The first artillery general in British history to be appointed as Chief of General Staff: Who is George Francis Milne?

He was born in Aberdeen in 1866. He became head of the British forces in Macedonia in 1916. He entered Istanbul in 1919 as the commander of the British occupation forces. Concerned about the national movements that started in Anatolia, he asked the Istanbul Government to recall Mustafa Kemal, who was sent to Sivas as an Army inspector, and to stop the gang movements. On the other hand, he facilitated the Greek occupation of the Aegean by identifying the Milne Line, which included Izmir and its surroundings. After the success of the Turkish War of Independence, he returned to England and became the chief of the General Staff. (1926-1934). He died in London in 1948.

Who is George Francis Milne?

He was born on 5 November 1866 in Westwood, Aberdeen, United Kingdom. He is the youngest child and only son of George Milne (died 1890), a banker in Scotland, and Williamina Milne, a housewife. Milne had a comfortable childhood and completed his primary and secondary education in Aberdeen. At his family's request, he studied at the University of Aberdeen between 1881 and 1883, but decided to enter the military school and left his education unfinished.

Field Marshal George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne, (5 November 1866 – 23 March 1948) was a senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) from 1926 to 1933. He served in the Second Boer War and during the First World War he served briefly on the Western Front but spent most of the war commanding the British forces on the Macedonian front. As CIGS he generally promoted the mechanisation of British land forces although limited practical progress was made during his term in office.

Milne, whose duty in India ended in 1895, was appointed to the British troops in Malta with the rank of captain. After staying here for a year, he returned to England and prepared for the staff exams for two years. He passed the exams successfully but left his education midway and took part in the ongoing British-Sudanese war. He completed his staff training in 1899 and was assigned to the staff of General Kitchener in South Africa. For his services in the Boer Wars, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1902 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.   Leaving his university education halfway through, Milne entered the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich on 14 March 1884 and graduated from there in 1885. At the end of September, he was sent to India as an artillery officer. After serving in India until 1890, he was appointed to England for one year. He was sent to India again in 1891 and remained there until 1895.

Returning to England after the Boer War, Milne served in the military intelligence class and specialized in the Balkans and Mediterranean regions. He got married in 1905 and had a son and a daughter from this marriage. He was reappointed to the artillery class in 1907, was appointed to Ireland in 1908, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He showed himself as a successful commander during his time here.

He organized the withdrawal of British forces from Belgium in the first year of the First World War. He also participated in the Battles of the Marne and Ypres on the Western Front. In 1915, he was promoted to the rank of major general in the British Second Army and commanded the British troops landing in Salonika. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 1918 and led the British attack on Bulgarian troops that began on 18 September 1918. The attack he led was successful, and on October 10, the forces commanded by General Milne began to approach the Ottoman borders. According to British military historians, this attack led by General Milne contributed to the withdrawal of Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire from the First World War.

After the First World War, he was given command of all British troops from the Straits to the Caspian Sea. He was also given the task of imposing the provisions of the Armistice of Mudros on Turkey and ensuring public order in the Trans-Caucasus. While assuming this duty, he opposed the occupation of Izmir by the Greeks on the grounds that "the Turks would revolt". He also made efforts to demobilize and disarm the Ottoman armies within the scope of the Armistice of Mudros. In July 1919, he put pressure on the Ministry of War for Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who continued his activities in Anatolia, to return to Istanbul. He made attempts to ensure British control over all railways in Anatolia and to station only British soldiers in Istanbul, thus causing a note to be given to England by French diplomats. After the Erzurum Congress, he suggested occupying Trabzon as a precaution and intimidation, but the British government opposed this proposal.

After the Sivas Congress, General Milne realized that the National Movement in Turkey was getting stronger and that it was bringing the Turkish public together. In the reports he sent to the British Ministry of War and the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he stated that the Turkish public was extremely sensitive about the occupations and that the Armenians did not have enough manpower to establish an Independent Armenia, and argued that a more reasonable agreement should be offered to the Turks by making concessions, otherwise, the military power of the Turks would gradually increase. The reports sent by General Milne were not taken into consideration by British diplomats, but War Ministry officials thought that these proposals should be given importance.

At the Paris Peace Conference held in 1919, it was proposed to draw a border in Anatolia, and after the proposal was accepted, it was decided to draw a border between the Turkish and Greek sides on August 2, 1919. General Milne was also assigned to draw the border. That's why the drawn border was called the "Milne Line" or "Miln Line". According to General Milne, it was not possible to retain this region without making various changes in the Greek occupation zone. Further progress by the Greeks did not seem possible without major battles with the Turks. The Istanbul government also began to lose control in Anatolia and was not in a position to control the irregular Turkish troops. At this point, General Henry from the British army was sent by General Milne to make investigations in order to draw the line.

The Milne Line also caused division among the Allied Powers. Italy considered this line as the giving of lands they did not deserve to Greece and started to treat the Turks in the regions they occupied relatively better than before. Venizelos, on the other hand, thought that, unlike Italy, the borders of Greece were reduced with the Milne Line. Some Greek officers even claimed that this line was a conspiracy prepared to provide time for the Turks to organize and strengthen. Greek forces crossed the Milne Line on 22 June 1920. At this point, they did not take into account General Milne's orders not to cross or violate the line.

Following the decision to officially occupy Istanbul together with Britain's allies, he was ordered by the British General Staff and High Commission to lead the allied troops that would officially occupy Istanbul in March 1920. However, as a result of pressure from France, this task was given to French General Franchet D'Esperey. Thereupon, he was appointed commander of the British occupation forces. However, while he was in this position, he could not agree with the French general on the borders of the occupation zones, and since he tried to take command of the entire occupation forces in Istanbul, he had a falling out with the Italians.

General Milne returned to England in October 1920, handing over his duties to his successor, General Charles "Tim" Harington. In some sources, it has been claimed that his rivalry with the French generals and the pressure of the French government were effective in his resignation. After returning to England, he was promoted to the rank of General and commanded the Eastern Army in England in 1923. He became Chief of General Staff of the British Army on 19 February 1926. He became the first artillery general in British history to be appointed to this position and continued his duty until February 18, 1933. 

In 1928, he was given the rank of Marshal. He failed to modernize and mechanize the British army during his tenure, but he managed to maintain the discipline and combat capability of the British army.

He was awarded the title of Baron in January 1933 for his services in the British army and retired from military service after his duty as Chief of General Staff ended in 1933. 

Milne died in London on 23 March 1948. His body was cremated on 27 March 1948 and his ashes were buried with a ceremony in the Military Cemetery in Aberdeen on 1 April 1948.