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Middle East Command

Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to defend British interests in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean region.

For the 1960s Middle East Command (Aden), see British Forces Aden. For the Royal Air Force command, see RAF Middle East Command.

Middle East Command
Middle East Land Forces

Middle East Command: June 1939 – c. 1946
Middle East Land Forces: 1946–67

1 million in Second World War

War Office
Ministry of Defence (Army)

Cairo
Suez Canal Zone
Cyprus

During the Second World War, Middle East Command supervised military operations in and around the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. Following the defeat of the Axis forces in the Western Desert at the Battle of El Alamein and the landing of additional Anglo-American forces during Operation Torch, it transferred control of land forces to the newly created Allied Forces Headquarters.

Role of Middle East Command[edit]

Middle East Command was established in Cairo,[1] during June 1939, due to the rising tensions in Europe.[2] Its purpose was to provide a centralised command structure in times of war for the three separate army commands based within the Mediterranean and Middle East areas: Egypt, Sudan and Palestine/Transjordan.[3] During periods of peace the command exerted authority over land forces based within Egypt, the Sudan, Palestine, Transjordan, and Cyprus.[4] However, if war broke out, the Command's area of responsibility would be extended to include British Somaliland, Aden, Iraq and the shores of the Persian Gulf.[1] As the war progressed, Middle East Command authority was extended over further areas including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya and Greece.[5] Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Wavell, commanding officer of Southern Command in the United Kingdom, was chosen as the first General Officer Commanding in Chief, a position he took up in July 1939,[6] and was given the acting rank of General.[7]


The Committee of Imperial Defence, when establishing the post of General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Middle East Command, made the decision that all three services should be responsible for the defence of the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.[8] As Middle East Command wielded authority only over land forces,[1] a triumvirate was established to form the High Command.[8] The two other members of this arrangement were the Naval Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, RAF Middle East Command, Air Chief Marshal Arthur Longmore.[9] The Naval Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station would stand in for the Naval Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, in the latter's absence.[8]


Wavell had suggested that due to the complex and uncertain situation in the Middle East region, following the collapse of France, that a committee, under a Cabinet Minister, should be established in the Middle East region to perform duties delegated to it by the Home Office, thus relieving the need to constantly refer to the War Cabinet for instructions. An alternative suggestion, however, was accepted: a ministerial committee would be established in London with the task of continually keeping the affairs of the Middle East region under review.[10] On 28 June 1941, a position—similar to the original request put forward by Wavell—was established when Oliver Lyttelton was appointed to the position of Minister of State in the Middle East and dispatched to the Middle East. His role was to provide the three commanders-in-chief the political guidance they needed, advice on propaganda, subversive warfare, finance and economic warfare.[11]


Middle East Command, upon its establishment, was to also co-ordinate with the French military in the Middle East and Africa. The command was also authorised to liaise with the Turkish General Staff and possibly, at a later date, the Greek General Staff.[12]

General 28 July 1939[7] – 4 July 1941[47]

Archibald Wavell

General 5 July 1941[47] – 14 August 1942[48]

Claude Auchinleck

General 15 August 1942[48] – February 1943

Harold Alexander

General February 1943 – January 1944

Henry Wilson

General Sir January 1944 – October 1946

Bernard Paget

General Sir 1946–1947

Miles Dempsey

Commanders-in-Chief have included:[46][42]


Middle East Command


Commanders-in-Chief, Middle East Land Forces


General Officer Commanding Middle East Land Forces[42]

Bilgin, Pinar (2005). Regional Security in the Middle East. New York: Routledge. p. 246 pages.  978-0-415-32549-3.

ISBN

Butler, L. J. (2002). Britain and Empire: Adjusting to a Post-Imperial World. London: I.B. Tauris.  978-1-86064-449-8.

ISBN

Kipping, Norman (1969). The Suez Contractors. K. Mason, 1969.  978-0-900534-41-6. - between September 20, 1955, and December 30, 1955, almost all the Canal Zone depots and workshops were handed over to the civilian contractors (p. 33).

ISBN

Michael Mason (1994) Killing Time: The British Army and its Antagonists in Egypt, 1945–1954, War & Society, 12:2, 103-126, DOI: 10.1179/072924794791200214

Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: A biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud (UK): Spellmount. p. 544 pages.  978-1-86227-431-0.

ISBN

; with Stitt R.N., Commander G.M.S.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C. & Toomer, Air Vice-Marshal S.E. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO 1954]. Butler, J.R.M (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume I The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-065-3.

Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.

Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; with Flynn R.N., Captain F.C.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C. & Toomer, Air Vice-Marshal S.E. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO 1956]. Butler, J.R.M (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume II The Germans come to the help of their Ally (1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Naval & Military Press.  1-84574-066-1.

ISBN