Eric Dorman-Smith
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Major General Eric Edward Dorman-Smith (born 1895 in Bellamont Forest, Cootehill, County Cavan, Ireland; died 1969 in Ulster, Ireland) was a British Army soldier. Later in life he de-Anglicised his name to Eric Edward Dorman O'Gowan, which also made it more Irish-sounding in accordance with his changed political views.
In 1940 he became commandant of the Middle East Staff College where he gave military advice to General Archibald Wavell and General Claude Auchinleck. In April 1942 he became Director of Military Operations in Cairo and acting deputy chief of staff to the 8th Army.
Dorman-Smith, nicknamed "Chink", became Commandant of the Middle East Staff College and by December 1940, was sent as an adviser to Major-General O'Connor and the Western Desert Force. Dorman-Smith is sometimes credited with planning Operation Compass and with the discovery of a gap in the Italian lines south of Sidi Barrani.
Until August 6, 1942, when they were sacked along with Wavell, Dorman-Smith served as second in command to Field-Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck; Dorman-Smith never held any important military positions after this date. To compound his misfortune, Dorman-Smith was later appointed to serve under Neil Ritchie, a man he had heavily criticised during his time in Egypt. He was removed from this post and was unemployed for six months before being given a brigade to command in Italy. He was sacked again after his battalion commanders complained about his leadership. His divisional superior declared him 'unfit for brigade command'.
Dorman-Smith was an unorthodox commander and has attracted contrasting opinions. To some, such as Basil Liddell Hart, he was "...the outstanding soldier of his generation". To others, such as Field Marshal Lord Carver and Alanbrooke, he was a "sinister influence" and the major cause of Auchinleck's dismissal.
Following his sacking, Dorman-Smith fell out with the military establishment, became disillusioned with Britain and in 1949 adopted the Irish name "O'Gowan", later becoming an IRA sympathiser.
He was a godfather to one of Ernest Hemingway's sons and was a close friend of the author.
Dorman-Smith's youngest brother, Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith, was Governor of Burma at the time of the Japanese invasion during the Second World War.
References
- Smart, Nick. Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of The Second World War, Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496
- Greacen, Lavinia, Chink: a biography, by (Macmillan, 1990). ISBN 0333453956