Thread by @garius

So continuing last night's brief historical diversion, let's talk Admiral Bertram Ramsay. Logistical genius, Naval commander of both Dunkirk and Normandy and the most important British naval hero you've probably never heard of /1

Ramsay was a Londoner (paging @LondonHistorian) who had been a solid destroyer captain in the Dover patrol in WW1. By 1938 he'd retired, but the rapid expansion of the Admiralty in 1938 meant they needed (command) bums on seats, so they started asking old officers to help out /2

It was Churchill himself who persuaded Ramsay to put on his uniform again, and he was given a temporary commission as a Vice-Admiral. Not because anyone thought he was OMG AMAZEBALLS (although he was well regarded), but because they needed someone to run stuff at Dover. /3

Dover was expected to be a busy, but quiet(ish) command, mostly focused on destroyer action. So with his previous experience, Ramsay seemed a solid pick.

Unfortunately, the German army had other ideas, and soon thousands of allied troops were retreating on Dunkirk. /4

The military disaster unfolding in France happened so quickly that the Navy barely had time to react. So almost by default, command of the evacuation (Operation Dynamo) landed on the plate of the nearest senior enough officer and naval station - that was Ramsay at Dover. /5

It was one of the best decisions (and finest pieces of luck) in naval history. Ramsay turned out to be a superb logistician, inspired decision maker and had a great eye for talent. /6

It was hoped that Operation Dynamo could evacuate 45,000 men. Under the leadership of Ramsay at Dover and Captain Bill Tennant in Dunkirk, over 335,000 were pulled from the beaches before German troops finally overran them. /7

Ramsay went on to hold important commands during almost ALL the major allied naval invasions in Europe - most notably Operation Torch (the invasion of North Africa) and Operation Husky (Sicily). /8

By 1943, Ramsay was demonstrably the finest commander of naval invasions in the combined Allied forces. So the Navy realised they should PROBABLY make him a permanent officer again, not least because Eisenhower had a small job that he insisted he kinda needed Ramsay for /9

Ramsay was (still somewhat reluctantly) officially placed back on the active list on 26 April 1944. He was immediately promoted to full Admiral and appointed Naval Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Naval Expeditionary Force for the invasion of Europe. /10

In that role, Ramsay was reunited with Bill Tennant (who had since had a Battleship sunk under him) and set about planning and executing the largest naval invasion in history.

(Hence why he shows up in my history of the weather forecasting for D-Day blog.usejournal.com/the-weatherman…) /11

Operation Neptune - the naval part of the invasion of Normandy - is one of the finest pieces of military logistics and planning ever executed. Ramsay commanded over 7,000 ships and delivered 160,000 men onto the beaches on D-Day. By the end of June, 875,000 men were ashore. /12

From Dunkirk, through Torch and Husky, to Normandy, by being bloody good at logistical command, Ramsay has a solid claim for being the most important naval commander of WW2. Because warfare had changed. Fighting Admirals win battles, but logistical Admirals win wars. /13

Certainly, Ramsay was the first British Admiral to embrace - and pioneer - the Royal Navy's necessary transition from a 'fighting' force to one whose role was to protect others, and get them to the right place, at the right time, safe and able to fight. /14

The decisions and techniques he pioneered in WW2 set the scene for practically every other major British naval operation in the post-war world.

In 1982, The Sun described Operation Corporate (the Falklands invasion) as 'worthy of Nelson'. It was not. It was worthy of Ramsay. /15

So why haven't you heard of him? Two reasons:

First: History loves a 'fighting' Admiral. Guns and broadsides make fun reading and watching, careful planning and calm execution, not so much.

Second: Because, sadly, Ramsay did not survive the War. /16

Always a believer in the importance of understanding what's happening 'on the ground' (Ramsay had commanded the European invasion from the fleet), he was killed in a plane crash in France, in 1945. /17

So, if you find yourself in Yvelines, France, make a diversion to the Cemetery there and pay your respects to one of the finest Admirals the Royal Navy has ever had.

Others have killed more people in action, but I suspect no other Admirals has saved so many soldiers' lives /END