General Adrian Carton de Wiart

Its been awhile since we had a "Gentleman of Renown and Infany" (click on tab to see other entries) but I just had to share this fine chap recently featured on the BBC digital project:

Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO

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Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart was a one-eyed, one-handed war hero who fought in three major conflicts across six decades, surviving plane crashes and PoW camps. His story is like something out of a Boy's Own comic.

Carton de Wiart served in the Boer War, World War One and World War Two. In the process he was shot in the face, losing his left eye, and was also shot through the skull, hip, leg, ankle and ear.

In WW1 he was severely wounded on eight occasions and mentioned in despatches six times. 

Having previously lost an eye and a hand in battle, Carton de Wiart, as commanding officer, was seen by his men pulling the pins of grenades out with his teeth and hurling them with his one good arm during the Battle of the Somme, winning the Victoria Cross.

WW1 historian Dr Timothy Bowman believes Carton de Wiart's example helps debunk some myths.

"His story serves to remind us that not all British generals of WW1 were 'Chateau Generals' as portrayed in Blackadder. He exhibited heroism of the highest order. 

"Evelyn Waugh supposedly used Carton de Wiart as the model for his fire-eating fictional creation, Brigadier Ritchie Hook, but Waugh's fictional creation experienced considerably fewer adventures than his real life counterpart."

It says much for Carton de Wiart's character that despite being one of the most battle-scarred soldiers in the history of the British Army, he wrote in his autobiography: "Frankly, I had enjoyed the war."

He was born into an aristocratic family in Brussels on 5 May 1880. In 1891 he was sent to boarding school in England, going on to study law at Oxford. 

In 1899 he saw the opportunity to experience his first taste of war. Abandoning his studies, he left for South Africa to serve as a trooper in the British Army during the second Boer War. As he was under military age, wasn't a British subject and didn't have his father's consent, he pretended to be 25 and signed up under a pseudonym.

Carton de Wiart (far right) with Winston Churchill in 1943

It was a baptism of fire which ended with him receiving bullet wounds to the stomach and groin, necessitating a return to England. Although eager to get back in the mix again, he had to wait more than a decade to experience further front-line action.

At the outbreak of WW1 in November 1914, Carton de Wiart, now naturalised as a British subject, was serving with the Somaliland Camel Corps, fighting the forces of the Dervish state.

During an attack on an enemy stronghold, he was shot in the arm and in the face, losing his left eye and part of his ear. He received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his exploits.

Speaking in 1964 Lord Ismay, who served alongside Carton de Wiart in Somaliland, described the incident:

"He didn't check his stride but I think the bullet stung him up as his language was awful. The doctor could do nothing for his eye, but we had to keep him with us. He must have been in agony."

Lord Ismay also gave an insight into Carton de Wiart's innate love of fighting:

"I honestly believe that he regarded the loss of an eye as a blessing as it allowed him to get out of Somaliland to Europe where he thought the real action was."

He returned to England to recover in a nursing home in Park Lane. He was to return to this same place on each subsequent occasion he was injured. This became such a regular occurrence that they kept his own pyjamas ready for his next visit.

While recuperating from these injuries, Carton de Wiart received a glass eye. It caused him such discomfort that he allegedly threw it from a taxi and instead acquired a black eye patch. 

Carton de Wiart was painted by Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen

Such setbacks were not to delay him long. He soon realised his ambition to fight on the Western Front when he was sent to Ypres in May 1915. 

During the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans launched an artillery barrage in which Carton de Wiart's left hand was shattered. According to his autobiography, Happy Odyssey, he tore off two fingers when the doctor refused to amputate them. His hand was removed by a surgeon later that year.

After a period of recovery, Carton de Wiart once more managed to convince a medical board he was fit for battle. In 1916, he took command of the 8th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, and while commanding them at the Somme his legend was cemented.

He electrified his men. The eye patch, empty sleeve and striking moustache, combined with his bravery, made him famous, with men under his command describing his presence as helping to alleviate their fear before going over the top.

