Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude (24 June 1864 – 18 November 1917) was a British Army officer. He is known for his operations in the Mesopotamian campaign during the First World War and for conquering Baghdad in 1917.
Born~Died Jun 24, 1864 ~ Nov 18, 1917Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 2:39 PM
Maude first saw active service in from March to September 1885, where he was awarded the Egyptian Medal and the 's Egyptian Star. In March 1888 he was appointed an .
This page is based on “Stanley Maude” from English Wikipedia, (r1373115766) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
While attending the Staff College, Camberley, where he gained his psc, from 1895 to 1896,6 he was promoted to captain on 28 August 1895.7 On 1 January 1897 he became a brigade major.8 He was promoted again, this time to major, on 5 February 1899.9
In May 1901, he was appointed military secretary to the Earl of Minto, Governor-General of Canada,12 in which capacity he accompanied the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) on their Royal Tour of Canada in September and October 1901. During this trip Maude joined the Duke of York and Lord Minto on a duck hunt at Delta Marsh, Manitoba, and for his services administering the tour he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in October 1901.13 He served on the staff of the Governor-General until Lord Minto stepped down in 1904, when he returned to Britain to become second-in-command at the Coldstream Guards. He then joined the general staff, was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 190714 and in April 1909 became an assistant director at the War Office, taking over from George Kemball.15
Raised to colonel while serving in this role in July 1911,16 in April 1912 he succeeded Colonel Walter Doran as GSO1 of the 5th Division,17 a post he held until February 1914 when he returned to the War Office as a GSO1, taking over from Colonel Aylmer Hunter-Weston.1819
First World War
Western Front
In World War I, Maude first served in France. He was a staff officer with III Corps when, in October 1914, he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and given command of the 14th Infantry Brigade, part of the 5th Division, in place of Brigadier General Stuart Peter Rolt.20 He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in February 191521 and was wounded in April and returned home to recover.
He returned to France in May and, in June, he was promoted to major general "for distinguished service in the Field"22 and transferred to command the 33rd Division, a Kitchener's Army formation which was then still in training in Britain.
Dardanelles
In mid-August, however, Maude was instead given charge of the 13th (Western) Division in Suvla. The 13th suffered heavy casualties retreating from Suvla and landing and later evacuating from Helles before being shifted to Mesopotamia in March 1916. He was the last man evacuated from Suvla Bay.231
Mesopotamia
Maude arrived to catch the end of the British failure at the Siege of Kut where he was promoted to temporary lieutenant general,24 replacing Lieutenant General G. F. Gorringe as commander of the newly dubbed Tigris Corps (III Indian Army Corps) in July 1916. Despite being instructed to do no more than hold the existing line, Maude set about to re-organising and re-supplying his mixed British and Indian forces. He was made commander of all Allied forces in Mesopotamia in late July 1916, replacing Sir Percy Lake.
Further advances in Mesopotamia were ordered (18 September 1916) by politicians such as Curzon and Chamberlain and against the wishes of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) General "Wully" Robertson. Basil Liddell Hart25 later argued that Maude clearly "consciously or unconsciously" ignored his secret orders from Robertson not to attempt to take Baghdad.26 Robertson changed his mind when it seemed that the Russians might advance to Mosul, removing any Turkish threat to Mesopotamia, and authorised Maude to attack in December 1916.27
Given reinforcements and more equipment, Maude directed his force in a steady series of victories. Advancing up the Tigris and winning the battles of Mohammed Abdul Hassan, Hai and Dahra in January 1917, recapturing Kut in February 1917, he took Baghdad on 11 March 1917, shortly after his rank of lieutenant-general had been made permanent, "in recognition of his distinguished service in the field as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Mesopotamia".28 (He issued the Proclamation of Baghdad on 19 March.) From Baghdad, he launched the Samarrah Offensive and extended his operations to the Euphrates and Diyala rivers.
Death
After a lull over the summer, in November 1917, whilst his forces were engaged at Ramadi and Tikrit, Maude contracted cholera (some sources claim it was caught from drinking unboiled milk) and died in the same house as German Field Marshal von der Goltz nineteen months earlier. Lieutenant General Sir William Marshall succeeded him.
His body was buried in Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery.29 His initial grave and marker was replaced by a more elaborate structure and then enclosed in a small mausoleum structure on the walls of which is mounted the standard Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone.3031 The epitaph on his CWGC gravestone reads:
"'I am the resurrection and the life'. He fought a good fight. He kept the faith."29
In March 1918 parliament agreed to a request from the King that he grant the sum of £25,000 to his widow.32
Syk, Andrew, ed. (2012). The Military Papers of Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, 1914–1917. History Press for the Army Records Society. ISBN 978-0-752-48619-2.
