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Richard O'Connor

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: World War II

                              Sir Richard O'Connor
  August 21, 1889 to June 17, 1981
  Image:Oconnor rn pic1.jpg
  Place of birth Srinagar, India
  Place of death London, United Kingdom
    Allegiance   British Army
       Rank      General
     Commands    Western Desert Force
                 XIII Corps
                 VIII Corps
   Battles/wars  World War I
                 Operation Compass
                 Operation Epsom
                 Operation Jupiter
                 Operation Goodwood
                 Operation Bluecoat
                 Operation Market Garden
      Awards     KT, GCB, DSO, MC
    Other work   Commandant of the Army Cadet Force, Scotland
                 Colonel of the Cameronians
                 Lord Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty
                 Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of
                 Scotland

   General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor, KT, GCB, DSO, MC, ADC ( 21 August
   1889 - 17 June 1981) was a British Army general who commanded the
   Western Desert Force in the early years of World War II. He was the
   field commander for Operation Compass, in which his forces completely
   destroyed a much larger Italian army - a victory which nearly drove the
   Axis from Africa entirely, and in turn, led Adolf Hitler to send the
   Deutsches Afrikakorps under Erwin Rommel to try and reverse the
   situation. O'Connor was later captured and spent over two years in an
   Italian prisoner of war camp, but escaped and in 1944 commanded VIII
   Corps in Normandy and later during Operation Market Garden. In 1945 he
   was general officer in command of the Eastern Command in India, and
   then headed the North Western Army in the closing days of British rule
   in the subcontinent.

   Though arguably one of the finest generals of WWII, O'Connor's modest,
   unassuming manner has caused historians to overlook him in favour of
   more flamboyant figures. His imprisonment during the conflict's truly
   decisive phases robbed him of many prime opportunities to prove his
   abilities further, and several of his peers and subordinates were
   promoted over him. Yet for demonstrating a dignity, courage and
   character which extended well beyond the battlefield, O'Connor was
   recognized with the highest level of knighthood in two different orders
   of chivalry. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order,
   Military Cross, French Croix de guerre and Legion of Honour and served
   as Aide-de-camp to King George VI.

Early life and the First World War

   O'Connor was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, India, on 21 August 1889. The
   son of a major in the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and the maternal grandson
   of a former Governor of India's central provinces, he was destined for
   an army career. Young Richard attended Tonbridge Castle School in 1899
   and The Towers School in Crowthorne in 1902. In 1903, after his
   father's death in an accident, he transferred to Wellington School in
   Somerset. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1908.

   In October of the following year he was billeted to the 2nd Battalion
   of the Cameronians. O'Connor would maintain close ties with the
   Regiment for the rest of his life. In January 1910, the battalion was
   posted to Colchester, where he received signals and rifle training. It
   was then stationed in Malta from 1911 to 1912 where O'Connor served as
   Regimental Signals Officer.

   During World War I, O'Connor served as Signals Officer of 22 Brigade in
   the 7th Division and captain, in command of 7th Division's Signals
   Company and brevet brigade major in 91 Brigade, 7th Division. He was
   awarded the Military Cross in February 1915. In March of that year he
   saw action at Arras and Bullecourt. O'Connor was awarded the DSO and
   appointed brevet lieutenant-colonel in command of 1st Infantry
   Battalion of the Honourable Artillery Company, part of the 7th
   Division, in June 1917.

   In November, the division was transferred to the Italian Front at the
   River Piave to assist the Italians against Austro-Hungarian forces. In
   late October 1918, O'Connor was directed to capture the island of Grave
   di Papadopoli on the Piave River. This mission was successfully
   accomplished by 2nd Battalion, and O'Connor was awarded the Italian
   Silver Medal of Honour along with a bar to add to his DSO.

Inter-War years

   From 1920 to 1921 he attended the Staff College, Camberley. O'Connor's
   other service in the years between the world wars included an
   appointment (from 1921 to 1924) as brigade major of the Experimental
   Brigade (or 5 Brigade), which was formed to test methods and procedures
   for using tanks and aircraft in co-ordination with infantry and
   artillery. Many of the theories of mechanised, combined arms manoeuvre
   warfare put forth by J.F.C. Fuller (the brigade's commander), Liddell
   Hart, Heinz Guderian, and others at the time were being practiced by 5
   Brigade.