During fierce fighting, the battle for the village of La Boiselle swayed back and forth. When three other commanding officers were killed, Carton de Wiart took charge of all units fighting in the village and led from the front, holding off enemy counterattacks.

He received the Victoria Cross, the highest British military award for gallantry, for his actions at La Boiselle. He, however, declined to even mention the medal in his autobiography, later telling a friend that "it had been won by the 8th Glosters, for every man has done as much as I have". 

In his own words

• "Governments may think and say as they like, but force cannot be eliminated, and it is the only real and unanswerable power. We are told that the pen is mightier than the sword, but I know which of these weapons I would choose" 
• "Frankly, I enjoyed the war [World War One]"
• "At that moment, I knew once and for all that war was in my blood. If the British didn't fancy me, I would offer myself to the Boers"

He took part in a number of other offensives during the war, picking up more injuries. Mr A Holmes, who served as Carton de Wiart's "batman" or personal servant, told the 1964 BBC Home Service programme, In Our Time, how his commanding officer had a particularly lucky escape during another Somme offensive.

"They shifted us from Ypres then back on the Somme again to the Devil's Wood, and that's where the old man got shot through the back of the head. But fortunately it missed his spinal cord."

Some historians have contended that Carton de Wiart's bravery at times bordered on recklessness, and that this may have explained his being passed over for promotion to divisional command in WW1.

But Bowman believes there were mitigating factors. "He was a brave soldier and effective leader of men. He was well qualified to hold divisional command, but so were many others, and his habit of turning up in the front line and getting himself injured didn't bode well for his ability to manage a division.

Remains of trenches in Devil's Wood, where Carton de Wiart was shot through the head

"Given the primitive communications of the time, and the amount of bureaucracy involved, commanding a division in WW1 did involve a lot of office time, which didn't seem to be his forte."

Carton de Wiart lived in Poland for most of the inter-war period but his military career was not yet over. When World War Two broke out, he led a campaign in Norway in 1940 and was briefly stationed in Northern Ireland.

In April 1941 he was dispatched to form a British military mission in Yugoslavia, but his aircraft was shot down over the Mediterranean. After swimming to shore, he was captured by the Italians. Despite being in his 60s, he made numerous attempts to escape the PoW camp, on one occasion eluding recapture for eight days - quite a feat given his distinctive appearance and lack of Italian. 

He was eventually released over two years later and was then sent to China by Winston Churchill to be his personal representative to Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, a post he held until 1946. 

Churchill was a firm admirer of Carton de Wiart, describing him as "a model of chivalry and honour" and writing the foreword to his autobiography.

In retirement, he eventually settled in County Cork, spending his time fishing. Having proved indestructible on the battlefield, he died peacefully in 1963, aged 83.

Military historian Lt Col James Cook, of the Royal Artillery, believes his example continues to resonate today.

"Carton de Wiart did have a habit of getting injured but this is simply testament to his belief of leading from the front. He inspired his men with the simple and eternal words, 'follow me'. These words remain the mark of a truly courageous leader, be it on the Western Front a hundred years ago, or today in military operations around the world."

Impressive array of medals

Carton De Wiart was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions at La Boiselle. The Times newspaper carried the following notice on September 11, 1916.

"For the most conspicuous bravery, coolness and determination during severe operations of a prolonged nature. It was owing in a great measure to his dauntless courage and inspiring example that a serious reverse was averted. He displayed the utmost energy and courage in forcing our attack home. After three other battalion commanders had become casualties, he controlled their commands, and ensured that the ground won was maintained at all costs. He frequently exposed himself in the organization of positions and of supplies, passing unflinchingly through fire barrage of the most intense nature. His gallantry was inspiring to all."

