Neil Ritchie

General Sir Neil Methuen Ritchie, GBE, KCB, DSO, MC, KStJ (29 July 1897 – 11 December 1983) was a British Army officer who saw service during both the world wars. He is most notable during the Second World War for commanding the British Eighth Army in the North African Campaign from November 1941 until being dismissed in June 1942. "Notwithstanding this shattering blow to his reputation, he managed to pick himself up, to play to his strengths and, by the end of the War, to re-establish himself, if not as a great general, then at least as a highly competent one",[8] later commanding XII Corps throughout the campaign in Northwest Europe, from June 1944 until Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) in May 1945.

For the New Zealand Olympic cyclist, see Neil Ritchie (cyclist).

Sir Neil Ritchie
Born	(1897-07-29)29 July 1897 British Guiana
Died	11 December 1983(1983-12-11) (aged 86) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1914–1951
Rank	General
Service number	9334
Unit	Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)
Commands held	Far East Land Forces (1947–48) Scottish Command (1945–47) XII Corps (1943–45) 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division (1942–43) Eighth Army (1941–42) 51st (Highland) Infantry Division (1940–41) 2nd Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) (1938–39)
Battles/wars	First World War Arab revolt in Palestine Second World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire[1] Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath[2] Distinguished Service Order[3] Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (4) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)[4] Knight Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau with Swords (Netherlands)[5] Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari (Poland)[6] Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) Croix de guerre (France)
Other work	Chairman of an insurance company Colonel of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) (1950–52)[7]

Early life and First World War

Born near the Essequibo River in British Guiana on 29 July 1897, Neil Ritchie was the second son of Dugald McDugald and Anna Catherine (Leggatt) Ritchie.[9] After growing up in Malaya, he went to England and was educated at Lancing College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[10] Four months after the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, he passed out from Sandhurst on 16 December 1914, when he was, at the age of just 17, commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders). Among his fellow graduates was another future general, John Grover.[11]

As he was too young, Ritchie was not immediately sent overseas until after his 18th birthday in July 1915. He was promoted to lieutenant on 2 October,[12] and served initially with the 1st Battalion, Black Watch, then part of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division and one of the two Regular Army battalions in the regiment, in the trenches of the Western Front, where he was wounded during the Battle of Loos.[9] After recovering from his injuries he was promoted to the temporary rank of captain on 2 March 1916,[13] and made an acting captain on 22 April.[14] He later served with his regiment's 2nd Battalion, part of the 21st (Bareilly) Brigade in the 7th (Meerut) Division and the second of his regiment's two Regular Army battalions, in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and the Mesopotamian campaign, including in the fall of Baghdad in March 1917. On 5 January 1917 he became his battalion's adjutant.[15] He won the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 25 August 1917 and, having being confirmed in his rank of captain on 19 November 1917,[16] was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 15 February 1919 for his actions during the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918. The citation for his MC reads:

During the action against the Turkish Tabsor position on September 19th, 1918, and during the subsequent advance, he was invariably to the fore and set a fine example of coolness, courage and utter disregard of danger. When the regiment occupied the El Medjel position on the evening of September 19th, 1918, Capt. Ritchie carried a Lewis gun up part of the way as its carrier was exhausted, and thereby materially assisted in driving off an enemy picquet which was holding up the attack on top of the hill. His services throughout the two attacks, and the subsequent trying marches, were of inestimable value to the regiment.[17]

Ritchie was also mentioned in despatches. The armistice of Mudros and the armistice with Germany followed soon after and brought the war to an end.[10]

Between the wars

Having gained a Regular commission in 1914, Ritchie remained in the army throughout the difficult interwar period. He served as adjutant to the 2nd Battalion, Black Watch until 28 February 1921 and, from 18 July 1923 until 30 September 1927, was a General Staff Officer Grade 3 (GSO3) at the War Office. He attended the Staff College, Camberley as a student from 1929 to 1930. Among his fellow students there included several future general officers, such as George Erskine, Hugh Stable, Herbert Lumsden, Ivor Hughes, Neil McKicking, Harold Freeman-Attwood, James Elliott, Harold Redman, Reginald Denning, Kenneth Crawford, Kenneth Strong, Edward Gurdon, Philip Balfour, Hugh Russell, John Edwards, Bernard Campbell Fletcher, John Winterton and Henry Vulliamy.[9]

Graduating from the two-year course in December 1929, Ritchie served with his regiment until being sent to India and made a GSO2 with Northern Command, India, a post he held from 2 April 1933 until 1 April 1937. While there he was promoted, for the first time in almost sixteen years, to brevet major on 1 July 1933,[18] major on 2 June 1934,[19] and brevet lieutenant colonel on 1 January 1936.[20] On 4 December 1936 Ritchie married Catherine Taylor, daughter of James A. Minnes, from Kingston, Ontario, Canada. They had two children; Arnott Dugald Neil and Isobel Anne.[9] On 3 January 1938 Ritchie transferred from the Black Watch, which by now he had been with for just over twenty-three years, to the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster), and was promoted to lieutenant colonel.[21] He became Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, King's Own on the same date and took command of the battalion in Palestine, then engaged in internal security duties during the Arab revolt.[22] Aided throughout this difficult period by his adjutant, Captain Richard Anderson, he commanded the battalion until August 1939, shortly before the Second World War began in September. For his services in Palestine Ritchie was mentioned in despatches.[23] After handing over the battalion to Lieutenant Colonel John Hardy, Ritchie returned to England where he was promoted to colonel on 26 August 1939 (with seniority backdated to 1 January)[24] and was made a GSO1 at the Senior Officers' School at Sheerness, Kent.[22]

