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Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell Quotes

Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and World War I, during which he was wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres. He served in the Second World War, initially as Commander-in-Chief Middle East, in which role he led British forces to victory over the Italians in western Egypt and eastern Libya during Operation Compass in December 1940, only to be defeated by the German Army in the Western Desert in April 1941. He served as Commander-in-Chief, India, from July 1941 until June 1943 and then served as Viceroy of India until his retirement in February 1947. Wikipedia  

✵ 5. May 1883 – 24. May 1950
Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell photo
Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell: 7   quotes 2   likes

Famous Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell Quotes

“Let us be clear about three facts. First, all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman. Secondly, the infantryman always bears the brunt. His casualties are heavier, he suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other arms. Thirdly, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped and far harder to acquire in modern war than that of any other arm…. The infantryman has to use initiative and intelligence in almost every step he moves, every action he takes on the battle-field. We ought therefore to put our men of best intelligence and endurance into the Infantry.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

In Praise of Infantry, The London Times, Thursday, 19 April 1945.

“A general may succeed for some time in persuading his superiors that he is a good commander: he will never persuade his army that he is a good commander unless he has the real qualities of one.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

II – The General and His Troops.
"Generals and Generalship" (1939)

“The higher commander who goes to Field Service Regulations for tactical guidance inspires about as much confidence as the doctor who turns to a medical dictionary for his diagnosis.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

III – The Soldier and the Statesman.
"Generals and Generalship" (1939)

“A bold general may be lucky, but no general can be lucky unless he is bold.  The general who allows himself to be bound and hampered by regulations is unlikely to win a battle.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

I – The Good General.
"Generals and Generalship" (1939)

“The British have been a free people and are still a comparatively free people; and though we are not, thank Heaven, a military nation, this tradition of freedom gives to our junior leaders in war a priceless gift of initiative.  So long as this initiative is not cramped by too many regulations, by too much formalism, we shall, I trust, continue to win our battles – sometimes in spite of our higher commanders.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

III – The Soldier and the Statesman.
"Generals and Generalship" (1939)

“No amount of study or learning will make a man a leader unless he has the natural qualities of one.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

I – The Good General.
"Generals and Generalship" (1939)

“I can only say that I have always believed in doing everything possible in war to mystify and mislead one’s opponent….”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

Introduction by Wavell to…
Clarke D. (1948). Seven Assignments. Jonathan Cape. p. 7.

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