From the BBC Digital Archives here
Read more about him here:
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=30045813384

Soldier who fought off 30 Taliban — Alone

Sergeant Dipprasad Pun, 31, of the 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles holds his Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, after it was presented to him by QueenElizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in central London June 1 , 2011. Sergeant Pun defeated more than 30 Taliban fighters single-handedly during an attack on his checkpoint in Helmand province, Afghanistan in September 2010. The award is second only to the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for armed forces of the Commonwealth.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110602/wl_uk_afp/britainmilitaryafghanistannepalaward

Vice-Admiral Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne, RN

Admiral Milne was an upper-class "social" officer, a friend of British Queen Alexandra, who fondly referred to him as "Arky-Barky." Milne had no wartime experience, and his previous title had been Flag Officer, Royal Yachts.

One of his classic remarks was "they don't pay me to think, they pay me to be an Admiral."

Milne was also proud of the fact that he "never disobeyed an order and never used his discretion."

http://www.worldwar1.com/sfgb.htm

General Wisdom

“I divide my officers into four classes;

the clever,

the lazy,

the industrious,

and the stupid.
Each officer possesses at least two of these qualities.”

- General Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord

.

"a German general who served for a period as Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr. He is famous for being an ardent opponent of Hitler and the Nazi regime"

.

from Wikipedia "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_von_Hammerstein-Equord



Hmmm...which are your traits?

Captain Baron Cherkassov

An interesting short article, which winds up rather badly for the Baron after he "had gone ashore that night to visit a lady friend, leaving his ship with torpedoes disarmed, all shells stowed save 12 and no extra men posted on watch."

later...

"The two disgraced officers were court-martialed for negligence and summarily stripped of all their ranks and privileges as well as being given a 3 year and 18 month prison sentences respectively. Tsar Nicholas II also went so far as to decree that the Baron was to be sentenced to perpetual bachelorhood, it being forbidden for him to marry so that he could not perpetuate his disgraceful family name."

Read on see why he was so horrendously punished and how "crew efficiency was further reduced" Article reproduced in full below from: http://ww1history.suite101.com/article.cfm/zhemchug_vs_the_emden_1914

[This article is dedicated with great amusement to David C.]

The ill-fated Russian protected cruiser Zhemchug, her crew in high spirits

Zhemchug Vs the Emden 1914

The cruisers Emden of the German Navy and Zhemchug of the Russian Navy were matched on paper but not in actuality.

A survivor of the crushing Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese war in 1905, the Russian light cruiser Zhemchug remained in the Pacific Ocean to show the flag of the Tsar in the warm waters of that region. When World War One erupted in 1914 the 3,100-ton Zhemchugtook part in early convoy operations in the Pacific. Her general enemy was the German Pacific squadron of Kaiser Wilhelm II and her particular nemesis was the 3,364- ton German light cruiser Emden. The Emden had separated from the Kaiser's pacific squadron and raided the warm waters far from the European battlefields for months, sinking more than a dozen merchant ships and attacking British colonies. The two ships were well matched on paper; both were relatively new fast ships of a modern design capable of the same speed. The Zhemchug was armed with 8x4.7 inch (120mm) naval guns versus the Emden’s comparable armament of 10x 4.1 inch (105mm) guns.

In her search for the Emden the Zhemchug was brought to the Malaccan Straits where she stalked the Nicobar and Andarman Islands to no avail. Coming up empty handed the Zhemchug put into the Malaysian port of Penang on October 26, 1914. Feeling his ship safe in an allied harbor her Captain, Baron Cherkassov, departed his ship for leave ashore. The good baron left his ship in a deplorable state considering the Emden was thought to be in the region. The ship had no officers on watch as well as no lookouts posted. She was docked to where only one of her guns were able to fire on the harbor entrance, where any enemy would come from, and all of her 120mm ammunition save for a dozen rounds, was locked up. The keys to the ships magazines had been taken ashore with her senior officers for safekeeping. Worse still a number of local prostitutes were taken aboard the ship, further downgrading her crew’s effectiveness.

