Percy Hobart
Encyclopedia
Major-General
Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart KBE CB
DSO
MC
(14 June 1885–19 February 1957), also known as "Hobo", was a British
military engineer
, noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division
during World War II
. He was responsible for many of the specialised armoured vehicles ("Hobart's Funnies
") that took part in the invasion of Normandy and later actions.
, the son of Robert T. Hobart, Indian Civil Service (ICS), and Janetta Stanley of Roughan Park, County Tyrone
. His sister, Elizabeth
, later married the World War II Field Marshal
, Bernard Montgomery. In his youth he studied history, painting, literature and church architecture. He was educated at Temple Grove School and Clifton College
, and in 1904 he graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
and was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers. He was first sent to India
, but during World War I
he served in France
and Mesopotamia
(now Iraq
).
He took part in the Waziristan campaign 1919–1920
when British and Indian Army forces put down unrest in local tribes.
In 1923, foreseeing the predominance of tank warfare, Hobart volunteered to be transferred to the Royal Tank Corps. While there, he gained the nickname "Hobo", and was greatly influenced by the writings of B. H. Liddell Hart on armoured warfare. He was appointed an instructor at the Command and Staff College
at Quetta
in 1923 where he served until 1927.
In November 1928, Hobart married Dorothea Field, the daughter of Colonel C. Field, Royal Marines
. They had one daughter.
In 1934, Hobart became Brigadier
of the first permanent armoured brigade in Britain and Inspector Royal Tank Corps. He had to fight for resources for his command because the British Army
was still dominated by conservative cavalry
officers. Quite ironically, German General Heinz Guderian
kept abreast of Hobart's writings using, at his own expense, someone to translate all the articles being published in Britain.
In 1937, Hobart was made Deputy Director of Staff Duties (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) and later Director of Military Training. He was promoted to Major-General.
In 1938, Hobart was sent to form and train "Mobile Force (Egypt)" although a local general resisted his efforts. While sometimes referred to as the "Mobile Farce" by critics, Mobile Force (Egypt) survived and later became the 7th Armoured Division, famous as the Desert Rats.
information due to his "unconventional" ideas about armoured warfare
. Hobart joined the Local Defence Volunteers (precursor to the Home Guard
) as a lance-corporal and was charged with the defence of his home village, Chipping Campden
. "At once, Chipping Campden became a hedgehog of bristling defiance", and Hobart was promoted to become Deputy Area Organiser. Liddell Hart criticised the decision to retire Hobart and wrote an article in the newspaper Sunday Pictorial. Winston Churchill
was notified and he had Hobart re-enlisted into the army in 1941. Hobart was assigned to train 11th Armoured Division, which was recognised as an extremely successful task. His detractors tried again to have him removed, this time on medical grounds, but Churchill rebuffed them. Subsequently, however, he was removed from the 11th Armoured when they were transferred to Tunisia
in September 1942. He was relatively old (57) for active command and he had been ill.
Once again, Hobart was assigned to raise and train a fresh armoured division, this time the 79th.
in August 1942 had demonstrated the inability of regular tank
s and infantry
to cope with fortified obstacles in an amphibious
landing. This showed the need for specialised vehicles to cope with natural and man-made obstructions during and after the Allied invasion of Europe
.
In March 1943, Hobart's 79th Armoured was about to be disbanded, due to lack of resources, but Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Field Marshal
Sir Alan Brooke, in a "happy brainwave", invited Hobart to convert his division into a unit of specialised armour. Hobart was reputedly suspicious at first and conferred with Liddell Hart before accepting, with the assurance that it would be an operational unit with a combat role. The unit was renamed the "79th (Experimental) Armoured Division Royal Engineers". Unit insignia was a black bull's head with flaring nostrils superimposed over a yellow triangle; this was carried proudly on every vehicle. Hobart's brother-in-law, Field Marshal
Bernard Montgomery informed Dwight D. Eisenhower
of his need to build specialised tanks.
