Simonds, Guy

Guy Simonds was born on 23 April 1903 in Bury St. Edmunds, England. His father was a British army officer who settled in Canada. From 1921 to 1925 he attended the Royal Military College, Kingston, from which he graduated with honours. During his studies he received numerous awards for academic achievement and exemplary conduct. After his discharge, he joined the Canadian Standing Force in 1926 and served with the Royal Canadian Mounted Artillery at Petawawa and Winnipeg. Captain Simonds graduated from the Staff College at Camberley, England, in 1936-1938. Its commander highly valued his intelligence, his ability to understand military theory in depth and his perception of the specific needs of modern warfare. Upon his return to Canada in the spring of 1938, he became a professor at his alma mater. Also because of his study of the conduct of mechanized warfare, Major Simonds was considered one of Canada's finest military strategists.
After the declaration of war in September 1939, he was appointed to the position of Staff Officer 2nd Class on the staff of the 1st Infantry Division, and thus moved to England in December of that year. In July 1940 he was briefly transferred to the demoralised 1st Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, which had returned from Dunkirk. As early as November 1940, he was commissioned by General Andrew McNaughton to develop an officer training program. This was followed by a fairly rapid career progression. In May 1941 he was appointed Staff Officer 1st Class on the staff of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, in September 1942 Commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade and in April 1943 Commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, already at the rank of Major General. Simonds began to gain combat experience with his 1st Division in Sicily. There he fought with it at the battles of Nissoria, Agira and Regalbuto. He proved to be a stalwart in his post and his abilities were noticed by the British 8th Army commander, General Montgomery. Because of his performance and theoretical knowledge, he was appointed commander of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division on 1 November 1943. He proved himself in this capacity as well, and in January 1944 became commander of II Canadian Corps.


The corps headquarters moved to France in July 1944. By this time, the Allied offensive in Normandy had stalled. Simonds' corps spearheaded four major operations to change this situation - ATLANTIC, SPRING, TOTALIZE and TRACTABLE. Simonds proved to be good at neutralizing German armor as well as overcoming anti-tank defenses. Among other things, he initiated the development of the Kangaroo vehicle, which was an armored personnel carrier created by delafetating the Priest self-propelled gun (later made from Ram tanks). On 27 September 1944, he temporarily assumed command of First Canadian Army. He demonstrated his tactical prowess during the liberation of the Sheldon River estuary. However, General Crerar returned to command the 1st Canadian Army and Simonds took command of the II Canadian Corps and led it through the Allied campaign in northwestern Europe. Simonds gained a great reputation as a commander. He was considered the best of Canadian commanders by British Field Marshal Montgomery and American General Bradley.
After the war, Simonds remained in England with the Imperial Defence College. But George returned to Canada in 1949 and was appointed Commandant of the Royal Military College in Kingston, the school he had graduated from years earlier. He served as Chief of the General Staff from 1951 to 1955. In that capacity, he ensured that the Canadian military was reorganized to meet the needs of NATO and the ongoing conflict in Korea. He was a proponent of conscription and close relations with Great Britain, while criticizing the government's attempts at deeper military rapprochement with the United States. He died in Toronto on May 5, 1974.


Sources:
www.junobeach.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Simonds
www.generals.dk
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com

Sicily 1943, Commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division Major General Simonds wades ashore from the landing craft.
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