View source for Claude Auchinleck

{{Short description|British field marshal (1884–1981)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]]
| name          = Sir Claude Auchinleck
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCB|GCIE|CSI|DSO|OBE}}
| image         = Claude Auchinleck Cecil Beaton photo.jpg
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = Portrait by [[Cecil Beaton]], {{circa|1945}}
| nickname      = The Auk
| birth_date    = {{birth date|df=yes|1884|6|21}}
| birth_place   = [[Aldershot]], [[Hampshire]], England<ref>FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837–1915. 1884, Q3-Jul–Aug–Sep, A, 9. Auchinleck, Claud John E, Farnham. Vol 2a. Page 95. {{cite web|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=URdRoPooBFWuFAwFILiLHA&scan=1|title=Index entry |access-date=8 September 2011 |work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}} (Farnham is the district including Aldershot.)</ref><ref>Warner (1991), p. 131</ref><ref group="note">Other sources, including the online [http://www.ulsterbiography.co.uk/biogsA.htm Dictionary of Ulster Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706201736/http://www.ulsterbiography.co.uk/biogsA.htm |date=6 July 2007 }}, wrongly state that Auchinleck was born in [[County Fermanagh]], Ulster</ref>
| death_date    = {{death date and age|df=yes|1981|3|23|1884|6|21}}
| death_place   = [[Marrakech]], [[Morocco]]
| placeofburial = 
| allegiance    = United Kingdom
| branch        = [[British Indian Army]] <br />[[Indian Army]]<br />[[Pakistan Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1904–1947
| rank          = [[Field marshal (UK)|Field Marshal]]
| servicenumber = 115611
| unit          = [[62nd Punjabis]]
| commands      = Supreme Commander India and Pakistan (1947–1948)<br/>[[Commander-in-Chief, India]] (1941, 1943–1947)<br/>[[Middle East Command]] (1941–1942)<br/>[[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]] (1940)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35559| date=12 May 1942|page=744| supp=y}}</ref><br/>[[V Corps (United Kingdom)|V Corps]] (1940)<br/>[[Commander-in-chief]], [[Northern Norway]] (1940)<br/>[[IV Corps (United Kingdom)|IV Corps]] (1940)<br/>[[Chindits|3rd Indian Infantry Division]] (1939)<br/>[[Meerut district]] (1938)<br/>[[Peshawar Brigade]] (1933–1936)<br/>1st Battalion, [[1st Punjab Regiment]] (1929–1930)
| battles       = {{Tree list}}
* [[First World War]]
** [[Mesopotamian campaign]]
*** [[Battle of Hanna]]
*** [[Second Battle of Kut]]
*** [[Fall of Baghdad (1917)|Fall of Baghdad]]
* [[Mohmand campaign of 1935|Mohmand campaign]]
* [[Second World War]]
** [[Norwegian campaign]]
** [[North African campaign]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| awards        = {{plainlist|
*[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]<ref name="GCB">{{London Gazette| issue=36866| date=29 December 1944|page=3| supp=y}}</ref>
*[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Indian Empire]]<ref name="GCIE">{{London Gazette| issue=35019| date=20 December 1940|page=7109| supp=y}}</ref>
*[[Companion of the Order of the Star of India]]<ref name="CSI">{{London Gazette| issue=34282| date=8 May 1936|page=2974}}</ref>
*[[Distinguished Service Order]]<ref name=heath30/>
*[[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]]
*[[Mentioned in Despatches]] (3)<ref name=heath30/><ref name="MID1934">{{London Gazette| issue=34066| date=3 July 1934|page=4227}}</ref><ref name="MID1936">{{London Gazette| issue=34282| date=8 May 1936|page=2979}}</ref>
*[[Legion of Merit|Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit]] (USA)<ref name="USlegion">{{London Gazette| issue=38359| date=20 July 1948|page=4189| supp=y}}</ref>
*[[Virtuti Militari]] (Poland)<ref name="poland">{{London Gazette| issue=35559| date=12 May 1942|page=2113| supp=y}}</ref>
*[[Order of the Star of Nepal]] (Nepal)<ref name="nepal">{{cite book|page=331|last=Montgomery-Massingberd|first=Hugh|title=Burke's Irish Family Records|location=London, U.K.|publisher= [[Burkes Peerage]] Ltd|year=1976|url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060043045}}</ref>
*[[Order of St. Olav|Knight Grand Cross of Order of St. Olav]] (Norway)<ref name="norway">{{London Gazette| issue=38240| date=16 March 1948|page=1919| supp=y}}</ref>
*[[Czechoslovak War Cross 1939-1945|Military Cross]] (Czechoslovakia)<ref name="czech">{{London Gazette |issue=36103 |date=20 July 1943 |page=3319|supp=y }}</ref>
*[[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de guerre]] (France)<ref name="french">[http://www.edinburgh-gazette.co.uk/issues/13138/pages/1901 Edinburgh Gazette, 4 September 1917]{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
}}
| relations     = 
| laterwork     = {{plainlist|
Colonel 1st Battalion [[1st Punjab Regiment]] (January 1933)<ref name="Qureshi 1958">Qureshi, MI. (1958). ''The First Punjabis: History of the First Punjab Regiment 1759–1956''. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.</ref>
*Colonel [[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers]] (April 1941)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35153| date=2 May 1941|page=2571| supp=y}}</ref>
*Colonel 1st Battalion [[4th Bombay Grenadiers]] (July 1939)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34649| date=28 July 1939|page=5218}}</ref>
*Colonel 4th Bombay Grenadiers (May 1944)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=36532| date=26 May 1944|page=2443}}</ref>
*Colonel [[1st Punjab Regiment]] (1947)<ref name="Qureshi 1958"/>
}}
}}
[[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] '''Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|GCB|GCIE|CSI|DSO|OBE}} ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɒ|x|ᵻ|n|ˈ|l|ɛ|k}} {{respell|OKH|in|LEK|'}}; 21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981) was a [[British Indian Army]] commander who saw active service during the [[world war]]s. A career soldier who spent much of his military career in [[British Raj|India]], he rose to become commander-in-chief of the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] by early 1941 during the Second World War. In July 1941 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Middle East Theatre, but after initial successes the war in North Africa turned against the British-led forces under his command and he was relieved of the post in August 1942 during the [[North African campaign]].

