Andrew Hamilton Russell

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Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell
23 February 1868 – 29 November 1960
Place of birth Napier, New Zealand
Place of death Tunanui, New Zealand
Allegiance Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Flag of New Zealand New Zealand
Service/branch British Army
New Zealand Army
Years of service 1887-1892, 1900-1919, 1940-1941
Rank Major General
Commands held Wellington Mounted Rifles Brigade
New Zealand and Australian Division
New Zealand Division
Battles/wars World War I

World War II
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Dispatches on 9 occasions
Other work Returned Services' Association

Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell KCB, KCMG, DSO (23 February 1868 - 29 November 1960) was a World War I brigade and divisional commander; commanding initially the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, then the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during the evacuation of Gallipoli and subsequently the New Zealand Division on the Western Front.

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[edit] Early life and service

Russell was born on 23 February 1868 at Napier, New Zealand. He was sent to England to be educated, first at Harrow School, and then at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst which he graduated in 1887 with the sword of honour. He joined the 1st Border Regiment, serving for five years in India and briefly in Burma. When his regiment returned to England in 1892, Russell resigned his commission to avoid English garrison life.[1] He returned to New Zealand that year to help run the family's sheep farm, but in 1900 he formed the Hawke's Bay Mounted Rifle Volunteers as part of the embryonic New Zealand Territorial Force. After commanding the 4th Regiment Wellington (East Coast) Mounted Rifle Volunteers, Russell was appointed Brigade Commander of the Wellington Mounted Rifles in 1911 and promoted to colonel.

[edit] World War I

[edit] Gallipoli

At the outbreak of World War I Major General Alexander Godley, commander of the of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, offered Russell command of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade.[1] Russell accepted and, after training in Egypt, the Mounted Rifles deployed to Gallipoli on 12 February 1915. Their horses remaining in Egypt, the Brigade acted as infantry based in the northern sector of the ANZAC perimeter, and did good service as scouts. The plateau that Russell established his headquarters on would come to be called 'Russell's Top'.[1] He commanded his troops in the Battle of Chunuk Bair and the failed attack on Hill 60, before replacing Godley as commander of the New Zealand and Australian Division and being promoted to major general. Sir Ian Hamilton, commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, had come to view Russell as 'the outstanding New Zealander on the (Gallipoli) peninsula',[1] and on 4 November 1915 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. Russell finished his time on Gallipoli overseeing the last 48 hours of the highly successful evacuation of the ANZAC force.

[edit] Western Front

With the formation of the New Zealand Division in March 1916, Russell was made division commander and arrived with the division in France the next month. With little time to prepare, the New Zealand Division became operational in the Armentières sector of the Western Front in May. Soon it was involved in supporting the Somme Offensive, exposing problems and straining the men as extensive raids and patrols were carried out. Russell pushed for improvements, desiring as he did to have the best division in France.[1] He inspected units daily and regularly visited the front line. Russell was a strict disciplinarian, and his response to high levels of desertion was to recommend executing those guilty of it (though only four were executed, and much later were pardoned[2]).[1]

These early issues were overcome, and under Russell's leadership the New Zealand Division would gain a high reputation with success in Battle of the Somme when committed in September 1916, and the capture of Messines in June 1917. Failure came however on October 12th that year at the Battle of Passchendaele, when the New Zealanders' second assault was repulsed with 2,735 casualties in what is still the costliest day in New Zealand's military history. Russell accepted the blame for the loss, in what military historian Christopher Pugsley called 'a rare example of a military commander's willingness to accept responsibility for failure',[1] though Pugsley sees the main fault lying with the staff of General Alexander Godley.[1] With a further failure at Polderhoek in December and the division spending winter in the Ypres salient, Russell worked to rebuild the division and its morale. Through 1918 he emphasised training in mobile warfare as tactics evolved, which would prove its worth in the closing months of the conflict during the Hundred Days Offensive. In June Field Marshall Haig offered Russell command of a British corps, the only Dominion commander to be asked,[1] but he declined in order to stay with the New Zealanders.[3]

By the war's end, Russell had been made first a Companion then a Knight Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, awarded the French Légion d'honneur (croix d'officier) and Croix de guerre (avec palme), the Belgian Ordre de Léopold (commander) and Croix de guerre, the Serbian Order of the White Eagle (first class) and the Montenegrin Order of Prince Danilo I, as well as being Mentioned in Despatches nine times.[1] His health had suffered though, and he was nearly killed visiting the front line in 1917 by a bullet that passed through his steel helmet and creased his scalp.[1]

[edit] Later life

Russell commanded the New Zealand Division for the remainder of the war and then returned to his farm in New Zealand. He became involved with the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, serving as president between 1921 and 1924, and once more between 1927 and 1935. With the outbreak of World War II Russell was made Inspector General of New Zealand Military Forces in 1940 until retiring again in July 1941.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pugsley, Chris. "Russell, Andrew Hamilton 1868 - 1960". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007.
  2. ^ 'Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act 2000.' The Parliament of New Zealand, as at 3 September 2007 Legislation New Zealand
  3. ^ Jones, Ronald. "Russell, Major-General Sir Andrew Hamilton, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O., etc." An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, 1966.

[edit] Sources