McNaughton: 1887-1939

Résumé du livre

This second volume, "War Leader" (1939-1943), of the authorized and definitive biography of General the Honourable Andrew George Latta McNaughton describes McNaughton's career in the Second World War from his appointment as Inspector General of the troops mobilizing to form the 1st Canadian Division until the end of 1943, when he was removed from command of the First Canadian Army. Much of his story during those crucial years is published here for the first time. McNaughton's highly important part in the successful evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk has never been adequately told; there is no mention of it in the British official histories. After the fall of France, McNaughton commanded one of the two British corps on which the slender defense of Britain then depended. He built an army, transformed it into a "mechanized hell upon wheels," and in 1942 he was approached to join Churchill's cabinet to head research and weapon development for all three British services. In 1943, however, McNaughton's hitherto unassailable prestige began to crumble. The real reason may be found in the combination of two men (whose animosity was foreshadowed in Volume 1)—General Sir Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and Canadian Defence Minister Ralston. McNaughton had antagonized Brooke again in this war by his unceasing fight—in the tradition of his mentor, Sir Arthur Currie—for Canadian autonomy. Ralston undermined his position by detaching a corps and sending it to Italy. With that policy established, McNaughton said, it would be better for Ralston to put someone in charge who believed in it; he himself did not. Nor could McNaughton have served under Montgomery after the latter, in high-handed fashion, had refused McNaughton access to his own troops in Sicily. In December 1943, McNaughton turned over his command and returned to Canada, where the conscription issue was already looming. His part in that, and his reunification of the army before the war ended, will be discussed in Volume 3.