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Archibald Wavell: The Life and Death of the Imperial Servant
Archibald Wavell was born a few years before Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and died shortly after the end of the Second World War (1883-1950). During that time the country in which he was born and brought up in changed beyond recognition, undergoing a fundamental revision in the attitudes, expectations, prejudices and hopes of the British people. His life epitomises that of a generation of famous men whose education and upbringing equipped them for a future that was to prove an illusion.
At seventeen, Archibald Wavell joined the army and as a young officer saw action in the Boer War and on the North West Frontier.In the Great War, he was often close to the greatest generals in the British Army; he fought in the trenches, was decorated for bravery and lost an eye. Between the wars his career included command of troops attempting to keep the peace in Palestine as revolt engulfed the country. His victorious campaigns early in the Second World War attracted a blaze of public admiration and renown; but he also tasted defeat and rejection, both in Africa and from 1941 as commander-in-chief of Allied forces in India, wilting before the Japanese onslaught in Burma and Singapore. In 1943 he was appointed Viceroy of India, where he took on the task of guiding that country's destiny as it crossed the brink of Empire into the turmoil of independence.
At seventeen, Archibald Wavell joined the army and as a young officer saw action in the Boer War and on the North West Frontier.In the Great War, he was often close to the greatest generals in the British Army; he fought in the trenches, was decorated for bravery and lost an eye. Between the wars his career included command of troops attempting to keep the peace in Palestine as revolt engulfed the country. His victorious campaigns early in the Second World War attracted a blaze of public admiration and renown; but he also tasted defeat and rejection, both in Africa and from 1941 as commander-in-chief of Allied forces in India, wilting before the Japanese onslaught in Burma and Singapore. In 1943 he was appointed Viceroy of India, where he took on the task of guiding that country's destiny as it crossed the brink of Empire into the turmoil of independence.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2009
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About the author
Adrian Fort
4 books3 followersAdrian Fort was educated at Oxford, where he was a Clarendon Fellow. He practiced as a lawyer and became involved with politics before pursuing a financial career.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 21, 2016
Wavell was seen as one of the most capable British generals yet, as Liddell Hart told Wavell, "It seems to be your fate in this war to be always destined to tackle the most awkward problems, and under the most difficult conditions."
In 1940 and 1941 Wavell was considered an effective leader but his star faded after the reversals in the Mediterranean theatre in 1941. The irony is that it was the micro-management, inability to prioritise and tenuous strategic understanding of Churchill that significantly contributed to this, and yet Churchill is the one who is held up to be a paragon of leadership!
After the Middle East Wavell was given the unenviable task in 1941-42 of leading the unwinnable Allied command in the Far East after the Japanese attack. And then from 1943 another unenviable role as Viceroy of India in its final months in the Empire as India sank into barbaric brutality and thousands of people were butchered.
When discussing his past success Wavell was quick to acknowledge that results were only accomplished as a result of many individual contributions: "It was the men I led".
The book will reward a reader interested in decision-making and leadership in uncertainty.
In 1940 and 1941 Wavell was considered an effective leader but his star faded after the reversals in the Mediterranean theatre in 1941. The irony is that it was the micro-management, inability to prioritise and tenuous strategic understanding of Churchill that significantly contributed to this, and yet Churchill is the one who is held up to be a paragon of leadership!
After the Middle East Wavell was given the unenviable task in 1941-42 of leading the unwinnable Allied command in the Far East after the Japanese attack. And then from 1943 another unenviable role as Viceroy of India in its final months in the Empire as India sank into barbaric brutality and thousands of people were butchered.
When discussing his past success Wavell was quick to acknowledge that results were only accomplished as a result of many individual contributions: "It was the men I led".
The book will reward a reader interested in decision-making and leadership in uncertainty.
February 5, 2014
Top class biography. Thank you Adrian Fort
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews