Major General Sir Earnest D. Swinton, K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., was a noted English soldier, author and professor. Considered by Field Marshal Earl Wavell as one of the most far-sighted officers the British Army has produced, he wrote before World War I on the effects of air warfare, mining and of psychological warfare. In 1914, Sir Swinton completely revolutionized warfare by his invention of the tank; he, more than anyone else, was responsible for its introduction and development.
He served as Professor of Military Histoy at Oxford from 1925 to 1939, and later as Commandant of the Royal Tank Corps from 1934 to 1938 - earning the rank of Major General.
As a Captain, shortly after sevice in the Boer War, he wrote "The Defence of Duffer's Drift," using the pseudonym, Lieutenant Backsight Forethought, or BF. Duffer's Drift has become a military classic on minor tactics in this century. In addition to
Duffer's Drift, and contributing to many journals, he authored
The Green Curve in 1909 and
The Great Tab Dope in 1915, under the pseudonym O'le Luk-Oie (Olaf shut-eye). His other works include
The Study Of War in 1926 and his final publication,
An Eastern Odyssey written in 1935.
(
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resourc...)
(3.88)
1