Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds inspecting II Canadian Corps in Meppen, Germany, May 31st, 1945.

Lieutenant-General Guy Granville Simonds, CC, CB, CBE, DSO, CD, (April 23, 1903 - May 15, 1974) was a Canadian Army officer who commanded the II Canadian Corps during World War II. Additionally, he served as acting commander of the Cdn. 1st Army, leading the Allied forces to victory in the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. After the war, in 1951, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff, the head officer of the Canadian Army. He was the youngest officer in the Canadian army to be promoted to the rank of General. Image File history File links Gen_Guy_G_Simonds. ... Image File history File links Gen_Guy_G_Simonds. ... Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country (Hebrews 11. ... Badge of a Companion of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) Ribbon of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (formerly The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath)[1] is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on May 18, 1725. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... DSO medal The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... The Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award given to officers and members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service. ... is the 113th day of the year (114th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Canadian First Army was the overall command for the Canadian military forces in Europe during World War II. It was formed in early 1942 to command two corps composed of the three infantry divisions, two armoured divisions, and two armoured brigades that had assembled in England. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... Combatants Canada United Kingdom Poland Belgium Norway Germany Commanders Guy Simonds (acting) (First Canadian Army) Gustav-Adolf von Zangen (German 15th Army) Strength  ?  ? Casualties 12,873 total; including 6,367 Canadian  ? The Battle of the Scheldt was a series of military operations which took place in northern Belgium and south... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Chief of the General Staff was the most senior member of the Canadian Army from 1904 until Unification in 1964. ... The Canadian Army as such only existed under that name from November 1940 to February 1968. ...

Born in Bury St Edmunds, England on April 23rd, 1903, he immigrated to Canada with his family. He studied at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario between 1921 and 1925 (College Number 3521). Bury St Edmunds is a town in the county of Suffolk, England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. ...

On September 27th, 1944, Simonds took charge of the 1st Canadian Army temporarily and led the liberation of the mouth of the Scheldt River. Simonds replaced General H.D.G. Crerar on a temporary basis. While Simonds resumed his command of II Canadian Corps for the liberation of North-Western Europe, Crerar resumed command with the 1st Army.

In 1944, Simonds devised the "Kangaroo", an early armoured personnel carrier converted from non-operational armoured vehicles. Kangaroo personnel carrier A Kangaroo was a World War II British or Commonwealth armoured personnel carrier, created by conversion of a tank chassis. ... Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport infantry on the battlefield. ...

As Commander of the Royal Military College of Canada, he returned to Canada in 1949. He was also the Commandant of the National Defence College and the Canadian Army Staff College in 1949 and 1950. The Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), is the military academy of the Canadian Forces and is a full degree-granting university. ...

In 1970 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. He died in Toronto on May 15th, 1974. Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country (Hebrews 11. ...

In his book "The Normandy Campaign" Victor Brooks lists Simonds as the most effective corps-level commander of the Allied Forces in Normandy. He writes..

"The corps commander among the units that comprised the 21st Army Group who most likely had the largest pesonal impact on the Normandy campaign was Lieutenant General Guy Simonds. This senior officer of the II Canadian Corps created one of the most effective tank-infantry teams in the Allied forces through a high degree of improvisation during the drive from Caen to Falais. This general was versatile and imaginative but was not able to generate the momentum that would have more fully closed off the Falaise gap at an earlier date. Despite this drawback, Simonds deserves credit for his effective command."***

References

• Lieutenant-General Guy G. Simonds. Juno Beach Centre. Retrieved on February 13, 2005.
• The Battle for the Rhine 1944, 2005, Robin Neillands (chapter 7, The Battle for the Scheldt)
• "The Normandy Camapaign" Victor Brooks (Da Capo Press, 2002) p.276

Robin Hunter Neillands was a British writer, specialising in travel and military history. ...

External links

• Order of Canada Citation