Major General Rodney Frederick Leopold Keller CBE (2 October 1900 – 21 June 1954) was a

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

officer who rose to divisional-level command in the Second World War. He commanded the

3rd Canadian Infantry Division The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as Northwestern Ontario including the ...

which was assigned to take

Juno Beach Juno and or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allies (World War II), Allied invasion of German occupation of France during World War II, German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the World War II, Second Wo ...

during the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

invasion.

Background

Rod Keller was born England and moved to Kelowna, British Columbia around 1902. Keller left BC and entered the Royal Military College in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, in the last years of 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 ...

. Upon graduating, he joined the

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricias) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

, one of the regiments of the Canadian Permanent Force, the full-time professional army. Like many other promising Canadian officers of that era, he attended

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

in England.

War service

When Canada went to war, Rod Keller was sent overseas as a brigade major. He rose to the command of

in 1941 and was promoted Officer Commanding the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade a few months later. Keller was made a major-general and, between September 8, 1942, and August 8, 1944, he served as

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 ...

the

. Major-General Keller was popular with his troops, who appreciated his manners and outspoken language; however, a drinking problem and several breaches of security measures before D-Day cost him the support of both his superior officers and his own staff.Reid, Brian ''No Holding Back''. Ernest Côté, the quartermaster of the 3rd Division, called Keller a "conventional tactician" who was "very much a spit and polish officer who cut quite a figure in his battledress. We always cut a spare uniform for him, ironed and ready to go just in case. He cared for the division and was sensitive to any slight on its reputation. He was a very proud man and on top of the division's training." During the first month ashore in Normandy, it was noted he was "jumpy and high strung". The quartermaster of the 3rd Division, Côté was frustrated with Keller's chronic indecisiveness on D-Day and later stated in an interview that the responsibility of command seemed to be too much for him. Keller's immediate superiors in I British Corps and 2nd British Army considered him unfit to command the division, but Lieutenant General Guy Simonds, who was scheduled to command II Canadian Corps upon its activation in Normandy, held off on making a decision about his relief, even refusing a resignation by Keller who himself admitted to the strain. During the Battle for Caen, Keller handled Operation Windsor poorly, sending a reinforced brigade in to handle a divisional operation and delegating the planning to one of his brigadiers. Keller was also reportedly shell-shy by August, and rumours began to spread among the division that "Keller was yeller." Despite the continued complaints from above and below, Simonds, and Lieutenant General Harry Crerar, another of his admirers and commander of the First Canadian Army, refused to relieve him. Fate intervened when he was wounded by friendly fire on August 8. US bombers accidentally carpet bombed his divisional headquarters during

Operation Totalize Operation Totalize (also spelled Operation Totalise in recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to bre ...

. Keller received no further active military command. Ten years later, in 1954, he died of a heart attack while in London after visiting

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

Legacy

The Royal Military College of Canada was presented with an oil painting of Keller in 1965. Keller was RMC graduate Number 1341.Class of 1965 Review, Royal Military College page 191

References

External links

Photo of Rod Keller, Canadian Military HeritagePersonal appointments of Rod Keller

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Rod 1900 births 1954 deaths Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Tetbury Royal Military College of Canada alumni Military history of Canada Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Canadian Army generals of World War II Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry officers Canadian generals Military personnel from Gloucestershire