Horace Smith-Dorrien

General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien (May 26 1858–August 12 1930) was a British soldier and commander of the British II Corps of the BEF during the Great War.

Horace Smith-Dorrien was the 11th child of 15. He was educated at Harrow, and he later attended Sandhurst passing out with a commission to the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot.

He fought at the Battle of Isandlwana during the Zulu War, and later in Egypt, where following the Battle of Gennis he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Smith-Dorrien then left active command to go to the Staff College and, following this, he returned to his regiment, now in India, where he commanded troops during the Tirah campaign of 1897-98. In 1898, he transferred back to Egypt and fought at the Battle of Omdurman and commanded the British troops during the Fashoda incident. During this time, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and forged a life long friendship with Lord Kitchener.

Smith-Dorrien's next taste of action was in 1899 when he was transferred to South Africa during the Boer War. His qualities as a commander (practically alone amongst the early British Boer War commanders) saw promotion to Brigadier-General in February 1900, and then Major-General shortly after.

Following the Boer War, he was made Adjutant General. He returned to India and was placed in command of the British 4th Division, a post he held until 1907, when he returned to England to take command of the Aldershot training base. During this time, he instituted a number of reforms designed to improve the lot of the ordinary soldier, for which he earned many plaudits (but his reforms were treated as an implied criticism by his predecessor, Sir John French).

In 1911, he was made Aide-de-Camp to King George V; less than a year later, he took over Southern Command and was promoted to full General.

With the outbreak of the Great War, he was given command of the British Home Forces; however, following the sudden death of Grierson, he was placed in charge of the British Expeditionary Force II Corps, by Lord Kitchener, the new Secretary of State for War. This was very much against the wishes of Field Marshal Sir John French with whom he shared a long running antipathy.

Within days, he and the BEF were retreating following a heavy assault by the German forces at Mons, with the Germans under Von Kluck attempting a flanking manoeuvre. French ordered a general retreat. Smith-Dorrien, now at Le Cateau, saw that his retreating forces were in danger of being overwhelmed in a piecemeal fashion. He decided instead to concentrate his corps, supplemented by Allenby's cavalry and Snow's 4th Division, and mounted a vigorous defensive action, a "stopping blow", which despite heavy casualties, halted the German advance. With the BEF saved, he resumed an orderly retreat.

His decision to stand and fight enraged French who accused Smith-Dorrien of jeopardising the whole BEF, an accusation which did not amuse Smith-Dorrien's fellow corps commander, General Douglas Haig, who already believed French to be incompetent.

By May 1915, the situation had deteriorated even further with Smith-Dorrien not implementing orders from French which he considered foolish or stupid, and following the first use of poison gas on the Western Front by the Germans and the heavy casualties sustained, he recommended withdrawal from the front line to regroup and prepare for a major offensive to recapture the lost ground. French accused him of being a danger to the morale of the troops (basically a coward) and Smith-Dorrien was sacked. Not long after this unsavoury incident, French himself was removed by Kitchener and placed in command of the Home Forces where he could do no more harm. Douglas Haig replaced him as commander of the BEF.

Smith-Dorrien was assigned a command to fight the Germans in German East Africa (present day Tanzania) but illness prevented him from taking up the post. He took no significant part in the rest of the war. His next position was as Governor of Gibraltar (1918–22) where he introduced an element of democracy.

He then retired to England.

Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien died August 12 1930 following injuries sustained in a car accident; he was 72 years old.