   He returned to his old unit, The Cameronians, as adjutant from 1924 to
   1925. From 1925 to 1927 he served as a company commander at Sandhurst.
   He returned to the Staff College at Camberley as an instructor from
   1927 to 1929. In 1930 O'Connor again served with the 1st Battalion of
   The Cameronians in Egypt and from 1931 to 1932 in Lucknow, India. From
   1932 to 1934 he was a general staff officer, grade 2 at the War Office.
   He attended the Imperial Defence College, London in 1935. In October of
   that year, O'Connor, having been promoted brigadier, assumed command of
   the Peshawar Brigade in northwest India. He would later say the lessons
   he learned in mobility during this time would serve him well later in
   Libya. In September 1938, O'Connor was promoted to major-general and
   appointed Commander of the 7th Division in Palestine, along with the
   additional responsibility as Military Governor of Jerusalem. It was
   here he worked alongside Major-General Bernard Montgomery, commander of
   the 8th Division, to try to quell unrest between the Jewish and Arab
   communities. In August 1939, 7th Division was transferred to the
   fortress at Mersa Matruh, Egypt, where O'Connor was concerned with
   defending the area against a potential attack from the massed forces of
   the Italian Tenth Army over the border in Libya.

The Italian Offensive and Operation Compass

   The Italian Offensive and Operation Compass September 13, 1940 – 7
   February 1941 (Click to enlarge).
   Enlarge
   The Italian Offensive and Operation Compass September 13, 1940 – 7
   February 1941 (Click to enlarge).

   Italy declared war on Britain and France on 10 June 1940. O'Connor was
   appointed Commander of the Western Desert Force, and tasked by General
   Wilson, commander of the Army of the Nile, to protect Egypt and the
   Suez Canal from Italian attack. To accomplish this, Wilson and O'Connor
   planned to use a screen of light tanks and armoured cars, supported by
   artillery, to delay the Italians led by Marshal Rodolfo Graziani. In
   command of this delaying force was Brigadier-General Gott. Meanwhile,
   the main force was to retreat towards Mersa Matruh and the Baggush Box
   where strong fixed defences had been prepared. These would stop the
   Italians long enough for reinforcements to arrive, bolster the defence
   and, eventually, launch a counteroffensive.

   On 13 September, Graziani struck: his leading divisions advanced sixty
   miles into Egypt where they reached the town of Sidi Barrani and, short
   of supplies, began to dig in. O'Connor then began to prepare for a
   counterattack. He had the 7th Armoured Division and the Indian 4th
   Infantry Division, the two finest remaining divisions in the British
   Army following the Battle of Dunkirk, along with two brigades. In total
   he had around 36,000 men. The Italians had nearly five times as many
   troops along with hundreds more tanks and artillery pieces and
   supported by a much larger air force. The British, however, were better
   trained, better led, had (for the most part) better weapons and
   equipment and greater mobility. O'Connor intended to use all these
   advantages to the utmost. The preparations continued: a convoy was sent
   from Britain through the Mediterranean, risking attack from Axis
   forces, carrying valuable matériel to Egypt. Among the cargo were over
   150 tanks, 100 artillery pieces and nearly 1,000 machine guns and
   anti-tank guns. Meanwhile, small raiding columns were sent out from the
   7th Armoured and newly formed Long Range Desert Group to probe, harass,
   and disrupt the Italians (this marked the start of what became the
   SAS). The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force bombarded enemy strongpoints,
   airfields and rear areas. As a result, O'Connor, his adviser Brigadier
   Eric Dorman-Smith, and his men began to realise just how poorly led and
   ill-prepared their foes were, despite having a huge numerical
   advantage.
   A Matilda tank advances through Egypt as part of Operation Compass.
   Enlarge
   A Matilda tank advances through Egypt as part of Operation Compass.

   The counteroffensive, Operation Compass, began on 8 December 1940. What
   followed was a masterpiece of manoeuvre, concentration of forces,
   firepower, and combined arms.

