Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Robert George Broadwood (14 March 1862 – 21 June 1917) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

general. A cavalry officer, Broadwood saw service in the Sudan, in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, and in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was killed in action in 1917, while commanding the 57th Division, having earlier been accused of lacking "fighting spirit" for his refusal to sacrifice his troops in attacks he considered to be hopeless.

Early life

Robert was the third son and child of Thomas Broadwood, of Holmbush Park, Surrey, and Mary Athlea Matthews. He was a grandson of John Broadwood, the founder of John Broadwood & Sons, the piano company. He was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

Military career

Early military career

After Sandhurst, Broadwood was commissioned into the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales), which was then in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, on 22 January 1881. He became a first lieutenant on 1 July 1881 and a captain on 15 February 1888. He passed out from the Staff College at Camberley in December 1890. In May 1892, he was appointed aide-de-camp to Major-General Godfrey Clerk,

general officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

, Belfast District. Later the same year, he was selected for service with the

Egyptian Army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...

Sudan, 1896–1898

In 1896, Broadwood served in the Dongola Expeditionary Force under Sir Herbert Kitchener and took part in the Battle of Firket and the operations at Hafir. Appointed to the command of the Egyptian cavalry, in 1897 Broadwood participated in the Battle of Abu Hamed and the occupation of

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

. In 1898, he fought at the

Battle of Atbara The Battle of Atbara also known as the Battle of the Atbara River took place during the Mahdist War. Anglo-Egyptian forces defeated 15,000 Mahdists on the banks of the River Atbara. The battle proved to be the turning point in the reconquest of S ...

and at the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman, also known as the Battle of Karary, was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert ...

. One of Broadwood's staff officers during his time as commander of the Egyptian cavalry was

Douglas Haig Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army. During the First World War he commanded the British Expeditionary F ...

, who commanded the British Expeditionary Force during the

. For his services in the Sudan, Broadwood was made a brevet lieutenant-colonel in 1897 and a brevet

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. He received the Queen's Sudan Medal and the Khedive's Sudan Medal with five clasps, was appointed to the fourth class of the

Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh (, Modern ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i Iftikhar, this became the second highest order ...

, and was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

several times.

Second Boer War

Broadwood saw active service again during the

, commanding the 2nd Cavalry Brigade (with local rank of brigadier-general). He took part in the

relief of Kimberley The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try t ...

and the

Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain", 18–27 February 1900) was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Ford (crossing), Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free St ...

in February 1900. In March 1900, Broadwood's force was ambushed at Sanna's Post by the Boers, suffering 571 casualties and losing several guns, though he eventually managed to extricate his troops. Major-General Sir Henry Colvile was ordered to assist him, but was slow in doing so. This incident was one of the two reasons cited for Colvile's removal from command the following year. In the aftermath of the ambush, the Cabinet urged Lord Roberts to supersede Broadwood, which he refused to do. In December 1900, however, Broadwood was held responsible Lord Roberts for Major-General R. A. P. Clements' defeat at Nooitgedacht and was sent home to England. He returned to the field the following year. In June 1901, Broadwood captured most of President

Martinus Theunis Steyn Martinus (or Marthinus) Theunis Steyn (; 2 October 185728 November 1916) was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman. He was the sixth and last president of the independent Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902. Early life The Stey ...

's staff and some of the guns he had lost at Sanna's Post, but Steyn managed to escape. For his services, Broadwood was mentioned in despatches twice, including by Lord Roberts, who described him as "commanding the 2nd Cavalry Brigade with exceptional ability and dash throughout the operations". He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) on 29 November 1900, but was not invested by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

until 8 August 1902. He was appointed an extra aide-de-camp to the King in 1901.

South Africa and China

In late 1902, Broadwood was appointed Colonel on the Staff to command the Troops in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, with the substantive rank of colonel, and the local rank of brigadier-general. In 1904, he was appointed Officer Commanding,

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...

District, serving until 1906, when he was appointed General Officer Commanding, South China, and promoted to major-general. He was reportedly popular in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

due to his interest in racing, serving as a steward of the Jockey Club. He served as GOC until 1910. While serving in this position, Broadwood was made colonel of his regiment, the 12th Lancers, in March 1909. He was promoted to lieutenant-general, dated 7 March 1912, and retired from the army on 3 December 1913.

First World War

Broadwood returned to active service after the outbreak of the First World War, first as the commanding officer of the

1st Mounted Division The 1st Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of thre ...

from 29 September 1914. In July 1916, he was still in command when the division was reorganized as the 1st Cyclist Division. He took command of the

57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division The 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division was an infantry formation of the Territorial Force created in 1914 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It served on the Western Front during 1917 and 1918. The ...

, in October 1916. His division went to France in 1917, as part of II ANZAC Corps. According to Colonel C. J. L. Allanson, the 57th Division's GSO1, Broadwood had been reported by his corps commander, Sir Alexander Godley, for "lack of fighting spirit" for refusing to launch attacks he considered hopeless and which he thought would needlessly sacrifice the lives of his best officers. When his division was transferred to XI Corps, the new corps commander,

Sir Richard Haking General Sir Richard Cyril Byrne Haking (24 January 1862 – 9 June 1945) was a senior British Army officer who is most notable for being the commander of XI Corps during the majority of the First World War. Arguments over the late release of H ...

, made similar remarks. Broadwood was much affected by the comments, and according to Allanson "now seemed determined to get killed".

Death

On 21 June 1917, Broadwood had planned to visit his artillery group, despite a warning from the group commander that the railway bridge over the River Lys, the only way to get there, was under German observation. Broadwood nevertheless crossed the bridge, but left behind his staff. The German artillery fired on bridge, severely wounding Broadwood, who lost both of his legs. Before he died, he was reported to have said that "he was glad to go after being told that he had no fighting spirit, and that his wish was to be buried between a soldier and a subaltern." Broadwood is buried in the Anzac Cemetery near Sailly-sur-la-Lys,Anzac Cemetery
/ref> between an Australian soldier and a British subaltern. Broadwood Wood in Hong Kong is named after him.

Equestrianism

Broadwood was a keen horseman who rode in the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

. He was the first president of the South African Polo Association in 1905.

Early life

Military career

Early military career

Sudan, 1896–1898

Second Boer War

South Africa and China

First World War

Death

Equestrianism

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading