Henry Maitland Wilson 1st Baron Wilson

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Wilson, Field Marshal Sir (Henry) Maitland (1881–1964),British Army officer who commanded British and Empire troops during the Balkan campaign in April 1941. He was appointed C-in-C Middle East Command in January 1943, and succeeded Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean in January 1944.

In September 1939 Wilson was a lt-general in command of British troops in Egypt. Early successes against the Italians were followed by a brief spell as military governor of Cyrenaica. He was then given command of Allied troops in the Balkan campaign and handled the hasty retreat from Greece with skill. On his return to the Middle East Wavell appointed him to command British troops in Palestine and Transjordan which Wilson used to quell Rashid Ali's revolt in Iraq in May 1941 and then in the Syrian campaign the following month.

Although he was a very competent commander in the field, circumstances now conspired to keep Wilson at posts which required his considerable political and diplomatic skills. Churchill lobbied strongly for him to command the Eighth Army, but the new C-in-C, Auchinleck, preferred Cunningham. In December 1941, by which time he had been promoted general, his command became Ninth Army which covered the Levant (Syria and Lebanon) as well as Palestine and Transjordan; in August 1942 he took command of the new Persia–Iraq command (see Paiforce); and he then succeeded Alexander as C-in-C Middle East where his only operational involvement was against the Dodecanese Islands. He was strongly criticized for the British failure there, but he later made it clear that it had been mounted against his better judgement on direct orders from London. During his time as Supreme Commander in the Mediterranean he oversaw the Italian campaign as well as the last two large amphibious operations there, Anzio and the landings on the French Riviera. In December 1944 he handed over to Alexander, was promoted field marshal the next month, and became British representative to the Combined Chiefs of Staff committee in Washington, a post he held until it was abolished in 1947. He was knighted in 1940.

Bibliography

Keegan, J. (ed.), Churchill's Generals (London, 1991).

Henry Maitland Wilson Wilson, 1st Baron 1881–1964, British field marshal. He served in the South African War and World War I and in 1939 became commander of the British forces in Egypt. He led the ill-fated British expedition in Greece in 1941 and served as commander in chief in the Middle East (1943–44) and as supreme Allied commander in the Mediterranean (1944–45). "Jumbo" Wilson was head of the British joint staff mission in Washington from 1945 to 1947. In 1946 he was created baron.