Churchill’s favourite general Harold Alexander born from Ulster-Scots stock

Prior to becoming landed aristocrats, the Alexanders were an Ulster-Scots merchant family. James Alexander (1730-1802), the 1st Earl, made his fortune in India and purchased the Caledon estate straddling counties Armagh and Tyrone in 1776 and entered the Irish peerage in 1790.

At Harrow Harold Alexander was an all-round sportsman, excelling at cricket, athletics, rackets, rugby, boxing, fencing and gymnastics.

He also taught himself to carve in both wood and stone and began to paint which became one of the main passions of his life.

Alexander initially toyed with the notion of becoming an artist rather than a professional soldier. As this suggests, he was by no means a typical soldier, being a gifted linguist and speaking Russian, German and Urdu fluently.

He saw service in the Great War, commanded the 2nd Battalion of the Irish Guards, was wounded twice and won the MC, the DSO and the Légion d’Honneur.

In his history of the Irish Guards in the Great War Rudyard Kipling observed that, ‘it is undeniable that Colonel Alexander had the gift of handling the men on the lines to which they most readily responded ... His subordinates loved him, even when he fell upon them blisteringly for their shortcomings; and his men were all his own’.

In 1919, during the Russian Civil War, Alexander led the Baltic Landswehr, a Baltic-German unit, against the Bolsheviks.

In 1937 (at the age of 45) he became a major general, the youngest general in the British Army.

During the Second World War Alexander oversaw the final stages of the evacuation from Dunkirk where he was the last man off the beaches and demonstrated sangfroid throughout. ‘Our position is catastrophic,’ a staff officer told him. ‘I’m sorry,’ he replied. ‘I don’t understand long words.’

He subsequently held commands in Burma, North Africa (where he gave Montgomery a free hand and allowed him to take all the credit), and Italy, including commander-in-chief Middle East and command of 18th Army Group in Tunisia. He then commanded 15th Army Group for the capture of Sicily and again in Italy before receiving his field marshal’s baton and being made Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean.

Alexander’s military career had two great highlights.

First, on May 13 1943 he sent Churchill a dispatch announcing that ‘the Tunisian campaign is over. All enemy resistance has ceased. We are the masters of the North African shores’.

Secondly, on April 29 1945, he received the surrender of a million German troops in Italy – ‘the most coherent enemy group of armies still resisting’ – and the first of the big surrenders.

Alexander was always mindful of the widespread criticism of Great War commanders for their lack of contact with ordinary soldiers. As a result, he spent more time with his forward troops than he did in his HQ. His popularity was immense. His strategic planning was informed by his acute appreciation of what war was like on the front line.

Rightly or probably wrongly, Brooke felt that Alexander needed an able chief of staff ‘to think for him’ but Montgomery (Alexander's subordinate in both Africa and Italy) had the temerity to think that Alexander was ‘incompetent’ and Alexander’s success in Tunisia was only achieved because Montgomery lent him Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks. The only person Montgomery was in awe of was Brooke.

Taking their cue very much from Brooke, Alex Danchev and Daniel Todman offer an interesting but too harsh an editorial assessment of Alexander in ‘The War Diaries of Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke’: ‘Intellectually he was unimpressive, although whether this stemmed from genuine stupidity or an Edwardian desire not to appear too keen is open to doubt. His amiability and desire to be agreeable to all often gave the impression that he lacked grip [a recurring theme with Brooke] but may have made him a suitable candidate for high command over an army which contained numerous and fractious allies. If his personality hindered victory, it prevented disintegration. It also made him an excellent lightning rod to safeguard his subordinates [such as Montgomery] from bolts of Churchillian invective.’

Harold Macmillan, who was minister resident in the Mediterranean between 1942 and 1945, rated Alexander very highly, believing that his urbane manner and willingness to discuss and compromise were a sensible way to maintain inter-Allied cooperation. Macmillan and Alexander had very similar personalities.

The Americans got on extremely well with Alexander. Montgomery, by contrast, with his boundless vanity, massive ego and tactlessness, had an unerring capacity to antagonise them at every turn. Montgomery sorely tried General Dwight D Eisenhower’s almost infinite patience and was fortunate to avoid dismissal. General George S Patton referred to Montgomery as ‘that cocky little limey fart’ and General Omar Bradley thought he was ‘all-out, right-down-to-the-toes mad’. Alexander, on the other hand, cared nothing for praise.

Alexander was a significantly more gifted strategist than is often appreciated. He had the ability to retrieve difficult situations, as is evidenced by his command in Burma. Modest and self-deprecating, throughout his life he demonstrated that he was imperturbable, courageous and possessed a great capacity for friendship. Churchill was a friend who regarded Alexander as his favourite general. Of Montgomery on the other hand, Churchill succinctly observed, ‘In defeat unbeatable: in victory unbearable.’

James Holland accords Alexander a deservedly positive treatment in his recent book – ‘The Savage Storm: The Battle for Italy, 1943’ (London, 2023).