Zhemchung memorial in Penang (public domain picture)

In the predawn hours of October 28, 1914, another cruiser slowly entered the approaches to Penang. It flew the white ensign of the Royal Navy and had altered her appearance to look like the British cruiser HMS Yarmouth. The mysterious cruiser observed the Zhemchug lying at anchor with her lights on and no protective searchlights or torpedo boats around her. The mysterious cruiser in question was in fact the SMS Emden herself. The German cruiser, under the command of Korvettenkapitän Karl von Müller, quietly crept towards her sleeping target who had just days before been hunting for her. At 0515 and a range of just 400m she struck her British flag and ran up the Imperial German naval ensign while fired her torpedo tubes point blank into the Zhemchug. Working up steam the Emden sped past the stricken cruiser, turned sharply and re-engaged her. She raked the decks of the Russian cruiser at a range of just 700m as she passed with every gun capable of firing doing so. A second torpedo from the Emden finished the Zhemchug off, with the stricken ship settling in 30m of water. The unharmed Emden went onto sink a French destroyer also in the harbor and trade shots with the old French cruiser D'Iberville before making good her escape. The Emden, scourge of the Pacific would find itself sunk by the Australian cruiser Sydney less than a fortnight later.

The sinking of the Zhemchug was a traumatic experience for the Russian Pacific Squadron and virtually ended the Russian effort in that ocean during the war. Eighty-nine officers and men were killed and more than a hundred of the survivors were seriously wounded. These figures were very heavy indeed when you consider the Zhemchug complement was 354 men. Eighty-two of the bodies were recovered and interned in western road cemetery in Penang. The remaining crew was returned to Russia on the auxiliary cruiser Orel who had salvaged some of the Zhemchug 120mm guns in December 1914. Captain Baron Cherkassov as well as his second in command, Senior Lieutenant Kulibinu, was arrested on return to Russia. The two disgraced officers were court-martialed for negligence and summarily stripped of all their ranks and privileges as well as being given a 3 year and 18 month prison sentences respectively. Tsar Nicholas II also went so far as to decree that the Baron was to be sentenced to perpetual bachelorhood, it being forbidden for him to marry so that he could not perpetuate his disgraceful family name.

To this day passing Russian ships drop wreaths in the Malaccan Straits and the harbor of Penang to those men of the cruiser Zhemchug. Russians still gather at the monument to the fallen men of the Zhemchug in the western road cemetery at the end of October every year.

Sources

Pleshakov, Constantine The Tsars Last Armada, 2004 Basic Books

Russian Ambassador's Press Releasehttp://www.malaysia.mid.ru/int_e_03.html

Philips, John Spoilers of the Sea: Wartime Raiders in the Age of Steam, 1970

Rickard, J (27 September 2007), Penang Raid, 28 October 1914, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/raid_penang.html

Garnet Joseph Wolseley

"La Coloniale" of the silly buggers Brigade at 15mmVSF Blog, has entered this stirling chap in the esteemed White Wine Sauce Hall of Esteemed Gentlemen!

You can read his biography at that blogsite here:

http://vsf15mm.blogspot.com/2008/01/garnet-joseph-wolseley.html

Vice Admiral Sir Nathan Hewett

Further investigation into some 'Fighting Admirals' of the Victorian era has revealed this man:

Vice-Admiral Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett VC KCB KCSI
b.1834, entered RN 1848, d. 1888

Aged 20 and but 8 years after entering the Royal Navy, William Hewett was awarded the Victoria Cross for services during the Crimea War.

In 1854, he was serving as Acting Mate on HMS Beagle but was commanding a Naval Brigade detachment manning a Lancaster Battery at Sebastopol. being threatened by the enemy. Through a misunderstanding he was ordered to spike his gun and retreat. The lieutenant, however, took on himself the responsibility of disregarding the order, shouting 'Retire? Retire and be damned! Fire!' He then pulled down the parapet of the battery and with the assistance of some soldiers, slewed his gun round and poured on the advancing enemy a most destructive and effectual fire until the Russians retreated. For this exploit and for further great bravery during the battle of Inkerman, that he received the Victoria Cross.

A slightly different account of his actions:

Among all the acts exhibiting gallantry, coolness, and judgment, one performed by Mr N.W. Hewett, then acting mate of HMS Beagle, stands conspicuous.

