Editing Claude Auchinleck (section)

===Norway 1940===
On the outbreak of war, Auchinleck was appointed to command the [[Chindits|Indian 3rd Infantry Division]], but in January 1940 was summoned to the United Kingdom to command [[IV Corps (United Kingdom)|IV Corps]], the only time in the war that a wholly British corps was commanded by an Indian Army officer.<ref name="Mead52">Mead, p. 52</ref> He received promotion to acting [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|lieutenant general]] on 1 February 1940<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34811| date=15 March 1940|page=1531| supp=y}}</ref> and to the substantive rank of lieutenant general on 16 March 1940.<ref name=heath31>Heathcote, p. 31</ref> In May 1940 Auchinleck took over command of the Anglo-French ground forces during the [[Norwegian campaign]],<ref name="Mead52"/> a military operation that was doomed to fail.<ref name=heath31/>

[[File:The Narvik Campaign 1940 N134.jpg|thumb|left|Lieutenant General Claude Auchinleck, the C-in-C of the North Western Expeditionary Force, and Group Captain Moor looking over maps on board the Polish Navy troopship MS ''Chrobry'' before docking in Harstad.]]

Auchinleck arrived in [[Greenock]], after the fall of Norway, on 12 June, by which time the [[Battle of France]] was nearing its end, with the majority of the BEF in France having been [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuated from the port of Dunkirk]], with the French surrender only a few days away. Due to these reasons, all attention was now given to the defence of the UK which many believed would soon be invaded by the Germans (see [[Operation Sea Lion]]).{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=52}} In mid-June he was given command of the recently established [[V Corps (United Kingdom)|V Corps]], then serving in [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]] under Lieutenant General [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]]. His stay was not to be for very long, however, as, just a few weeks later, Brooke succeeded General [[Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside|Sir Edmund Ironside]] as [[Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces]], with Auchinleck succeeding Brooke as GOC-in-C of Southern Command,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34902| date=19 July 1940|page=4493|supp=y}}</ref> responsible for the defence of [[Southern England]], where the expected invasion would come from.{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=37}} The recently vacated V Corps was taken over by Lieutenant General [[Bernard Montgomery]], who disliked Auchinleck intensely, possibly due to his disdain for the Indian Army and its officers.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=52}} The relationship between the two future field marshals was not easy, with Montgomery later writing:

{{Quote|In the 5th Corps I first served under Auchinleck, who had the Southern Command; I cannot recall that we ever agreed on anything.<ref>Montgomery, p. 71</ref>}}

Many of Montgomery's actions in the next few weeks and months could be considered as insubordination, with one incident in particular standing out, when Montgomery went over Auchinleck's head directly to the [[Adjutant-General to the Forces|Adjutant-General]] on issues related to officers and men being transferred to and from Montgomery's V Corps.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=52}}<ref name=heath31/> Auchinleck was not to deal with this behaviour for long as in December he was ordered to succeed his friend, General [[Robert Cassels|Sir Robert Cassels]], as [[Commander-in-Chief, India]].{{sfn|Mead|2007|pp=52–53}}{{sfn|Doherty|2004|p=38}} By now known throughout the army as "the Auk", he was destined to encounter Montgomery again, although the circumstances there would not be at all pleasant.{{sfn|Mead|2007|p=53}}