Military History

Chaffee was the only son of the remarkable Adna Chaffee Sr. who had joined the army as a private during the Civil War and by the end of his career would become chief of staff of the army with the rank of lieutenant general. The junior Chaffee steeped in the military and graduated from West Point in the upper hall of his 1906 class.

Byng was born into a privileged life at Wrotham Park (Barnet) as the son of George Stevens Byng, Second Earl of Strafford, and was educated in Eton. He entered the militia, where he distinguished himself sufficiently to be posted into the elite Tenth Hussars in 1883.

Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny (Russian: Семён Миха́йлович Будённый) was born near Rostov-on-the-Don, the heart of the Don Cossack region, where he was steeped in the fighting traditions of the Cossack's. Although he received no formal education, Budyonny was literate.

Bradley was Born in Clark, Missouri, and received an appointment to West Point, from which he graduated in 1915 with a commission as second lieutenant in the infantry. During 1915-18, he served in the West in a series of posts in Washington and Arizona and rose rapidly through the ranks, gaining promotion to major in June 1918. He was not shippe...

Botha was born near Greytown in Natal and, the son of a farming family, was given very little formal education. He was, however, intensely interested in politics and took part in creating the New Republic around Vryheid in 1884. He settled in that region, becoming field cornet (military leader) of Vryheid in 1894 and gaining election to the Volk...

Auchinleck was the son of an army officer and, destined for a military career, was educated at Wellington and Sandhurst. He became an officer in the Indian army and saw service during World War I against Turkish forces in the Middle East. During the Great War, he rocketed through the ranks, becoming a lieutenant colonel by 1917.

A native of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, Arnold attended West Point, from which he graduated in 1907, and was commissioned an officer in the infantry. His first service was in the Philippines during 1907-1909, but he became passionately interested in flying and was a pioneer in military aviation.

Allenby was born in Nottinghamshire and joined the Inniskilling Dragoons in 1882. With this unit, he served in the Bechuanaland (Botswana) expedition of 1884-85. At the turn of the century, during 1900-1902 he saw service in the Second Anglo-Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener and in the field. In 1902, he returned to England to command of t...