(1884-06-21)21 June 1884 Aldershot, Hampshire, England[1][2][note 1]
Died
23 March 1981(1981-03-23) (aged 96) Marrakech, Morocco
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch
British Indian Army Indian Army Pakistan Army
Years of service
1904–1947
Rank
Field marshal
Service number
115611
Unit
62nd Punjabis
Commands held
Supreme Commander India and Pakistan (1947–1948) Commander-in-Chief, India (1941, 1943–1947) Middle East Command (1941–1942) Southern Command (1940)[3] V Corps (1940) Commander-in-chief, Northern Norway (1940) IV Corps (1940) 3rd Indian Infantry Division (1939) Meerut district (1938) Peshawar Brigade (1933–1936) 1st Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment (1929–1930)
Battles/wars
First World War
Mesopotamian campaign
Battle of Hanna
Second Battle of Kut
Fall of Baghdad
Mohmand campaign
Second World War
Norwegian campaign
North African campaign
Awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath[4]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Indian Empire[5]
Companion of the Order of the Star of India[6]
Distinguished Service Order[7]
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Despatches (3)[7][8][9]
Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA)[10]
Virtuti Militari (Poland)[11]
Order of the Star of Nepal (Nepal)[12]
Knight Grand Cross of Order of St. Olav (Norway)[13]
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck (/ˌɒxɪnˈlɛk/OKH-in-LEK) GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Indian Army commander who saw active service during the world wars. A career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, he rose to become commander-in-chief of the Indian Army by early 1941 during the Second World War. In July 1941 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Middle East Theatre, but after initial successes, the war in North Africa turned against the British-led forces under his command, and he was relieved of the post in August 1942 during the North African campaign.
In June 1943, he was once again appointed Commander-in-Chief, India, where his support through the organisation of supply, maintenance and training for General William Slim's Fourteenth Army played an important role in its success. He served as Commander-in-Chief, India, until the Partition in 1947, when he assumed the role of Supreme Commander of all British forces in India and Pakistan until late 1948.
^FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837–1915. 1884, Q3-Jul–Aug–Sep, A, 9. Auchinleck, Claud John E, Farnham. Vol 2a. Page 95. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 8 September 2011. (Farnham is the district including Aldershot.)
^Warner (1991), p. 131
^"No. 35559". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 May 1942. p. 744.
^"No. 36866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1944. p. 3.
^"No. 35019". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 December 1940. p. 7109.
^"No. 34282". The London Gazette. 8 May 1936. p. 2974.
^ abCite error: The named reference heath30 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"No. 34066". The London Gazette. 3 July 1934. p. 4227.
^"No. 34282". The London Gazette. 8 May 1936. p. 2979.
^"No. 38359". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 July 1948. p. 4189.
^"No. 35559". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 May 1942. p. 2113.
^Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (1976). Burke's Irish Family Records. London, U.K.: Burkes Peerage Ltd. p. 331.
^"No. 38240". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 March 1948. p. 1919.
^"No. 36103". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 July 1943. p. 3319.
^Edinburgh Gazette, 4 September 1917[permanent dead link]
^ abQureshi, MI. (1958). The First Punjabis: History of the First Punjab Regiment 1759–1956. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
^"No. 35153". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 May 1941. p. 2571.
^"No. 34649". The London Gazette. 28 July 1939. p. 5218.
^"No. 36532". The London Gazette. 26 May 1944. p. 2443.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck (/ˌɒxɪnˈlɛk/ OKH-in-LEK) GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Indian Army...
Empire and Commonwealth) forces of the Eighth Army under General ClaudeAuchinleck. In this battle the British halted a second advance by the Axis forces...
who had become an emblem of resistance, were relieved in December. ClaudeAuchinleck, the commander-in-chief Middle East Command, had decided not to defend...
to 1942. In August 1942 he was appointed as successor to General ClaudeAuchinleck as commander of the Eighth Army but, on the way to take up his command...
only a ceremonial position, and the Commander-in-Chief, India, Sir ClaudeAuchinleck, replaced after independence by General Sir Rob Lockhart. The senior...
German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army (General Sir ClaudeAuchinleck, also Commander-in-Chief Middle East) composed mainly of British Commonwealth...
Commander-in-chief (C-in-C) of Southern Command, Lieutenant-General ClaudeAuchinleck. In April 1941, he became commander of XII Corps responsible for the...
Battleaxe, Archibald Wavell was relieved of command and replaced by ClaudeAuchinleck. The Western Desert Force was reinforced with a second corps, XXX...
Lukis starred in the BBC series SAS: Rogue Heroes playing General ClaudeAuchinleck. New book unearths the Lukis legacy, Guernsey Press, 26 May 2006,...
and 3 million civilians died in World War II. Field Marshal Sir ClaudeAuchinleck, former Commander-in-Chief, India, stated that Britain "couldn't have...
were awarded the Victoria Cross or the George Cross. Field Marshal ClaudeAuchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from 1942, asserted that the...
Wavell and Auchinleck exchanged positions, ClaudeAuchinleck becoming C-in-C Middle East and Wavell becoming C-in-C in India. While Auchinleck was in command...
29 June 1942, following the defeat of the Eighth Army (General Sir ClaudeAuchinleck) at the Battle of Gazala and was part of the Western Desert Campaign...
brevet lieutenant colonel on 1 January 1936. He encountered Brigadier ClaudeAuchinleck, who commanded the Peshawar Brigade in the region. On 4 December 1937...
troops of the Raj, ultimately forced the then-Army Chief Field Marshal ClaudeAuchinleck to commute the sentences of the three defendants in the first trial...
Cunningham. Over time the Eighth Army would be commanded by Neil Ritchie, ClaudeAuchinleck, Bernard Montgomery, Oliver Leese and Richard McCreery. In the early...
1883 – Feodor Gladkov, Russian author and educator (d. 1958) 1884 – ClaudeAuchinleck, English field marshal (d. 1981) 1887 – Norman L. Bowen, Canadian...
Frontier and on internal security and training duties. Field-Marshal Sir ClaudeAuchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from 1942 asserted that the...
(Manya-Nepal-Tara) Member Fifth Class (Nepal-Tara) Medal (Nepal-Tara-Padak) FM Sir ClaudeAuchinleck (1945) Rt Hon Sir Winston Churchill (1961) Boutros Boutros-Ghali Bhanbhagta...
of Staff and representatives of Middle East Command (General Sir ClaudeAuchinleck). The Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Alan Brooke, wondered...
inspiration to the Battalion. — London Gazette, 14 October 1941 General Sir ClaudeAuchinleck presented Upham with his VC ribbon at a ceremonial parade by 4 Brigade...
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