Guy Simonds | |
|---|---|
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| Born | April 23, 1903 Ixworth, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England |
| Died | May 15, 1974 (aged 71) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Service | Canadian Army |
| Years of service | 1926–1960 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Unit | Royal Canadian Horse Artillery |
| Commands | Chief of the General Staff Canadian Army Command and Staff College National Defence College, Canada II Canadian Corps 5th Canadian Armoured Division 1st Canadian Infantry Division 2nd Canadian Infantry Division 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade st Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery |
| Battles / wars | World War II Korean War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of Canada Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire[1] Distinguished Service Order[2] Canadian Forces' Decoration Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari (Poland)[3] Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)[4] Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)[5] Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) |
Lieutenant-General Guy Granville Simonds, CC, CB, CBE, DSO, CD (April 23, 1903 – May 15, 1974) was a senior Canadian Army officer who served with distinction during World War II. Acknowledged by many military historians and senior commanders, among them Sir Max Hastings and Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, as one of the best Canadian generals of the war, Simonds, after serving the first few years of the Second World War mainly as a staff officer, commanded the 1st Canadian Infantry Division with distinction in Sicily and Italy from July 1943 until January 1944, and later II Canadian Corps during the Battle of Normandy from June−August 1944 and throughout the subsequent campaign in Western Europe from 1944, towards the end of which he temporarily commanded the First Canadian Army during the Battle of the Scheldt, until victory in Europe Day in May 1945. The historian J. L. Granatstein states about Simonds: "No Canadian commander rose higher and faster in the Second World War, and none did as well in action. Simonds owed his success wholly to his own abilities and efforts—and those of the men who served under him."[6]
After the end of the war, he went to the Imperial Defence College (IDC) in London, initially as a student and later as an instructor, before returning to Canada to command the National Defence College, Canada. In 1951, at the age of just 48, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff (CGS), the head of the Canadian Army, a post he held for four years, including during the Korean War, before retiring in 1955.
- ^ "No. 35842". The London Gazette (Supplement). December 29, 1942. p. 56.
- ^ "No. 36180". The London Gazette (Supplement). September 21, 1943. p. 4220.
- ^ "No. 37204". The London Gazette (Supplement). July 31, 1945. p. 3963.
- ^ "No. 37686". The London Gazette (Supplement). August 13, 1946. p. 4105.
- ^ "No. 37476". The London Gazette. February 19, 1946. p. 1053.
- ^ Granatstein 2005, p. 173.