In June 1943, he was once again appointed [[Commander-in-Chief, India]], where his support through the organisation of supply, maintenance and training for General [[William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim|William Slim]]'s [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|Fourteenth Army]] played an important role in its success. He served as commander-in-chief, India, until the [[Partition of India|Partition]] in 1947, when he assumed the role of supreme commander of all British forces in India and Pakistan until late 1948.

==Early life and career==
Born at 89 Victoria Road in [[Aldershot]], [[Hampshire]], the son of John Claud Alexander Auchinleck and Mary Eleanor (Eyre) Auchinleck. His father, a colonel in the [[Royal Horse Artillery]] of the [[British Army]], was posted to [[Bangalore]] in [[British Raj|British India]], with his family accompanying him, while Claude was very young. It was from here that he developed a love for the country that would last for most of his life.{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=34}} Returning to England after the death of his father in 1892, Auchinleck attended [[Eagle House School]] at [[Crowthorne]] and then [[Wellington College, Berkshire|Wellington College]] on scholarships.<ref name=heath29>Heathcote, p. 29</ref> From there he went on to the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]] and was commissioned as an unattached second lieutenant in the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] on 21 January 1903,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27517| date=20 January 1903|page=390}}</ref> and joined the [[62nd Punjabis]] in April 1904.<ref name=heath29/>{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=34}} He soon learned several Indian languages,<ref>Warner (1981), p. 17</ref> and, able to speak fluently with his soldiers, he absorbed a knowledge of local dialects and customs: this familiarity engendered a lasting mutual respect, enhanced by his own personality.<ref>Warner (1991), pp. 131–132</ref>

He was promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 21 April 1905,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=28376| date=24 May 1910|page=3640}}</ref> and then spent the next two years in [[Tibet]] and [[Sikkim]] before moving to [[Varanasi|Benares]] in 1907 where he caught [[diphtheria]].<ref name=heath29/> After briefly serving with the [[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers]] at Aldershot he returned to Benares in 1909 and became adjutant of the 62nd Punjabis with promotion to [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 21 January 1912.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=28590| date=15 March 1912|page=1922}}</ref> Auchinleck was an active [[freemason]].<ref>{{cite news|url= http://blackpool.westlancsfreemasons.org.uk/about-freemasonry/famous-masons/|title= Famous Freemasons|date= 10 December 2015|work= Blackpool Group of Lodges and Chapters|access-date= 16 October 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191226225351/http://blackpool.westlancsfreemasons.org.uk/about-freemasonry/famous-masons/|archive-date= 26 December 2019}}</ref>

[[File:62nd Punjabis, Ismailia, Egypt, 1914.jpg|thumb|left|Officers of the 62nd Punjabis in Ismailia, Egypt, 1914. Captain Claude Auchinleck is standing on the far right.]]

==First World War==
Auchinleck saw active service in the [[First World War]] and was deployed with his regiment to defend the [[Suez Canal]]: in February 1915 he was [[Raid on the Suez Canal|in action]] against the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]] at [[Ismailia]].<ref name=heath29/> His regiment moved into [[Aden]] to counter the Turkish threat there in July 1915.<ref name=heath29/> The [[Indian 6th Infantry Division|6th Indian Division]], of which the 62nd Punjabis were a part, was landed at [[Basra]] on 31 December 1915 for the [[Mesopotamian campaign]].<ref name=heath29/> In July 1916 Auchinleck was promoted acting [[Major (rank)|major]] and made second in command of his battalion.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=30138|page=6058| date=19 June 1917| Supp=}}</ref> He took part in a series of fruitless attacks on the Turks at the [[Battle of Hanna]] in January 1916 and was one of the few British officers in his regiment to survive these actions.<ref name=heath29/>

He became acting commanding officer of his battalion in February 1917 and led his regiment at the [[Second Battle of Kut]] in February 1917 and the [[Fall of Baghdad (1917)|Fall of Baghdad]] in March 1917.<ref name=heath29/> Having been [[mentioned in despatches]] and having received the [[Distinguished Service Order]] in 1917 for his service in Mesopotamia,<ref name=heath30>Heathcote, p. 30</ref> he was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 21 January 1918,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=31123| date=14 January 1919|page=719}}</ref> to temporary lieutenant-colonel on 23 May 1919<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=32084|page=9968 |date= 14 October 1920}}</ref> and to [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[lieutenant-colonel]] on 15 November 1919 for his "distinguished service in Southern and Central Kurdistan" on the recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=31777| date=10 February 1920|page=1802| supp=y}}</ref>

==Between the world wars==
Auchinleck attended the [[Staff College, Quetta]], between 1920 and 1921.<ref name=heath30/> As a lieutenant colonel, he outranked most of his fellow students and even some members of the staff. Despite performing well there – passing the course and being among the top ten students – he was critical of many aspects of the college, which he believed to be too theoretical and with little emphasis being placed on matters such as supply and administration, both of which he thought had been mishandled in the campaign in Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=35}} He married Jessie Stewart in 1921. Jessie had been born in 1900 in [[Tacoma, Washington]], to Alexander Stewart, head of the [[Blue Funnel Line]] that plied the west coast of the United States. When he died about 1919, their mother took her, her twin brother Alan and her younger brother Hepburne back to Bun Rannoch, the family estate at Innerhadden in [[Perthshire]]. Holidaying at [[Grasse]] on the [[French Riviera]], Auchinleck, who was on leave from India at the time, met Jessie on the tennis courts. She was a high-spirited, blue-eyed beauty. Things moved quickly, and they were married within five months. Sixteen years younger than Auchinleck, Jessie became known as 'the little American girl' in India, but adapted readily to life there.<ref>{{cite journal| journal=[[The Spokesman-Review]]|title=Claude Auchinleck| date=8 July 1941| page=1}}</ref> They had no children.<ref>{{cite news|author=J. Y. Smith |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1981/03/25/sir-claude-auchinleck-96-dies/5f3e51c0-36ea-4dff-ad4c-234de623f0bf/?noredirect=on |title=Sir Claude Auchinleck, 96, Dies |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=25 March 1981|access-date=10 February 2019}}</ref>

Auchinleck became temporary deputy assistant quartermaster general at [[Army Headquarters, India|Army Headquarters]] in February 1923<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32824|page=3531|date=18 May 1923}}</ref> and then second-in-command of his regiment, which in the 1923 reorganisation of the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] had become the [[1st Punjab Regiment]], in September 1925.<ref name=heath30/> He attended the [[Royal College of Defence Studies|Imperial Defence College]] in 1927 and, having been promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant-colonel on 21 January 1929<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33475| date=8 March 1929|page=1678}}</ref> he was appointed to command his regiment.<ref name=heath30/> Promoted to full [[colonel]] on 1 February 1930 with seniority from 15 November 1923,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33600| date=25 April 1930|page=2596}}</ref> he became an instructor at the Staff College, Quetta in February 1930<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33604| date=9 May 1930|page=2870}}</ref> where he remained until April 1933.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33952| date=23 June 1933|page=4206}}</ref>

He was promoted to temporary [[brigadier]] on 1 July 1933<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33976| date=8 September 1933|page=5864}}</ref> and given command of the [[Peshawar Brigade]], which was active in the pacification of the adjacent tribal areas during the Mohmand and Bajaur Operations between July and October 1933: during his period of command he was [[mentioned in despatches]].<ref name="MID1934"/> He led a second punitive expedition during the [[Second Mohmand Campaign]] in August 1935 for which he was again mentioned in despatches, promoted to [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|major-general]] on 30 November 1935<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34239| date=3 January 1936|page=53}}</ref> and appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Star of India]] on 8 May 1936.<ref name="CSI"/>

On leaving his brigade command in April 1936, Auchinleck was on the unemployed list (on half pay)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34275| date=17 April 1936|page=2490}}</ref> until September 1936 when he was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Director of Staff Duties in [[Delhi]].<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34338| date=6 November 1936|page=7127}}</ref> He was then appointed to command the Meerut District in India in July 1938.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34536| date=29 July 1938|page=4884}}</ref> In 1938 Auchinleck was appointed to chair a committee to consider the modernisation, composition and re-equipment of the [[British Indian Army]]: the committee's recommendations formed the basis of the 1939 [[Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield|Chatfield Report]] which outlined the transformation of the Indian Army – it grew from 183,000 in 1939 to over 2,250,000 men by the end of the war.<ref>Mackenzie, pp. 1–3</ref>

==Second World War==
[[File:Claude Auchinleck (1940 portrait).jpg|thumb|A 1940 portrait of Auchinleck by [[Reginald Grenville Eves]].]]

===Norway 1940===
On the outbreak of war, Auchinleck was appointed to command the [[Chindits|Indian 3rd Infantry Division]], but in January 1940 was summoned to the United Kingdom to command [[IV Corps (United Kingdom)|IV Corps]], the only time in the war that a wholly British corps was commanded by an Indian Army officer.<ref name="Mead52">Mead, p. 52</ref> He received promotion to acting [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|lieutenant general]] on 1 February 1940<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34811| date=15 March 1940|page=1531| supp=y}}</ref> and to the substantive rank of lieutenant general on 16 March 1940.<ref name=heath31>Heathcote, p. 31</ref> In May 1940 Auchinleck took over command of the Anglo-French ground forces during the [[Norwegian campaign]],<ref name="Mead52"/> a military operation that was doomed to fail.<ref name=heath31/>

[[File:The Narvik Campaign 1940 N134.jpg|thumb|left|Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck, the C-in-C of the North Western Expeditionary Force, and Group Captain Moor looking over maps on board the Polish Navy troopship MS ''Chrobry'' before docking in Harstad.]]

Auchinleck arrived in [[Greenock]], after the fall of Norway, on 12 June, by which time the [[Battle of France]] was nearing its end, with the majority of the BEF in France having been [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuated from the port of Dunkirk]], with the French surrender only a few days away. Due to these reasons, all attention was now given to the defence of the UK which many believed would soon be invaded by the Germans (see [[Operation Sea Lion]]).{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=52}} In mid-June he was given command of the recently established [[V Corps (United Kingdom)|V Corps]], then serving in [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]] under Lieutenant General [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]]. His stay was not to be for very long, however, as, just a few weeks later, Brooke succeeded General [[Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside|Sir Edmund Ironside]] as [[Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces]], with Auchinleck succeeding Brooke as GOC-in-C of Southern Command,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34902| date=19 July 1940|page=4493|supp=y}}</ref> responsible for the defence of [[Southern England]], where the expected invasion would come from.{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=37}} The recently vacated V Corps was taken over by Lieutenant General [[Bernard Montgomery]], who disliked Auchinleck intensely, possibly due to his disdain for the Indian Army and its officers.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=52}} The relationship between the two future field marshals was not easy, with Montgomery later writing:

{{Quote|In the 5th Corps I first served under Auchinleck, who had the Southern Command; I cannot recall that we ever agreed on anything.<ref>Montgomery, p. 71</ref>}}

Many of Montgomery's actions in the next few weeks and months could be considered as insubordination, with one incident in particular standing out, when Montgomery went over Auchinleck's head directly to the [[Adjutant-General to the Forces|Adjutant-General]] on issues related to officers and men being transferred to and from Montgomery's V Corps.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=52}}<ref name=heath31/> Auchinleck was not to deal with this behaviour for long as in December he was ordered to succeed his friend, General [[Robert Cassels|Sir Robert Cassels]], as [[Commander-in-Chief, India]].{{sfn|Mead|2007|pp=52–53}}{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=38}} By now known throughout the army as "the Auk", he was destined to encounter Montgomery again, although the circumstances there would not be at all pleasant.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=53}}

===India and Iraq January–May 1941===
Promoted to full [[General (United Kingdom)|general]] on 26 December,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35023| date=27 December 1940|page=7251|supp=y}}</ref> Auchinleck returned to India in January 1941 to assume his new appointment, in which position he was also appointed to the Executive Council of the [[Viceroy of India]]<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35037| date=7 January 1941|page=158}}</ref> and appointed [[Aide-de-camp general|ADC General to the King]],<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35183| date=6 June 1941|page=3243}}</ref> a ceremonial position he was to hold until after the end of the war.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=37875| date=7 February 1947|page=662}}</ref> In April he succeeded Lieutenant General Sir [[Travers Clarke]] as colonel of the [[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35153|date=2 May 1941|page=2571|supp=y}}</ref>

In April 1941, [[RAF Habbaniya]] was threatened by the new pro-Axis regime of [[Rashid Ali]]. This large Royal Air Force station was west of Baghdad in [[Iraq]] and General [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Archibald Wavell]], Commander-in-Chief [[Middle East Command]], was reluctant to intervene, despite the urgings of [[Winston Churchill]], because of his pressing commitments in the Western Desert and Greece. Auchinleck, however, acted decisively, sending the 1st Battalion of the [[King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)]] by air to Habbaniya and shipping the [[10th Indian Infantry Division]] by sea to [[Basra]]. Wavell was prevailed upon by London to send ''[[Habforce]]'', a relief column, from the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] but by the time it arrived in Habbaniya on 18 May the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]] was virtually over.<ref name="Mead53">Mead, p. 53</ref>

===North Africa July 1941 – August 1942===
[[File:Auchinleck (cropped).jpg|thumbnail|upright|Sir Claude Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in the Middle East.]]
Following the see-saw of Allied and Axis successes and reverses in North Africa, Auchinleck was appointed to succeed General [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Sir Archibald Wavell]] as Commander-in-Chief [[Middle East Command]] in July 1941;<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=35218| date=11 July 1941|page=4048| supp=y}}</ref> Wavell took up Auchinleck's post as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, swapping jobs with him.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=35247|date=15 August 1941|page=4740}}</ref>

[[File:The British Army in the Middle East 1941 E5450.jpg|thumb|upright|left|General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, India, and General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief Middle East, 8 September 1941.]]

As Commander-in-Chief Middle East, Auchinleck, based in [[Cairo]], held responsibility not just for North Africa but also for [[Iran|Persia]] and the Middle East. He launched an offensive in the [[Western Desert Campaign|Western Desert]], [[Operation Crusader]], in November 1941: despite some tactical reverses during the fighting which resulted in Auchinleck replacing the Eighth Army commander [[Alan Cunningham]] with [[Neil Ritchie]], by the end of December [[70th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|the besieged garrison]] of [[Tobruk]] had been relieved and Rommel obliged to withdraw to El Agheila. Auchinleck appears to have believed that the enemy had been defeated, writing on 12 January 1942 that the Axis forces were "beginning to feel the strain" and were "hard pressed".<ref name="Stewart46">Stewart, p. 46</ref>

In fact the Axis forces had managed to withdraw in good order and a few days after Auchinleck's optimistic appreciation, having reorganised and been reinforced, struck at the dispersed and weakened British forces, driving them back to the Gazala positions near [[Tobruk]].<ref name=heath32>Heathcote, p. 32</ref> The British Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), General [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]], wrote in his diary that it was "nothing less than bad generalship on the part of Auchinleck. He has been overconfident and has believed everything his overoptimistic [DMI] Shearer has told him". Brooke commented that Auchinleck "could have been one of the finest of commanders" but lacked the ability to select the men to serve him. Brooke sent him one of his best armoured division commanders [[Richard McCreery]], whose advice was ignored in favour of that of Auchinleck's controversial chief of operations, Major-General [[Eric Dorman-Smith|Dorman-Smith]].<ref name="AB19420130">Alanbrooke Diaries, 30 January 1942</ref>

[[File:British Generals 1939-1945 E8454.jpg|thumb|upright|Major-General [[Jock Campbell (British Army officer)|John "Jock" Campbell]] and General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief Middle East, in the Western Desert.]]

[[Rommel]]'s attack at the [[Battle of Gazala]] of 26 May 1942 resulted in a significant defeat for the British. Auchinleck's appreciation of the situation written to Ritchie on 20 May had suggested that the armoured reserves be concentrated in a position suitable to meet both a flanking attack around the south of the front or a direct attack through the centre (which was the likelihood more favoured by Auchinleck).<ref>Warner (1982), pp. 181, 182</ref> In the event, Ritchie chose a more dispersed and rearward positioning of his two armoured divisions<ref>Warner (1982), p. 182</ref> and when the attack in the centre came, it proved to be a diversion and the main attack, by Rommel's armoured formations, came round the southern flank. Poor initial positioning and subsequent handling and coordination of Allied formations by Ritchie and his corps commanders resulted in their heavy defeat and the Eighth Army retreating into [[Egypt]]; [[Axis capture of Tobruk|Tobruk fell to the Axis]] on 21 June 1942.<ref>Playfair, pp. 261–275</ref>

On 24 June Auchinleck stepped in to take direct command of the Eighth Army, having lost confidence in [[Neil Ritchie]]'s ability to control and direct his forces. Auchinleck discarded Ritchie's plan to stand at [[Mersa Matruh]], deciding to fight only a delaying action there, while withdrawing to the more easily defendable position at [[El Alamein]]. Here Auchinleck tailored a defence that took advantage of the terrain and the fresh troops at his disposal, stopping the exhausted German/Italian advance in the [[First Battle of El Alamein]]. Enjoying a considerable superiority of material and men over the weak German/Italian forces, Auchinleck organised a series of counter-attacks. Poorly conceived and badly coordinated, these attacks achieved little.<ref name="Barr83-184">Barr, pp. 83–184</ref>

"The Auk", as he was known, appointed a number of senior commanders who proved to be unsuitable for their positions, and command arrangements were often characterised by bitter personality clashes. Auchinleck was an Indian Army officer and was criticised for apparently having little direct experience or understanding of British and Dominion troops. Dorman-Smith was regarded with considerable distrust by many of the senior commanders in Eighth Army. By July 1942 Auchinleck had lost the confidence of Dominion commanders and relations with his British commanders had become strained.{{#tag:ref|Alanbrooke in a footnote to his diary entry of 30 January wrote: "Auchinleck, to my mind, had most of the qualifications to make him one of the finest of commanders, but unfortunately he lacked the most important of all – the ability to select the men to serve him. The selection of [[Thomas Corbett (Indian Army officer)|Corbett]] as his Chief of Staff, [[Eric Dorman-Smith|Dorman-Smith]] as his chief advisor, and (Eric) Shearer as his head of intelligence service contributed most of all to his downfall"<ref name="AB19420130"/>|group=note}}

Like his foe Rommel (and his predecessor Wavell and successor Montgomery), Auchinleck was subjected to constant political interference, having to weather a barrage of hectoring telegrams and instructions from Prime Minister Churchill throughout late 1941 and the spring and summer of 1942. Churchill constantly sought an offensive from Auchinleck, and was downcast at the military reverses in Egypt and Cyrenaica. Churchill was desperate for some sort of British victory before the planned Allied landings in North Africa, [[Operation Torch]], scheduled for November 1942. He badgered Auchinleck immediately after the Eighth Army had all but exhausted itself after the first battle of El Alamein. Churchill and the [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff]], [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]], flew to Cairo in early August 1942 to meet Auchinleck, where it emerged he had lost the confidence of both men.<ref>Alanbrooke (2001), p. 297</ref> He was replaced as Commander-in-Chief [[Middle East Command]] by General [[Harold Alexander|Sir Harold Alexander]] (later Field Marshal The [[Earl Alexander of Tunis]]).<ref name=heath33>Heathcote, p. 33</ref>

Joseph M. Horodyski and Maurice Remy both praise Auchinleck as an underrated military leader who contributed the most to the successful defence of El Alamein and consequently the final defeat of Rommel in Africa. The two historians also criticize Churchill for the unreasonable decision to put the blame on Auchinleck and to relieve him.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Horodyski|first1=Joseph M.|title=Sir Claude Auchinleck: Overshadowed Equal to Erwin Rommel|date=23 September 2016|publisher=2016 Sovereign Media|url=http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/sir-claude-auchinleck-overshadowed-equal-to-erwin-rommel/|access-date=27 September 2016|archive-date=24 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924171202/http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/sir-claude-auchinleck-overshadowed-equal-to-erwin-rommel/}}</ref>{{sfn|Remy|2002|p=107}}

===India 1942–1945===
[[File:AuchinleckNepal.jpg|thumb|Auchinleck receiving the [[Star of Nepal]] in October 1945 from the [[King of Nepal]], Tribhubana Bir Vikram Sah]]

Churchill offered Auchinleck command of the newly created [[Persia and Iraq Command]] (this having been separated from Alexander's command), but Auchinleck declined this post, as he believed that separating the area from the Middle East Command was not good policy and the new arrangements would not be workable. He set his reasons out in his letter to the [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff]] dated 14 August 1942.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=38177| date=15 January 1948|pages=398–400|supp=y}}</ref> Instead he returned to India, where he spent almost a year "unemployed" before in June 1943 being again appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=36133 |date=13 August 1943 |page=3653}}</ref>

[[File:Naik Narayan Sinde, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, receiving the Indian Distinguished Service Medal from General Sir Claude Auchinleck, 1945.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Naik Narayan Sinde, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, receiving the Indian Distinguished Service Medal from Auchinleck, 1945.]]

