35180 BRITISH INFANTRY OFFICER WW II

During World War II, several dozen divisions were formed as part of the British Army, and at the end of the war they served in its ranks about 2.9 million people. Of course, this one of the most important armies of the Second World War was fought by its officers' corps. A significant part of British senior officers from 1939-1945 graduated Royal Military Academy, Woolwich or Royal Military College, Sandhurst. They were - most often - well prepared for their role on the battlefield, but often proved to be too conservative on the battlefield and acted too methodically. Examples include the planning and conduct of the counterattack at Arras in May 1940 or the fighting in the Caen area in summer 1944. At the same time, however, the British officer corps was able to learn, as evidenced by the lessons learned from the battles with Rómmel's troops in the desert in 1941-1942. He was also able to carry out very successful offensive operations - a perfect example is Operation Compass at the turn of 1940/1941 led by General Richard O'Connor. She considered herself the most outstanding senior British commander of World War II - more or less deservedly - field marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, but it is also worth mentioning, for example, Generals Dempsey, Horrocks and Hobart.