William Elphinstone (major-general)
Encyclopedia
Major-General William George Keith Elphinstone CB (1782 – 23 April 1842) was an officer of the British Army
during the 19th century.
in 1782; he was the son of William Fullerton Elphinstone, who was a director of the British East India Company
, and nephew of Admiral
George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount
Keith.
Elphinstone entered the British Army
in 1804 as a lieutenant
; he saw service throughout the Napoleonic Wars
, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel by 1813, when he became commander of the 33rd Regiment of Foot, which he led at the Battle of Waterloo
in 1815. For his actions at Waterloo, Elphinstone was made a Companion of the Bath, as well as a knight of the Dutch Order of William
and of the Russian Order of St. Anna
. After his promotion to colonel in 1825, he served for a time as aide-de-camp
to King George IV
.
Elphinstone was promoted to major-general in 1837, and, in 1841, during the First Anglo-Afghan War
, placed in command of the British garrison in Kabul
, Afghanistan
, numbering around 4500 troops, of whom 690 were European and the rest Indian. The garrison also included 12,000 civilians, including soldiers' families and camp followers. He was elderly, indecisive, weak, and unwell, and proved himself utterly incompetent for the post; his inability led to the disastrous British retreat from Kabul during January 1842 , which saw his command all but wiped out in a massacre
.
Elphinstone died as a captive in Afghanistan some months later, his body was dispatched with a small guard of Afghan soldiers to the British garrison at Jalalabad
. Elphinstone's "faithful" batman Moore who had stayed with the General accompanied the body. En route, they were attacked by a "band of tribesmen", but eventually the body reached the garrison. Elphinstone is buried in an unmarked grave.
's historical novel Flashman (1969), the first volume of the Flashman Papers series of novels. Elphinstone is portrayed as sublimely incompetent and indecisive, and when Flashman describes his command of the cataclysmic retreat from Kabul, he epitomizes Elphinstone's military ineptitude by stating: "If you had taken the greatest military geniuses of the ages, placed them in command of our army, and asked them to ruin it as speedily as possible, they could not - I mean it seriously - have done it as surely and swiftly as he did."
Another reference to Elphinstone's singular lack of talent again comes from Flashman: "But I still state unhesitatingly, that for pure, vacillating stupidity, for superb incompetence to command, for ignorance combined with bad judgement - in short for the true talent for catastrophe, Elphy Bey stood alone. Others abide our question, but Elphy outshines them all as the greatest military idiot of our own or any other day...".
Or this: "Only he could have permitted the First Afghan War and let it develop to such a ruinous defeat. It was not easy: he started with a good army, a secure position, some excellent officers, a disorganised enemy, and repeated opportunities to save the situation. But Elphy, with a touch of true genius, swept aside these obstacles with unerring precision, and out of order wrought complete chaos. We shall not, with luck, look upon his like again."
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the 19th century.
Biography
Born in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1782; he was the son of William Fullerton Elphinstone, who was a director of the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, and nephew of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
Keith.
Elphinstone entered the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1804 as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
; he saw service throughout the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel by 1813, when he became commander of the 33rd Regiment of Foot, which he led at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
in 1815. For his actions at Waterloo, Elphinstone was made a Companion of the Bath, as well as a knight of the Dutch Order of William
Order of William
The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William , is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Order's motto is Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw...
and of the Russian Order of St. Anna
Order of St. Anna
The Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
. After his promotion to colonel in 1825, he served for a time as aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to King George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
.
Elphinstone was promoted to major-general in 1837, and, in 1841, during the First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
, placed in command of the British garrison in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, numbering around 4500 troops, of whom 690 were European and the rest Indian. The garrison also included 12,000 civilians, including soldiers' families and camp followers. He was elderly, indecisive, weak, and unwell, and proved himself utterly incompetent for the post; his inability led to the disastrous British retreat from Kabul during January 1842 , which saw his command all but wiped out in a massacre
Massacre of Elphinstone's Army
The Massacre of Elphinstone's Army was the destruction by Afghan forces, led by Akbar Khan, the son of Dost Mohammad Khan, of a combined British and Indian force of the British East India Company, led by Major General William Elphinstone, in January 1842....
.
Elphinstone died as a captive in Afghanistan some months later, his body was dispatched with a small guard of Afghan soldiers to the British garrison at Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
. Elphinstone's "faithful" batman Moore who had stayed with the General accompanied the body. En route, they were attacked by a "band of tribesmen", but eventually the body reached the garrison. Elphinstone is buried in an unmarked grave.
Appearances in Fiction
There is a depiction of General "Elphy Bey" Elphinstone and the retreat from Kabul in George MacDonald FraserGeorge MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...
's historical novel Flashman (1969), the first volume of the Flashman Papers series of novels. Elphinstone is portrayed as sublimely incompetent and indecisive, and when Flashman describes his command of the cataclysmic retreat from Kabul, he epitomizes Elphinstone's military ineptitude by stating: "If you had taken the greatest military geniuses of the ages, placed them in command of our army, and asked them to ruin it as speedily as possible, they could not - I mean it seriously - have done it as surely and swiftly as he did."
Another reference to Elphinstone's singular lack of talent again comes from Flashman: "But I still state unhesitatingly, that for pure, vacillating stupidity, for superb incompetence to command, for ignorance combined with bad judgement - in short for the true talent for catastrophe, Elphy Bey stood alone. Others abide our question, but Elphy outshines them all as the greatest military idiot of our own or any other day...".
Or this: "Only he could have permitted the First Afghan War and let it develop to such a ruinous defeat. It was not easy: he started with a good army, a secure position, some excellent officers, a disorganised enemy, and repeated opportunities to save the situation. But Elphy, with a touch of true genius, swept aside these obstacles with unerring precision, and out of order wrought complete chaos. We shall not, with luck, look upon his like again."