Dick McCreery was commissioned into the 12th Royal Lancers in 1915 and served on The Western Front, winning the MC and surviving wounds. In 1938 he joined the staff of 1st Division under Alexander before being given command of 2 Armoured Brigade. He won the DSO for his leadership during the retreat to Dunkirk Man/June 1940. In North Africa McCreery was sacked by Auchinleck, with whom he had major differences, but, while waiting for a plane home, he was spotted by Alexander who made him his Chief of Staff. He is credited by many (but not Montgomery - the two did not get on) for the solution to the El Alamein victory. He was promoted to command X Corps at Salerno which he commanded during the advance to the Gothic Line. He relieved Leese as Commander 8th Army in September 1944 and it was his brilliant plan that seized the Argenta Gap and drove the Germans back across the River Po into Austria. He became British High Commissioner in Austria, C in C British Army of the Rhine and British Military Representative at the UN, retiring in 1949. Although not a public figure, McCreery was key figure in the development of armoured warfare, a brilliant tactician and among the most important British fighting generals of the Second World War. This is an overdue acknowledgement of his contribution to victory.

About the Author
RICHARD MEAD was born in 1947. Educated at Marlborough College and Pembroke College, Cambridge, Richard qualified as a Chartered Accountant and was successively an investment banker, a partner in a Big Four accountancy firm and an independent adviser to and non-executive chairman or director of a large number of public and private companies. He retired in 2014. Richard has always been interested in military history and biography. His first book, Churchill's Lions - A Biographical Guide to the Key British Generals of World War II, was published in 2007. He has subsequently built himself a reputation as a biographer with General 'Boy': The Life of Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Browning, The Last Great Cavalryman: The Life of General Sir Richard McCreery, Commando General: The Life of Major General Sir Robert Laycock and 'Sam': Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Lord Elworthy and Dambuster-in-Chief: The Life of Air Chief Marshal Sir Ralph Cochrane. These five books and The Men Behind Monty, which was shortlisted for the British Army Military Book of the Year 2016, are all in print with Pen & Sword.


Book Information
ISBN 9781399078610
Author Richard Mead
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Pen & Sword Military
Publisher Pen & Sword Books Ltd