Kenneth Strong
Sir Kenneth Strong | |
---|---|
Major-general | |
Service number | 6897 |
Unit | Royal Scots Fusiliers |
Commands held | 4th/5th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers Political Warfare Executive |
Battles/wars | Irish War of Independence |
Awards | Director General of Intelligence, Ministry of Defence |
Strong became Head of the
In August 1945, Strong became deputy director of the
Early life
Kenneth William Dobson Strong was born in Montrose, Angus, Scotland, on 9 September 1900, the only son amongst four children, to John Strong, the rector of Montrose Academy and his wife Ethel May née Dobson. He was educated at Montrose Academy, Glenalmond College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[1]
Between the wars
Strong was
In 1935 he returned to Germany as a member of the International Force supervising the
Second World War
Allied Forces Headquarters
Strong was appointed Head of the
In March 1943, Strong was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2) at
Strong had an explosive laugh, an appreciation of the wisecrack, and an easy acceptance of the West Pointers' rough language and casual manner rare in British officers. In his memoirs he endeared himself to all those from the New World side of the Atlantic Ocean who had been put off by British stuffiness and snobbery when he remarked "The best time in a man's life is when he gets to like Americans."[6]
In August 1943, Smith and Strong flew to
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
When Eisenhower was appointed
As it turned out, the relationship between SHAEF and
Heavy opposition from the two SS panzer divisions in the area proved to be a critical factor not only in preventing the British 1st Airborne Division from holding the Rhine Bridge at Arnhem, but also imposed serious delays on the capture of the bridges at Nijmegen by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division and the advance of the armoured units of the British XXX Corps. For SHAEF, the outcome meant that attention had to turn to the Battle of the Scheldt to open the approaches to Antwerp and to building up resources for an invasion of Germany in 1945.[18]
In December 1944, Strong identified a large German reserve. The Germans devised an elaborate deception plan, and because the troops were being assembled inside Germany, they relied on secure phone and teleprinter lines rather than radio. Ultra and signal intelligence therefore dried up. Ultra detected German hoarding of fuel, but this was misinterpreted as a response to a critical shortage rather than building up a reserve. However, the withdrawal of armoured units from the front line was duly noted, and by 20 November, using agents, aircraft and prisoner interrogations, SHAEF had located and enumerated the divisions of the
The magnitude and ferocity of the German
On 15 April 1945, Nazi governor ('Reichskommissar') of the Netherlands, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, offered to open
Another set of negotiations, that of the surrender of German armed forces, were conducted in May 1945. Smith and Strong met with the representatives of the
For his services at SHAEF, Strong was
Post war
In August 1945, Strong became deputy director of the Political Warfare Executive, succeeding Sir Bruce Lockhart as its head a month later. With the elevation of Montgomery to Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1946, the career prospects of officers who had served at SHAEF, like Morgan, Gale, Whiteley and Strong, became dim,[28] and Strong retired from the Army with the rank of major general on 9 May 1947 to become a
He was initially appointed Director General of the Political Intelligence Department of the
Strong became a director of Eagle Star Insurance and other companies. He wrote two books, his memoir, Intelligence at the Top (1970), and Men of Intelligence (1970). Unfortunately, both were written before the Ultra secret was revealed in 1974. In 1979 he married a widow, Brita Charlota Horridge. Their marriage produced no children. Strong died at his home in Eastbourne, East Sussex on 11 January 1982.[1] His papers are in the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives.[3]
Publications
- Strong, Kenneth (1969). Intelligence at the Top: the Recollections of an Intelligence Officer. OCLC 1260.
- Strong, Kenneth (1970). Men of Intelligence: a Study of the Roles and Decisions of Chiefs of Intelligence from World War I to the Present Day. Littlehampton Book Services. ISBN 978-0-304-93652-6.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Keith 2004
- ^ a b Mead 2007, p. 445
- ^ a b c Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ Mead 2007, p. 446
- ^ Howe 1957, pp. 487–489
- ^ Ambrose & Immerman 1981, p. 125
- ^ Garland & Smyth 1965, pp. 455–461
- ^ Garland & Smyth 1965, pp. 474–484
- ^ "No. 36322". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 January 1944. p. 205.
- ^ "No. 36416". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 March 1944. p. 1151.
- ^ Pogue 1954, pp. 25–33
- ^ Pogue 1954, p. 62
- ^ Pogue 1954, p. 64
- ^ Ambrose & Immerman 1981, pp. 125–126
- ^ Pogue 1954, p. 71
- ^ a b Mead 2007, p. 447
- ^ Ambrose & Immerman 1981, pp. 132–134
- ^ Pogue 1954, pp. 284–288
- ^ Pogue 1954, pp. 362–366
- ^ Montague 1992, p. 59
- ^ Whiting 1999, pp. 658–659
- ^ Pogue 1954, p. 378
- ^ Crosswell 1991, pp. 320–322
- ^ Crosswell 1991, pp. 322–327
- ^ "No. 37040". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 April 1945. p. 2078.
- ^ "No. 37204". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 August 1945. p. 3953.
- ^ "No. 37040". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 January 1948. p. 401.
- ^ Mead 2007, p. 448
- ^ "No. 37949". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 May 1947. p. 2059.
- ^ "No. 39594". The London Gazette. 11 July 1952. p. 3748.
References
- OCLC 6863017.
- Garland, Albert N.; Smyth, Howard McGaw (1965). Sicily and the Surrender of Italy. Washington DC: )
- Crosswell, D. K. R. (1991). The Chief of Staff: The Military Career of General Walter Bedell Smith. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. OCLC 22273487.
- Howe, George F. (1957). Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West. Washington DC: United States Army Center of Military History, U.S. Department of the Army. )
- Keith, Kenneth (2004). Strong, Sir Kenneth William Dobson (1900-1982). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: A Biographical Guide to the Key British Generals of World War II. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Spellmount. OCLC 171539131.
- Montague, Ludwell Lee (1992). General Walter Bedell Smith as Director of Central Intelligence October 1950 - February 1953. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University. OCLC 22707456.
- Pogue, Forrest C. (1954). The Supreme Command. Washington DC: United States Army Center of Military History. )
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
- OCLC 41141613.
External links