Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
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Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby (April 23 1861 - May 14 1936) was a British soldier most famous for his role during World War I.
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Early years and active service
Born in Brackenhurst, Nottinghamshire, Allenby was educated at Haileybury College. He had no great desire to be a soldier, and tried to enter the Indian Civil Service, failing the entry exam twice. In 1880, he sat the exam for the Royal Military College at Sandhurst and came fifth out of one-hundred and ten applicants. After ten months at Sandhurst, he passed out twelfth and was commissioned into the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons in 1881. In 1882, he joined his regiment in South Africa, and served in the Bechuanaland Expedition of 1884-1885 on patrol duties, and then in Zululand in 1888. In 1889, as a captain, he was made the adjutant of the regiment, responsible for the turnout, discipline and routine of the unit and soon gained a reputation for strictness. He returned to Britain in 1890 with his unit, which was posted to Brighton, during which time the regiment was confined to training and other routine duties. In 1893, Allenby’s time as Adjutant of the regiment came to an end, and in 1894 he sat – and failed – the entry exam for the Staff College in Camberley. Not deterred, he sat the exam again the next year and passed in twenty-first place, being the only cavalryman to enter the College by competition and the first officer from his regiment ever to do so. On the same day, Captain Douglas Haig of the 7th Hussars also entered the Staff College, albeit not by taking an exam, thus beginning a rivalry between the two that was to run until the First World War. Different in character, Haig and Allenby both worked hard at Staff College, although the latter was more popular with fellow officers, even being made Master of the Draghounds. Whereas Haig had few interests outside military affairs, Allenby had already developed a passion for poetry, ornithology, travel and botany. His Staff College assessment read as follows:
- "This officer has sufficiently good abilities and much practical common sense. In all his work the practical bearing of the subject dealt with is always kept in view; and so long as the subject or situation falls within his knowledge, it is rapidly and thoroughly dealt with. In matters with which he is not so conversant he is not very good at working into details. He has energy, good judgement and rapid decision, and is a clear thinker and writer. He is active and a good soldier, and has the power of exerting influence on others and getting good work out of them.”
Before leaving Staff College in 1897, he was promoted to Major and had also married Miss Mabel Chapman, the daughter of a Wiltshire landowner. In 1898, Allenby joined the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, then serving in Ireland as the Brigade-Major. He returned to South Africa to fight in the Second Boer War from 1899. He finished the war as a Colonel and returned to Britain in 1902 to command the 5th Royal Irish Lancers until 1905 and then the 4th Cavalry Brigade until 1910. His extensive cavalry experience led to him being appointed Inspector of Cavalry.
World War I
Western Front
During World War I he initially served on the Western Front. At the outbreak of war he was made commander of a cavalry division and distinguished himself when his unit covered the retreat after the Battle of Mons. He was rewarded by being made commander of the BEF Cavalry Corps. In 1915 he commanded V Corps during the Second Battle of Ypres and in October he took charge of the British Third Army. However at the Battle of Arras, his forces failed to exploit a breakthrough and he was replaced by Julian Byng on June 9.
Egypt and Palestine
Allenby was sent to Egypt to be made commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) on June 27 1917, replacing Sir Archibald Murray. One of Allenby's first moves was to support the efforts of T. E. Lawrence amongst the Arabs with £200,000 a month. Having reorganised his regular forces Allenby won the Third Battle of Gaza (October 31 - November 7, 1917) by surprising the defenders with an attack at Beersheba.
His force pushed on towards Jerusalem, the Ottomans were beaten at Junction Station (November 13-15) and Jerusalem was captured on December 9 1917.
Honouring Jerusalem on foot
Although he was a supreme master of cavalry horse warfare, before entering Jerusalem, Allenby dismounted and together with his officers, entered the city on foot through the Jaffa Gate out of his great respect for the status of Jerusalem as the Holy City important to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (see his proclamation of martial law below). He subsequently stated in his official report:
- "...I entered the city officially at noon, December 11th, with a few of my staff, the commanders of the French and Italian detachments, the heads of the political missions, and the Military Attaches of France, Italy, and America.
- The procession was all afoot, and at Jaffa gate I was received by the guards representing England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, India, France, and Italy. The population received me well..." (Source Records of the Great War, Vol. V, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923)
Middle East victory
The German offensive on the Western Front meant that Allenby was without reinforcements and after his forces failed to capture Amman in March and April 1918 he halted the offensive. New troops from the Empire (specifically Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa) led to the resumption of operations in August 1918. Following an extended series of deceptive moves the Ottoman line was broken at the Battle of Megiddo (September 19-21, 1918) and the Allied cavalry passed through and blocked the Turkish retreat. The EEF then advanced at an enormous rate, encountering minimal resistance, Damascus fell on October 1st, Homs on October 16, and Aleppo on October 25. Turkey capitulated on October 30 1918.
Promotions
Allenby was made a Field Marshal in 1919 and on August 6 of that year was created Viscount Allenby, of Megiddo and of Felixstowe in the County of Suffolk. He remained in the Middle East as High Commissioner for Egypt and the Sudan until 1925 and he was instrumental in the creation of sovereign Egypt.
He retired in 1925 and died in London in 1936.
Jerusalem proclamation
Sir Edmund Allenby's official proclamation of martial law following the fall of Jerusalem, December 9 1917:
- "To the Inhabitants of Jerusalem the Blessed and the People Dwelling in Its Vicinity:
- The defeat inflicted upon the Turks by the troops under my command has resulted in the occupation of your city by my forces. I, therefore, here now proclaim it to be under martial law, under which form of administration it will remain so long as military considerations make necessary.
- However, lest any of you be alarmed by reason of your experience at the hands of the enemy who has retired, I hereby inform you that it is my desire that every person pursue his lawful business without fear of interruption.
- Furthermore, since your city is regarded with affection by the adherents of three of the great religions of mankind and its soil has been consecrated by the prayers and pilgrimages of multitudes of devout people of these three religions for many centuries, therefore, do I make it known to you that every sacred building, monument, holy spot, shrine, traditional site, endowment, pious bequest, or customary place of prayer of whatsoever form of the three religions will be maintained and protected according to the existing customs and beliefs of those to whose faith they are sacred.
- Guardians have been established at Bethlehem and on Rachel's Tomb. The tomb at Hebron has been placed under exclusive Moslem control.
- The hereditary custodians at the gates of the Holy Sepulchre have been requested to take up their accustomed duties in remembrance of the magnanimous act of the Caliph Omar, who protected that church."
(Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. V, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923)
See also
| Preceded by: New Creation | Viscount Allenby | Succeeded by: Dudley Allenby |
he:אדמונד אלנבי
