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37-654: Major-General Lindsay Merritt Inglis , CB , CBE , DSO & Bar , MC , ED (16 May 1894 – 17 March 1966) was a New Zealand military officer, lawyer and magistrate. Born in Mosgiel , he volunteered for service in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during World War I . Inglis served on the Western Front and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during

74-612: A King's crown. The RAF replaced the rank of major-general with the rank of air vice-marshal on 1 August 1919. Despite the short duration, the significance of the RAF to modern warfare was indicated by the number of senior officers who did hold the rank of major-general in the RAF: 27th Machine-Gun Battalion (New Zealand) The 27th Machine-Gun Battalion was raised at Burnham, New Zealand , on 3 October 1939. With an authorised strength of around 700 personnel and equipped with Vickers machine guns ,

111-632: A company commander in his battalion, he participated in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette during the Somme Offensive in September 1916. He was awarded the Military Cross for his part in the battle, after which he was the only surviving officer from his section of the front line. Inglis later transferred to the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps , in which he commanded a company for the remainder of

148-534: A mentor in the art of warfare. This was further exacerbated on 30 June when Inglis went to Cairo without informing his staff who, in his absence, subsequently asked Kippenberger to take temporary command of the division. Inglis returned on 1 July having become lost when returning from Cairo. Prior to the First Battle of Ruweisat Ridge , which commenced on 14–15 July, Inglis failed to adjust his artillery support following concerns raised by Kippenberger and Jim Burrows ,

185-498: A newly created reserve and remained at divisional headquarters, possibly with hopes of taking over command of the division. Despite this show of disloyalty to his commander, Inglis remained in command of 4th Brigade through much of the North African campaign . He led his brigade in the capture of Belhamed, a hill adjacent to Sidi Rezegh, which resulted in the opening of a corridor to Tobruk during Operation Crusader , for which he

222-731: Is the customary rank for the appointment of division commander. In the Royal Marines, the Commandant General holds at least the rank of major general. A major general is senior to a brigadier but subordinate to a lieutenant general . The rank is OF-7 on the NATO rank scale , equivalent to a rear admiral in the Royal Navy or an air vice-marshal in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. The rank insignia

259-612: Is the star (or 'pip') of the Order of the Bath , over a crossed sword and baton. In terms of orthography, compound ranks were invariably hyphenated prior to about 1980. Nowadays the rank is almost equally invariably non-hyphenated. When written as a title, especially before a person's name, both words of the rank are always capitalised, whether using the "traditional" hyphenated style or the modern un-hyphenated style. When used as common nouns, they might be written in lower-case: "Major General Montgomery

296-577: The 2nd New Zealand Division . After the war, he was appointed to a military court of the Allied Control Commission, which administered Allied-occupied Germany . He later served as chief judge of the Allied Control Commission's Supreme Court from 1947 to 1950. Inglis was born in Mosgiel , Otago , New Zealand on 16 May 1894 to a banker and his wife. After completing his education at Waitaki Boys' High School in Oamaru , he commenced legal studies at

333-463: The 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) following the outbreak of the Second World War . He needed to have treatment on his thyroid before he could go on active service. He commanded the 27th Machine-Gun Battalion , part of the first echelon of the 2NZEF which had been shipped to Egypt, from December 1939 to August 1940. In early 1941, Inglis was promoted to brigadier and given command of

370-682: The Battle of Flers-Courcelette . He ended the war as a company commander and returned to New Zealand in 1919. In civilian life, Inglis worked as a solicitor and barrister in Timaru and also served in the Territorial Force . He re-enlisted in the New Zealand Army during World War II and commanded the 4th Infantry Brigade in Allied campaigns in Crete and North Africa. Inglis had two periods in command of

407-598: The Corps of Infantry , were major generals. Other, administrative, commands were also appointments for a major general. In addition, the senior officer of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department , the Chaplain-General , is accorded "the relative precedence" – the respect, courtesies and insignia, rather than the full powers and authority – of the rank of major general. The office of Commandant General Royal Marines (CGRM),

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444-544: The Italian front , in March 1944. For much of the campaign in Italy the brigade did not participate in large-scale operations; instead, his armoured regiments were deployed piecemeal in support of infantry operations. In the absence of Inglis while he recovered from his illness the previous three months, Kippenberger had become the preferred acting divisional commander. Kippenberger, commanding

