NEW ARMY HEAD

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 20 November 1941, Page 5

NEW ARMY HEAD

BROOKE REPLACES DILL < 'II IMF OF IMPERIAL GENERAL STAFF London, Nov. 18. It is announced that General Sir Alan Brooke is to succeed General Sir John Dill as Chief of the Imperial General Staff. General Dill becomes a FieldMarshal, and will resign his present appointment on Christmas Day. when he will he 60, to become Governor of Bombay.

Lieutenant-General Sir Henry: Pownall, Vice-Chief of the Imperial! General Staff, relinquishes that posi-j tion and is to be appointed to an-! other important post. He is succeeded by Major-General E. A. Nyc. Major-General B. C. T. Paget is ap- j pointed Commander-in-Chiel' of the' Home Forces in succession to General Brooke. General Dill, in a statement, said: , "I have always been anxious for! young men in the ann.v to get on. l That can happen only if older men I give way’ to them. I hand over to j General Brooke with the greatest confidence. General Paget is one of our finest generals. General Nye is an officer of my old regiment whom I had marked out for rapid advance. General Pownall is required for a very important appointment which will be announced soon. 1 leave the service with the deepest regret but 1 am glad to say no bitterness.* MEANT FOR ACTION The "Daily Express” in a leading' article, says: "Changes are usually' made after battle. Then they are ai

bad portent. Those we have now made are not. They are a sign that fighting I days will again come. The men who j have been making the preparations! move aside and the men that were meant for action move up to take j their commands. Those who have been promoted are young as generals I go and know how the Germans fight.! We expect hard hitting and quick thinking. We, and not the Germans, | must decide how strenuous this; battle shall be.” The “Daily Mail’s’ military cor-1 respondent says the changes are of i great significance. They mean that technical knowledge of modern warfare, and a more youthful viewpoint j are being given higher places in the j supreme command of the British army j at the time of its greatest task in \ history. The “Daily Express” military cor-! respondent says Major-General Nye' is probably the youngest Vice-Chief j ever appointed in th e British Army.; He is the army’s mystery man who is described as a soldier born to I command. Since the last war he has! studied army co-operation with the' Royal Air Force and held staff appointments at the War Office and the; Staff College. He became one of the; “brains” of the War Office when, Director of Staff Duties. His brilliant j knowledge of strategy led to his being frequently called into consulta-S tioji by his chiefs. He is almost unknown to the army at large. He is a! quiet, shy man who will not even! permit his name to appear in “Who’s! Who.” General Brooke is the greatest i artillery expert in the world and j has an amazing technical knowledge; of guns. BROOKE’S LEADERSHIP “The Times,” in a leader, says Gen- ! eral Brooke, by his leadership of thej Second Corps during the withdrawal to Dunkirk and the reorganisation! °f the British Expeditionary Force; after its return from France, revealed qualities fitting him for the highest responsibilities. The “Daily Herald” asks what is behind General Dill’s departure. “Is it true that the Army, even in wartime, adheres to the iron rules of age-limit?” it asks. “If so, the adherence is crazy. Is there dissatisfaction with General Dill’s conduct of his crucial functions.” The “Herald” I asks the Government to give the j nation a more detailed explanation! of the reasons for the drastic change. |