Ian Hamilton : a study in military biography and the literature of war, 1870-1914.

The name of General Sir Ian Hamilton is remembered only by an older generation and among the bibliophiles of the Victorian-Edwardian era and of The Great War. Even in those dwindling circles, however, the chances would be slight that recollection would extend beyond the vague thought that he was in some way connected with the campaign at Gallipoli. He was indeed. More precise information would reveal that Hamilton was the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force--the official name given to the British, French, and Anzac (Australian and New Zealand) soldiers who foregathered from across the seas to do battle against the Turks; that their object was to wrest control of the Dardanelles straits, occupy Gallipoli peninsula, capture Constantinople, and open the route to Russia by way of the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara; that the battle is now acknowledged to have been the best example of strategic planning between 1914 and 1918, as well as recognized as the field upon which the technique of amphibious operations was first introduced to modern war; and finally that Gallipoli is sui generis in that it continues to impart to those who relive it the quality of tragic grandeur. The feeling can be explained in part by the scene itself, famous since the passage of Xerxes' army by a bridge of boats. The most recent feat of arms, though in a somewhat different form, had taken place as late as the nineteenth century when Byron swam the Hellespont in emulation of Leander. A less classic but more significant explanation was the fact that the great landings that had unleashed the Allied attack had proved a prelude to an incredible sacrifice, ennobled by a heroism that Rupert Brooke was to epitomize, but never redeemed by the great victory that carried with it the hopes of the British people. An interest in the campaign that came from the books of such chroniclers as John Masefield, the Poet Laureate, Henry Nevinson, C. P. Aspinall-Oglander and Alan Moorehead prompted a desire to learn more of the man about whom "everything and nothing is known," and of the commander who is "remembered less and less for his former successes, more and more for his last appointment and only failure." It was discovered that in the course of a long and varied life of active soldiering Hamilton served as an aide-de-camp under Roberts in India, as a company commander under Wolseley in the Sudan, and as chief-of-staff to Kitchener in South Africa. A conspicuously brave officer--he had been mentioned seven times in dispatches--he had also seen more active service than any other soldier of his generation. It was further discovered that Hamilton was as active with the pen as with the sword, and to military capacity he added the ability to write with eloquence and verve. In The Ballad of Hadji and the Boar Hamilton showed himself as a composer of virile verse and in When I Was A Boy and Listening for the Drums as an autobiographer of charm and candor. His more serious works, which included Fighting of the Future and, of greater importance, A Staff Officer's Scrap Book, Gallipoli Diary and The Commander A Study of His Art, were to make a distinct contribution to the literature of war, and established for Hamilton a literary reputation as a military essayist who could write with the art of a poet and the precision of a soldier.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1969

Author dc:creator

• Nichols, Reuben Bryan, 1925-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Long, E. Hudson (Eugene Hudson), 1908-1990.

• Hamilton, Ian, 1853-1947.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14617

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14617