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Claude Auchinleck

Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), nicknamed "The Auk", was a British army commander during World War II. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he developed a love of the country and a lasting affinity for the soldiers he commanded. In July 1941 he was appointed Commander in Chief of the Middle East theatre. After initial successes, the war in North Africa turned against the British, and he was relieved of the post in 1942 during the crucial El-Alamein campaign. He served thereafter as commander in India until his resignation in 1947. He retired to Marrakesh, where he died at age 96.

Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck
NicknameThe Auk
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branchIndian Army
Years of service1904–1947
RankField Marshal
Commands held1st Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment (21 January 1929 - 31 January 1930)
Meerut district (1938)
3rd Indian Division (September 1939)
IV Corps (January 1940)
C in C, Northern Norway (April - June 1940)
V Corps (June 1940)
Southern Command (July - November 1940)
Middle East Command (1941-1942)
Commander-in-Chief, India (1941 & 1943-1947)
Battles/warsWorld War I:
- Egypt (1915)
- Mesopotamian campaign
Mohmand Campaign (1935)
World War II:
-Norwegian campaign
-North African campaign
AwardsGCB (January 1945)[1]
GCIE (December 1940)[2]
CB (July 1934)
CSI (May 1936)[3]
DSO (June 1917)
OBE (June 1919)
mentioned in dispatches (1917 & 1936[4])
Legion of Merit, Chief Commander (USA) (23 July 1948)[5]
Virtuti Militari 5th class (Poland) (15 May 1942)[6]
War Cross (1944)
Order of the Star of Nepal, 1st Class (1945)
Knight Grand Cross of Order of St Olav (19 March 1948)[7]
1st Class Order of Cloud and Banner (1947)
Grand Officer, Légion d'honneur
Croix de guerre (1918 and 1949)
Military Cross (Czechoslovakia) (1943)[8]
Other workColonel 1st Bn. 1st Punjab Regiment (January 1933)[9]
Colonel Inniskilling Fusiliers (April 1941)[10]
Colonel 1st Bn. 4th Bombay Grenadiers (July 1939)[11]
Colonel 4th Bombay Grenadiers (May 1944)[12]
Colonel 1st Punjab Regiment (1947)[9]

Claude Auchinleck Media

  • Officers of the 62nd Punjabis in Ismailia, Egypt, 1914. Captain Claude Auchinleck is standing on the far right.

  • A 1940 portrait of Auchinleck by Reginald Grenville Eves.

  • Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck, the C-in-C of the North Western Expeditionary Force, and Group Captain Moor looking over maps on board the Polish Navy troopship MS Chrobry before docking in Harstad.

  • Sir Claude Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in the Middle East.

  • General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, India, and General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief Middle East, 8 September 1941.

  • Auchinleck receiving the Star of Nepal in October 1945 from the King of Nepal, Tribhubana Bir Vikram Sah

  • Naik Narayan Sinde, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, receiving the Indian Distinguished Service Medal from Auchinleck, 1945.

  • Sir Claude Auchinleck as the last Commander in Chief of British India

  • Auchinleck (right) as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, with the then Viceroy Wavell (centre) and Montgomery (left)

References

  1. ↑ No. 36866. 29 December 1944. p. 3. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36866/supplement/3 
  2. ↑ No. 35019. 20 December 1940. p. 7109. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35019/supplement/7109 
  3. ↑ No. 34282. 8 May 1936. p. 2974. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34282/page/2974 
  4. ↑ No. 34282. 8 May 1936. p. 2979. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34282/page/2979 
  5. ↑ No. 38359. 20 July 1948. p. 4189. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/38359/supplement/4189 
  6. ↑ No. 35559. 12 May 1942. p. 2113. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35559/supplement/2113 
  7. ↑ No. 38240. 16 March 1948. p. 1919. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/38240/supplement/1919 
  8. ↑ You must specify date= when using {{London Gazette}}.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Qureshi, Maj MI. (1958). The First Punjabis: History of the First Punjab Regiment 1759-1956. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
  10. ↑ No. 35153. 2 May 1941. p. 2571. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/35153/supplement/2571 
  11. ↑ No. 34649. 28 July 1939. p. 5218. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/34649/page/5218 
  12. ↑ No. 36532. 26 May 1944. p. 2443. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36532/page/2443 
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