   O'Connor's relatively small force of 31,000 men, 275 tanks and 120
   artillery pieces, ably supported by an RAF wing and the Royal Navy,
   ripped through a gap in the Italian defences at Sidi Barrani near the
   coast. The Desert Force cut a swath through the Italian rear areas,
   stitching its way between the desert and the coast, gobbling up
   strongpoint after strongpoint by cutting off and isolating each one.
   The Italian guns proved to be no match for the heavy British Matilda
   tanks and their shells bounced off the armour. By mid-December the
   Italians had been thrown completely out of Egypt, leaving behind 38,000
   prisoners and large stores of equipment.

   The Desert Force paused to rest briefly before continuing the assault
   into Italian Libya against the remainder of Graziani's disorganised
   army. At that point, the Commander-in-Chief Middle East General Sir
   Archibald Wavell ordered the 4th Indian Division withdrawn to spearhead
   the invasion of Italian East Africa. This veteran division was to be
   replaced by the inexperienced 6th Australian Division, which was
   unprepared for desert warfare. Despite this setback, the offensive
   continued with minimum delay, and by the end of December the 6th
   Australian besieged and took Bardia, which fell along with 40,000 more
   prisoners and 400 guns.

   In January 1941, the Western Desert Force was redesignated XIII Corps
   directly answerable to General Wavell. O'Connor not only approved of
   this change but had suggested it earlier. On 9 January, the offensive
   resumed. By the 12th, the strategic fortress port of Tobruk was
   invested. On the 22nd it fell and another 25,000 Italian POWs were
   taken, as well as valuable supplies, food, and weapons. On January 26,
   the remaining Italian divisions in eastern Libya began to retreat to
   the northwest along the coast. O'Connor promptly moved to pursue and
   cut them off, sending the armour southwest through the desert in a wide
   flanking movement, while the infantry gave chase along the coast to the
   north. His armour caught up with the fleeing Italians at Beda Fomm on 5
   February, blocking the main coast road and their route of escape. Two
   days later, after a costly and failed attempt to break through the
   blockade, and with the main British infantry force fast bearing down on
   them from Bengazi to the north, the demoralised, exhausted Italians
   unconditionally capitulated. O'Connor cabled back to Wavell, "Fox
   killed in the open..."

   In two months, the XIII Corps/Western Desert Force had advanced over
   800 miles (1,300 km), destroyed an entire Italian army of ten
   divisions, taken over 130,000 prisoners, 400 tanks and 1,292 guns at
   the cost of 500 killed and 1,373 wounded - a remarkable military
   achievement and a true British blitzkrieg. In recognition of this,
   O'Connor was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Bath, the first of
   his two knighthoods. When Wavell and others congratulated O'Connor on
   his impressive feat, he responded in his usual modest, unassuming
   manner, "I suppose one could characterise it as a complete victory."

The tide turns and capture

   Rommel's first offensive -- 24 March 1941 - 15 June 1941.
   Enlarge
   Rommel's first offensive -- 24 March 1941 - 15 June 1941.

   In a grand strategic sense, however, the victory of Operation Compass
   was not yet complete. O'Connor was fully aware of this and urged Wavell
   to allow him to push on to Tripoli with all due haste to finish off the
   Italians in North Africa. Wavell concurred, and XIII Corps resumed its
   advance. But O'Connor's new offensive would prove short-lived. When the
   Corps reached El Agheila, just to the southwest of Beda Fomm, Churchill
   ordered the advance to halt there. The Axis had invaded Greece and
   Wavell was ordered to send all available forces there as soon as
   possible to oppose this. Wavell had to take the 6th Australian
   Division, along with part of 7th Armoured Division and most of the
   supplies and air support, for this ultimately doomed operation.
   O'Connor was now forced to hold the line at El Agheila with a single
   understrength division, negligible air cover and over-extended supply
   lines.

   But matters were soon to become much worse for the British. By March
   1941, Hitler had dispatched General Erwin Rommel along with the
   Deutsches Afrikakorps to bolster the all but defeated Italians. Wavell
   and O'Connor now faced a formidable foe under a commander whose
   brilliance, resourcefulness, and daring would prove a worthy match.
   Rommel wasted little time in launching his own offensive and, by the
   end of March, had driven what was left of XIII Corps back from the El
   Agheila line, retaking Bengazi along with most of western Cyrenaica.

   Justly alarmed by this sudden turn of events and with command
   responsibilities now stretching across the eastern Mediterranean,
   Wavell appointed Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Neame commander of
   British and Commonwealth troops in Egypt. Neame and O'Connor quickly
   formed a friendship, both preferring to command from the front lines
   rather than from a distant headquarters. The two while returning to
   safety after a night reconnaissance mission were captured by a German
   patrol on 7 April 1941, mostly due to Neame driving the wrong way.
   O'Connor (centre, middle distance) and other officers following their
   capture by the Germans.
   Enlarge
   O'Connor (centre, middle distance) and other officers following their
   capture by the Germans.

   O'Connor would spend the next two and a half years as a prisoner of
   war, mainly at the Castello di Vincigliata near Florence, Italy (a
   virtual Club Med for senior allied prisoners). Here he and Neame were
   in the distinguished and impressive company of such figures as
   Major-General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart and Air Vice Marshal O.T.
   Boyd. Although the conditions of their imprisonment were not
   unpleasant, the officers soon formed an escape club and began planning
   a breakout. Their first attempt, a simple attempt to climb over the
   castle walls, resulted in a month's solitary confinement. The second
   attempt, by an escape tunnel built between October 1942 and March 1943,
   was initially successful. Boyd made it to Como near the Swiss border,
   but O'Connor and de Wiart were captured near Bologna in the Po Valley.
   It was only after the Italian surrender in September 1943 that the
   final, successful, escape was made with help from the Italian
   resistance movement while O'Connor was being transferred from
   Vincigliati. After a failed rendezvous with a submarine, he arrived by
   boat at Termoli, then went on to Bari where he was welcomed as a guest
   by General Alexander on 21 December 1943. In later life, he would
   remain in touch with his fellow prisoners from the Vincigliati escape
   club and with the members of the Italian resistance, who had aided him
   during his escape. Upon his return to Britain, O'Connor was presented
   with the knighthood he had been awarded in 1941 and promoted to
   lieutenant-general. Montgomery suggested that O'Connor be his successor
   as Eighth Army commander but that post was instead given to Oliver
   Leese and O'Connor was given a corps to command.

VIII Corps and Normandy

   The Normandy Campaign, 13 June to 30 June 1944.
   Enlarge
   The Normandy Campaign, 13 June to 30 June 1944.

   On 21 January 1944 O'Connor became commander of VIII Corps. It
   consisted of the Guards Armoured Division, 11th Armoured Division, 15th
   (Scottish) Infantry Division along with 6 Guards Tank Brigade, 8 Group
   Royal Artillery and 2 Household Cavalry Regiment. A powerful force, but
   one still in need of much training and preparation for the upcoming
   Operation Overlord. O'Connor proved more than up to the task, and over
   the following months the Corps would conduct many training operations
   in Yorkshire, including ones involving the new Sherman "Crab"
   mine-clearing flail tanks and testing of novel tank modifications (see
   Hobart's Funnies). During an inspection of the Guards division by Prime
   Minister Churchill in April, O'Connor raised concerns about armour
   protection and escape hatches on the Cromwell and Sherman tanks. These
   concerns would later prove to be well-founded. Churchill was impressed
   by O'Connor and the two would continue a correspondence.

   On 11 June 1944, O'Connor and the leading elements of VIII Corps
   arrived in Normandy in the sector around Caen. Their first mission was
   to break out from the bridgehead established by the 3rd Canadian
   Infantry Division, cross the Odon and Orne rivers, then secure the
   high-ground positions northeast of Bretteville-sur-Laize and cut Caen
   off from the south. The breakout and river crossings were accomplished
   promptly. O'Connor's commanding officer (and friend from his days in
   Palestine) Montgomery, congratulated him and his Corps on their
   success. But cutting off Caen would prove much harder (see Operation
   Epsom). O'Connor raised concerns that the Germans might launch a
   counterattack, and strongly recommended the ground gained by VIII Corps
   be consolidated before continuing on further against Caen. This was
   ignored, however, and the Germans did exactly as O'Connor had feared.
   VIII Corps was pushed back over the Orne. O'Connor tried to
   re-establish a bridgehead ( Operation Jupiter), but met with little
   success.

