Chief of Staff15 April 1918
Appointed Chief of Staff of XX Corps
Historical person
Archibald Wavell Biography
Historical biography and chronological timeline for Archibald Wavell, based on 39 World History Database records associated with Great Britain.
39 records1918–194322 events5 places
Chronological biography
1918
Chief of Staff15 April 1918
Appointed Chief of Staff of XX Corps
Siege of Jerusalem17 December 1918
Present at Allenbys entry into Jerusalem
1933
Major General1933
Appointed Major General
1937
Commander in Chief1937
Appointed Commander in Chief in Palestine
1938
Lieutenant General1938
Appointed Lieutenant General
1939
Commander in ChiefAugust 1939
Appointed Commander in Chief of the Middle East
Commander in ChiefAugust 1939
Appointed Commander in Chief of the Middle East
Commander in ChiefAugust 1939
Establishes his HQ in Cairo
1940
General1940
Appointed General
General1940
Appointed General
Battle of Halfaya Pass16 June 1940
Rommel orders his Panzers to remove the British from Halfaya. 200 of the Western Desert Force tanks are destroyed
Defence of EgyptSeptember 1940
Directs British Middle East forces defending Egypt, the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal against Italian pressure from Libya.
Invasion of EgyptSeptember 1940
The Italians invade Egypt
Invasion of Egypt21 September 1940
Plans to attack the Italians now he has superior forces. Mussolini calls off the invasion
Invasion of Egypt9 December 1940
The Italians are driven out of Egypt in the 1st major british offensive of the War
North Africa9 December 1940
Opens a counter-offensive threatening Tripoli, the fascist capital in north Africa
Siege of Tobruk9 December 1940
Opens a counter-offensive threatening Tripoli, captital of fascist north Africa
1941
Commander in Chief1941
Appointed Commander in Chief
Commander in Chief1941
Appointed Commander in Chief
Invasion of Italian East Africa19 January 1941
British forces in the Sudan led by General Platt attack Italian forces, marks the beginning of Wavells campaign against Italian East Africa
Battle of Tobruk22 January 1941
The British capture the port of Tobruk in Libya from the Italians
Capture of Tobruk22 January 1941
The British capture the port of Tobruk in Libya from the Italians
Siege of Tobruk22 January 1941
The British capture the port of Tobruk in Libya from the Italians
Battle of Western DesertFebruary 1941
Wavells 30,000 men have counterattacj the Italians, advance 500 miles & take 130,000
Battleaxe15 June 1941
The operation is a failure & Wavell is replaced by Auchinleck. Launched to relieve Tobruk & break the Axis defenses on the Egypt border
Battleaxe16 June 1941
A German counterattack forces the Allies the retreat
Battle of Halfaya Pass17 June 1941
Wavell is later replaced by General Claude Auchinleck. Wavell attempts a counter-attack but his troops are stopped
Siege of Tobruk17 June 1941
Wavell attempts a counter-attack but his troops are stopped
Convention15 July 1941
The Vichy French forces in Syria surrender to the Allied forces
Vichy Government15 July 1941
The Vichy French forces in Syria surrender to the Allied forces
1942
Supreme Commander1942
Appointed Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific
Supreme Commander1942
Appointed Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific
Supreme Commander25 February 1942
Appointed Supreme Commander of Allied forces in India & Burma
Supreme Commander25 February 1942
Appointed Supreme Commander of Allied forces in India & Burma
1943
Field Marshal1943
Appointed Field Marshal
Field Marshal1943
Appointed Field Marshal
Peerage1943
Created Earl Wavell, 1st
Viceroy20 October 1943
Appointed Viceroy of India, officially installed
Titles and roles
Earl · Earl · Chief of Staff · Earl · Commander in Chief · Earl · Field Marshal · Earl · General · Earl · Lieutenant General · Earl · Major General · Earl · Supreme Commander · Earl · Viceroy of India · General · General · Commander in Chief Middle East
Record provenance
This biography is assembled from World History Database records filtered by country and personal-name fields. Exact duplicate display records are removed. The database is an index rather than a complete narrative biography; formal research should verify entries against relevant primary or specialist sources.