British Commander-in-Chief Middle East who routed the Italians in Operation Compass and was then driven back by Rommel
He served in the Second Boer War and the First World War, in which he was wounded at the Second Battle of Ypres. As Commander-in-Chief Middle East early in the Second World War he defeated the Italians in Eritrea and Abyssinia and in western Egypt and eastern Libya, where O'Connor's Operation Compass destroyed the Italian 10th Army in December 1940. After his best units were sent to Greece, Rommel's counter-offensive cost him Cyrenaica in April 1941, and when Operation Battleaxe failed to relieve Tobruk he exchanged posts with Auchinleck and became Commander-in-Chief, India. He was Viceroy of India from 1943 until February 1947.
Also known as: Archibald Percival Wavell
Activities and affiliations
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1901–1943
United Kingdom state institutionsCommander-in-Chief Middle East and IndiaMain
Military command -
1943–1947
India state institutionsViceroy of India
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1940Commander-in-Chief Middle East: Operation Compass
- 1941Commander-in-Chief, India, after Battleaxe
- 1943–1947Viceroy of India