Under Hobart's leadership, the 79th assembled units of modified tank designs collectively nicknamed "Hobart's Funnies
". These were used in the Normandy invasion and were credited with helping the Allies get ashore. The 79th's vehicles were offered to all of the forces taking part in the landings of Operation Overlord, but the Americans declined all except the amphibious Sherman DD tank. Liddell Hart said of him: To have moulded the best two British armoured divisions of the war was an outstanding achievement, but Hobart made it a "hat trick
" by his subsequent training of the specialised 79th Armoured Division, the decisive factor on D-Day.
The vehicles of the 79th did not deploy as units together but were attached to other units. By the end of the war the 79th had almost 7000 vehicles.
The 79th Armoured Division was disbanded on August 20, 1945.
Hobart returned to retirement in 1946 and died in 1957 in Farnham, Surrey.
A barracks in Detmold, Germany was named after him. Hobart Barracks has since been handed back to the German Government and no longer functions as a barracks.
(KBE). After the war, he was awarded the American Legion of Merit
. During his career, Hobart also became a Companion of the Order of the Bath
(CB) and, for his actions in World War I, received the Distinguished Service Order
(DSO) and Military Cross
(MC). During his military career he was also mentioned in despatches 9 times.
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Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobart KBE CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(14 June 1885–19 February 1957), also known as "Hobo", was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
, noted for his command of the 79th Armoured Division
79th Armoured Division
The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist British Army armoured formation created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion of 6 June 1944...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was responsible for many of the specialised armoured vehicles ("Hobart's Funnies
Hobart's Funnies
Hobart's Funnies were a number of unusually modified tanks operated during World War II by the United Kingdom's 79th Armoured Division or by specialists from the Royal Engineers. They were designed in light of problems that more standard tanks experienced during the Dieppe Raid, so that the new...
") that took part in the invasion of Normandy and later actions.
Early life
Hobart was born in Naini Tal, IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the son of Robert T. Hobart, Indian Civil Service (ICS), and Janetta Stanley of Roughan Park, County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
. His sister, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Carver
Elizabeth Carver was the wife of Bernard Montgomery, who later became Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein.-Early life and marriage:...
, later married the World War II Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
, Bernard Montgomery. In his youth he studied history, painting, literature and church architecture. He was educated at Temple Grove School and Clifton College
Clifton College
Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
, and in 1904 he graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
and was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers. He was first sent to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, but during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
(now Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
).
He took part in the Waziristan campaign 1919–1920
Waziristan campaign 1919–1920
The Waziristan campaign 1919–1920 was a military campaign conducted in Waziristan by British and Indian forces against the fiercely independent tribesmen that inhabited this region...
when British and Indian Army forces put down unrest in local tribes.
In 1923, foreseeing the predominance of tank warfare, Hobart volunteered to be transferred to the Royal Tank Corps. While there, he gained the nickname "Hobo", and was greatly influenced by the writings of B. H. Liddell Hart on armoured warfare. He was appointed an instructor at the Command and Staff College
Command and Staff College
The Command and Staff College was established in 1907 at Quetta, Balochistan, British Raj, now in Pakistan, and is the oldest and the most prestigious institution of the Pakistan Army. It was established in 1905 in Deolali and moved to its present location at Quetta in 1907 under the name of Quetta...
at Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
in 1923 where he served until 1927.
In November 1928, Hobart married Dorothea Field, the daughter of Colonel C. Field, Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
. They had one daughter.
In 1934, Hobart became Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
of the first permanent armoured brigade in Britain and Inspector Royal Tank Corps. He had to fight for resources for his command because the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
was still dominated by conservative cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
officers. Quite ironically, German General Heinz Guderian
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
kept abreast of Hobart's writings using, at his own expense, someone to translate all the articles being published in Britain.
In 1937, Hobart was made Deputy Director of Staff Duties (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) and later Director of Military Training. He was promoted to Major-General.
