Bing is considered one of the best British commanders of the First World War. It is especially emphasized that he achieved outstanding success on the Western Front against the most powerful opponent - the German army, while other famous British military leaders became famous in secondary theaters of war.

After the war, until 1919 he remained in Germany. In November 1919, he refused the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Command proposed to him and resigned. Given Bing’s high authority in Canada among World War I veterans, in June 1921 he was appointed Governor-General of Canada and held this post until August 1926 . Returning to England, he did not take an active part in political life. From 1928 to 1931 he was Commissioner of the London Police. In October 1932 he was promoted to field marshal . He has held dozens of honorary posts, titles and posts. In 1919 he was awarded the title of Baron Bing Wimi, in 1926 - the title of 1st Viscount Bing Wimi.

The name of Bing is a city in Oklahoma , USA , and in various cities of Canada - parks, streets and four schools.

• December 12, 1879 - second lieutenant
• April 23, 1881 - lieutenant
• January 1889 - Captain
• August 1897 - Major
• October 10, 1902 - lieutenant colonel (lieutenant colonel)
• May 11, 1905 - Colonel
• April 1, 1909 - Major General
• May 1916 - Lieutenant General
• November 24, 1917 - General
• October 11, 1932 - Field Marshal

British Awards

• Knight of the Great Cross of the Order of the Bath ( GCB , 1919 )
• Knight of the Great Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George ( GCMG , 1921 )
• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( CWS , 1916 )
• Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George ( KCMG , 1915 )
• Knight of the Order of the Bath ( CB , 1906 )
• Cavalier of the Royal Victorian Order ( MVO , 1902 )
• Royal Medal of the South African Campaign (1901)
• The Coronation Medal of Edward VII (1902)
• The Coronation Medal of George V (1911)
• Star 1914-1915 (1918)
• British War Medal (1919)
• Victorian Medal (1919)
• Commemorative medal of the 25th anniversary of the reign of George V (1935)

Foreign Awards

• Commander of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor ( France , 1919)
• Cavalier of the Great Cross of the Order of the White Eagle ( Serbia , 1919)
• Army Medal for Outstanding Service ( USA , 1919)
• Two Military Crosses 1914-1918 ( France , 1918, 1919)

• 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

•   Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julian Bing, 1st Viscount Vimy
• Biography of Julian Bing on the Chronos website
• Julian Bing profile at www.firstworldwar.com
• Site of the Governor General of Canada. Ex-Governor-General section, including a biography of Julian Bing