   The next major action for VIII Corps would be Operation Goodwood. The
   attack began on 18 July with a massive aerial bombardment by the 9th
   USAAF, and was ended on 20 July with a successful three-pronged drive
   to capture Bras and Hubert-Folie on the right, Fontenay on the left and
   Bourguebus Ridge in the centre. This was followed by Operation
   Bluecoat, formulated by O'Connor himself. 15th (Scottish) Division
   attacked towards Vire to the east and west of Bois du Homme in order to
   facilitate the American advance in Operation Cobra. A swift drive was
   followed by fierce fighting to the south during the first two days of
   the advance, with both sides taking heavy losses.

   As the allies prepared to pursue the Germans from France, O'Connor
   learned that VIII Corps would not take part in this phase of the
   campaign. VIII Corps was placed in reserve, replaced by XII Corps under
   Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie. His command was reduced in mid-August,
   with the transfer of 11th Armoured Division to XXX Corps and 15th
   (Scottish) Division to XII Corps. While in reserve, O'Connor maintained
   an active correspondence with Churchill, Montgomery and others, making
   suggestions for improvements for armoured vehicles and addressing
   various other problems such as combat fatigue. Some of his
   recommendations were followed up (such as for mounting "rams" on
   armoured vehicles in order to cope with the difficult hedgerow
   country), but most were ignored.

Operation Market Garden, India and afterwards

   Operation Market Garden.
   Enlarge
   Operation Market Garden.

   O'Connor remained in command of VIII Corps, for the time being, and was
   given the task of supporting Horrocks' XXX Corps in Operation Market
   Garden (the plan by Montgomery to establish a bridgehead in the
   Netherlands across the Rhine). In spite of having reduced forces and a
   largely thankless task, his Corps advanced and captured the Dutch towns
   of Deurne and Helmond. O'Connor suggested a possible string of
   operations in the following days, including the construction of bridges
   over the Escaut and the Meuse canal, and the capture of Soerendonk and
   Weert. Such actions, if taken, might have bypassed the main German
   defences which had bogged down XXX Corps, and could have salvaged
   Market Garden, saved thousands of lives and shortened the war in Europe
   by weeks or months. VIII Corps next took part in the advance to take
   Venray and Venlo beginning on 12 October.

   In early September 1944, O'Connor heard rumours that he might be
   transferred to India. When he wrote to Montgomery about this, he was
   assured this was unlikely. On 27 November he received orders to take
   over from Lieutenant-General Sir Moseley Mayne as GOC-in-C, Eastern
   Army in India. This marked the end of a long and distinguished combat
   career. As was O'Connor's habit, he stayed in touch with members of
   VIII Corps after his transfer to India, and received with pride
   accounts of their advances.

   In November 1945, O'Connor was promoted to full General and appointed
   GOC-in-C, North Western Army. In July 1946 he took over as
   Adjutant-General to the Forces and Aide De Camp General to the King. He
   spent much of this time visiting British troops stationed throughout
   India and the Far East. His career as Adjutant General was to be
   short-lived, however. After a disagreement over a cancelled
   demobilisation for troops stationed in the Far East, O'Connor offered
   his resignation in August 1947, which was accepted. Not long after this
   he was installed a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath.

   O'Connor retired in 1948 at the age of fifty-eight. Despite this, he
   maintained his links with the Army and took on other responsibilities.

   He was Commandant of the Army Cadet Force, Scotland from 1948 to 1959;
   Colonel of the Cameronians, 1951 to 1954; Lord Lieutenant of Ross and
   Cromarty from 1955 to 1964 and served as Lord High Commissioner to the
   General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1964. His first wife,
   Jean, died in 1959. In 1963 he married Dorothy Russell. In July 1971 he
   was created Knight of the Thistle. He died in London on 17 June 1981.
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