Who is sir julian byng

From to he led the 1st Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot, and on leaving this unit he was promoted major-general on 1 April On 9 Oct.

The division numbered over officers and more than 17, men, all of whom were part-time volunteers, supported by a few regular army staff officers and instructors. The Byngs established a home in Great Dunmow, Essex, where Julian developed friendships with London editors and writers who were his neighbours. In May Byng was made colonel of the 3rd Hussars, and in September he and Evelyn travelled to Cairo, where on 30 October he assumed command of British forces in Egypt.

The 5,man garrison there, which was charged with the protection of the Suez Canal, consisted of four infantry battalions, a cavalry regiment, two batteries of artillery, and administrative units; Byng also had other soldiers in the eastern Mediterranean under his command, including the garrison in Cyprus. When World War I broke out in early August , he quickly took steps to guard the canal and Egyptian state railways from sabotage, and to intern enemy aliens.

On the 12th the secretary of state for war recalled Byng to England to lead the 3rd Cavalry Division, and in early September he and Evelyn sailed for home. Although he remained outwardly cheerful, Byng was deeply affected by the horrors of modern warfare.

A month later he was dispatched to the Gallipoli peninsula to command the 9th Corps there, and he arrived at Suvla Bay Anafarta Liman on 24 August. Byng quickly recognized the hopelessness of the British position, and within a week he had directed his staff to prepare plans for an evacuation. When the order to withdraw finally came in early December, the massive and dangerous operation was completed without the loss of men, animals, or equipment.

Why this stunt? However[,] there it is. On the one hand, while divisions in the British Expeditionary Force BEF were regularly transferred in and out of various corps, this sort of fluidity was unknown in the Canadian Corps, which had three divisions, soon to be augmented by a fourth, consisting of Canadian troops who were led by both British and Canadian officers. The resulting cohesiveness of the corps would be a major advantage when Byng was preparing his men for battle.

Chief among the beneficiaries of this unorthodox system, however, was Hughes himself. He fancied himself not just the civilian leader of the Department of Militia and Defence, but also the commander of the CEF overseas. Hughes promptly ordered Byng to replace him with his own son, Garnet Burk Hughes. In January Byng received orders to capture the whole crest of Vimy Ridge, which the Germans had held against repeated French assaults in He was given some time to prepare for the battle.

It was laid out in meticulous detail. Behind the lines a replica of the battlefield was created for units in reserve to rehearse their assignments over and over until each unit of the corps knew its role and objective, and that of its neighbours on the left and right. And nightly, under the cover of the artillery bombardment of the German positions, Canadian soldiers practised advancing through barbed wire right up to the enemy lines. Each of the four Canadian divisions was aligned in numerical order from left to right, and they would begin their attack together at a.

Each unit was under a strict timeline to advance to a specified place and halt to regroup before proceeding. Simultaneously, the attack would be coordinated with artillery barrages designed to achieve several goals, including the destruction of the barbed-wire defences that protected German lines. The preparatory artillery bombardment began on 20 March, lasted nearly three weeks, and battered German positions with more than a million rounds.

In darkness on 9 April, the Canadians moved into their forward positions, ready for the pre-dawn attack. Byng envisaged that complete success could be achieved in less than two days. That did not happen. Not all the intermediate goals were reached on his schedule, and he may have underestimated the fierce resistance put up by the Germans.

By the afternoon of 14 April the northern tip of Vimy Ridge, the last position to be taken, was finally in Canadian control. Altogether the corps had gained 4, yards and captured 54 German heavy guns, machine guns, trench mortars, and 4, prisoners. The price had been high: 10, casualties were suffered by the attackers, including 3, killed.

He had twice turned down requests from Sir Douglas Haig, commander of the BEF, to lead one of its five armies, and he could not refuse when Haig ordered him in June to take over the 3rd Army, having named him temporary general.

Unlike the contested area at Vimy, this battleground was on a flat plain, and the front line had been largely untested. Byng, taking lessons from Vimy, once again developed a meticulously detailed plan that included rehearsing his troops behind the front.

There were new features: the advance would be covered by aircraft, and the ground forces would be supported by the heavy use of tanks. To retain the element of surprise, there was to be no artillery bombardment. Tanks would lead the charge to open channels through barbed-wire emplacements, allowing the infantry, backed by cavalry regiments, to quickly advance and engage the Germans.

The assault, scheduled for 20 Nov. Just eight days before the scheduled attack, however, Haig suddenly shut down the Passchendaele offensive, and reserve units essential to the Cambrai plan were sent to Italy.

Still, Haig ordered the attack to proceed. Byng might have protested but did not. The assault began at dawn on 20 November and was initially a major success, with 3rd Army troops advancing three to four miles on a six-mile front. The march forward did not last. Nonetheless, his innovative use of air and ground forces in a concerted attack was unprecedented for the British, and it would become the model for battle tactics in World War II.

Before the fighting ended early in December, Byng had been raised to the full rank of general 23 November. Byng and the 14 divisions of the 3rd Army were given the task of defending 28 miles of the line in northern France. That spring the Germans launched a massive offensive that was intended to end the war. It was initially successful, but, exhausted, they halted on 17 July. War in the Air. Added Training. Creeping Barrage. George McKean VC. Road to Vimy Ridge i. Contests Quiz Contest Scholarship Contest ii.

Byng and Currie. Sir Julian Byng. Field Marshall, Sir Julian Byng. Byng was the 12th Governor General of Canada, serving from Byng was a lover of hockey and fan of the Ottawa Senators. Julian Byng, Commander of Canada's fighting force until Jun. He also travelled extensively in rural areas in both English and French Canada and spoke with farmers about their concerns. Byng had enjoyed sports throughout his career and had become proficient in cricket and polo from a young age.

As governor general , Byng took a lively interest in Canadian pastimes, especially ice hockey , and attended most home games for the Ottawa Senators with his wife, Lady Byng. He took skating lessons during his time in Canada. Byng was also an enthusiastic gardener and developed a knowledge of Canadian trees and flowers.

In , Byng played a key role in a constitutional crisis concerning the relative powers of the prime minister and governor general that became known as the King-Byng Affair. Although his party had fewer representatives in Parliament , Mackenzie King held the confidence of the House of Commons until 25 June While still prime minister, Mackenzie King advised Byng to call another federal election.

When Meighen was unable to maintain the confidence of the House, Byng called a federal election in , which returned Mackenzie King to power. Mackenzie King, has challenged effectively the doctrine of equality in status of the Dominions and the United Kingdom and has relegated Canada decisively to the colonial status we believed she had outgrown.

On the contrary, he refused even to consult the British Government, in spite of the repeated urgings from Mr. Lord Byng, in declining this advice showed a more scrupulous regard for Canadian autonomy than Mr. King in proffering it. Following his return to Britain, Byng became commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police and was promoted to the military rank of field marshal. He received the title of Viscount Byng of Vimy in He died suddenly from an abdominal blockage at his Essex country house, Thorpe Hall, in From the montrealgazette.

From the Parliament of Canada. Click on each image for a larger view. From vimyridgehistory. Lord Byng A brief shot at the start of this film clip shows Governor General Byng at the opening day of the Canadian racing season in Toronto. From britishpathe. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up?