On the 26th of October 1854, the day after the battle of Balaclava, he was in charge of the right Lancaster battery before Sebastopol, with a party of bluejackets under him, when the Russians made a desperate sortie from the walls against Sir De Lacy Evans’ division. The advance of the Russians placed the gun in great jeopardy; and their assault was so vigorous that their skirmishers had got within 300 yards of the battery, and were pouring in a sharp fire from their Minié rifles. By some misapprehension the word was passed to spike the gun and retreat; but Mr Hewett, taking upon himself to disregard what he heard, answered, “That order did not come from Captain Lushington, and till he directs us to desert the gun, we’ll not move.” This proceeding was hazardous, for at the time the gun was in an ineffectual position, in consequence of the enemy advancing on its flank. With the assistance, however, of the seamen with him, and of some soldiers who came to his aid, he got round the gun into position; then, blowing away the parapet of the battery, he opened on the advancing column of the Russians so effective a fire, that they were completely staggered, and their progress was stopped. Seconded by his companions, whom his spirit animated, again and again he discharged his death-dealing gun, till the enemy gave way and retreated.

A story is current that he actually did receive an order to abandon the gun, and that afterwards, while he was reflecting what might be the consequences of having disobeyed it, his commanding officer inquired,
“Mr Hewett, were you not ordered to spike that gun and retreat?”
“I was, sir.”
“And you chose to disregard the order, and fight the gun?”
“I did, sir; but I am sorry if—”
“Well, then, you are promoted.”
Sir Stephen Lushington brought Mr Hewett’s conduct before the commander-in-chief, and he received from the Admiralty, as a reward, his lieutenancy, which he so well merited. At the battle of Inkermann his bravery was again conspicuous, and he was soon afterwards appointed to the command of the Beagle gunboat in the Sea of Azov.

He was promoted to Commander on 13th Sep 1858, Captain on 14th Nov 1862 and Rear-Admiral on 14th Nov 1862, spending much of his career at sea commanding a number of RN vessels, including some of the first ironclad warships. He also commanded the Naval Brigade in actions in West Africa, Egypt and the Sudan, gaining in the process a reputation as the Navy's finest exponent of Combined Operations.

Sir William Hewett rose to the rank of Vice Admiral in 1884 before retiring from the Navy in 1888 and died the same year.

Vice-Admiral Hewett was awarded the following medals:
Victoria Cross
Knight Commander of the Bath
Crimean War Medal
Turkish Crimean Medal
Crimean Medal 'Al Valore'
India General Service Medal
Ashanti Medal 1873–74
Egypt Medal 1882
Khedive Star 1882
Order of Mejidieh 4th
Class Legion of Honour 5th Class

Admiral Sir Walter Cowan

A true fighting naval officer I have recently been reading about is worthy of much admiration, and I am pleased to share with you my research into a man who is simply inspirational. So much so that I have started a new article category for him: Gentlemen of Renown and Infamy. If you have one of your own to suggest, I would greatly welcome your submission.

Admiral Sir Walter Henry "Titch" Cowan, 1st Baronet, KCB, DSO and bar, MVO

b.1871, joined the RN in 1884 (aged 13), d.1956

Early years - served in verious expeditions in West Africa, commanded the gunboat HMS SULTAN during the Battle of Omdurman and the whole gunboat squadron during the Fashoda Incident with the French during which he was awarded the DSO. Cowan then went south to participate in the Second Boer War, saw extensive sea service as a Destroyer Captain afterwards and then service the the Battlecruiser force during WW1 (including the Battle of Jutland where his ship was heavily damaged) during which he was known to be one of "the most offensively minded of the Grand-Fleet officers."

In his great book "The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command", Andrew Gordon writes:

"Walter Cowan, Captain of the [Lion class battlecruiser] Princess Royal, had been a close friend of [Admiral] Beatty's from both midshipman and Nile-gunboat days. He was a ferocious midget who loved war so much that he spent his leave periods in the trenches in France and wept when the Armistice was announced. "

It was also said that he "was the only Officer in the Grand Fleet that was sorry the war was over"

Gordon continues: "He became the scourge of the Bolsheviks in the Baltic in 1919 [As a Rear-Admiral he commanded a Light Cruiser Squadron from his flagship Delhi and sank 2 Russian Battleships and 1 destroyer], and ended his naval career as Admiral of the Fleet.[not quite true, but he was a full Admiral]"

Cowan came out of retirement in 1940, accepting demotion to the rank of Commander, to join an Indian armoured regiment in North Africa. He was captured by the Italians when he personally attacked a tank by himself armed with only a revolver! Subsequently released by the Italians on humanitarian grounds he joined the Commandos as a Naval liasion officer, aged 72. He saw further action in clandestine actions in Italy and the Med from 1943 where he won a second DSO in 1944 (more than 40 years after earning his first one) before retiring once more.

There are 2 books dedicaed to his service which would be fascinating reading:

• Lionel George Dawson, Sound of the guns, being an account of the wars and service of Admiral Sir Walter Cowan (Pen-in-hand, Oxford, 1949);
• Geoffrey Bennett, Cowan's war: the story of British naval operations in the Baltic, 1918-1920 (Collins, London, 1964) - reprinted in 2002 as "Freeing the Baltic" (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freeing-Baltic-Geoffrey-Bennett/dp/184341001X)
  
  His Service biography is:

Naval cadet 1884; Benin, Nigeria 1887; Cdr, HMS REDBREAST, Red Sea 1893-1895; HMS BARROSA, Cape Station 1895; Brass River and Mwele Expeditions 1897; commanding gunboat flotilla, Nile during Sudan operations 1898; Aide-de-camp to Gen Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum and Naval Aide-de-camp to FM Sir Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, Pretoria and Waterford, during South African War 1901; World War I 1914-1918; HMS ZEALANDIA, Grand Fleet 1914; Capt, HMS PRINCESS ROYAL 1915-1917; Battle of Jutland 1916; commanding 1 Light Cruiser Sqn of the Grand Fleet 1917-1920; Baltic Force 1919-1920; Battle Cruiser Sqn, Atlantic Fleet 1921-1922; Commanding Officer, Coast of Scotland 1925-1926; Commander-in-Chief North America and West Indies Station 1926-1928; retired 1931; Commando Forces, World War II 1939-1945; liaison officer with Commando Bde, Eastern Mediterranean 1941; attached to Indian Regt, Western Desert 1941-1942; captured at Bir Hakeim 1942; repatriated 1943, Cdo forces 1943-45

Emperor Norton I of America

Bizarre characters of History:

Norton the First, by the grace of God Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico

Proclamation of 17 Sep 1859:

"At the peremptory request and desire of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last 9 years and 10 months past of S. F., Cal., declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these U. S.; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested, do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall, of this city, on the 1st day of Feb. next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity.
NORTON I, Emperor of the United States"

http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/norton.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_I
http://www.kudzumonthly.com/kudzu/mar02/Emperor.html

Officer Qualities!

What a fantastic quote!:

"An Officer should be comely, spratly and above all else, confident in his own dress and bearing.

He should, where possible, eat a small piece of meat each morning with molasses and beans.

He should air himself gracefully when under fire and never place himself in a position of difficulty when being shot at.

He should eat his meals comfortably and ahead of his soldiers, for it is he who is more important tactically on the battlefield and therefore he who should be well nourished.

His hair should be well groomed and if possible he should adorn a moustashe or similar facial adornment.

When speaking to his soldiers he should appear unnerved and aloof and give direction without in any way involving himself in the execution of arduous or unofficer like duties.

He should smoke thin pantellas except when in the company of ladies when he should take only a small gin mixed with lemon tea.

He should be an ardent and erudite gentleman and woo the ladies both in the formal environment and in the bedroom where he should excel himself beyond the ordinary soldier with his virulent love making prowess.

These I say to you are the qualities of an Officer that set him apart from the lay person and the common soldier"

Lieutenant General Hubert Worthington
Commander In Chief
5th Royal Indian Mountain Division
Bombay
12 December, 1907