Second_World_War Louis_Mountbatten,_1st_Earl_Mountbatten_of_Burma

mountbatten, walter short, , husband kimmel in hawaii 1941

in august 1941, mountbatten appointed captain of aircraft carrier hms illustrious lay in norfolk, virginia, repairs following action @ malta in mediterranean in january. during period of relative inactivity, paid flying visit pearl harbor, 3 months before japanese attack on naval base there. mountbatten, appalled @ base s lack of preparedness, drawing on japan s history of launching wars surprise attacks successful british surprise attack @ battle of taranto had knocked italy s fleet out of war, , sheer effectiveness of aircraft against warships, accurately predicted entry war begin japanese surprise attack on pearl harbor.

mountbatten favourite of winston churchill. on 27 october 1941 mountbatten replaced roger keyes chief of combined operations , promoted commodore.

clockwise lower right, franklin d. roosevelt, winston churchill, hastings ismay, mountbatten: january 1943 in casablanca.

his duties in role included inventing new technical aids assist opposed landings. noteworthy technical achievements of mountbatten , staff include construction of pluto , underwater oil pipeline english coast normandy, artificial harbour constructed of concrete caissons , sunken ships, , development of amphibious tank-landing ships. project mountbatten proposed churchill project habakkuk. massive , impregnable 600-metre aircraft carrier made reinforced ice ( pykrete ): habakkuk never carried out due enormous cost.

as commander of combined operations, mountbatten , staff planned highly successful bruneval raid, gained important information , part of german würzburg radar installation , 1 of machine s technicians on 27 february 1942. mountbatten recognized surprise , speed essential requirements of raid against installation ensure radar captured, , saw airborne assault viable method. in large part responsible planning , organisation of raid @ st. nazaire in mid-1942, operation put out of action 1 of heavily defended docks in nazi-occupied france until after war s end, ramifications of contributed allied supremacy in battle of atlantic. after these 2 successes came dieppe raid of 19 august 1942. central in planning , promotion of raid on port of dieppe. raid marked failure, casualties of 60%, great majority of them canadians. following dieppe raid mountbatten became controversial figure in canada, royal canadian legion distancing him during visits there during later career. relations canadian veterans, blamed him losses, remained frosty after war.

lord louis mountbatten, supreme allied commander, seen during tour of arakan front in february 1944

mountbatten claimed lessons learned dieppe raid necessary planning normandy invasion on d-day 2 years later. however, military historians such former royal marine julian thompson have written these lessons should not have needed debacle such dieppe recognised. nevertheless, direct result of failings of dieppe raid, british made several innovations, notably hobart s funnies – specialized armoured vehicles which, in course of normandy landings, undoubtedly saved many lives on 3 beachheads upon commonwealth soldiers landing (gold beach, juno beach, , sword beach).

mountbatten making address on steps of municipal building in singapore, 1945

in august 1943, churchill appointed mountbatten supreme allied commander south east asia command (seac) promotion acting full admiral. less practical ideas sidelined experienced planning staff led lieutenant-colonel james allason, though some, such proposal launch amphibious assault near rangoon, got far churchill before being quashed.

british interpreter hugh lunghi recounted embarrassing episode occurred during potsdam conference, when mountbatten, desiring receive invitation visit soviet union, repeatedly attempted impress josef stalin former connections russian imperial family. attempt fell predictably flat, stalin dryly inquiring whether time ago had been there. says lunghi, meeting embarrassing because stalin unimpressed. offered no invitation. mountbatten left tail between legs.

during time supreme allied commander of southeast asia theatre, command oversaw recapture of burma japanese general william slim. personal high point receipt of japanese surrender in singapore when british troops returned island receive formal surrender of japanese forces in region led general itagaki seishiro on 12 september 1945, codenamed operation tiderace. south east asia command disbanded in may 1946 , mountbatten returned home substantive rank of rear-admiral.

following war, mountbatten known have largely shunned japanese rest of life out of respect men killed during war, , per will, japan not invited send diplomatic representatives funeral in 1979, though did meet emperor hirohito during state visit britain in 1971, reportedly @ urging of queen.