Eagle Biography
John W. "Shan" Hackett
General Sir John W. Hackett is a highly successful scholar, soldier, educator, and
author. Born in Perth, Australia, in 1910, he began his military career in 1931 when he
was commissioned to the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars. From 1936 - 1941, Hackett served
in the Middle East, first in Palestine, then with the Transjordan Frontier Force, and
finally in Syria and Lebanon. In 1942, as Axis forces threatened Egypt, he transferred to
the staff of the British 9th Army in the Western Desert. At the age of 33, twice
decorated for bravery, he took command of the 4th Parachute Brigade. After landing in
Italy in 1943, he next led this Brigade during the ill-fated Operation Market-Garden in
the Netherlands.
On the second day, 18 September 1944, of the greatest airborne assault
in history, Hackett and his men parachuted a few miles west of Arnhem's strategic
bridges across the Rhine. British airborne troops who had landed the day before mounted a
vigorous bayonet charge against German troops who were firing at the planes and Hackett's
men. With characteristic precision, Brigadier Hackett landed just 300 yards from the spot
chosen for his headquarters. Despite the enemy fire, he first searched for his walking
stick, which was lost on the jump. Encountering German soldiers eager to surrender to
him, he brusquely told them, in fluent German, to wait. He recovered his walking stick
and then marched his prisoners away.
Following the war, Hackett held many notable
commands including the Transjordan Frontier Force, Twentieth Armored Brigade, and Seventh
Armored Division. He also served as Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Ireland Command
and Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff. His final assignment in an illustrious
military career was Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine and Commander of
NATO's Northern Army Group. In 1968, he began a new career as Principal of King's
College, University of London.
Since 1975, he has devoted full time to lecturing and
writing. A bestselling author, his books include The Third World War: A
Future History, A Profession of Arms, and I Was a Stranger.
General Hackett has been described as "an academic who in a prolonged fit of absence
of mind became a four-star general." For his conspicuous contributions to the realm,
Queen Elizabeth knighted this amazing man in 1962.
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| More About The Eagle: |
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| Honored as an Eagle In: |
| 1989
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In the fall of 1944, following the Allied liberation of France, British and
American forces made an unexpectedly rapid advance through Belgium to the
southern border of the Netherlands. General Montgomery conceived a bold plan
to rapidly push into Germany's heartland. A joint force of British, American,
and Polish airborne troops would conduct simultaneous assaults to capture
bridges along a single road leading to a key bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem.
On 18 September, Brigadier "Shan" Hackett and his 4th Parachute
Brigade jumped from a USAAF 315th Troop Carrier Group C-47 Skytrain
into a "witches' cauldron" of fighting. Despite courageous efforts
by all involved, the plan failed ... Arnhem was just a bridge too far!
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