Famous generals of the great war who led the United States and her allies to a glorious victory . is thegrandson of the first Earl of Stafford, a noted FieldMarshal. A historical cloud rested upon the name ofByng for many years, for in 1756 Admiral John Byngwas appointed to command a hastily equipped squadronof ten ships sent to the relief of Minorca, which wasblocked by a French fleet. The Admiral fought an unsatisfactory battle fromthe British standpoint, and was accused of hesitation inattacking the enemy fleet. Public indignation wasgreat against him, he was tried by court-martial andwas f
Famous generals of the great war who led the United States and her allies to a glorious victory . is thegrandson of the first Earl of Stafford, a noted FieldMarshal. A historical cloud rested upon the name ofByng for many years, for in 1756 Admiral John Byngwas appointed to command a hastily equipped squadronof ten ships sent to the relief of Minorca, which wasblocked by a French fleet. The Admiral fought an unsatisfactory battle fromthe British standpoint, and was accused of hesitation inattacking the enemy fleet. Public indignation wasgreat against him, he was tried by court-martial andwas found to be guilty of treason to his native recommended to mercy, the ministry then inpower insisted upon the extreme penalty. He was con-sequently shot by a firing squad on the war-ship Monarch, at Portsmouth, March 14th, 1757. Thus for more than a century and a half a cloudhas clung over the memory of this seaman. The gen-eral verdict of the English historians is that the exe-cution of Admiral Byng was a case of undue severity,and, after a calm review of the circumstances in the. SIR JULIAN H. BYNG SIR JULIAN H. BYNG 293 case, his worst fault seems to have been that he wastoo cautious. Xo one would accuse him now of beinga traitor. In spite of this shadow which has hung over thename of Byng for a hundred and sixty years, thatname to-day is as noted as any in the annals of Britishwarfare. The brilliant assault at Cambrai has clearedaway the cloud which besmirched the name of our Gen-eral for such a long period of time. This once hatedname is now on every lip, for Bingo Byng was theman who led the smash at Cambrai. Bingos Third Division was a part of the CavalryBrigade — under Allenby — which held the southernhalf of the salient during the first battle of May of 1915 General Byng succeeded GeneralAllenby (sent to capture Jerusalem) in command ofthe Cavalry Corps, and in this position fought throughthe battle of Ypres. In the summer of 1915 he wasgiven th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, booksubjectgeneral, booksubjectworldwar19141918