In 1938, Hobart was sent to form and train "Mobile Force (Egypt)" although a local general resisted his efforts. While sometimes referred to as the "Mobile Farce" by critics, Mobile Force (Egypt) survived and later became the 7th Armoured Division, famous as the Desert Rats.
World War II
Sir Archibald Wavell dismissed Hobart into retirement in 1940, based on hostile War OfficeWar Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
information due to his "unconventional" ideas about armoured warfare
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
. Hobart joined the Local Defence Volunteers (precursor to the Home Guard
British Home Guard
The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...
) as a lance-corporal and was charged with the defence of his home village, Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden is a small market town within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its elegant terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century...
. "At once, Chipping Campden became a hedgehog of bristling defiance", and Hobart was promoted to become Deputy Area Organiser. Liddell Hart criticised the decision to retire Hobart and wrote an article in the newspaper Sunday Pictorial. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
was notified and he had Hobart re-enlisted into the army in 1941. Hobart was assigned to train 11th Armoured Division, which was recognised as an extremely successful task. His detractors tried again to have him removed, this time on medical grounds, but Churchill rebuffed them. Subsequently, however, he was removed from the 11th Armoured when they were transferred to Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
in September 1942. He was relatively old (57) for active command and he had been ill.
Once again, Hobart was assigned to raise and train a fresh armoured division, this time the 79th.
79th Armoured Division
The Dieppe RaidDieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
in August 1942 had demonstrated the inability of regular tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s and infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
to cope with fortified obstacles in an amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...
landing. This showed the need for specialised vehicles to cope with natural and man-made obstructions during and after the Allied invasion of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Sir Alan Brooke, in a "happy brainwave", invited Hobart to convert his division into a unit of specialised armour. Hobart was reputedly suspicious at first and conferred with Liddell Hart before accepting, with the assurance that it would be an operational unit with a combat role. The unit was renamed the "79th (Experimental) Armoured Division Royal Engineers". Unit insignia was a black bull's head with flaring nostrils superimposed over a yellow triangle; this was carried proudly on every vehicle. Hobart's brother-in-law, Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Bernard Montgomery informed Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
of his need to build specialised tanks.
Under Hobart's leadership, the 79th assembled units of modified tank designs collectively nicknamed "Hobart's Funnies
Hobart's Funnies
Hobart's Funnies were a number of unusually modified tanks operated during World War II by the United Kingdom's 79th Armoured Division or by specialists from the Royal Engineers. They were designed in light of problems that more standard tanks experienced during the Dieppe Raid, so that the new...
". These were used in the Normandy invasion and were credited with helping the Allies get ashore. The 79th's vehicles were offered to all of the forces taking part in the landings of Operation Overlord, but the Americans declined all except the amphibious Sherman DD tank. Liddell Hart said of him: To have moulded the best two British armoured divisions of the war was an outstanding achievement, but Hobart made it a "hat trick
Hat Trick
Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:* hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match* Hattrick — online football management game** Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...
" by his subsequent training of the specialised 79th Armoured Division, the decisive factor on D-Day.
The vehicles of the 79th did not deploy as units together but were attached to other units. By the end of the war the 79th had almost 7000 vehicles.
The 79th Armoured Division was disbanded on August 20, 1945.
Hobart returned to retirement in 1946 and died in 1957 in Farnham, Surrey.
A barracks in Detmold, Germany was named after him. Hobart Barracks has since been handed back to the German Government and no longer functions as a barracks.
Awards and decorations
In 1943, Hobart was made Knight Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(KBE). After the war, he was awarded the American Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
. During his career, Hobart also became a Companion of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(CB) and, for his actions in World War I, received the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(DSO) and Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(MC). During his military career he was also mentioned in despatches 9 times.
Further reading
- Delaforce, Patrick. Churchill's Secret Weapons: The Story of Hobart's Funnies. (2007) ISBN 9781844154647
External links
- Royal Engineers Museum Royal Engineers biographies (Percy Hobart)
- A detailed summary of Hobart's career
- Historical Warfare Major General Hobart
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