Richard Nelson Gale
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Richard Nelson "Windy" Gale GCB
, KBE
, DSO
, MC
(1896 – 1982) was a soldier in the British Army
who served in both world wars. In World War I
he was awarded the Military Cross
in 1918 whilst serving as a junior officer in the Machine Gun Corps
. In World War II
he served with 1st Parachute Brigade and then the 6th Airborne Division
during the invasion of Normandy and Operation Tonga
in 1944. After the end of the conflict, Gale remained with the Army and eventually became the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
, England
. The early years of his life were spent in Australia
and New Zealand
due to his father gaining employment in insurance
, but the Gale family returned to England in 1906. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
, a foundation school
in the City of London
, gaining an average academic record but becoming a prolific reader. After this, he attended further education at Aldenham School
in Hertfordshire
. For a time, he was a boarder at King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon
.
When Gale left Aldenham he wanted to become an officer in the Royal Artillery
, but did not possess the academic qualifications or physical grades required for entry into the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
. Instead he followed in his father's footsteps and gained employment as an insurance agent, but rapidly grew to dislike the job; determined to enter the British Army
, he attended regular physical training classes and studied hard to improve his academic grades.
broke out in 1914, Gale was still below the medical standards required for a recruit and failed to join a Territorial Army unit in London. He finally gained entry to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in the summer of 1915 and before the end of the year had been commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment
as a Second Lieutenant
. When Gale joined the regiment, he put his name forward for a course on training with machine gun
s and was accepted, being transferred to the Machine Gun Training Centre at Grantham
; there he discovered that he had not applied to join a course, but to actually join the Machine Gun Corps
. In short order he was posted to the Western Front
and it was during his service as a subaltern in France
that he won the Military Cross
. During the Spring Offensive
launched by the German Army in mid-March 1918, Gale was awarded his Military Cross for 'conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty'. He covered the retreat of a British infantry unit with his machine gun section, and when an artillery shell landed by a gun limber, he unhitched the killed and wounded horses under heavy fire to allow the limber to be moved away.
and serve with the British Indian Army
, remaining in the Machine-Gun Corps until it was disbanded in 1922 and then reverting to serving with the Worcestershire Regiment. During his time in India he gained entry to the Staff College at Quetta and after two years in the institution he graduated as a staff officer. Promotion prospects in the inter-war years were limited, and although he received above average grades in his annual reports, he remained as a subaltern for fifteen years, until he was promoted to the rank of Captain
in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
in 1930. Gale left India in January 1936 and returned to England to serve with the Worcestershire Regiment. After a year he was then transferred to the War Office
as a General Staff Officer with responsibilities for the creation of training pamphlets and publications. In December 1938 he was promoted to Major
and moved to the Staff Duties (Planning) section of the General Staff.
By 1941 Gale had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
and given command of a Territorial Army battalion of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment
. Then in the summer of 1941 1st Parachute Brigade was formed as part of the expansion of the British airborne forces
, and Gale was offered command of the Brigade by General Alan Brooke
, who was impressed with the high morale and standards in the battalion; Gale accepted the command. After a period spent organizing the Brigade, choosing officers and devising new training schemes, Gale was then posted to the War Office in 1942 as Deputy Director of Staff Duties, and subsequently promoted to Director of Air. Gale's remit as Director of Air was to attempt to formulate a clear policy about the use of airborne forces between the Army and the Royal Air Force
, as well as to solve the aircraft shortages that stymied many attempts to conduct further airborne operations. There was a great deal of rivalry between the two services, with the RAF sure that large-scale bombing would win the conflict, and therefore unwilling to transfer any aircraft to the Army for use by airborne forces. Then, in May 1943 Gale was promoted to the rank of major-general and assumed command of the newly-formed 6th Airborne Division. Gale had just under a year to organize and train the division before it was due to participate in Operation Tonga
, the British airborne landings in Normandy in June 1944. The division was initially understrength due to trained airborne troops being transferred to North Africa and Sicily to replace the losses suffered by 1st Airborne Division during its operations, but it was soon expanded with the arrival of a Canadian Parachute Battalion, as well as the formation of 5th Parachute Brigade and 6th Airlanding Brigade
. No British airborne division had ever been deployed into battle entirely through aerial means, and devising plans and formulating tactics for the operation placed a great deal of pressure on Gale. However, Gale's thoroughness paid off when the division successfully landed in Normandy in June 1944, with Gale accompanying the division and landing by glider. For his part in planning and taking part in Operation Tonga, Gale was awarded the DSO on 29 August 1944. On 5 September the division was taken out of the frontlines and returned to England for rest and recuperation; Gale did not remain with the division, instead being appointed to the headquarters of First Allied Airborne Army
. In the last months of the conflict, he was given command of I Airborne Corps.
