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Ironside, Field Marshal Sir Edmund
Ironside, Field Marshal Sir Edmund (1880–1959),British army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) from 3 September 1939 to 27 May 1940.
In 1938 Ironside became governor of Gibraltar, expecting it to be his last post before retirement. But in May 1939 the war minister, Hore-Belisha, appointed him Inspector General of Overseas Forces and on 3 September Ironside succeeded Gort as CIGS. He soon proved as temperamentally unsuited to this task as his immediate predecessor, whose dislike of Hore-Belisha he shared. He chafed at the government's inactivity during the phoney war and supported plans for cutting off German iron ore supplies that precipitated the ill-fated Norwegian campaign. His assessments of Hitler's plans in the west, and the Allies' ability to counter any offensive, were inadequate and he proved unequal to the task of pleasing Churchill when the latter became prime minister on 10 May 1940. He was replaced by Dill and made C-in-C Home Forces, a post he held for under two months before he was succeeded by Brooke, promoted field marshal, and retired. He was knighted in 1919 and created a baron in 1941. Bibliography Keegan, J. (ed.), Churchill's Generals (London, 1991). |
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Cite this article
I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. " Ironside, Field Marshal Sir Edmund." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. " Ironside, Field Marshal Sir Edmund." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-IronsideFieldMarshlSrdmnd.html I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. " Ironside, Field Marshal Sir Edmund." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-IronsideFieldMarshlSrdmnd.html |
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William Edmund Ironside Ironside, 1st Baron
William Edmund Ironside Ironside, 1st Baron 1880–1959, British general. After serving with distinction in the South African War and World War I, he was chosen (1918) to command the Allied forces at Archangel to aid Aleksandr Kolchak in fighting the Bolsheviks. After service in the Middle East, he became commandant of the staff college at Camberley. Other commands followed, including several years in India, and in 1938 Ironside became governor of Gibraltar. On the outbreak of World War II, he was recalled to England to be chief of the imperial general staff. In 1940 he was briefly chief of the home forces in England. He was made a field marshal in 1940 and created baron in 1941. |
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Cite this article
"William Edmund Ironside Ironside, 1st Baron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "William Edmund Ironside Ironside, 1st Baron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ironside.html "William Edmund Ironside Ironside, 1st Baron." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Ironside.html |
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