General Sir George Giffard GCB, DSO (1886 - 1964) was a British military officer, who had a distinguished career in command of African troops in World War I, and who rose to command an Army Group in South East Asia in World War II. Jump to: navigation, search World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that...

Early Career

After attending Rugby School and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment in 1905. In 1913, while serving with its 1st Battalion, he saw action in East Africa. He transferred into a unit of the King's African Rifles. A view of Rugby School from the rear, including the playing field, where according to legend Rugby football was invented Rugby School, located in the town of Rugby in Warwickshire, is one of the oldest public schools in the United Kingdom and is perhaps one of the top co-educational... The Royal Military Academy was founded in 1741 in Woolwich, south-east London. ... The Kings African Rifles (KAR) was a British colonial regiment in East Africa from 1902 until the independence of the various colonies in the 1960s. ...

World War I

His unit saw extensive service in the campaign against the German forces under von Lettow-Vorbeck. He rose to command a column of two battalions of the KAR, "Gifcol". Although von Lettow-Vorbeck's forces were never rounded up, Gifcol was nevertheless the most effective unit involved in the efforts to pursue and hound them. He was wounded, awarded the DSO and was Mentioned in despatches four times. General Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck (March 20, 1870 - March 9, 1964) was the commander of the German East Africa campaign in World War I, the only colonial campaign of that war where Germany remained undefeated. ...

Between the Wars

• 1919 - 1920 Attended Staff College, Camberley
• 1920 - 1927 West African Frontier Force
• 1927 - 1928 Shanghai Expeditionary Force (as 2ic 1st/Queen's Royal Surrey)
• 1928 - 1931 Instructor at Staff College, Camberley
• 1931 - 1932 CO 2nd/Queens Royal Surrey, Aldershot
• 1933 - 1936 General Staff Officer 1, British 2nd Division
• 1936 - 1938 Inspector-General of West African Frontier Force
• 1938 - 1939 Inspector-General of African Colonial Forces

Camberley is a town in Surrey, England about 29 miles to the south-west of London. ... Camberley is a town in Surrey, England about 29 miles to the south-west of London. ... See: British 2nd Division (World War I) British 2nd Infantry Division British 2nd Mounted Division This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

World War II

• 1939 - 1940 Military Secretary, War Office
• 1940 General Officer Commanding Palestine & Trans-Jordan
• 1940 - 1941 General Officer Commanding West Africa
• 1941 - 1942 Commander in Chief West Africa Command. While the Mediterranean was barred to British shipping by German and Italian naval and air force units, West Africa was an important link in Allied lines of communication to the Middle East and Far East. In addition to organising the logistic infrastructure, Giffard's major achievement was the reorganisation of the units of the Royal West African Frontier Force into two field infantry divisions, capable of serving as independent forces in rough terrain. (Initially, this was in response to a potential threat from Vichy French forces in Senegal and Niger. Later, these two divisions, West African 81st Division and West African 82nd Division served with distinction in the Burma Campaign.)
• 1942 - 1943 General Officer Commanding Eastern Army, India. This army faced the Japanese in Burma. Several sources, notably Field Marshal Slim, testified to his contribution to the improvement in morale and effectiveness in Eastern Army during this period.
• 1943 - 1944 Commander in Chief 11th Army Group, Burma. His period of command here was less happy, mainly because of difficulties with the US General Joseph Stilwell. The two men disliked each other, and Stilwell held so many appointments that any working arrangement had to be an awkward compromise. Nevertheless, this period was marked by the victories in the Arakan, and at Imphal and Kohima, to which Giffard contributed greatly. Late in 1944, 11th Army Group was replaced by the Allied HQ, ALFSEA and Giffard was replaced by General Oliver Leese.
• 1943 - 1946 Aide-de-Camp General to the King
• 1946 Retired

Presidential flag of Vichy France Vichy France, or the Vichy regime (in French, now called: Régime de Vichy or Vichy; at the time, called itself: État Français, or French State) was the de facto French government of 1940-1944 during the Nazi Germany occupation of World War II... The Burma Campaign was a campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. It was fought primarily between Commonwealth, Chinese and American forces against the Empire of Japan. ... Field Marshal Sir William Slim (pictured here as a Major General) William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, DSO, MC (6 August 1897 – 14 December 1970), British military commander and 13th Governor-General of Australia, was born near Bristol, Gloucestershire. ... (Redirected from 11th Army Group) The British 11th Army Group was the main British Army force in Southeast Asia. ... Jump to: navigation, search Stilwell with Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. ... Arakan is a state in the North Western part of Myanmar, formerly Burma. ... Imphal is the capital of Manipur, India. ... Kohima is a small hill town which serves as the capital of Indias north eastern border state of Nagaland. ... The British 11th Army Group was the main British Army force in Southeast Asia. ... Sir Oliver Leese (27 October 1894 - 22 January 1978) was a British general during World War II. Leese attended Eton College and when the First World War broke out he enlisted in the Coldstream Guards. ...

Other Appointments

In 1945, he was made Colonel of the Queen's Royal Regiment. He was also Colonel Commandant of the Royal West African Frontier Force and of the King's African Rifles.

Miscellaneous

His legacy in Britain's West African possessions was the pride the people felt in the contribution and fighting record of the two West African divisions which he formed, and which fought on an equal basis with British and Indian divisions. This contributed to the growth of national feeling, which in turn played its part in the achievement of Independence in those countries.

See also

Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment