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Frederick Browning

Surname Browning Given Name Frederick Born 20 Dec 1896 Died 14 Mar 1965 Country United Kingdom Category Military-Ground Gender Male

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseFrederick Arthur Montague Browning was a veteran of WW1. Rising through the ranks during the inter-war years, he was placed in command of the Small Arms School in 1939 and was given command of the 24th Guards Brigade in 1940. In 1941, Prime Minister Winston Churchill appointed him to command the British First Airborne Division, trusting him to oversee airborne operations in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. In 1943, he was given command of British First Airborne Corps at the rank of lieutenant general. In 1944, his corps was integrated into the First Allied Airborne Army, where he also held the post as American Lieutenant General Lewis Brereton's deputy. In this role, he was closely associated with the Allied failure during Operation Market Garden in Sep 1944. His evaluation after the mission resulted in the removal of Polish Major General Stanisław Sosabowski from command, which received unfavorable comments of unjust scapegoating. Nevertheless, his career seemed to had reached a plateau after Operation Market Garden, receiving no promotions after that mission. In 1946, he was made Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, hence the "Sir" prefix in later publications; in 1959 he was made Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. He retired from the British Army in 1948 and became Treasurer to then-Princess Elizabeth Duchess of Edinburgh and later Treasurer to Duke of Edinburgh.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Jul 2006

Frederick Browning Timeline

20 Dec 1896 Frederick Browning was born. 31 Oct 1941 The British 1st Airborne division was formed on under the command of Major General Frederick "Boy" Browning. 16 Jul 1944 General Dwight Eisenhower recommended the formation of a combined Anglo-American airborne Army and nominated Lieutenant General Lewis Brereton to command with Lieutenant General Frederick Browning (who was actually senior) as his deputy. 25 Aug 1945 Frederick Browning advised Louis Mountbatten to renegotiate the troop integration issue with Aung San and leaders of the Burmese Patriotic Forces, fearing that the former anti-Japanese resistance fighters would go underground rather than joining the Burmese Army. 14 Mar 1965 Frederick Browning passed away.

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