, and in 1948 he was appointed General Officer Commanding British Troops, Egypt and Mediterranean Command. Then in 1949 he was transferred and became Director-General of Military Training. Then, after three years he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, Northern Army Group, Allied Land Forces Europe and British Army of the Rhine
, which he held until 1957. Gale initially retired in 1957, but early in 1958 he was recalled to serve with NATO and replaced Field Marshal
Bernard Montgomery
as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
; he retired permanently in 1960 after three years in the post. During the post-war years, Gale also held a number of ceremonial and non-military posts; he was aide-de-camp (general) to the Queen Elizabeth II
between 1954–7, Colonel of the Worcestershire Regiment between 1950–61, and Colonel-Commandant of the Parachute Regiment between 1956–67. Gale died in a hospital in Kingston upon Thames on 29 July 1982.
During World War II, Gale applied these principles to the development of airborne forces. An advocate of shock manouvre with elite forces, Gale stressed extensive training, the use of the latest battlefield technologies and strong personal leadership. For Gale, the quality of one's military forces were as important as their number, and he drew additional lessons on the disproportionate effect that surprise manouvre had on a 'demoralised or unprepared enemy', as opposed to a 'well-trained opposition', from the operations of the 6th Division in Normandy. Later in life, Gale examined the issues of war in the nuclear age. Still an advocate of manouvre and high quality forces, Gale was to stress the importance of achieving mobility and flexibility in the face of the Soviet threat, foreshadowing in many ways the evolution of the AirLand battle
doctrine of the 1980s.
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire - 1950 (OBE - 1940)
Distinguished Service Order
31 August 1944
Military Cross
- 1918
Mention in Despatches - 22 March 1945, 7 January 1949
Commander of the Legion of Merit
(USA) - 16 January 1948 (Officer - 20 June 1944)
Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur (France) - 28 December 1956
Croix de Guerre with Palm
(France) - 28 December 1956
Grand Officier de la Couronne
(Belgium)
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir Richard Nelson "Windy" Gale GCB
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...
, KBE
Order 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...
, 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....
(1896 – 1982) was a soldier in 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...
who served in both world wars. In 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 was awarded the 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....
in 1918 whilst serving as a junior officer in the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
. In 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 served with 1st Parachute Brigade and then the 6th Airborne Division
British 6th Airborne Division
The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne division in the British Army during the Second World War. It took part in Operation Tonga, the airborne landings on the left flank of the invasion beaches in the Normandy Landings. It played a small part in the Battle of the Bulge and was involved in...
during the invasion of Normandy and Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the Normandy Landings during the Second World War....
in 1944. After the end of the conflict, Gale remained with the Army and eventually became the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Early life
Gale was born on 25 July 1896 in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The early years of his life were spent in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
due to his father gaining employment in insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
, but the Gale family returned to England in 1906. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
, a foundation school
Foundation school
In England and Wales, a foundation school is a state-funded school in which the governing body has greater freedom in the running of the school than in community schools....
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, gaining an average academic record but becoming a prolific reader. After this, he attended further education at Aldenham School
Aldenham School
Aldenham School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged thirteen to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. For a time, he was a boarder at King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon
King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon
King Edward VI School is a voluntary aided boys grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England...
.
When Gale left Aldenham he wanted to become an officer in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, but did not possess the academic qualifications or physical grades required for entry into the Royal Military Academy, 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...
. Instead he followed in his father's footsteps and gained employment as an insurance agent, but rapidly grew to dislike the job; determined to enter 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...
, he attended regular physical training classes and studied hard to improve his academic grades.