Woodward, David R (1998). Field Marshal Sir William Robertson. Westport Connecticut & London: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-95422-6.
Maude first saw active service in Egypt from March to September 1885, where he was awarded the Egyptian Medal and the Khedive's Egyptian Star. In March 1888 he was appointed an adjutant.5
While attending the Staff College, Camberley, where he gained his psc, from 1895 to 1896,6 he was promoted to captain on 28 August 1895.7 On 1 January 1897 he became a brigade major.8 He was promoted again, this time to major, on 5 February 1899.9
In May 1901, he was appointed military secretary to the Earl of Minto, Governor-General of Canada,12 in which capacity he accompanied the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) on their Royal Tour of Canada in September and October 1901. During this trip Maude joined the Duke of York and Lord Minto on a duck hunt at Delta Marsh, Manitoba, and for his services administering the tour he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in October 1901.13 He served on the staff of the Governor-General until Lord Minto stepped down in 1904, when he returned to Britain to become second-in-command at the Coldstream Guards. He then joined the general staff, was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 190714 and in April 1909 became an assistant director at the War Office, taking over from George Kemball.15
Raised to colonel while serving in this role in July 1911,16 in April 1912 he succeeded Colonel Walter Doran as GSO1 of the 5th Division,17 a post he held until February 1914 when he returned to the War Office as a GSO1, taking over from Colonel Aylmer Hunter-Weston.1819
First World War
Western Front
In World War I, Maude first served in France. He was a staff officer with III Corps when, in October 1914, he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and given command of the 14th Infantry Brigade, part of the 5th Division, in place of Brigadier General Stuart Peter Rolt.20 He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in February 191521 and was wounded in April and returned home to recover.
He returned to France in May and, in June, he was promoted to major general "for distinguished service in the Field"22 and transferred to command the 33rd Division, a Kitchener's Army formation which was then still in training in Britain.
Dardanelles
In mid-August, however, Maude was instead given charge of the 13th (Western) Division in Suvla. The 13th suffered heavy casualties retreating from Suvla and landing and later evacuating from Helles before being shifted to Mesopotamia in March 1916. He was the last man evacuated from Suvla Bay.231
Mesopotamia
Maude arrived to catch the end of the British failure at the Siege of Kut where he was promoted to temporary lieutenant general,24 replacing Lieutenant General G. F. Gorringe as commander of the newly dubbed Tigris Corps (III Indian Army Corps) in July 1916. Despite being instructed to do no more than hold the existing line, Maude set about to re-organising and re-supplying his mixed British and Indian forces. He was made commander of all Allied forces in Mesopotamia in late July 1916, replacing Sir Percy Lake.
Further advances in Mesopotamia were ordered (18 September 1916) by politicians such as Curzon and Chamberlain and against the wishes of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) General "Wully" Robertson. Basil Liddell Hart25 later argued that Maude clearly "consciously or unconsciously" ignored his secret orders from Robertson not to attempt to take Baghdad.26 Robertson changed his mind when it seemed that the Russians might advance to Mosul, removing any Turkish threat to Mesopotamia, and authorised Maude to attack in December 1916.27
Given reinforcements and more equipment, Maude directed his force in a steady series of victories. Advancing up the Tigris and winning the battles of Mohammed Abdul Hassan, Hai and Dahra in January 1917, recapturing Kut in February 1917, he took Baghdad on 11 March 1917, shortly after his rank of lieutenant-general had been made permanent, "in recognition of his distinguished service in the field as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Mesopotamia".28 (He issued the Proclamation of Baghdad on 19 March.) From Baghdad, he launched the Samarrah Offensive and extended his operations to the Euphrates and Diyala rivers.
Death
After a lull over the summer, in November 1917, whilst his forces were engaged at Ramadi and Tikrit, Maude contracted cholera (some sources claim it was caught from drinking unboiled milk) and died in the same house as German Field Marshal von der Goltz nineteen months earlier. Lieutenant General Sir William Marshall succeeded him.
His body was buried in Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery.29 His initial grave and marker was replaced by a more elaborate structure and then enclosed in a small mausoleum structure on the walls of which is mounted the standard Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone.3031 The epitaph on his CWGC gravestone reads:
"'I am the resurrection and the life'. He fought a good fight. He kept the faith."29
In March 1918 parliament agreed to a request from the King that he grant the sum of £25,000 to his widow.32
Syk, Andrew, ed. (2012). The Military Papers of Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, 1914–1917. History Press for the Army Records Society. ISBN 978-0-752-48619-2.
Woodward, David R (1998). Field Marshal Sir William Robertson. Westport Connecticut & London: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-95422-6.