Robert Fanshawe (British Army officer)
Sir Robert Fanshawe | |
---|---|
Mentioned in Despatches (10) | |
Relations | Sir Edward Fanshawe (brother) Sir Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe (brother) |
Fanshawe joined the
Early military career
Fanshawe was born in 1863, the youngest son of the Reverend Henry Leighton Fanshawe, of
Fanshawe entered the
In September 1902 Fanshawe was posted to the staff of the
First World War
At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Fanshawe's division was mobilised as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) for service in France. On 20 September 1914, he was appointed an acting brigadier-general to command the 6th Brigade, part of the 2nd Division.[13]
Fanshawe led the brigade through the
Fanshawe spent a good deal of time visiting front-line units, where he "liked to drift into the trench in an old raincoat so that men were not intimidated"
Fanshawe was strongly in favour of
Whilst a success, this result was greeted with dismay by the corps commander, the Earl of Cavan; he was a believer in a more traditional strongly held static line of defence and felt that Fanshawe did not need to have given up any ground at all.[21] Fanshawe was quickly relieved of his command and ordered home, leaving Italy four days after the end of the battle, on 20 June.[22][23]
Francis Mackay wrote that it was the dismissal of a general who had a sound defensive plan applied by officers and men of high morale and confidence.
- The Italians, senior partners at Asiago, frequently sacked senior officers who had suffered setbacks in battle. Lord Cavan, who succeeded Herbert Plumer as GOC of the British Forces in Italy, may have played a political and unpleasant hand in dismissing Fanshawe.
- Cavan thought that, after his briefing of 14 June, Fanshawe should have reinforced the front line in the face of an expected Austrian attack. Cavan had also failed to spot the weaknesses and did not change the battle disposition when he visited Fanshawe at his battle headquarters.
- As a commander, Fanshawe allowed his troops to suffer unnecessary casualties, which, in 1918, was a cause for dismissal. This was due to an increasingly severe shortage of manpower that was beginning to affect operations.[24]
- Despite preparations for a British attack, there was no British artillery support to stem the Austrian advance.[25]
MacKay also reports that the Official History[26] records that Fanshawe may have lost his grip on the battle on the morning of 15 June 1918.[25]
Fanshawe was respected throughout the 48th Division. Charles Carrington, a junior officer who served as an infantry platoon commander, described Fanshawe as "the kindest hearted old swashbuckler in the army."[27] He trained his commanders to use their initiative in the Battle of the Woods and Clouds, where lines of sight and communications were very limited. He left, uncomplainingly, gentlemanly to the end and did not see further active service. Nevertheless, there were many officers in the 48th Division who complained for years about his dishonourable treatment.[25]
Fanshawe was appointed to command the 69th (2nd East Anglian) Division on home service in November 1918. Through the war, he was mentioned in despatches eight times, as well as knighted.[7]
After the war
Fanshawe retired from the army in August 1919; he later served as the honorary colonel of the 1st/7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, a TF unit that formed part of the 48th Division.[28] He died in 1946, aged eighty-three, after falling from his horse,[1] and is buried near Oxford.[25]
References
- ^ a b c "No. 19 'Fanny' Fanshawe". Generals' Nicknames. Centre for First World War Studies, University of Birmingham. January 2009. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
- ^ https://www.geni.com/people/Maj-Gen-Sir-Robert-Fanshawe-KCB-DSO/6000000025804344023
- ^ a b Who Was Who
- ^ "FANSHAWE, Lieut.-Gen. Sir Hew Dalrymple", in Who Was Who (Online ed.). London: A & C Black. 2007.
- ^ "FANSHAWE, Lieut.-Gen. Sir Edward Arthur", in Who Was Who (Online ed.). London: A & C Black. 2007.
- ^ "Casualties in the War". The Times. No. 36078. London. 1 March 1900. p. 6.
- ^ a b c d e Obituary in The Times
- ^ "No. 27417". The London Gazette. 18 March 1902. p. 1885.
- ^ "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36814. London. 8 July 1902. p. 11.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36854. London. 23 August 1902. p. 8.
- ^ "No. 27482". The London Gazette. 14 October 1902. p. 6496.
- ^ "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6903.
- ^ "No. 28960". The London Gazette. 30 October 1914. p. 8852.
- ^ Wright, p. 12
- ^ Robbins 2005, p. 34.
- ^ Ashworth 2000, p. 93.
- ^ a b Cassar 1998, pp. 162–163.
- ^ Wilks & Wilks 1998, p. 115.
- ^ Robbins 2005, p. 62.
- ^ Cassar 1998, pp. 163–164.
- ^ a b Cassar 1998, p. 164.
- ^ Cassar 1998, p. 163.
- ^ Wilks & Wilks 1998, p. 110.
- ^ Wilks & Wilks 1998, p. 74.
- ^ a b c d MacKay, Francis, Asiago, Battleground Europe, Leo Cooper, Barnsley, 2001 p.116
- ^ Edmonds, JL, The Official History of the War Military Operations in Italy 1915–1918, London, 1986
- ^ Wilks & Wilks 1998, pp. 114–115.
- ^ 7th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment
References
- "FANSHAWE, Maj.-Gen. Sir Robert", in Who Was Who (Online ed.). London: A & C Black. 2007.
- Obituary notice in The Times, 26 August 1946, p. 7
- Wright, Philip Lowndes (1920). The First Buckinghamshire Battalion, 1914–1919. Hazell, Watson & Viney.
- Robbins, Simon (2005). British generalship on the Western Front 1914–18: defeat into victory. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-35006-9.
- Cassar, George H. (1998). The forgotten front: the British campaign in Italy, 1917–1918. Continuum. ISBN 1-85285-166-X.
- Ashworth, Tony (2000). Trench warfare, 1914–1918: the live and let live system. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 0-330-48068-5.
- Wilks, Eileen; Wilks, John (1998). The British Army in Italy 1917-1918. Pen and Sword, 1998. ISBN 978-1-78346-171-4.