Editing Lord Mountbatten (section)

== Second World War ==
[[File:Rear Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten H17387.jpg|thumb|Mountbatten inspecting sailors before the [[Operation Biting|Bruneval Raid]], February 1942]]
When war broke out in September 1939, Mountbatten became Captain (D) (commander) of the [[5th Destroyer Flotilla]] aboard HMS ''Kelly'', which became famous for its exploits.<ref name="Zuckerman"/> In late 1939 he brought [[the Duke of Windsor]] back from exile in France and in early May 1940 Mountbatten led a British convoy in through the fog to evacuate the Allied forces participating in the [[Namsos campaign]] during the [[Norwegian campaign]].<ref name=heath185/>

On the night of 9–10 May 1940, ''Kelly'' was torpedoed amidships by a German [[E-boat]] ''S&nbsp;31'' off the Dutch coast, and Mountbatten thereafter commanded the 5th Destroyer Flotilla from the destroyer {{HMS|Javelin|F61|6}}.<ref name=heath185/> On 29 November 1940 the 5th Flotilla engaged three German destroyers off [[Lizard Point, Cornwall]]. Mountbatten turned to port to match a German course change. This was "a rather disastrous move as the [[Director (military)#For warships|directors]] swung off and lost target"<ref>{{Harvp|March|1966|p=353}}</ref> and it resulted in ''Javelin'' being struck by two torpedoes. He rejoined ''Kelly'' in December 1940, by which time the torpedo damage had been repaired.<ref name=heath185/>

''Kelly'' was sunk by German [[dive bomber]]s on 23 May 1941 during the [[Battle of Crete]];<ref name=heath186>{{harvp|Heathcote|2002|p=186}}</ref> the incident serving as the basis for [[Noël Coward]]'s film ''[[In Which We Serve]]''.<ref>{{harvp|Niemi|2006|p= 70}}.</ref> Coward was a personal friend of Mountbatten and copied some of his speeches into the film.<ref name=heath186/> Mountbatten was [[mentioned in despatches]] on 9 August 1940<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34918 |date=9 August 1940 |page=4919 |supp=y}}</ref> and 21 March 1941<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=35113 |date=18 March 1941 |page=1654 |supp=y}}</ref> and awarded the [[Distinguished Service Order]] in January 1941.<ref name="dso">{{London Gazette
| issue = 35029
| date = 31 December 1940
| page = 25
| supp = y
}} ''DSO''</ref>

[[File:Mountbatten Short and Kimmel in Hawaii 1941.jpg|left|thumb|(Front row, L–R) [[Walter Short]], Mountbatten and [[Husband E. Kimmel]] (Back row) [[Frederick Martin (general)|Frederick Martin]] and [[Patrick Bellinger]] in Hawaii 1941]]
In August 1941, Mountbatten was appointed captain of the [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Illustrious|87|6}} which lay in [[Norfolk, Virginia]], for repairs following [[Operation Pedestal|action at Malta]] in January.<ref name=heath186/> During this period of relative inactivity, he paid a flying visit to [[Pearl Harbor]], three months before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor|Japanese attack on it]]. Mountbatten, appalled at the US naval base's lack of preparedness, drawing on Japan's history of launching wars with surprise attacks as well as the successful British surprise attack at the [[Battle of Taranto]] which had effectively knocked Italy's fleet out of the war, and the sheer effectiveness of aircraft against warships, accurately predicted that the US would enter the war after a Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.<ref name=heath186/><ref>{{cite news |last=O'Toole |first=Thomas |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/12/07/mountbatten-predicted-pearl-harbor/26546444-b456-47aa-af05-c6aa97e884fd/ |title=Mountbatten Predicted Pearl Harbor |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=7 December 1982 |access-date=9 July 2017 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828090508/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/12/07/mountbatten-predicted-pearl-harbor/26546444-b456-47aa-af05-c6aa97e884fd/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S68745, Konferenz von Casablanca.jpg|right|thumb|Clockwise from lower right, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Winston Churchill]], [[Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay|Sir Hastings 'Pug' Ismay]], Mountbatten: January 1943 at the [[Casablanca Conference]]]]