World War I
When World War IWorld 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...
broke out in 1914, Gale was still below the medical standards required for a recruit and failed to join a Territorial Army unit in London. He finally gained entry to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in the summer of 1915 and before the end of the year had been commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment
Worcestershire Regiment
The Worcestershire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 29th Regiment of Foot and the 36th Regiment of Foot....
as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
. When Gale joined the regiment, he put his name forward for a course on training with machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s and was accepted, being transferred to the Machine Gun Training Centre at Grantham
Grantham
Grantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
; there he discovered that he had not applied to join a course, but to actually join the Machine Gun Corps
Machine Gun Corps
The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
. In short order he was posted to the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
and it was during his service as a subaltern 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...
that he won the 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....
. During the Spring Offensive
Spring Offensive
The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...
launched by the German Army in mid-March 1918, Gale was awarded his Military Cross for 'conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty'. He covered the retreat of a British infantry unit with his machine gun section, and when an artillery shell landed by a gun limber, he unhitched the killed and wounded horses under heavy fire to allow the limber to be moved away.
Inter-war years
When the war ended in 1918, Gale volunteered to go to 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...
and serve with the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
, remaining in the Machine-Gun Corps until it was disbanded in 1922 and then reverting to serving with the Worcestershire Regiment. During his time in India he gained entry to the Staff College at Quetta and after two years in the institution he graduated as a staff officer. Promotion prospects in the inter-war years were limited, and although he received above average grades in his annual reports, he remained as a subaltern for fifteen years, until he was promoted to the rank of Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles....
in 1930. Gale left India in January 1936 and returned to England to serve with the Worcestershire Regiment. After a year he was then transferred to the War Office
War 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...
as a General Staff Officer with responsibilities for the creation of training pamphlets and publications. In December 1938 he was promoted to Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and moved to the Staff Duties (Planning) section of the General Staff.
World War II
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
and given command of a Territorial Army battalion of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment
Royal Leicestershire Regiment
The Royal Leicestershire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated into The Royal Anglian Regiment in 1964.-1688 - 1881:...
. Then in the summer of 1941 1st Parachute Brigade was formed as part of the expansion of the British airborne forces
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
, and Gale was offered command of the Brigade by General Alan Brooke
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
Field Marshal The Rt. Hon. Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar , was a senior commander in the British Army. He was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and was promoted to Field Marshal in 1944...
, who was impressed with the high morale and standards in the battalion; Gale accepted the command. After a period spent organizing the Brigade, choosing officers and devising new training schemes, Gale was then posted to the War Office in 1942 as Deputy Director of Staff Duties, and subsequently promoted to Director of Air. Gale's remit as Director of Air was to attempt to formulate a clear policy about the use of airborne forces between the Army and the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, as well as to solve the aircraft shortages that stymied many attempts to conduct further airborne operations. There was a great deal of rivalry between the two services, with the RAF sure that large-scale bombing would win the conflict, and therefore unwilling to transfer any aircraft to the Army for use by airborne forces. Then, in May 1943 Gale was promoted to the rank of major-general and assumed command of the newly-formed 6th Airborne Division. Gale had just under a year to organize and train the division before it was due to participate in Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the Normandy Landings during the Second World War....
, the British airborne landings in Normandy in June 1944. The division was initially understrength due to trained airborne troops being transferred to North Africa and Sicily to replace the losses suffered by 1st Airborne Division during its operations, but it was soon expanded with the arrival of a Canadian Parachute Battalion, as well as the formation of 5th Parachute Brigade and 6th Airlanding Brigade
6th Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 6th Airlanding Brigade was a glider infantry brigade forming part of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. Composed of three infantry battalions and supporting units, it was assigned to the 6th Airborne Division....
. No British airborne division had ever been deployed into battle entirely through aerial means, and devising plans and formulating tactics for the operation placed a great deal of pressure on Gale. However, Gale's thoroughness paid off when the division successfully landed in Normandy in June 1944, with Gale accompanying the division and landing by glider. For his part in planning and taking part in Operation Tonga, Gale was awarded the DSO on 29 August 1944. On 5 September the division was taken out of the frontlines and returned to England for rest and recuperation; Gale did not remain with the division, instead being appointed to the headquarters of First Allied Airborne Army
First Allied Airborne Army
The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary Force and controlled all Allied airborne forces in Western...
. In the last months of the conflict, he was given command of I Airborne Corps.
Later life
Between 1946-1947 Gale was given command of the 1st Infantry Division when it served in the Middle EastMiddle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and in 1948 he was appointed General Officer Commanding British Troops, Egypt and Mediterranean Command. Then in 1949 he was transferred and became Director-General of Military Training. Then, after three years he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, Northern Army Group, Allied Land Forces Europe and British Army of the Rhine
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
, which he held until 1957. Gale initially retired in 1957, but early in 1958 he was recalled to serve with NATO and replaced 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
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe is the central command of NATO military forces. It is located at Casteau, north of the Belgian city of Mons...
; he retired permanently in 1960 after three years in the post. During the post-war years, Gale also held a number of ceremonial and non-military posts; he was aide-de-camp (general) to the Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
between 1954–7, Colonel of the Worcestershire Regiment between 1950–61, and Colonel-Commandant of the Parachute Regiment between 1956–67. Gale died in a hospital in Kingston upon Thames on 29 July 1982.
Military thinking
Gale's approach to military affairs emerged from both his personal history and personality. Gale, a 'tall, bluff, ruddy' individual, with a reputation as 'a bit of a buccaneer' but allegedly possessing a 'hectoring manner and a loud voice', was one of a number of Great War veterans to challenge the military status quo that had led to the terrible losses on the Western Front. Events such as the losses on the Somme heavily influenced Gale's thinking, and he emerged from the war with a suspicion of predominantly firepower-led operations. Looking back, Gale was to remember the 'wonderful panorama' of the infantry successfully advancing using modern infiltration tactics on a clear day in the spring of 1918, contributing to his embracing the interwar manoeuvrist theorists during his time at Staff College. Gale saw a narrative in the sequence of developments from the creation of the new infantry tactics of 1918, through to the tanks and airborne forces of the 1940s, that demonstrated the 'fundamental necessity of mobility on the battlefield', and the importance of surprise at all levels of warfare.During World War II, Gale applied these principles to the development of airborne forces. An advocate of shock manouvre with elite forces, Gale stressed extensive training, the use of the latest battlefield technologies and strong personal leadership. For Gale, the quality of one's military forces were as important as their number, and he drew additional lessons on the disproportionate effect that surprise manouvre had on a 'demoralised or unprepared enemy', as opposed to a 'well-trained opposition', from the operations of the 6th Division in Normandy. Later in life, Gale examined the issues of war in the nuclear age. Still an advocate of manouvre and high quality forces, Gale was to stress the importance of achieving mobility and flexibility in the face of the Soviet threat, foreshadowing in many ways the evolution of the AirLand battle
AirLand Battle
AirLand Battle was the overall conceptual framework that formed the basis of the US Army's European warfighting doctrine from 1982 into the late 1990s. AirLand Battle emphasized close coordination between land forces acting as an aggressively maneuvering defense, and air forces attacking...
doctrine of the 1980s.
Honours and awards
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath - 1954 (KCB - 1953; CB - 2 August 1945)Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire - 1950 (OBE - 1940)
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...
31 August 1944
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....
- 1918
Mention in Despatches - 22 March 1945, 7 January 1949
Commander of the 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...
(USA) - 16 January 1948 (Officer - 20 June 1944)
Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur (France) - 28 December 1956
Croix de Guerre with Palm
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
(France) - 28 December 1956
Grand Officier de la Couronne
Order of the Crown (Belgium)
The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
(Belgium)
Publications
- With the 6th Airborne Div in Normandy (Sampson Low, Marston & Co, London, 1948)
- Infantry in Modern Battle: Its Organization and Training (Canadian Army Journal 8, no. 1, 1955: 52-61)
- Generalship and the art of Command in this Nuclear Age (RUSI Journal 101, no. 603, 1956: 376-384)
- Call to arms. An autobiography (Hutchinson, London, 1968)
- Great battles of biblical history (Hutchinson, London, 1968)
- The Worcestershire Regiment, the 29th29th Regiment of FootThe 29th Regiment of Foot was, from 1694 to 1881, an infantry regiment of the British Army. It now forms part of the Mercian Regiment.-Formation:...
and 36th Regiments of foot (Leo Cooper, London, 1970) - Kings at arms: The Use and Abuse of power in the Great Kingdoms of the East (Hutchinson, London, 1971)