Slim: Britain’s Greatest General

Dr Robert Lyman reveals how Field Marshal William Slim was able to turn the tide of the Burma campaign.

In 2011, Field Marshal Bill Slim tied with the Duke of Wellington as Britain’s greatest general in a public debate hosted by the National Army Museum.

Dr Robert Lyman, Slim’s military biographer, will reprise his success in the debate by explaining who Slim was and how he was able to bring about a victory in Burma in 1945 that had looked improbable in 1944 and impossible a year before that.

This event has been developed by the Kohima Educational Trust as part of the Kohima 80th Anniversary Weekend.

About the speaker

Robert Lyman

Dr Robert Lyman FRHistS is a writer and historian. He is a Research Fellow at the Changing Character of War Centre, Pembroke College, University of Oxford.

Since finishing a 20-year career in the British Army, he has published widely on the Second World War in Europe, North Africa and Asia. He was the BBC’s historical adviser for the VJ-Day commemorations in 2015 and 2020, and is a regular contributor to documentary films on aspects of the conflict.