Military Wiki
Guy Granville Simonds
Guy Simonds e010786106-v8
Lieutenant General Guy Simonds
Born (1903-04-23)April 23, 1903
Died May 15, 1974(1974-05-15) (aged 71)
Place of birth Bury St Edmunds, England
Place of death Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Allegiance Canadian Red Ensign 1921-1957 Canada
Service/branch Canadian Army Flag Canadian Army
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands held Chief of the General Staff
First Canadian Army
II Canadian Corps
Battles/wars

World War II

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
Order Virtuti Militari (Silver Cross)
Legion of Merit (Commander)
Legion of Honour (Commander)
Order of Orange-Nassau (Commander)
Order of Leopold (Belgium) (Commander)

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.

Family Background[]

Guy was born in Bury St Edmunds, England on April 23, 1903.[1]

Simonds came from a military family: his great-grandfather had been in the Honourable East India Company, and his grandfather had been a major general. The Simonds family was related to Ivor Maxse and Lord Milner. On his maternal side, his grandfather William Easton was a wealthy Virginian horse breeder, who had moved to England, renting Ixworth Abbey. Eleanor "Nellie" Easton, his mother, was one of five daughters, four of whom married army officers.[2]

His father Cecil, a major, resigned from the army in fall 1911 (when Guy was 9) and moved his family to British Columbia, working as a surveyor for a railway. Cecil's expectations of having his own survey company were frustrated by the requirement to pass local professional examinations. Re-joining the army at the start of World War I, Cecil was wounded in 1918, and demobilized in 1919 with the rank of colonel. The family spent the war in a rented house in Victoria. Guy's mother sold family possessions to make ends meet. Guy had to quit school for two years at age fourteen to help support the family. Graham speculates that the period of fatherlessness made him a "loner" and self-reliant.[3]

Simonds had three siblings, Cicely, Peter and Eric. Eric (anecdotally an excellent rifle shot, having won prizes at Bisley) became a test pilot, but died in an air accident in July 1937 in England. Cicely worked as a secretary in the admiralty during the war. She and her daughter were killed by a V-1 (flying bomb) attack in June 1944.[4]

Education[]

Guy attended Collegiate School in Victoria and then Ashbury College in Ottawa beginning in 1919.[3]

He studied at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario between 1921 and 1925,[1] cadet number 1596. Simonds' class was the last to be selected from nationwide exams (Simonds having placed second) and the first after the war to enter a four-year course.[5] At graduation he was awarded the Sword of Honour, judged the best "all rounder", placed second academically, and was generally considered the best horseman in the class.[6]

He was commissioned into the Canadian Army in 1926 as a junior officer in the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery first with B battery in Kingston, then C Battery in Winnipeg. In September 1932 (just weeks after his wedding) with the rank of brevet captain, he attended the Long Gunnery Staff Course in England.[1] He was accompanied to England by his wife, and his first child was born there. He returned to Kingston in 1934. In 1936 and 1937 he attended the Staff College, Camberley.[1] Promoted to major, he returned to the Royal Military College of Canada as Associate Professor of Artillery and later as Instructor in Tactics.

During the pre-war years, Simonds and E. L. M. Burns debated concepts in the pages of Canadian Defence Quarterly.[7]

Wartime career[]

Guy Simonds e010778918-v8

Major General Guy Simonds in Italy, 1943

In 1939 he became a GSO II (operations) with 1st Canadian Infantry Division and was posted to the UK in December. In July 1940, he went on to be Commanding Officer of 1st Field Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery, his first command since leaving C battery.[8] In November 1940 he was appointed commandant of the Canadian Junior War Staff Course (an intensive 14 week program that compressed one year of the Camberly course), intended to fill the shortage of trained staff officers.[1][9] He then became GSO I with 2nd Canadian Infantry Division under Victor Odlum. Shortly thereafter, in August 1941 he was made acting Brigadier General Staff of I Canadian Corps under McNaughton and Pearkes. Later he was confirmed as brigadier and stayed in the BGS role under Harry Crerar until mid-July 1942. Crerar, however, had opposed Simonds' appointment and considered his removal.[10] During his time as BGS, numerous exercises, including Bumper (Sept.1941) and Tiger were conducted, with Simonds catching Montgomery's eye on both occasions.[11] In July and August 1942 Simonds was involved in planning for an abortive Churchill-inspired attack on Norway, codenamed "Jupiter", thereby avoiding the Dieppe Raid debacle.[10]

In September 1942, he was made Commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade in 1st Canadian Infantry Division.[10]

In January 1943 Simonds became chief of staff of 1st Canadian Army again under McNaughton. The army performed poorly in exercise Spartan (March 1943). Simonds suggested that McNaughton separate his "political" functions (CMHQ) from "fighting" headquarters (1st Canadian Army). McNaughton grew angry, and within 48 hours Simonds was on attachment to 8th Army in Tunisia.[12][13]

Divisional Command and Italy[]

