Sir Robert Fanshawe | |
|---|---|
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| Nickname(s) | "Fanny" "The Chocolate Soldier"[1] |
| Born | 5 November 1863 Buckinghamshire, England[2] |
| Died | 24 August 1946 (aged 82) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1883–1919 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Unit | Oxfordshire Light Infantry |
| Commands | 69th (2nd East Anglian) Division 48th (South Midland) Division 6th Infantry Brigade 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry |
| Battles / wars | Tirah campaign Second Boer War First World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (10) War Merit Cross (Italy)[3] |
| Relations | Sir Edward Fanshawe (brother) Sir Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe (brother) |
Major-General Sir Robert Fanshawe, KCB, DSO (5 November 1863 – 24 August 1946) was a British Army officer, who commanded the 48th (South Midland) Division from 1915 to 1918 during the First World War. He was the youngest of three brothers (Edward, Hew, and Robert) who all rose to command divisions or corps during the war.
Fanshawe joined the Oxfordshire Light Infantry in 1883, and served with his regiment in India until the Second Boer War in the late 1880s, where he commanded a mobile column and was mentioned in despatches. At the outbreak of the First World War he was on the staff of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and later commanded a regular brigade on the Western Front, before being promoted to divisional command in 1915. He commanded the 48th (South Midland) Division for three years, including service at the Somme, Ancre, Passchendale, and on the Italian Front, before being removed from command after his corps commander objected to his defensive strategy. He was relegated to commanding a second-line home service division, and retired from the army in 1918.
- ^ "No. 19 'Fanny' Fanshawe". Generals' Nicknames. Centre for First World War Studies, University of Birmingham. January 2009. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
- ^ "Maj.-Gen. Sir Robert Fanshawe, KCB DSO". 3 September 2020.
- ^ "No. 13360". The Edinburgh Gazette. 2 December 1918. p. 4353.