Indian Army during World War II Cunningham. Over time, the Eighth Army would be commanded by Generals Neil Ritchie, Claude Auchinleck and Bernard Montgomery. In the early years of the war, the Eighth Army suffered from poor leadership and repeated reversals of fortune until the Second Battle of El Alamein when it advanced across Libya into Tunisia. The Ninth Army was formed on 1 November 1941 with the re designation of the Headquarters of the British Troops in Mandate Palestine and Transjordan. It controlled British and Commonwealth land forces stationed in the eastern Mediterranean. Its commanders were General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson and Lieutenant-General Sir William
Field marshal (Australia) Field marshal (Australia) Field marshal is the highest rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of field marshal. It is a five-star rank, equivalent to the ranks in the other armed services of admiral of the fleet in the Royal Australian Navy, and marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force. The subordinate army rank is general. Field Marshal Sir William Birdwood (later created The 1st Baron Birdwood) was a British Army officer who commanded the First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) in World War I. As such, he was made