On April 20, 1943 (three days before his fortieth birthday) Simonds was promoted to major general and appointed General Officer Commanding 2nd Canadian Infantry Division,[14] having risen from major to major general in three-and-a-half years - faster than any other officer in the Canadian army.[15] Just nine days later he was transferred to command 1st division, replacing Harry Salmon who had died in a plane crash while planning operation Husky.[14][16]

In this last post he led the Division through the Invasion of Sicily.[1] At this point, he was the youngest Canadian to lead a division in action.[15] He came under fire for the first time July 16, 1943[17] after nearly 17 years in the army. On September 3, 1943 Simonds and 1st division landed on the mainland of Italy. Meeting light resistance, they suffered only 9 casualties the first day.[18]

Falling ill September 22, he was replaced as 1st division commander by Chris Vokes.[19] Subsequently he was appointed the GOC of the recently arrived 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division in Italy November 1943. Simonds viewed this, along with the arrival of Crerar and I Canadian Corps, as something of a comedown, although this was not the intent of CMHQ.[15] His initial meeting with Crerar went poorly (possibly strained by Simonds' illness), and relations further deteriorated when Simonds ejected an officer sent by Crerar to measure his headquarters caravan. Crerar took the matter to Montgomery, but found little support. However, Crerar discussed the event with army psychiatrists, First Canadian Army commander Ken Stuart, and post-war pushed for Charles Foulkes to be selected as CGS over Simonds.[20]

Simonds was furious when he learned that to save shipping, his new division would have to take old equipment from 7th Armoured Division. Crerar nixed an idea to use 3350 brand-new I Corps headquarters vehicles to equip the 5th division.[21] The division would not be fully equipped until the end of January 1944.

Corps Commander[]

General Guy G Simonds

Lieutenant General Guy Simonds inspecting II Canadian Corps in Meppen, Germany, May 31st, 1945

In January 1944 he was made General Officer Commanding II Canadian Corps,[1] which went on to take part in the Normandy landings and advance through France. At age forty-one, Simonds was purported to be the youngest corps commander in the British Empire.[22] Simonds made numerous personnel changes: The Chief Engineer, Chief Medical Officer and the Commander Corps Royal Artillery (CCRA) were sacked, and F. F. Worthington was replaced as commander of 4th Canadian Armoured Division.[22] Talented officers such as George Kitching, Bruce Matthews and Geoff Walsh were brought by Simonds from Italy to II Corps.[23]

Once II Corps was activated, Simonds would direct four major attacks in five weeks: Operations Atlantic (the Canadian part of Operation Goodwood), Spring, Totalize and Tractable.

For Totalize (beginning August 7), which involved a night attack, numerous navigation aids were devised, along with heavy bomber support. Having learned from Operation Spring, Simonds devised the "Kangaroo", an early armoured personnel carrier converted from non-operational armoured vehicles "defrocked Priests".[1][24] Granatstein characterizes the plan as "brilliant if too complicated",[25] in that it did not account for the inexperience of the troops.

Tractable (August 14) used a smoke screen in an attempt to shield armour from German anti-tank weaponry. In September 1944, Simonds temporarily took charge of First Canadian Army from General Harry Crerar, who was recovering from a bout of dysentery, and led the liberation of the mouth of the Scheldt River.[1] "By most accounts, Simonds’ assumption of command reinvigorated the army HQ; where Crerar managed, Simonds commanded."[26] When Crerar resumed command with the First Army, Simonds resumed his command of II Canadian Corps for the liberation of North-Western Europe.[1]

1st Canadian generals

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

Simonds

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)

Post war Army[]

Simonds was "undoubtedly deeply hurt" when he was overlooked and Charles Foulkes was chosen instead as CGS in August 1945.[27] From 1946-1949 he was Chief Instructor at the Imperial Defence College, "a signal honour for a Canadian".[28] He returned to Canada in 1949 to take a role as Commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada.[1] In 1951 he was appointed Chief of the General Staff.[1]

Retirement and later years[]

After retiring from the army, he worked for Halifax Insurance Company, and Toronto Brick and Associates. He was active with Royal Life Saving Society of Canada, the Gurkha Appeal, the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires and was chairman of the National Ballet of Canada.[29]

He criticized the government for seeking closer ties with the US,[28] and opposed the reliance on nuclear weapons, advocating strong conventional forces. Simonds proposed the use of aerial supply to reduce the vulnerability of army divisional supply chains. Dubious of air-power advocates, he foresaw the increasing use of missiles. He believed in the "integration" of defence headquarters, but opposed the Hellyer "unification" of the armed forces.[30][31] A street is named after him in Antwerp ("Generaal Simondslaan").[32][33] Simonds was honorary colonel of the Royal Regiment of Canada at the time of the regiment's 100th anniversary in October 1962.[34] He was offered an honorary degree from RMC which he declined, as he had opposed the degree program, fearing the long tenure of civilian instructors would unduly influence the curriculum.[35] On October 29, 1971 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.[36] Diagnosed with lung cancer, he died in Toronto on May 15, 1974. He was buried in Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery after a service at Grace Church-on-the-Hill.

Married Life[]

On August 17, 1932 he married Katherine "K" Lockhart Taylor, the daughter of a Winnipeg businessman. K was a spirited young woman, having taken flying lessons, a motor mechanics course, and eventually teaching Guy to how to drive. As a subaltern, Simonds had to ask special permission to marry. They had a daughter, Ruth, born in England in June 1933, and a son Charles born in Kingston in 1934.[37]

While overseas in World War II, Simonds had an affair, which K subsequently discovered while in England in 1946.[38] They separated shortly thereafter, but were not divorced until much later. Shortly before retirement, Simonds met Dorothy "Do" Sinclair (the widow of George Graham "Gus" Sinclair) whom he married on January 16, 1960.[39]

Assessment[]

Randall Wakelam says "Canadian biographies and memoirs carry two themes: innovative and hard driving commander; cold and uninspiring leader."[26] Terry Copp suggests "overwhelming self-confidence and a degree of arrogance which did not encourage expressions of dissent. Simonds did not attempt to lead; he sought only to command." [26]

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.[40]

Max Hastings states: "one of the outstanding Allied corps commanders in Europe, a dour, direct officer who brought unusual imagination to bear on every operational plan for which he was responsible."[41]

Notes[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 "Lieutenant-General Guy G. Simonds". Juno Beach Centre. http://www.junobeach.org/e/3/can-pep-can-simonds-e.htm. Retrieved February 13, 2005. 
  2. Graham p9-15
  3. 3.0 3.1 Graham p15
  4. Graham p42, p44
  5. Graham p17
  6. Graham p24
  7. Dancocks p220
  8. Graham pp47-48
  9. Graham pp55-57
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Granatstein (2005) p155
  11. Graham p66
  12. Graham p59
  13. Graham p67
  14. 14.0 14.1 Zuehlke 47
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Granatstein (2005) p156
  16. Granatstein (2005)p156
  17. Granatstein (2005)p157
  18. Dancocks p118
  19. Dancocks p124
  20. Dancocks p205-207
  21. Dancocks p208
  22. 22.0 22.1 Granatstein (2005) p163
  23. Dancocks p221
  24. John Keegan (1982) Six Armies in Normandy New York The Viking Press p253 ISBN 0-670-64736-5
  25. Granatstein (2005) p169
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 Wakelam, Randall. "No easy thing Senior Command in the Canadian Army, 1939-1945". http://www.canadianmilitaryhistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/3-Wakelam-Command-in-the-Canadian-Army.pdf. Retrieved August 9, 2012. 
  27. C.P. Stacey as quoted in Dancocks p207
  28. 28.0 28.1 Stephen Harris (2000) The Canadian Encyclopedia Toronto McClelland & Stewart Inc p2167 ISBN 0-7710-2099-6
  29. Graham pp275-276
  30. Graham pp260-267
  31. "Integration and Unification of the Canadian Forces". CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum. http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/resource_pages/controversies/unification.html. Retrieved 31 October 2011. 
  32. Graham p277
  33. http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=simonds+antwerp+belgium&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=54.915809,107.138672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Generaal+Simondslaan,+2030+Antwerpen,+Vlaams+Gewest,+Belgium&t=h&z=17 Link to Google Map
  34. Graham p278
  35. Graham p278, p275
  36. Graham p279
  37. Graham pp38-41
  38. Graham p227
  39. Graham p274
  40. Brooks (2002), p.276
  41. Max Hastings (1985) Overlord D-Day and the Battle for Normandy London Pan Books Ltd. p348 ISBN 0-330-28691-9

References[]

  • Graham, Dominick (1994). The Price of Command: A Biography of General Guy Simonds. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-7737-2692-6. 
  • Brooks, Victor (2002). The Normandy Campaign : from D-Day to the liberation of Paris. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81149-4. 
  • Neillands, Robin (2005). "Chapter 7: The Battle for the Scheldt". The Battle for the Rhine. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-84617-8. 
  • Granatstein, Jack (1993). The Generals. Stoddart Publishing. ISBN 0-7737-2730-2. 
  • Granatstein, Jack (2005). The Generals. University of Calgary Press. ISBN 1-55238-176-5. 
  • Zuehlke, Mark (2008). Operation Husky. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 978-1-55365-539-8. 
  • Dancocks, Daniel G. (1991). The D-Day Dodgers. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc.. ISBN 0-7710-544-0. 

External links[]

Military offices
Preceded by
Charles Foulkes
Chief of the General Staff
February 1, 1951-September 2, 1955
Succeeded by
Howard Douglas Graham
Preceded by
Harry Crerar
Acting Commanding Officer, 1st Canadian Army
September 1944
Succeeded by
Harry Crerar
Preceded by
Ernest William Sansom
Commanding Officer, II Canadian Corps
January 29, 1944 - June 25, 1945
Succeeded by
nil, deactivated
Preceded by
C.R.S. Stein
Commanding Officer, 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division
Oct 1943 to Jan 1944
Succeeded by
E.L.M. Burns
Preceded by
Harry Salmon
Commanding Officer, 1st Canadian Infantry Division
April 1943 to Oct 1943
Succeeded by
Chris Vokes
Preceded by
Commanding Officer, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
April 20, 1943 to April 29, 1943
Succeeded by


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