Mountbatten was a favourite of [[Winston Churchill]].<ref>{{harvp|Gilbert|1988|p=762}}</ref> On 27 October 1941, Mountbatten replaced [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] [[Sir Roger Keyes]] as Chief of [[Combined Operations Headquarters]] and was promoted to [[Commodore (rank)|commodore]].<ref name=heath186/>

His duties in this role included inventing new technical aids to assist with opposed landings.<ref name="Zuckerman"/> Noteworthy technical achievements of Mountbatten and his staff include the construction of [[Operation Pluto|"PLUTO", an underwater oil pipeline to Normandy]], an artificial [[Mulberry harbour]] constructed of concrete caissons and sunken ships, and the development of [[Landing Ship, Tank|tank-landing ships]].<ref name="Zuckerman"/> Another project Mountbatten proposed to Churchill was [[Project Habakkuk]]. It was to be an unsinkable 600-metre aircraft carrier made from reinforced ice ("[[Pykrete]]"); Habakkuk was never carried out due to its enormous cost.<ref name="Zuckerman"/>

[[File:Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1943. TR1230 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Mountbatten in 1943]]
As commander of Combined Operations, Mountbatten and his staff planned the highly successful [[Bruneval raid]], which gained important information and captured part of a German [[Würzburg radar]] installation and one of the machine's technicians on 27 February 1942. It was Mountbatten who recognised that surprise and speed were essential to capture the radar, and saw that an airborne assault was the only viable method.<ref>{{harvp|Otway|1990|pp=65–66}}</ref>

On 18 March 1942, he was promoted to the [[acting rank]] of [[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|vice admiral]] and given the [[honorary rank]]s of [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|lieutenant general]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/transcripts/service_records/navalofficer_sr.htm |title=First World War |publisher=Nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=14 January 2020 |archive-date=1 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601151529/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/transcripts/service_records/navalofficer_sr.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[air marshal]] to have the authority to carry out his duties in Combined Operations; and, despite the misgivings of General [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]], the [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff]],<ref>{{Harvp|Lownie|2019|p=131}}</ref> Mountbatten was placed in the [[Chiefs of Staff Committee]].<ref>{{harvp|Khanna|2015|p=53}}</ref> He was in large part responsible for the planning and organisation of the [[St Nazaire Raid]] on 28 March, which put out of action one of the most heavily defended docks in Nazi-occupied France until well after the war's end, the ramifications of which contributed to allied supremacy in the [[Battle of the Atlantic]]. After the successes at Bruneval and St Nazaire came the disastrous [[Dieppe Raid]] of 19 August 1942. He was central in the planning and promotion of the raid on the port of [[Dieppe]]. The raid was a marked failure, with casualties of almost 60%, the great majority of them Canadians.<ref name=heath186/> Following the Dieppe Raid, Mountbatten became a controversial figure in Canada, with the [[Royal Canadian Legion]] distancing itself from him during his visits there during his later career.<ref name=villa>{{harvp|Villa|1989|pp=240–241}}.</ref> His relations with Canadian veterans, who blamed him for the losses, "remained frosty" after the war.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-2359-13811/conflict_war/dieppe/clip6 |title=Who Was Responsible For Dieppe? |publisher=CBC Archives |date=9 September 1962 |access-date=1 August 2007 |archive-date=8 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208122432/http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-2359-13811/conflict_war/dieppe/clip6 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:SE 000014 Mountbatten as SACSEA during Arakan tour.jpg|left|upright|thumb|Mountbatten during his tour of the [[Arakan campaign (1942–1943)|Arakan campaign]] in Burma in February 1944]]
Mountbatten claimed that the lessons learned from the Dieppe Raid were necessary for planning the Normandy invasion on [[D-Day]] nearly two years later. However, military historians such as Major General [[Julian Thompson (Royal Marines officer)|Julian Thompson]], a former member of the [[Royal Marines]], have written that these lessons should not have needed a debacle such as Dieppe to be recognised.<ref name=Thompson>{{harvp|Thompson|2001|pp=263–269}}.</ref> Nevertheless, as a direct result of the failings of the Dieppe Raid, the British made several innovations, most notably [[Hobart's Funnies]], specialised armoured vehicles which, in the course of the [[Normandy Landings]], undoubtedly saved many lives on those three beachheads upon which Commonwealth soldiers were landing ([[Gold Beach]], [[Juno Beach]] and [[Sword Beach]]).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/uk_d_day_inventions/html/1.stm |title=In pictures: D-Day inventions: The Flail |work=BBC News |access-date=20 September 2012 |archive-date=14 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914053643/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/uk_d_day_inventions/html/1.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== SEAC and Burma campaign ===
In August 1943, Churchill appointed Mountbatten the Supreme Allied Commander [[South East Asia Command]] (SEAC) with promotion to acting full [[admiral]].<ref name=heath186/> His less practical ideas were sidelined by an experienced planning staff led by Lieutenant-Colonel [[James Allason]], though some, such as a proposal to launch an amphibious assault near [[Rangoon]], got as far as Churchill before being quashed.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8597474/Lt-Col-James-Allason.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8597474/Lt-Col-James-Allason.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |department=Obituary |title=Lt-Col James Allason |newspaper=The Telegraph |location= London |date= 24 June 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[File:Mountbatten address, Singapore 1945.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Mountbatten's address on the steps of Singapore's [[City Hall, Singapore|Municipal Building]] after the surrender]]

