Claude Auchinleck

Sir

Claude Auchinleck
Sir; Claude Auchinleck
	Portrait by Cecil Beaton, c. 1945
Nickname(s)	The Auk
Born	21 June 1884; Aldershot, Hampshire, England
Died	23 March 1981 (aged 96); Marrakech, Morocco
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Indian Army ; Indian Army; Pakistan Army
Years of service	1904–1947
Rank	Field marshal
Service number	115611
Unit	62nd Punjabis
Commands held	Supreme Commander India and Pakistan (1947–1948); Commander-in-Chief, India (1941, 1943–1947); Middle East Command (1941–1942); Southern Command (1940); V Corps (1940); Commander-in-chief, Northern Norway (1940); IV Corps (1940); 3rd Indian Infantry Division (1939); Meerut district (1938); Peshawar Brigade (1933–1936); 1st Battalion, 1st Punjab Regiment (1929–1930)
Battles/wars	First World War Mesopotamian campaign Battle of Hanna; Second Battle of Kut; Fall of Baghdad; ; ; Mohmand Campaign; Second World War Norwegian campaign; North African Campaign; ;
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath; Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Indian Empire; Companion of the Order of the Star of India; Distinguished Service Order; Officer of the Order of the British Empire; Mentioned in Despatches (3); Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA); Virtuti Militari (Poland); Order of the Star of Nepal (Nepal); Knight Grand Cross of Order of St. Olav (Norway); Military Cross (Czechoslovakia); Croix de guerre (France);
Other work	Colonel 1st Battalion 1st Punjab Regiment (January 1933) Colonel Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (April 1941); Colonel 1st Battalion 4th Bombay Grenadiers (July 1939); Colonel 4th Bombay Grenadiers (May 1944); Colonel 1st Punjab Regiment (1947);

Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, (/ˌɒxɪnˈlɛk/ OKH-in-LEK), GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Indian Army commander who saw active service during the world wars. A career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, he rose to become commander-in-chief of the Indian Army by early 1941 during the Second World War. In July 1941 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Middle East Theatre, but after initial successes, the war in North Africa turned against the British-led forces under his command, and he was relieved of the post in August 1942 during the North African campaign.

In June 1943, he was once again appointed Commander-in-Chief, India, where his support through the organisation of supply, maintenance and training for General William Slim's Fourteenth Army played an important role in its success. He served as Commander-in-Chief, India, until the Partition in 1947, when he assumed the role of Supreme Commander of all British forces in India and Pakistan until late 1948.

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