Guy Simonds

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Guy Granville Simonds
April 23, 1903 (1903-04-23) – May 15, 1974 (1974-05-16)
Lieutenant General Guy Simonds inspecting II Canadian Corps in Meppen, Germany, May 31st, 1945
Place of birth	Bury St Edmunds, England
Place of death	Toronto, Canada
Allegiance	British Empire
Service/branch	Canadian Army
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Chief of the General Staff First Canadian Army II Canadian Corps
Battles/wars	World War II - Normandy - 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

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).

Wartime 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.

Seated from left: Stanisław Maczek (Polish Army), Guy Simonds II Canadian Corps, Harry Crerar 1st Canadian Army, Charles Foulkes I Canadian Corps, Bert Hoffmeister 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division; Standing from left: Ralph Keefler 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, Bruce Matthews 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, Harry Foster 1st Canadian Infantry Division, Robert Moncel (for Chris Vokes 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division, S.B. Rawlins, 49th British Division

Major General C Vokes (4th Armoured Division), General H D C Crerar (Army Commander), Field Marshal Sir Bernard L Montgomery, Lieutenant General B G Horrocks (30 British Corps, Attached Canadian Army), Lieutenant General G C Simonds (2 Corps), Major General D C Spry (3rd Infantry Division), and Major General A B Mathews (2 Division)

In 1944, Simonds devised the "Kangaroo", an early armoured personnel carrier converted from non-operational armoured vehicles.

Post war

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.

Assessment

In his book "The Normandy Campaign" Victor Brooks lists Simonds as the most effective corps-level commander of the Allied Forces in Normandy. He wrote:

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 Falaise. 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.^[1]

Timeline

Notes

References

• The Price of Command: A Biography of General Guy Simonds / Dominick Graham (1994) ISBN 0773726926
• Brooks, Victor (2002). The Normandy Campaign : from D-Day to the liberation of Paris. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306811494. 
• "Lieutenant-General Guy G. Simonds". Juno Beach Centre. http://www.junobeach.org/e/3/can-pep-can-simonds-e.htm. Retrieved February 13, 2005. 
• Neillands, Robin (2005). "Chapter 7: The Battle for the Scheldt". The Battle for the Rhine. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0297846178. 
• Granatstein, Jack (1993). The Generals. Stoddart Publishing. ISBN 0-7737-2730-2. 

External links

• Order of Canada Citation
• 'The Role of the Land Forces in Modern Warfare' An Address by Lieutenant General Guy G. Simonds, C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., C.D. Chief of the General Staff, Canadian Army to the Empire Club on Thursday, February 14th, 1952

War portal

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