Archibald Murray
Sir Archibald Murray | |
---|---|
Mentioned in Despatches |
Military career
Born the son of Charles Murray and his wife Anne Graves, and educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Archibald Murray was commissioned into the 27th Regiment on 13 August 1879.[1] He was appointed adjutant of his regiment on 12 February 1886.[2] After promotion to captain on 1 July 1887[3] and taking part in the suppression of a Zulu uprising in 1888,[4] he became adjutant of the 4th Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment on 15 December 1890.[5] He attended Staff College, Camberley, in 1897.[4]
Promoted to
Murray was appointed
Murray became Director of Military Training at the
Chief of Staff, British Expeditionary Force, France and Belgium
Appointment
When the
Wilson,
Retreat from Mons
During the retreat of August 1914 the BEF staff, who had not rehearsed their roles, performed poorly. French was a dynamic leader but no manager.[33] Robertson and Kirke recorded that Murray knew little of the plans which Wilson had drawn up with the French and had to work with a staff "almost entirely staffed from the (Military Operations) Directorate" who were used to working with Wilson. This staff included Colonel Harper, GSO1.[27]
Murray summoned the Corps Chiefs of Staff at around 1am on 24 August (the night after the Battle of Mons), and ordered them to retreat, but gave them no detailed plans, leaving them to work out the details themselves.[34] French agreed to Haig's request that I Corps retreat east of the Forest of Mormal (Haig Diary, 24 August) without, apparently, Smith-Dorrien (GOC II Corps) being asked or informed.[35] (Inept staffwork was not unique to GHQ – neither I nor II Corps staff had checked whether or not the Forest of Mormal was occupied by the enemy.[36]) On 24 August Harper refused to do anything for Murray, so that Lord Loch had to write messages even though it was not his job. Loch wrote in his diary for that day that Murray was "by nature petulant" and "difficult to work with".[27] Murray and his staff were working flat out in intense heat at Bavai, and recorded (24 August) that he had passed 24 hours without undressing or sleeping. Smith-Dorrien visited GHQ to request detailed orders on the evening of 24 August, and had to bully Murray into issuing orders for II Corps to retreat to Le Cateau.[37]
Murray noted in his diary (25 August) that GHQ had moved back from Le Cateau to St Quentin and that I Corps was being heavily engaged by night – making no mention of what II Corps were up to.[35] When 4th Division arrived (25 August) Snow's orders were to help prepare a defensive position on the Cambrai-Le Cateau position, as GHQ had no idea of the seriousness of the situation facing II Corps. 4th Division was eventually able to participate in the Battle of Le Cateau.[38] The news that Smith-Dorrien planned to stand and fight at Le Cateau reached GHQ at 5 am on 26 August – French was woken from his sleep, and insisting that Murray not be woken, sent Smith-Dorrien an ambiguous message that he had "a free hand as to the method" by which he fell back, which Smith-Dorrien took as permission to fight.[39]
Murray appears to have suffered some kind of physical collapse round about this time, although the details differ between different eyewitness accounts.
Wilson returned to GHQ on 29 August from a visit to Joffre to find – he said – "a perfect debacle" with "Murray leading the fright".[33]
Autumn 1914
On 4 September Murray had an important meeting with
Wilson noted (diary 6 Sep – the day on which the BEF began to advance as part of the Battle of the Marne) that French and Murray "were out motoring and playing the ass all day". He had to intercede to prevent French from sacking Harper (Wilson diary 7 Sep) but a week later recorded (Wilson diary 14 Sep), that Murray and Harper argued constantly. After a month Murray was still talking of "my men" and "(Wilson')s men" which Wilson thought "rather sad" and "deplorable" (Clive diary 18 Sep). Wilson thought French and Murray were "between them quite unable to size up a position or to act with constancy for 24 hours" (Wilson diary 28 Sep)[45]
Murray complained to Victor Huguet (a French liaison officer serving with the British) about Wilson (6 October), but also told Wilson that French was getting "more unreasonable" and asked Wilson whether he (Murray) should resign; Wilson informed Billy Lambton, French's secretary, of both of these incidents. Murray also (4–5 November) complained and threatened to resign when Wilson amended one of his orders without telling him.[46][47] Murray later wrote (in 1930) "Why did I stay with (this) War Office clique when I knew I was not wanted? I wanted to see Sir John through. I had been so many years with him, and knew better than anyone how his health, temper and temperament rendered him unfit, in my opinion, for the crisis we had to face. ... the senior members (of GHQ staff) entirely ignored me, as far as possible, continually thwarted me, even altered my instructions." He also said that Wilson's disloyalty had left him the impossible job of managing French alone.[48][27] Rawlinson noted in his diary that Murray became "a cipher at GHQ" (28 November 1914), was disliked by his subordinates (4 December) and that French often ignored his staff "chiefly because Murray is incapable of managing them and getting any good work out of them" (6 December 1914).[45] Edmonds later said that Murray sometimes falsified the timing of orders, but he was given away by the time stamp which the duty clerk placed on them.[49]
Removal
At the end of November and again in mid-December French told Wilson he was thinking of moving Murray to a corps command. Asquith and Kitchener (20 December) forbade French to replace Murray with Wilson. Wilson claimed to have heard Joffre, on a visit to GHQ (27 December), complain that it was "a pity" that Murray had not been removed.[46][47]
Murray was sent off sick for a month (24 January 1915) and French demanded his resignation (25 January 1915), despite Murray insisting that he only needed to take a few days off. Wilson was widely suspected of having plotted for Murray's removal in the vain hope of replacing him, but the job went to
A staff officer, Brigadier General Philip Howell, wrote to his wife (27 February 1915) that Murray had been "incompetent, cantankerous, timid & quite useless".[27] The Official Historian Edmonds later described him as "a complete nonentity". Richard Holmes described him as "an intelligent, cultivated man" who had not yet recovered from a stomach wound in South Africa.[51]
Chief of the Imperial General Staff
He was made
Murray became
However H. H. Asquith, the prime minister, sought changes in senior military positions. Haig, about to be appointed Commander-in-Chief of the BEF (3 December 1915), rejected Kitchener's suggestion that Murray be reappointed as Chief of Staff BEF (the job which Robertson was vacating to become CIGS).[57] In his final days in office Murray issued a paper urging concentration of effort on the Western Front (16 December 1915) which was described by Robertson as the "Bible of the war".[54] Murray was forced out as CIGS on 23 December 1915[58] and replaced by Robertson, a strong advocate of the single (Western) front strategy.[59]
Murray's advice had been met with dismay from some Liberal members of the
Egyptian Command
1916
In January 1916, Murray was given command of the
Murray wrote to Robertson (18 March 1916) that the Australians were "from a physical point of view a magnificent body of men" but had "no idea of ordinary decency or self control".[63]
Britain had 300,000 men in Egypt, many of them ANZACs or Gallipoli evacuees, supposedly to guard against a Turkish attack across the Sinai, which Robertson thought logistically unlikely. By July 1916, on Robertson's orders, Murray had shipped out 240,000 of them, including 9 infantry divisions, three independent infantry brigades and 9 heavy artillery batteries, most of them going to France, leaving him with four Territorial divisions and some mounted troops.[64] 11,000 Indian troops were shipped out, and another division to Mesopotamia and an eleventh to France early in 1917, leaving him with three under-strength infantry divisions and the elements of two more, and two cavalry divisions.[62]
Trying to prevent another Turkish attack against the
1917
Lloyd George wanted to make the destruction of Turkey a major British war aim, and two days after becoming Prime Minister told Robertson that he wanted a major victory, preferably the capture of
Murray was advanced to
It was Murray who authorized T. E. Lawrence's expedition to join the Arab Revolt against the Turks in Arabia, providing monetary and limited military support for Lawrence's attack on Aqaba: initially skeptical of the Revolt's potential, Murray became an ardent supporter of it later in his tenure in Cairo, largely through Lawrence's persuasion.[67] By early 1917 the Turks had also withdrawn from Persia and had pulled back from Medina, which was besieged by the Arabs.[68]
Murray completed the defeat of the Senussi (taking Siwa in February 1917).[62]
In March 1917 at the First Battle of Gaza a British force under Murray's command comprising 52nd (Lowland) Division reinforced by an infantry brigade from Eastern Force attacked Gaza. While the Imperial Mounted Division held off the Turkish reinforcements, the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division (Anzac Mounted Division) reinforced the infantry attack and together, they succeeded in entering Gaza from the north and capturing the adjoining hill of Ali Muntar. However the determination of the Turkish defenders and the threat from large Turkish reinforcements approaching from the north and north east ultimately led to decision to withdraw.[69] The First Battle of Gaza had been described as "most successful" by understating British and exaggerating enemy casualties. This led to loss of political confidence in Murray.[70]
At the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917 Murray assembled a larger force comprising the 52nd (Lowland) Division, 53rd (Welsh) Division, the 54th (East Anglian) Division and the recently formed 74th (Yeomanry) Division which was made up of brigades of dismounted yeomanry serving as infantry. However the six British tanks, the British heavy guns and naval gunfire from the French coastal defence ship Requin and two British monitors (M21 and M31) did little damage and only served to warn the Turks of the imminent British attack which faltered at all points. Again Murray decided to withdraw.[71] The Second Battle of Gaza failed due to lack of artillery.[70]
The Second Battle of Gaza coincided with the failure of the
Despite laying the plans for the ultimate defeat of the Turks, Murray was relieved of command and replaced by Edmund Allenby on 29 June 1917.[4] Murray was mentioned in despatches again on 3 November 1917.[72]
After Egypt
Murray was reassigned, becoming
He was also colonel of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers from 22 August 1911.[77]
Murray died at his home "Makepeace" at Reigate in Surrey on 21 January 1945 and was buried in a family vault on the west side of Highgate Cemetery.[4]
Family
In 1890 he married Caroline Helen Sweet; they had one son.[4] Following the death of his first wife he married Mildred Georgina Dooner in 1912.[4]
Cultural references
Murray was unsympathetically portrayed by Donald Wolfit in the cinema film Lawrence of Arabia as a stereotypical blimpish British general, obsessed with artillery.[78] Mount Murray in the Canadian Rockies was named in his honor in 1918.[79]
References
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- ^ "No. 25816". The London Gazette. 15 May 1888. p. 2767.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Edmonds & Bunton 2008.
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- ^ "No. 27459". The London Gazette. 29 July 1902. p. 4844.
- ^ "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36790. London. 10 June 1902. p. 14.
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- ^ Travers 1987, p. 67
- ^ "No. 28799". The London Gazette. 6 February 1914. p. 983.
- ^ a b c d e Robbins 2005, p. 116
- ^ a b Jeffery 2006, pp. 132–133
- ^ "General Sir Archibald Murray". First World War.com. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ Jeffery 2006, p. 134
- ^ Spears 1930, p. 72
- ^ Holmes 2004, p. 206
- ^ a b c Jeffery 2006, pp. 134–137
- ^ Holmes 2004, pp. 216–218
- ^ a b Beckett&Corvi 2006, p. 195
- ^ Travers 1987, p. 42
- ^ Holmes 2004, pp. 218–221
- ^ Beckett&Corvi 2006, p. 197, 199
- ^ Holmes 2004, pp. 222–223
- ^ Spears 1930, pp. 228, 233
- ^ Terraine 1960, pp. 130–131
- ^ Terraine 1960, p. 150
- ^ Herwig 2009, p. 228
- ^ Senior 2012, p. 188
- ^ a b Robbins 2005, pp. 116–117
- ^ a b c Jeffery 2006, pp. 139–143
- ^ a b c d Holmes 2004, pp. 266–268
- ^ Hastings 2013, p. 224
- ^ Travers 1987, p. 24
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- ^ Holmes 2004, pp. 149–150
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- ^ a b c Bonham-Carter 1963, pp. 131–133
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- ^ "No. 29341". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 October 1915. p. 10615.
- ^ Sheffield 2005, p. 171
- ^ "No. 29426". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1915. p. 120.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35786. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Guinn 1965 pp. 126–127
- ^ "Murray's first despatch". Desert Column. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ a b c d Bonham-Carter 1963, pp. 155–156
- ^ Robbins 2005, p. 16
- ^ Woodward, 1998, p. 116
- ^ Woodward, 1998, pp. 119–121
- ^ "No. 29913". The London Gazette. 23 January 1917. p. 842.
- ^ Lawrence 1997, p. 187.
- ^ a b Woodward, 1998, pp. 122, 167
- ^ Falls 1930 Vol. 1 pp. 279–325
- ^ a b Cassar 2011, p. 151
- ^ Falls 1930 Vol. 1 pp. 326–350
- ^ "No. 30370". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 November 1917. p. 11531.
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- ^ "No. 32767". The London Gazette. 14 November 1922. p. 8035.
- ^ "No. 33343". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1927. p. 3.
- ^ "No. 28524". The London Gazette. 22 August 1911. p. 6224.
- IMDb
- ^ Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: Geographic Board of Canada. 1928. p. 91.
Bibliography
- Beckett, Dr Ian F; Corvi, Steven J (editors) (2006). Haig's Generals. )
- Victor Bonham-Carter (1963). Soldier True:the Life and Times of Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson. London: Frederick Muller Limited.
- Cassar, George H. (2011). Lloyd George at War, 1916–18. Anthem Press, London. ISBN 978-0-857-28392-4.
- Edmonds, , J.; Bunton, M. (3 January 2008). "Sir Archibald Murray". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35155.required.)
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (Subscription or UK public library membership - Falls, Cyril; MacMunn, George (1930). Military operations: Egypt and Palestine. London, Imperial War Museum. pp. 279–350. ISBN 978-1870423267.
- Guinn, Paul (1965). British Strategy and Politics 1914–18. Clarendon. ASIN B0000CML3C.
- Hastings, Max (2013). Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes To War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-59705-2.
- Herwig, Holger (2009). The Marne. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-7829-2.
- Holmes, Richard (2004). The Little Field Marshal: A Life of Sir John French. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-84614-0.
- Jeffery, Keith (2006). Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: A Political Soldier. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-820358-2.
- ISBN 978-1-85326-469-6.
- Robbins, Simon (2005). British Generalship on the Western Front. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-40778-8.
- Senior, Ian (2012). Home Before the Leaves Fall: A New History of the German Invasion of 1914. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-848-84209-0.
- ISBN 978-0297847021.
- Spears, Sir Edward (1930). Liaison 1914. Eyre & Spottiswood. ISBN 978-0304352289.
- Terraine, John (1960). Mons, The Retreat to Victory. Wordsworth Military Library, London. ISBN 1-84022-240-9.
- Travers, Tim (1987). The Killing Ground. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-85052-964-6.
- Woodward, David R (1998). Field Marshal Sir William Robertson. Westport Connecticut & London: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-95422-6.
External links
Despatches of General Murray
- General Murray's Despatch, 16 January to 31 May 1916
- General Murray's Despatch, 1 June to 30 September 1916
- General Murray's Despatch, 1 October 1916, to 28 February 1917
- General Murray's Despatch, 1 March to 28 June 1917
Other