Sir Claude (John Eyre) Auchinleck Biography (1884–1981)British soldier, born in Aldershot, Hampshire, S England, UK. He studied at Wellington College, and joined the 62nd Punjabis in 1904. In 1941 he became commander-in-chief in India,[COLOR=red ! important][FONT=Verdana,sans-serif][COLOR=red ! important][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] then succeeded Wavell in N Africa. He made a successful advance into Cyrenaica, but was later thrown back by Rommel. His regrouping of the 8th Army on El Alamein paved the way for ultimate victory, but at the time he was made a scapegoat for the retreat, and was replaced by General Alexander in 1942. In 1943 he returned to India, and was created field-marshal in 1946.
