Victor Fortune
Major General Sir Victor Morven Fortune KBE CB DSO DL (21 August 1883 – 2 January 1949) was a senior officer of the British Army. He saw service in both World War I and World War II. He commanded the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division during the Battle of France and was subsequently trapped and obliged to surrender to the Germans on 12 June 1940.
Sir Victor Morven Fortune | |
|---|---|
 Major General Victor Fortune, commanding 51st (Highland) Division, at his HQ at Le Caudroy, France on 8 June 1940. | |
| Born | 21 August 1883 Blelack, Scotland |
| Died | 2 January 1949 (aged 65) Dalswinton, Scotland |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1903–1945 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Service number | 18362 |
| Unit | Black Watch |
| Commands held | 1st Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) 46th Infantry Brigade 1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders 5th Infantry Brigade 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division 51st (Highland) Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Légion d'honneur (France) Order of the Phoenix (Greece) |
| Other work | Deputy lieutenant, County of Perth Honorary Colonel, The Seaforth Highlanders |
Military career
After being educated at Winchester and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Fortune was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Army from 1903, joining the 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders).[1]
On the outbreak of the First World War he had risen to the rank of lieutenant and was serving as a platoon commander in A Company under Major Lord George Stewart-Murray. The battalion sailed to France in August 1914, where Fortune saw initial action during The Retreat from Mons and the First Battle of the Marne. In September 1914 he was promoted to captain, taking command of A Company following the death of Major Lord Stewart-Murray at the First Battle of the Aisne. Fortune led A Company ably through The First Battle of Ypres before moving up to battalion headquarters as adjutant on 11 November 1914, where he saw further action at Givenchy, Cuinchy, Neuve Chapelle and Aubers Ridge.
He served as battalion adjutant until 30 September 1915, when he was appointed as brigade major to the 1st Infantry Brigade, serving in this key role during the costly Battle of Loos. Fortune returned to 1st Battalion The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) almost exactly a year later on 16 September 1916 when, as acting lieutenant colonel, he was appointed commanding officer (CO) during the Battle of the Somme.[2] He led the battalion competently through final stages of the Battle of the Somme and the later Battle of Passchendaele before a transfer to command the Fourth Army Musketry School in January 1918. Fortune ended the war as commander of the 46th Brigade with the rank of acting brigadier general. During his wartime service Fortune was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and five times mentioned in dispatches.[3][1]
After attending the Staff College, Camberley from 1920 to 1921, he returned to Sandhurst, this time as instructor.[4] Promoted major in January 1923, he was appointed assistant commandant, Small Arms School, Hythe, which was followed in 1925 by a brief return to the 1st Battalion The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) in India and then in 1927, having been promoted lieutenant colonel, he was appointed CO of the 1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders and subsequently commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade in 1930.[2] He became general officer commanding (GOC) of the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division in 1935 and GOC of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division in 1937.[2][5]
The 51st Division remained in France after the general evacuation from Dunkirk, having been assigned to the French IX Corps. After naval evacuation proved impossible and supplies of ammunition had been exhausted, Major-General Fortune was forced to surrender the greater part of the Highland Division at St Valery en Caux.[6]
Fortune spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. As a senior British officer in captivity in Germany, he worked to improve the conditions of the men under his command. He suffered a stroke in 1944 but refused repatriation.[2] He was finally liberated in April 1945 and made KBE shortly after.[2][5]
Several British writers have questioned the decision to remain with the French during the battle. However, General Charles de Gaulle stated, 'For my part, I can say that the comradeship of arms, sealed on the battlefield of Abbeville in May–June 1940, between the French armoured division, which I had the honour to command, and the gallant 51st Scottish Division under General Fortune, played its part in the decision which I made to continue the fight at the side of the Allies, to the end, come what may'. And he concluded by quoting the old motto of the Garde Ecossaise: omni modo fidelis – faithful in every way.[7]
References
- Smart 2005, p. 105.
- "Major General Fortune". 51 Highland Division. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Victor Fortune". Generals.dk. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Smart 2005, p. 105−106.
- Smart 2005, p. 106.
- "The Heroes of St Valery". Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Speech delivered by General de Gaulle at Edinburgh". 23 June 1942. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
Bibliography
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.