481-632: The University of Otago in 1913. In late April 1915, eight months after the outbreak of the First World War , Inglis volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). He had some military experience, having served as an officer in the Territorial Force with the 2nd (South Canterbury) Regiment . Posted to the New Zealand Rifle Brigade , he served in Egypt and on the Western Front . As

518-447: The 9th Infantry Brigade, composed largely of training battalions. Having missed the Battle of Greece , Inglis was appointed commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade of 2nd New Zealand Division in May 1941. During the Battle of Crete , his brigade served as the reserve for the Allied forces, codenamed Creforce and commanded by Major-General Bernard Freyberg , on Crete. The battle ended in

555-650: The Defence Staff . Royal Marines in tri-service roles may still hold the rank of major general: in April 2019, James Morris was appointed as commander of the Standing Joint Force , with the rank of major general. As in the British Army, a Royal Marines major general ranks below a lieutenant general and above a brigadier. From its foundation on 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force (RAF) briefly used

592-666: The Order of the British Empire . After the end of the war in Europe, Inglis was one of New Zealand's delegates for the Allied Control Commission for Germany, which administered the now occupied country. He was appointed president of a military court in the British-controlled area of Germany dealing with crimes committed by the occupying forces. After six months in this role, in February 1947 he

629-604: The Territorial Force, and in 1926 was commander of 1st Battalion, Canterbury Regiment, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Promoted to colonel in 1931, he commanded 3rd New Zealand Infantry Brigade before retiring from the Territorial Force in 1936. As a long serving member of the territorials, he was awarded the Efficiency Decoration . In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal . Inglis enlisted in

666-520: The battalion consisted of four machine gun companies, designated No. 1 to No. 4, underneath a headquarters company which fulfilled various specialist functions including administration, signals, transport, and anti-aircraft defence. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lindsay Merritt Inglis , the battalion undertook training in New Zealand before being shipped to Egypt in January 1941. Further training

703-437: The commanders of the brigades involved in the planned advance on the defended ridge. Instead, he chose to rely on assurances from his corps commander, Lieutenant-General William Gott , commanding XIII Corps , that British armour would provide any necessary assistance. This proved to be a mistake; although the brigades manage to seize the ridge, they were unable to hold it in the face of stronger than expected counterattacks, and

740-425: The division during this period. However, during this time Inglis' relationship with his brigade commanders, particularly Brigadier Howard Kippenberger , in command of the 5th Brigade, deteriorated. Kippenberger had become highly rated as a field commander during the war and Inglis may have become resentful. This was uncomfortable for Kippenberger, who had served under Inglis in the Territorial Force and considered him

777-471: The division while Freyberg commanded the New Zealand Corps, was wounded shortly after Inglis arrived in Italy. Command of the division passed to another brigade commander, despite Inglis' seniority. Again overlooked as temporary divisional commander in September, Inglis requested to be relieved of his command and he was promptly sent home to New Zealand. For his wartime services, he was made a Commander of

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814-745: The division, was withdrawn to the island Crete and took part in the subsequent Battle of Crete during the German invasion, fighting at Maleme and Galatas . After Crete, the battalion served in the Western Desert Campaign , in Operation Crusader in 1941 and the Second Battle of El Alamein , and the pursuit of the Axis forces to Tunisia where it took part in the Tunisian Campaign . Notable

851-646: The evacuation of Creforce to Egypt. Freyberg selected Inglis to travel to the War Office in London and provide a report on the battle. When he met with Winston Churchill , the British Prime Minister , the month after the evacuation from Crete, Inglis was critical of Freyberg's conduct of the battle and made a number of inaccurate and misleading statements. However, Inglis' own conduct in the battle had not been exemplary. At one stage, he disobeyed an order to take over

888-550: The expected armour support never fully eventuated. Afterwards, while Inglis was critical of the conduct of the brigades and laid primary blame for the failure on them and the lack of armour, he overlooked the influence of his own role as divisional commander on the outcome of the battle. An attack mounted a few days later by 6th Brigade was a further failure and highlighted Inglis' failings as a divisional commander by not ensuring adequate support from his corps commander. In September 1942, Inglis reverted to command of 4th Brigade, and it

925-427: The professional head of the Royal Marines, was created at the rank of full general in 1943. In 1977, the rank was downgraded to lieutenant general, and it was further reduced to of major general in 1996. On 30 April 2021, Lieutenant General Robert Magowan assumed the office of CGRM; he was succeeded on 25 November 2022 by Gwyn Jenkins , who already held the rank of full general from his appointment as Vice-Chief of

962-520: The rank of major-general. The service was a wartime amalgamation of the Army's Royal Flying Corps and the Navy's Royal Naval Air Service , so the ranks were a compromise between these two traditions. The insignia of the rank was derived from that of a Royal Navy rear-admiral and featured a broad gold stripe on the cuff below one narrow gold stripe. The two stripes were surmounted by an eagle (volant and affronty) under

999-472: The war. Inglis and his company were present at the capture of Le Quesnoy in late 1918, he was discharged from the NZEF in April 1919 and returned to New Zealand. Inglis resumed his legal studies, completing them in 1920. He also became married to his fiancée, Agnes, and the couple had two children. Now a solicitor, he moved his young family to Timaru and established a legal practice there. He remained involved with

1036-586: Was also appointed to the Order of the British Empire . In the post war period, the battalion was then transferred to the Far East , where it was converted to an infantry unit and served with the New Zealand occupation forces in Japan . On 7 August 1947, the 27th Battalion changed its name to 3rd Battalion, New Zealand Regiment . It was disbanded in 1948 following its return to New Zealand. For their service, in 1957

1073-655: Was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). After being reformed during the early part of 1942, 4th Brigade spent time in Syria with most of the 2nd New Zealand Division. In June, the New Zealanders were rushed back to Egypt after the Panzer Army Afrika attacked Gazala , near Tobruk, to begin an advance into Egypt in pursuit of the retreating Eighth Army . The division made a stand at Minqar Qaim and

1110-543: Was converted to an infantry battalion and fought in the crossing of the Sillaro River and at the Gaiana Canal, ending the war with the capture of Trieste . The battalion's casualties during the war amounted to 182 killed, 508 wounded and 257 captured. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: three Distinguished Service Orders , eight Military Crosses and one Bar , and 26 Military Medals . One officer

1147-532: Was decided that the brigade would be converted to an armoured formation. As an infantry brigade, it had suffered heavy losses at Ruweisat Ridge. Inglis oversaw 4th Brigade's transition to armour, a process which took a nearly a year. He was again acting divisional commander from June to July 1943 when Freyberg was occupied elsewhere. Afflicted with dysentery, Inglis was repatriated to New Zealand in November 1943 for treatment. Inglis returned to 4th Brigade, now serving on

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1184-596: Was donated to the Kippenberger Research Library in the QEII Army Memorial Museum at Waiouru . Major general (United Kingdom) Major general ( Maj Gen ) is a "two-star" rank in the British Army and Royal Marines . The rank was also briefly used by the Royal Air Force for a year and a half, from its creation in April 1918 until August 1919. In the British Army, a major general

1221-657: Was one of several major generals to be promoted at this time." In the British Army, a division is commanded by a major general. However, other appointments may also be held by major generals. For example, the Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is a major general. Until around the 1980s, the heads of each branch of service, such as the Royal Armoured Corps , the Royal Artillery and

1258-509: Was promoted to major-general and made chief judge of the Allied Control Commission's Supreme Court. The following year he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath . In 1950, Inglis ended his appointment as chief judge and returned to New Zealand. He became a magistrate in Hamilton in 1953, and retired in 1965. He died in Hamilton the following year. His collection of military history books

1295-463: Was surrounded by German forces on 27 June. As the Germans probed the perimeter of the New Zealand positions, Freyberg was wounded. Inglis assumed temporary command of the division and successfully led it in an outbreak from Minqar Qaim that night. He would remain as divisional commander for the next two months as Freyberg recovered, and was later awarded a bar to his DSO which acknowledged his leadership of

1332-635: Was the flanking manoeuvre around the Mareth Line . The battalion was also one of the New Zealand units that supplied men for the Long Range Desert Group . The battalion was next in action during the Italian Campaign during which its Vickers machine guns fired nearly nine million rounds of ammunition. It was one of the first New Zealand units to cross the Sangro River and early in 1945,

1369-510: Was undertaken at Maadi Camp , after which the 27th was one of the first units of the 2nd New Zealand Division to go into action in the Greek Campaign in April 1941. It took part in all the battles during the 300-mile (480 km) withdrawal to the Peloponnese , including the rearguard actions in the Battle of Vevi and the Battle of Mount Olympus . The battalion, together with the rest of

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