Commander of the Western Desert Force who destroyed the Italian 10th Army in Operation Compass
Born in Srinagar, India, he fought in the First World War. Commanding the Western Desert Force early in the Second World War, he destroyed a much larger Italian army, the 10th, in Operation Compass from December 1940, a victory that led Hitler to send Rommel's Afrika Korps. Captured by a German patrol on 6 April 1941, he spent more than two years in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp and escaped after Mussolini's fall in the autumn of 1943. In 1944 he commanded VIII Corps in the Battle of Normandy and Operation Market Garden, and after commands in India he ended his career as Adjutant-General to the Forces.
Also known as: Richard Nugent O'Connor
Activities and affiliations
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1909–1948
United Kingdom state institutionsCommander, Western Desert ForceMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1940–1941Commander, Western Desert Force: Operation Compass
- 1941–1943Prisoner of war in Italy
- 1944Commander, VIII Corps, Normandy