Second World War

France and Belgium

Ritchie was not to remain at Sheerness long, however, as, after being promoted on 22 December 1939 to the acting rank of brigadier, he was made Brigadier-General Staff (BGS) to II Corps, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Brooke.[8] II Corps was then serving in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Ritchie seems to have immediately impressed Brooke, as on 3 January 1940 the latter wrote in his diary that "Ritchie, my new BGS, seems to be turning out well and should, I think, be good". When the so-called "Phoney War" came to an end in May 1940, which occurred when the German Army invaded France, Ritchie further impressed Brooke by controlling the corps HQ in a calm and confident manner, thus enabling Brooke to concentrate on running the battle on his corps' front. After being evacuated to England Ritchie was again requested by Brooke when the latter was appointed to command a new "Second BEF". Accompanying Brooke to France, he was again sent back to England, after Brooke realised that further efforts to fight the Germans were pointless and, in his words, "I sent Neil Ritchie off home this evening [16 June] as I did not feel that any useful purpose could be served by retaining him any longer".[8] For his services in France and Belgium Ritchie was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 11 July 1940,[25] and was mentioned in despatches on 26 July.[26]

Service in the United Kingdom

Shortly afterwards Ritchie was made BGS with Southern Command, commanded by Lieutenant-General Claude Auchinleck who, like Brooke, thought highly of him. Ritchie was not destined to be there long, however, as, at the relatively young age of forty-three, he received a promotion to the acting rank of major-general on 28 October 1940[27] and was made General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division on the same date. He held this post until June 1941 when he handed over to Major-General Douglas Wimberley.[8]

North Africa and the Middle East

Ritchie's next posting was to the Middle East, where he served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff to General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of Middle East Command. It was Auchinleck, who soon succeeded Wavell as C-in-C Middle East, who was to give Ritchie his highest field command, the British Eighth Army, in November 1941, following the dismissal of Lieutenant-General Alan Cunningham from that position. On 27 November 1941 Ritchie, whose rank of major-general was made temporary on 28 October 1941,[28] was promoted to the acting rank of lieutenant general.[29] For his period of service in the Middle East from July−October 1941, he was mentioned in despatches.[30]

Neil Ritchie (centre, with pipe) addressing other officers in North Africa, 31 May 1942. Also pictured are Willoughby Norrie, William Gott and, with his back facing the camera, George Erskine.

Ritchie had the bad luck to hold his highest command during the earliest phases of the war, when British fortunes were at their lowest ebb. The Eighth Army, fighting in the North African Campaign, was the only British land force engaging the German Army anywhere in the world. After some early successes against the Italians the British were pushed back following the arrival of the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel. Ritchie was originally intended as a temporary appointment until a suitable commander could be found, but in fact ended up commanding the Eighth Army for nearly seven months. He was in command of the Eighth Army at the Battle of Gazala in May–June 1942 where he failed to exercise strong command over the Army and the British and Commonwealth forces were heavily defeated, losing the port of Tobruk. He was sacked by Auchinleck on 25 June prior to the First Battle of El Alamein.[31]

Auchinleck is often seen as having appointed Ritchie, a relatively junior commander, in order to allow him to closely direct the battle himself as Commander-in-Chief of Middle East Command. Ritchie was criticised heavily both during and after the war for his failure to stop Rommel. Since then several commentators have come to his defence, most notably Field Marshal Sir Michael Carver.[32]

Return to the United Kingdom

After being replaced as the Eighth Army commander Ritchie was, from September 1942, appointed to command the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division, which was then being trained in mountain warfare, in the United Kingdom, and relinquished command to Major-General Edmund Hakewill-Smith in November 1943.[33]

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied Supreme Commander (centre), with Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey, GOC Second Army, and Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie at XII Corps HQ, November 1944.

