John Mogg (British Army officer)
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Sir John Mogg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Herbert John Mogg |
| Born | 13 February 1913 |
| Died | 28 October 2001 (aged 88) Watlington, Oxfordshire, England[1] |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Service years | 1932–1976 |
| Rank | General |
| Service number | 73153 |
| Unit | Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Royal Green Jackets |
| Commands | Army Strategic Command I Corps Royal Military Academy Sandhurst 10th Battalion, Parachute Regiment 9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry |
| Conflicts | Second World War Malayan Emergency |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order & Bar |
| Spouse |
Cecilia Margaret Molesworth
(m. 1939) |
General Sir Herbert John Mogg, GCB, CBE, DSO & Bar (17 February 1913 – 28 October 2001) was a senior British Army officer who also held the NATO position of Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR)[3] and was "in his time, probably the British army's most popular general".[3]
Mogg was educated at St Michael's School in Victoria, British Columbia,[4] Malvern College,[5] and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After Malvern he took a Y-cadetship with the 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards. After three years in the ranks he was selected for Sandhurst, where he gained the Sword of Honour in 1936, being commissioned into the 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, (43rd & 52nd) in August 1937.
Second World War
In 1939, Mogg was posted to the 5th Battalion, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, a newly formed Territorial training unit, and served initially as adjutant and later second-in-command. By 1943, Major Mogg was in command of a Divisional Battle School at Margate, 61st Infantry Division, XI Corps, Home Forces.[6] Mogg approached Major General Adrian Carton de Wiart, and later Major General Brian Wainwright, General Officers Commanding the 61st Infantry Division seeking an operational command. In the weeks before D-Day he was appointed second-in-command, 9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry (DLI), 151st Brigade.[7]
On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the 9th DLI landed on Gold Beach at Le Hamel, Asnelles. In the breakout from the Normandy beachhead, the 9th DLI supported by the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards were ordered to attack the village of Lingèvres on 14 June 1944, defended by the Panzer Lehr Division. Mogg gave an account of his experiences of the battle, during which the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Humphrey Woods was killed and Mogg assumed command.
As we crossed the start line all hell let loose from our own side and what with Typhoons and the artillery barrage and the tanks all shooting up the enemy positions in the wood, you could have seen the ground literally dance in front of you. And trees were coming down and I thought to myself "Good Lord, nobody can ever live in that thing, we must be able to walk straight on to our objective".
And so we crossed right on time, 10.15, across the start line, with Humphrey Woods on the left and me on the right and we went through the corn, and the Geordies were never very tall guys and the corn that year was extremely high. We advanced about halfway across the corn with still this barrage going on when you suddenly saw the odd Geordie dropping in the corn and you couldn't quite make this out where it was coming from. But, in fact, it was machine-gun fire coming from the forward edge of the wood and quite a lot of Geordies were dropping in the corn as casualties all the way along.
However we advanced...and I spoke to Humphrey Woods on my radio, and this is the last time I heard him, and he said "We are running into terrible trouble here on the left, all the 'A' Company officers are casualties. I am trying to get on with 'B' Company and I will try and see how it happens. If not, if we don't make any ground, you go on, whatever you do go on to your side of the village and I will try and collect as many of our soldiers and then come round behind you, because it's obviously going to be easier your side". And, in fact, he was right, it was easier our side and apart from a fair amount of hand to hand fighting of 'C' Company on the right we got into the woods.
...There was a scene of utter destruction with the church in ruins and many of the buildings had collapsed and there was very heavy shelling from the far side of the village. I suddenly had a message to say that Humphrey Woods had been killed and I suddenly realized that meant that I was the senior officer in the place and that made me the Commanding Officer, which filled me with utter despair to start with but I realized I must do something about it."
I remember my Gunner officer was up by the Church in his tank at the main crossroads and we made a plan for some Artillery Fires which I could call for quickly." "We had an 'O' group with the two Company Commanders, the Anti Tank Platoon Commander, Carrier Platoon Commander, the Gunner and the 4th/7th Sqn Leader. I allocated positions for the Coys. blocking both roads and then I sited the Anti tank guns.[7]
Lingevres was taken and held against repeated German counterattacks until 9DLI and 4th/7th Dragoon Guards were relieved. The battalion suffered casualties of 226 men and 22 officers.[8] Mogg was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his actions at Lingevres, presented in the field by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery.
The 9th DLI saw further action at the Falaise Pocket, the crossing of the Albert Canal and at Gheel, Belgium.[9] On 23 September, the 151st Brigade was ordered to move north and east of Eindhoven with the 231st Brigade to guard the right flank of Operation Market Garden.[10] In November 1944, the 151st Brigade was disbanded and some units returned to Britain. However the 9th DLI was reinforced and transferred to the 7th Armoured Division, 131st Infantry Brigade, as a motorised battalion fighting at the Roer Triangle in January 1945 and the town of Ibbenbüren in March. The 9th DLI ended the war near Hamburg.
