Richard O'Connor
He was the field commander for Operation Compass, in which his forces destroyed a much larger Italian army – a victory which nearly drove the Axis from Africa, and in turn, led Adolf Hitler to send the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel to try to reverse the situation.He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order (twice), the Military Cross, the French Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour, and served as aide-de-camp to King George VI.As a result, for O'Connor, who at some point was appointed the Malta brigade's signals officer, the years of 1913 and 1914 were spent in training the men under his command for the duties that they would one day have to perform in battle.[8] O'Connor was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and appointed brevet lieutenant-colonel while he was in command of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Honourable Artillery Company, part of the 7th Division, in June 1917.In late October 1918 the 2nd Battalion captured the island of Grave di Papadopoli on the Piave River for which O'Connor received the Italian Silver Medal of Military Valor and a Bar to his DSO.[30] In April 1936 O'Connor was promoted to full colonel[35] and appointed temporary brigadier[36] to assume command of the Peshawar Brigade in north west India.In September 1938 O'Connor was promoted to major-general[37] and appointed General Officer Commanding 7th Infantry Division[37] in Palestine, along with the additional responsibility as Military Governor of Jerusalem.[38] In August 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, the 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.[41] 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.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 Special Air Service).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, broke through a gap in the Italian defences at Sidi Barrani near the coast.O'Connor promptly moved to pursue and cut them off, sending his armour southwest through the desert in a wide flanking movement, while the infantry gave chase along the coast to the north.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 Benghazi to the north, the demoralised, exhausted Italians unconditionally capitulated.However, 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.Although the operation had failed to achieve its tactical objectives, Montgomery was pleased with the strategic benefits in the commitment and fixing of the German armoured reserves to the Caen sector.However, the attack ground to a halt in pouring rain, turning the battlefield into a quagmire, with the major objectives still not taken, notably the Bourguebus Ridge which was the key to any break-out.[58] Restored to its pre-invasion formation but with British 3rd Infantry Division attached, the corps was switched to the southwest of Caen to take part in Operation Bluecoat.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 (O'Connor, 5/3/25 July 29 1944).While in reserve, O'Connor maintained an active correspondence with Montgomery, Hobart and others, making suggestions for improvements of armoured vehicles and addressing various other problems such as combat fatigue.[72] There were also two memorial services, one held in London on 15 July, with O'Connor's great friend and admirer, Field Marshal Lord Harding, as he was now known, giving the address, where he stated the following: Dick O'Connor was my ideal of a commander in battle; always approachable and ready to listen, yet firm and decisive and always fair in his judgement of people and events; modest to a degree, shunning the limelight and embarrassed by praise; calmly resolute and courageously determined.[73]The second memorial service was held in Edinburgh on 11 August, where Lieutenant General Sir George Collingwood, who had been O'Connor's aide-de-camp in the late 1930s, made the address.[72] Making references to O'Connor's campaign in the desert some forty years earlier, he then mentioned his numerous attempts to escape from captivity, along with his happy private life and his two "wonderful partners in the home", before ending his address with: So there is in a sense a picture of three different people.The dedicated soldier and brilliant fighting Commander, a prisoner of war exerting all his energies and taking great risks to escape and return to serve his Country, and the quiet, unassuming little country gentleman with the kindly smile and charming manners, who was a wonderful host and a wonderful guest, but of course it was one and the same person and the chief facets of his character were, I think, great courage and determination, an impelling sense of duty, loyalty, extreme personal modesty, kindness and generosity and a delightful sense of humour.
Richard O'Connor (disambiguation)General O'Connor (disambiguation)SrinagarBritish IndiaKing Edward VII's HospitalLondonBritish ArmyGeneralService numberCameronians (Scottish Rifles)Northern Command, IndiaEastern Command, IndiaVIII CorpsBritish Troops in EgyptXIII CorpsWestern Desert Force6th Infantry Division7th Infantry DivisionPeshawar BrigadeHonourable Artillery CompanyFirst World WarArab revolt in PalestineSecond World WarKnight of the Order of the ThistleKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the BathDistinguished Service OrderMilitary CrossMentioned in despatchesLegion of HonourCroix de GuerreSilver Medal of Military ValorArmy Cadet ForceColonelCameroniansLord LieutenantRoss and CromartyLord High CommissionerChurch of ScotlandofficerSecond World WarsOperation CompassItalian armyAdolf HitlerAfrika KorpsErwin Rommelprisoner of war campBattle of NormandyOperation Market GardenEastern CommandNorthern CommandAdjutant-General to the Forcesknighthoodorders of chivalryaide-de-campKing George VIPalestineKashmirRoyal Irish FusiliersTonbridgeCrowthorneWellington CollegeRoyal Military College at SandhurstBernard Montgomerycommissionedsecond lieutenantGlasgowLanarkshireAldershotColchesterSmall Arms SchoolHythe, KentlieutenantEurope22nd Brigade7th Divisioncaptainbrevetbrigade major91st BrigadeBullecourtlieutenant-colonelAustro-HungarianRiver PiaveItalian FrontStaff College, Camberleyworld wars5 BrigadeJ. F. C. Fullerinfantryartilleryadjutantcompany commanderLucknowWar OfficeImperial Defence Collegefull colonelbrigadiermajor-generalGeneral Officer CommandingJerusalemMersa MatruhItalian Tenth Army6th DivisionCompanion of the Order of the BathLieutenant-GeneralHenry Maitland WilsonSuez CanalSidi Barrani7th Armoured DivisionIndian 4th Infantry DivisiontankettesLong Range Desert GroupSpecial Air ServiceRoyal NavyRoyal Air ForceMatilda tanksSir Archibald WavellItalian East Africa6th Australian DivisionBardiaTobruk4th Armoured BrigadeBeda FommBenghaziEric Dorman-SmithKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath