Herbert Lumsden

Lieutenant-General Herbert William Lumsden, (8 April 1897 – 6 January 1945) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars. He commanded the 1st Armoured Division in the Western Desert campaign, and later commanded X Corps at the Second Battle of El Alamein, before being relieved by his superior, Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery. He was killed in action by the Japanese in early 1945, becoming the most senior combat casualty of the British Army of the Second World War.

Early life Herbert Lumsden was born in Santiago, Chile, on 8 April 1897, the son of John and Anna Lumsden, née Dimalow. He was sent to England and was educated at The Leys School.

First World War At the outbreak of the First World War, in August 1914, he was only 17 years old. He served in the ranks with the Territorial Force (TF) for ten months before passing into the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, from where he was commissioned into the Royal Horse Artillery on 13 August 1916.

After returning to the United Kingdom Lumsden was promoted and commanded a tank brigade before being appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 6th Armoured Division in Home Forces in October 1941, taking over from Major-General John Crocker.

A conference between Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg and Lieutenant-General Lumsden, near Halfaya Pass before the army commander passed into Cyrenacia, 24 November 1942.

The Allies were victorious at El Alamein but for Lumsden, his confrontation with Montgomery in the heat of battle proved ruinous. Lumsden was replaced by Horrocks, who had previously recommended Lumsden to Montgomery, while Gatehouse was also removed from command. On his return to London, on entering his club Lumsden was heard to comment, "I've just been sacked because there isn't room in the desert for two cads like Monty and me." After Lumsden's death in 1945 Montgomery, notoriously sensitive to criticism of his generalship, unjustly blamed the near failure of his attack on 24/25 October 1942 on Lumsden.

Lumsden was liked and respected by Winston Churchill. After his dismissal by Montgomery he was given command of VIII Corps in Britain in January 1943 and command of II Corps in July, before being sent to the Pacific as Winston Churchill's special military representative to United States Army General Douglas MacArthur.

Death in action On 4 January 1945, Japanese kamikaze began a week-long assault on American naval forces transporting MacArthur's 6th Army to Lingayen Gulf, site of the upcoming landing on Luzon, the Philippines' most populous island. The escort carrier was badly damaged and had to be scuttled, suffering 100 casualties. A destroyer and tanker were hit but survived. Two Japanese destroyers tried to attack a convoy near Manila Bay but were fought off. One, the destroyer Momi, was sunk. On 5 January kamikaze attacked Allied naval forces moving toward Lingayen Gulf. Escort carriers and , cruisers and HMAS Australia, two destroyers and four other ships were damaged.

On 6 January, the Allies suffered their heaviest loss in the Pacific since Guadalcanal when kamikaze mauled the U.S. 7th Fleet as it began bombarding the invasion beaches on Luzon and minesweeping Lingayen Gulf. Twenty-nine kamikaze hit 15 ships and Lumsden was killed by one while on the bridge of the battleship , becoming the most senior British Army combat casualty of the Second World War. Lumsden was the subject of obituaries in Time magazine and in The Times.