Northwest Europe

Judged by now fit to command a corps, he was selected to command XII Corps in place of Lieutenant-General Montagu Stopford, which formed part of Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey's British Second Army and was chosen to participate in the invasion of Normandy. Ritchie was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 1 January 1944.[34] Aided by his BGS, initially Roy Urquhart, later James Cassels, Ritchie led XII Corps during the Battle of Normandy in the middle of 1944 and the subsequent campaign in Western Europe, ending in May 1945 with the end of the war in Europe. The fact that Ritchie regained an active command following his dismissal, unlike his Eighth Army predecessor, Cunningham, reflects the high esteem in which he was held by Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. For his services in Northwest Europe Ritchie was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 5 July 1945[35] and he was twice mentioned in despatches during the campaign, for "gallant and distinguished services", on 22 March[36] and 9 August 1945.[37]

It is a pity that history will remember Ritchie primarily as the loser of the Battle of Gazala, as his overall achievements were not inconsiderable. He was a victim of promotion beyond his capabilities, where the fault lay substantially with his superior officer, Auchinleck. The continuing support of Brooke was the key factor in his recovery, whilst Montgomery, for whom sacking by Auchinleck was no disqualification, allowed him to play to his strengths. He was never heard to complain about his treatment and his willingness to step down and learn how to command smaller formations was truly admirable.[38]

Post-war

After the war Ritchie remained in the British Army, becoming GOC Scottish Command and Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 1945 and GOC Far East Land Forces in 1947.[39]

From December 1948 until retirement from the army, Ritchie held the ceremonial appointment of Aide-de-camp general to the King[40] and from September 1950 he was colonel-in-chief of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment),[7] his old regiment. Following his retirement he emigrated to Canada, where he became a director of the Canadian subsidiary of Tanqueray Gordon & Co. and in 1954 became chairman of the Mercantile & General Reinsurance Co. of Canada. He died at the age of 86 in Toronto.[9]

References

1. "No. 39243". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1951. p. 3066.
2. "No. 37977". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1947. p. 2573.
3. "No. 30252". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 August 1917. p. 8854.
4. "No. 38178". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 January 1948. p. 401.
5. "No. 37761". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 October 1946. p. 5143.
6. "No. 35559". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 May 1942. p. 2113.
7. "No. 39017". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 September 1950. p. 4633.
8. Mead, p. 383
9. "British Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
10. Smart, p. 271
11. "No. 29007". The London Gazette. 15 December 1914. p. 10696.
12. "No. 29488". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 February 1916. p. 2082.
13. "No. 29766". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 September 1916. p. 9451.
14. "No. 29835". The London Gazette. 24 November 1916. p. 11412.
15. "No. 30002". The London Gazette. 27 March 1917. p. 3003.
16. "No. 30511". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 February 1918. p. 1710.
17. "No. 31480". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 July 1919. p. 9768.
18. "No. 33955". The London Gazette. 30 June 1933. p. 4383.
19. "No. 34055". The London Gazette. 1 June 1934. p. 3485.
20. "No. 34239". The London Gazette. 3 January 1936. p. 54.
21. "No. 34470". The London Gazette. 4 January 1938. p. 34.
22. Smart, p. 272
23. "No. 34684". The London Gazette. 15 September 1939. p. 6330.
24. "No. 34680". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 September 1939. p. 6239.
25. "No. 34893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 July 1940. p. 4244.
26. "No. 34904". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 July 1940. p. 4579.
27. "No. 34995". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 November 1940. p. 6615.
28. "No. 35328". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 October 1941. p. 6303.
29. "No. 35381". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 December 1941. p. 7093.
30. "No. 35611". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 June 1942. p. 2851.
31. Fennell, Jonathan (2014). Combat and Morale in the North African Campaign: The Eighth Army And The Path To El Alamein. Cambridge University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-1107681651.
32. Carver, Sir Michael (2002). Dilemmas of the Desert War: The Libyan Campaign of 1940-1942: The Libyan Campaign 1940-1942. The History Press. ISBN 978-1862271531.
33. "Hakewill-Smith, Edmund". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
34. "No. 36309". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1943. p. 3.
35. "No. 37161". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 July 1945. p. 3489.
36. "No. 36994". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 March 1945. p. 1548.
37. "No. 37213". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 August 1945. p. 4044.
38. Mead, p. 389
39. Counterinsurgency lessons from Malaya and Vietnam: learning to eat soup with a knife, By John A. Nagl Page 69 Chicago University Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-226-56770-9
40. "No. 38473". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 December 1948. p. 6361.

Bibliography

• Carver, Michael (1986). Dilemmas of the Desert War: The Libyan Campaign 1940–1942. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd.
• Keegan, John (2005) [1991]. Churchill's Generals. London: Cassell Military. pp. 214–224. ISBN 0-304-36712-5.
• Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: a biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud (UK): Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0.
• Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.

External links

• British Army Officers 1939−1945
• Generals of World War II

Military offices
Preceded by Alan Cunningham	GOC 51st (Highland) Infantry Division 1940–1941	Succeeded by Douglas Wimberley
Preceded by Sir Alan Cunningham	GOC Eighth Army 1941–1942	Succeeded by Sir Claude Auchinleck
Preceded by Sir John Laurie	GOC 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division 1942–1943	Succeeded by Edmund Hakewill-Smith
Preceded by Montagu Stopford	GOC XII Corps 1943–1945	Post disbanded
Preceded by Sir Andrew Thorne	GOC-in-C Scottish Command 1945–1947	Succeeded by Sir Philip Christison
New title	C-in-C Far East Land Forces 1947–1948	Succeeded by Sir John Harding
Honorary titles
Preceded by Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell	Colonel of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) 1950–1952	Succeeded by Neil McMicking