British interpreter [[Hugh Lunghi]] recounted an embarrassing episode during the [[Potsdam Conference]] when Mountbatten, desiring to receive an invitation to visit the [[Soviet Union]], repeatedly attempted to impress [[Joseph Stalin]] with his former connections to the [[Russian imperial family]]. The attempt fell predictably flat, with Stalin dryly inquiring whether "it was some time ago that he had been there". Says Lunghi, "The meeting was embarrassing because Stalin was so unimpressed. He offered no invitation. Mountbatten left with his tail between his legs."<ref>{{harvp|Montefiore|2004|p=501}}.</ref>

During his time as Supreme Allied Commander of the Southeast Asia Theatre, his command oversaw the [[Burma campaign (1944–1945)|recapture of Burma]] from the Japanese by General [[Sir William Slim]].<ref name=heath187>{{harvp|Heathcote|2002|p=187}}</ref> A personal high point was the receipt of the Japanese surrender in Singapore when British troops returned to the island to receive the formal surrender of Japanese forces in the region led by General [[Itagaki Seishiro]] on 12 September 1945, codenamed [[Operation Tiderace]].<ref>{{harvp|Park|1946|p=2156, para 360}}.</ref> South East Asia Command was disbanded in May 1946 and Mountbatten returned home with the substantive rank of [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy) | rear-admiral]].<ref name=heath188>{{harvp|Heathcote|2002|p=188}}.</ref> That year, he was made a [[Knight of the Garter|Knight Companion of the Garter]] and created '''Viscount Mountbatten of Burma''', of [[Romsey]] in the [[County of Southampton]], as a [[Victory title#British Empire|victory title]] for war service. He was then in 1947 further created '''Earl Mountbatten of Burma''' and '''Baron Romsey''', of Romsey in the County of Southampton.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/mountbatten_lord_louis.shtml|title=Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900–1979)|publisher=BBC|access-date=19 July 2018|archive-date=27 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727173721/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/mountbatten_lord_louis.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{London Gazette |issue=44059 |date=21 July 1966 |page=8227}}</ref>

Following the war, Mountbatten was known to have largely shunned the Japanese for the rest of his life out of respect for his men killed during the war and, as per his will, Japan was not invited to send diplomatic representatives to his funeral in 1979, though he did meet Emperor [[Hirohito]] during his state visit to Britain in 1971, reportedly at the urging of the Queen.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/05/archives/japan-is-not-invited-to-lord-mountbattens-funeral-lord-mountbatten.html | title=Japan is not invited to Lord Mountbatten's Funeral | work=The New York Times | date=5 September 1979 | access-date=9 July 2017 | archive-date=23 January 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123131634/http://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/05/archives/japan-is-not-invited-to-lord-mountbattens-funeral-lord-mountbatten.html | url-status=live }}</ref>