Guy Simonds

Infobox Military Person
name=Guy Granville Simonds


caption=Lieutenant General Guy Simonds inspecting II Canadian Corps in Meppen, Germany, May 31st, 1945
born=April 23, 1903
died=May 15, 1974
placeofbirth=Bury St Edmunds, England
placeofdeath=Toronto, Canada
placeofburial=
placeofburial_label=
nickname=
allegiance=British Empire
branch=Canadian Army
serviceyears=
rank=Lieutenant General
unit=
commands=Chief of the General Staff
First Canadian Army
II Canadian Corps
battles=World War II
*Battle of the Scheldt
awards=Companion of the Order of Canada
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order
Canadian Forces Decoration
relations=
laterwork=

Lieutenant General Guy Granville Simonds CC, CB, CBE, DSO, CD, (April 23, 1903 - May 15, 1974) was a Canadian Army officer who commanded the II Canadian Corps during World War II. He served as acting commander of the First Canadian Army, leading the Allied forces to victory in the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. In 1951 he was appointed Chief of the General Staff, the most senior member of the Canadian Army. He was the youngest officer in the history of the Canadian army to be promoted to the rank of general.

Education

Born in Bury St Edmunds, England on April 23, 1903, he emigrated to Canada with his family. He studied at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario between 1921 and 1925 (College Number 3521).

Career

On September 27, 1944, Simonds temporarily took charge of First Canadian Army from General Harry Crerar and led the liberation of the mouth of the Scheldt River. When Simonds resumed his command of II Canadian Corps for the liberation of North-Western Europe, Crerar resumed command with the First Army. In 1944, Simonds devised the "Kangaroo", an early armoured personnel carrier converted from non-operational armoured vehicles.

He returned to Canada in 1949 to take a role as Commander of the Royal Military College of Canada. He was also the Commandant of the National Defence College and the Canadian Army Staff College in 1949 and 1950.

In 1970 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. He died in Toronto on May 15, 1974.

In his book "The Normandy Campaign" Victor Brooks lists Simonds as the most effective corps-level commander of the Allied Forces in Normandy. He wrotequote|The corps commander among the units that comprised the 21st Army Group who most likely had the largest personal impact on the Normandy campaign was Lieutenant General Guy Simonds. This senior officer of the II Canadian Corps created one of the most effective tank-infantry teams in the Allied forces through a high degree of improvisation during the drive from Caen to Falais. This general was versatile and imaginative but was not able to generate the momentum that would have more fully closed off the Falaise gap at an earlier date. Despite this drawback, Simonds deserves credit for his effective command. [Brooks (2002), p.276]

Notes

References

*"The Price of Command: A Biography of General Guy Simonds" / Dominick Graham (1994) ISBN 0773726926
*cite book|title=The Normandy Campaign : from D-Day to the liberation of Paris | first= Victor| last= Brooks | publisher=Da Capo Press| location=Cambridge, MA| year=2002| isbn=978-0306811494
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External links

* [http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=2288 Order of Canada Citation]