General Wavell meanwhile having been appointed [[Viceroy of India|Viceroy]], on this appointment it was announced that responsibility for the prosecution of the war with Japan would move from the Commander-in-Chief India to a newly created South East Asia Command. However, the appointment of the new command's Supreme Commander, [[Acting rank|Acting]] [[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Louis Mountbatten]], was not announced until August 1943 and until Mountbatten could set up his headquarters and assume control (in November), Auchinleck retained responsibility for operations in India and Burma while conducting a review and revision of Allied plans based on the decisions taken by the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff at the [[Quadrant Conference]], which ended in August.<ref>Woodburn Kirby, pp. 4–11</ref>

Following Mountbatten's arrival, Auchinleck, as Commander-in-Chief India once more, was responsible for the internal security of India, the defence of the [[Military history of the North-West Frontier|North West Frontier]] and the buildup of India as a base, including most importantly the reorganisation of the Indian Army, the training of forces destined for SEAC and the lines of communication carrying men and material to the forward areas and to China. Auchinleck made the supply of Fourteenth Army, with probably the worst lines of communication of the war, his immediate priority;<ref name="Mead57">Mead, p. 57</ref> as [[William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim|Sir William Slim]], commander of the [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|Fourteenth Army]], was later to write:{{blockquote|It was a good day for us when he [Auchinleck] took command of India, our main base, recruiting area and training ground. The Fourteenth Army, from its birth to its final victory, owed much to his unselfish support and never-failing understanding. Without him and what he and the Army of India did for us we could not have existed, let alone conquered.<ref>Slim, p. 176</ref>}}

===Divorce===
Auchinleck suffered a personal disappointment when his wife Jessie left him for his friend, [[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Richard Peirse|Sir Richard Peirse]]. Peirse and Auchinleck had been students together at the Imperial Defence College, but that was long before. Peirse was now Allied Air Commander-in-Chief, South-East Asia, and also based in India. The affair became known to Mountbatten in early 1944, and he passed the information to the chief of the RAF, [[Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford|Sir Charles Portal]], hoping that Peirse would be recalled. The affair was common knowledge by September 1944, and Peirse was neglecting his duties. Mountbatten sent Peirse and Lady Auchinleck back to England on 28 November 1944,<ref>Bond, p. 124</ref> where they lived together at a Brighton hotel. Peirse had his marriage dissolved, and Auchinleck obtained a divorce in 1946.<ref name=heath34>Heathcote, p. 34</ref> Auchinleck was reportedly very badly affected. According to his sister, he was never the same after the break-up.<ref name=warner264>Warner (1982), p. 264</ref> He always carried a photograph of Jessie in his wallet even after the divorce.<ref  name=warner264/>

There is scholarly dispute whether Auchinleck was homosexual. His biographer, Philip Warner, addressed the rumours but dismissed them;{{sfn|Warner|1982|p=262}} however historian Ronald Hyam has alleged that "sexually based moral-revulsion" was the reason for Montgomery's inability to get on with Auchinleck, and further, that Auchinleck was "let off with a high-level warning" over his relationships with Indian boys.<ref>Hyam, Ronald ''Empire and Sexuality: The British Experience'', Manchester University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7190-2505-1}} 1990, pp. 14, 32</ref>

==Partition of India and later years==
[[File:Claude Auchinleck.jpg|thumb|upright|Sir Claude Auchinleck as the last Commander in Chief of British India]]
Auchinleck continued as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army after the end of the war<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=37586| date=28 May 1946|page=2617| supp=y}}</ref> helping, though much against his own convictions, to prepare the future Indian and Pakistani armies for the [[Partition of India]]: in November 1945 he was forced to commute the more serious judicial sentences awarded against officers of the [[Indian National Army]] in face of growing unease and unrest both within the Indian population, and the [[British Indian Army]].<ref name=heath33/> On 1 June 1946 he was promoted to [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|field marshal]],<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=37586| date=31 May 1946|page=2617|supp=y}}</ref> but he refused to accept a peerage, lest he be thought associated with a policy (i.e. Partition) that he thought fundamentally dishonourable.<ref name="Mead57"/>

[[File:Monty, wavvel, auk.jpg|thumb|left|Auchinleck (right) as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, with the then [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy]] [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Wavell]] (centre) and [[Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Montgomery]] (left)]]

Sending a report to the British Government on 28 September 1947, Field Marshal Auchinleck wrote: "I have no hesitation, whatever, in affirming that the present Indian Cabinet are implacably determined to do all in their power to prevent the establishment of the [[Dominion of Pakistan]] on firm basis." He stated in the second, political part of his assessment, "Since 15th August, the situation has steadily deteriorated and the Indian leaders, cabinet ministers, civil officials and others have persistently tried to obstruct the work of partition of the armed forces."<ref>Bajwa, p. 36</ref><ref>Nawaz, p. 29</ref>

When partition was effected in August 1947, Auchinleck was appointed Supreme Commander of all British forces remaining in India and Pakistan<ref>Warner (1982), p. 269</ref> and remained in this role until the winding up and closure of the Supreme H.Q. at the end of November 1947.<ref name="Warner 289"/> This marked his effective retirement from the army (although technically field marshals in the British Army never retire, remaining on the active list on half pay{{sfn|Warner|1982|p=301}}). He left India on 1 December.<ref name="Warner 289">Warner (1982), p. 289</ref>

After a brief period in Italy in connection with an unsuccessful business project, Auchinleck retired to London, where he occupied himself with a number of charitable and business interests and became a respectably skilled watercolour painter.<ref>Warner (1982), pp. 291–294</ref> In 1960 he settled in [[Beccles]] in the county of Suffolk, remaining there for seven years until, at the age of eighty-four, he decided to emigrate and set up home in [[Marrakesh]],<ref>Warner (1982), p. 295</ref> where he died on 23 March 1981.<ref name=heath35>Heathcote, p. 35</ref>

==Memorials==
[[File:Broad Street, Birmingham - Claude Auchinleck statue (23697292286) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Statue of Auchinleck in Birmingham]]
Auchinleck is buried in [[Ben M'Sik European Cemetery]], [[Casablanca]], in the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]] plot in the cemetery, next to the grave of [[Raymond Steed]] who was the second youngest non-civilian Commonwealth casualty of the Second World War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2022403 |title=Cemetery details—Ben M'Sik European Cemetery|publisher= Commonwealth War Graves Commission|access-date=22 April 2009}}</ref>

A memorial plaque was erected in the crypt of [[St Paul's Cathedral]]. A bronze statue of Auchinleck can be seen on Broad Street adjacent to Auchinleck House, Five Ways, Birmingham.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/auchinleck-statue-prime-position-birmingham-3913372|title=Auchinleck statue to get prime position in Birmingham Five Ways shopping centre plan|date=1 March 2012|newspaper=Birmingham Post|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref>

==Awards and decorations==
* Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Bath]] ([[1945 New Year Honours|1 January 1945]])<ref name="GCB"/>
* Companion of the Order of the Bath (3 July 1934) Mohmand operations 7 October 1933<ref name="CB">{{London Gazette| issue=34066 | date=3 July 1934|page=4222 }}</ref>
* Knight Grand Commander of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (20 December 1940)<ref name="GCIE"/>
* Companion of the [[Order of the Star of India]] (8 May 1936) Mohmand operations 8 October 1935<ref name="CSI"/>
* [[Distinguished Service Order]] (3 June 1917)<ref name=heath30/>
* Officer of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (Military Division) (3 June 1919)
* [[Mention in Despatches]], twice (World War I and 3 July 1934 – Mohmand operations)<ref name="MID1934"/><ref name="MID1936"/>
* [[Croix de Guerre]] with Palm (France, 1918 and 1949)<ref name="french"/>
* Chief Commander of the [[Legion of Merit]] (United States, 23 July 1948)<ref name="USlegion"/>
* [[Virtuti Militari]], 5th class (Poland, 15 May 1942)<ref name="poland"/>
* Member First Class [[Order of the Star of Nepal]] (Nepal)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEvbH8Fv-boC&q=claude+auchinleck+awarded+order+of+star+of+nepal&pg=PA277 |title=The Life and Times of Maharaja Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal p. 277|author=Ishwari Prasad |date=October 1996|publisher=APH Publishing |isbn=9788170247562|access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref>
* [[Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945|War Cross]] (Czechoslovakia, 1944)<ref name="czech"/>
* [[Order of the Star of Nepal]] (Nepal, 1945)<ref name='nepal'/>
* Knight Grand Cross of [[Order of St Olav]] (Norway, 19 March 1948)<ref name="norway"/>

==Publications==
*{{cite book| first=Claude| last=Auchinleck| title= Operations in the Middle East 5th July 1941 to 31 October 1942| publisher=War Office| location= London| date=8 March 1942}}. 
*:(Auchinleck's Official Middle East Despatch published after the war in {{London Gazette| issue=37695| date=20 August 1946|pages=4215–4230|supp=y}})
*{{cite book| first=Claude| last=Auchinleck| title= Operations in the Middle East 1st November 1941 to 15 August 1942| publisher=War Office| location= London| date=26 January 1943}}. 
*:(Auchinleck's Official Middle East Despatch published after the war in {{London Gazette| issue=38177| date=13 January 1948|pages=309–400|supp=y}})
*{{cite book| first=Claude| last=Auchinleck| title= Operations in the Indo-Burma Theatre based on India from 21st June 1943 to 15 November 1943| publisher=War Office| location= London| date=22 November 1945}}. 
*:(Auchinleck's Official Indo-Burma Despatch published after the war in {{London Gazette| issue=38274| date=27 April 1948|pages=2651–2684| supp=y}})

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last = Brooke |first = Alan | author-link=Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke| editor=Danchev, Alex |editor2=Todman, Daniel|title = War Diaries 1939–1945 |publisher=Phoenix Press|year = 2001|isbn = 1-84212-526-5}}
*{{cite book|last=Bajwa|first= Kuldip Singh|title=Jammu and Kashmir War, 1947-1948: Political and Military Perspective|publisher= Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi|year=2003|isbn=978-8124109236}}
*{{cite book|last=Barr|first=Niall|title=Pendulum Of War: Three Battles at El Alamein|publisher=Pimlico|year=2005|isbn=978-0712668279}}
*{{cite book| editor1-first=Brian| editor1-last= Bond| editor2-first=Kyoichi| editor2-last=Tachikawa| title=British and Japanese Military Leadership in the Far Eastern War, 1941–1945| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0dgLwmcvqAC&q=sir+richard+peirse+affair&pg=PA124| publisher=Frank Cass| location=London & New York| year=2004| isbn=9780714656595}}
*{{cite book| first=Richard| last=Doherty| title=Ireland's Generals in the Second World War| author-link=Richard Doherty | isbn=9781851828654| year=2004| publisher=Four Courts Press}}
*{{cite book|first=Tony| last=Heathcote|title=The British Field Marshals 1736–1997| publisher=Pen & Sword| location=Barnsley (UK)| year=1999| isbn=0-85052-696-5}}
*{{cite book | first=Compton|last=Mackenzie |author-link=Compton Mackenzie| title=Eastern Epic| publisher=Chatto & Windus, London | year=1951|asin=B0011DPGZ4}}
*{{Cite book|last=McGilvray|first=Evan|title=Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck|publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]]|year=2020|isbn=978-1526716101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5nD1DwAAQBAJ&q=claude+auchinleck}}
*{{cite book | first=Richard| last=Mead| title=Churchill's Lions: A biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II| year=2007| publisher=Spellmount| location=Stroud (UK)| isbn=978-1-86227-431-0}}
*{{cite book |last=Montgomery |first=Bernard |author-link=Bernard Montgomery |title=The Memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery|publisher=Leo Cooper Ltd|year=2005|isbn=978-1844153305}}
*{{cite book|last=Nawaz|first=Shija|title=Crossed Swords: Pakistan, its Army, and the Wars Within|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0195476972}}
*{{Cite book|first1=I.S.O.|last1=Playfair|author-link1=Ian Stanley Ord Playfair|last2= with Flynn|first2=Captain F.C. (R.N.)|last3=Molony|first3=Brigadier C.J.C.|last4=Gleave|first4= Group Captain T.P.|editor-last=Butler|editor-first=James|editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler|series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series|title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume III: British Fortunes reach their Lowest Ebb (September 1941 to September 1942)|publisher=Naval & Military Press|location=Uckfield, UK |year=2004|orig-date=1st. pub. [[HMSO]]:1960|isbn=1-84574-067-X|name-list-style=amp}}
*{{cite book|last=Remy |first=Maurice Philip |author-link=:de:Maurice Philip Remy
 |year=2002 |title=Mythos Rommel |location=Munich |publisher=List Verlag |isbn=3-471-78572-8 |language=de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e6UiAQAAIAAJ }}
*{{cite book|last=Stewart|first=Adrian|title=The Early Battle of Eighth Army: crusader to the Alamein Line 1941–1942|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2010|isbn=978-0811735360}}
*{{cite book| last=Slim| first=William | author-link=William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim| title=Defeat into Victory|publisher=Cassell| location=London| isbn=0-304-29114-5| year=1972| orig-date=1956}}
*{{cite book| first=Nick| last=Smart| title=Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War| isbn=1844150496| year=2005| location=Barnesley| publisher=Pen & Sword}}
*{{cite book| last=Warner| first=Philip| author-link=Philip Warner| title=Auchinleck. The Lonely Soldier| publisher=Sphere Books| year=1982| orig-date=1981| location=London| isbn=0-7221-8905-2}}
*{{cite book| editor-last = Keegan| editor-first = John| editor-link=John Keegan| first=Philip| last=Warner| author-link = Philip Warner| title = Churchill's Generals| publisher=[[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell]] Military| year = 1991| location = London| isbn = 0-304-36712-5 }}
*{{cite book|last1=Kirby |first1=S. Woodburn | editor-last=Butler| editor-first=James|author-link=Stanley Kirby | editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler |series=[[History of the Second World War]], United Kingdom Military Series| title=The War Against Japan, Volume III: The Decisive Battles| publisher=Naval & Military Press |location=Uckfield, UK |year=2004| orig-date=1st. pub. [[HMSO]]:1961| isbn=1-84574-062-9}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Agar-Hamilton|first=J.A.I.|title=Crisis In The Desert May–July 1942| publisher=Oxford University Press|location = Cape Town| year=1952|asin=B0015ZSSW6}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.generals.dk/general/Auchinleck/Sir_Claude_John_Eyre/Great_Britain.html |title=Generals of World War II |access-date=28 September 2007 |last=Ammentorp |first=Steen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016191405/http://generals.dk/general/Auchinleck/Sir_Claude_John_Eyre/Great_Britain.html |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=../units_index/documents.asp? |title=World War II unit histories and officers |access-date=28 September 2007 |last=Houterman |first=Hans |author2=Koppes, Jeroen |archive-date=24 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124063826/https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=..%2Funits_index%2Fdocuments.asp%3F }}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*{{UK National Archives ID}}
*[https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/manchesteruniversity/data/gb133-auc Auchinleck Papers] at [[John Rylands Library]], Manchester
*{{PM20|FID=pe/000748}}
*[https://www.unithistories.com/officers/IndianArmy_officers_A01.html#Auchinleck_CJE Indian Army Officers 1939−1945]
*[https://generals.dk/general/Auchinleck/Claude_John_Eyre/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Francis Venning}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commander, [[Peshawar Brigade]]|years=1933–1936}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Richard O'Connor]]}}
{{S-new|command|rows=2}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[IV Corps (United Kingdom)|GOC IV Corps]]|years=February–May 1940}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Francis Nosworthy]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[V Corps (United Kingdom)|GOC V Corps]]|years=June–July 1940}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Bernard Montgomery]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]]}} 
{{S-ttl|title=[[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|GOC-in-C Southern Command]]|years=July–December 1940}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Robert Cassels|Sir Robert Cassels]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Commander-in-Chief, India|C-in-C India]]|years=1941}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Sir Archibald Wavell]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Sir Archibald Wavell]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Middle East Command|C-in-C Middle East]]|years=1941–1942}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|The Hon. Sir Harold Alexander]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Neil Ritchie]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|GOC Eighth Army]]|years=June–August 1942}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Bernard Montgomery]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Sir Archibald Wavell]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Commander-in-Chief, India]]|years=1943–1947}} 
{{s-non|reason=Post abolished}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-new}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Supreme Commander's Headquarters (India and Pakistan)|Supreme Commander, India and Pakistan]]|years=August–November 1947}} 
{{s-non|reason=Post abolished<br /><small>merged with the offices of the [[Governor-General of India]]<br />and the [[Governor-General of Pakistan]]</small>}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Travers Edwards Clarke|Sir Travers Edwards Clarke]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers|Colonel of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers]]|years=1941–1947}}
{{s-aft|after=Eric Edward James Moore}}
{{S-end}}

{{Commander-in-Chief, India}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auchinleck, Claude}}
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