William Wain Prior
{{short description|Danish general}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name = William Wain Prior
| image = William Wain Prior.PNG
| image_size =
| alt =
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| office = Chief of the General Command
| term_start = 1 December 1939
| term_end = 28 August 1941
| predecessor = {{ill|Erik With|da}}
| successor = {{ill|Ebbe Gørtz|da}}
| office1 = Chief of the General Staff
| term_start1 = April 1931
| term_end1 = 31 October 1937
| predecessor1 = Johan Christian Lund
| successor1 = {{ill|Ebbe Gørtz|da}}
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1876|07|18}}
| birth_place = Copenhagen, Denmark
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1946|03|09|1876|07|18}}
| death_place = Frederiksberg, Denmark
| death_cause =
| resting_place = Frederiksberg Old Cemetery
| resting_place_coordinates =
| citizenship =
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| spouse = {{marriage|Jensine Ingeborg Hansen|1901|1945|end=d}}
| children = 3
| parents = Oskar Frederik Leopold Prior
Agnes Wain
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| allegiance = {{flag|Denmark}}
| branch = {{army|Denmark}}
| serviceyears = 1894–1941
| rank = Lieutenant general
| unit =
| commands = Zealand Division
| battles = World War II
| mawards =
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William Wain Prior (18 July 1876 – 9 March 1946) was a Danish Lieutenant general and the Chief of the Royal Danish Army from 1939 to 1941.
Life and career
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Following the death of Johan Christian Lund, in 1931, Prior became chief of the General Staff.{{sfn|Olsen|1985|pp=43, 75}}
On 1 December 1939, Prior replaced {{ill|Erik With|da}} as chief of the General Command.{{sfn|Clemmesen|1982|p=III-3}}
World War II
Before the Occupation of Denmark by Germany in 1940, Prior encouraged the Danish government to increase the strength of the army. These requests, however, were not accepted by the majority of the Danish parliament, who feared that increased military strength might provoke Nazi Germany.
When Germany invaded Denmark in 1940, he argued that the Danish army should actively defend the country, even when Germany threatened through the dropping the OPROP! leaflets to bomb the capital of Copenhagen. However, the Danish government did not agree to this, due to concerns that major Danish cities like Copenhagen might suffer the same destruction that other cities like Warsaw had just experienced during the German invasion of Poland. The government was also well aware that Denmark's position was untenable; it was too small and too flat to hold out against the Wehrmacht for a sustained period.
Prior continued as Commander-in-Chief of the Danish Army during the early part of the German occupation, and worked actively to prevent the Danish army from becoming involved on the German side during World War II. He resigned as Commander-in-Chief in October 1941 and was replaced by Lieutenant General Ebbe Gørtz.
Selected works
- {{cite book |title=Operationerne paa Østfronten i 1914 |date=1919 |publisher=Det Krigsvidenskabelige Selskab |location=Copenhagen |series=Studier over Verdenskrigen |language=da}}
- {{cite book |title=Operationerne paa Østfronten i 1915 |date=1921 |publisher=Det Krigsvidenskabelige Selskab |location=Copenhagen |series=Studier over Verdenskrigen |language=da}}
- {{cite book |title=Generalløjtnant A.A.B. Kühnel: En dansk officers liv og gerninger |date=1942 |publisher=Ejnar Munksgaard |location=Copenhagen |language=da}}
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite news |title=DENMARK: Economy |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762950,00.html |access-date=2 December 2020 |work=Time |agency=Time Magazine |date=4 December 1939 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603233810/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,762950,00.html |archive-date=3 June 2011}}
- {{cite web |last1=Bjerregaard |first1=W. |title=Generalløjtnant W. W. Prior. |url=https://krigsvidenskab.dk/emne/generallojtnant-w-w-prior |website=krigsvidenskab.dk |accessdate=9 September 2020 |language=da |date=24 June 1946}}
- {{cite book |last1=Clemmesen |first1=Michael Hesselholt |title=Jyllands landforsvar fra 1901 til 1940 |date=1982 |publisher=Det Krigsvidenskabelige Selskab |location=Copenhagen |isbn=87-981346-0-4 |language=da}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Grøn |first1=Ole |last2=Clemmesen |first2=Michael H. |title=Skyggerne på væggen: Et forsøg på delvis rekonstruktion af efterretningstjenesten i og fra Sønderjylland fra 1920 til ca. 1950 |journal=Fra Krig og Fred |date=2014 |issue=1 |pages=86-180 |language=da}}
- {{cite web |last1=Hedegaard |first1=Ole A. |title=Generalløjtnant Prior og Generalkommandoens "varme" sommer 1941 |url=https://www.krigsvidenskab.dk/emne/generallojtnant-prior-og-generalkommandoens-varme-sommer-1941 |website=krigsvidenskab.dk |access-date=15 December 2020 |language=da |date=5 March 1996}}
- {{cite web |last1=Olesen |first1=Niels Wium |title=William Wain Prior, 1876-1946 |url=https://danmarkshistorien.dk/leksikon-og-kilder/vis/materiale/william-wain-prior-1876-1946/ |website=danmarkshistorien.dk |accessdate=14 December 2019 |language=da |date=13 June 2013}}
- {{cite book |last1=Olsen |first1=Ole Isgaard |title=Planlægning af det Sjællandske Landforsvar: 1922-1944 |date=1985 |publisher=Forsvarskommandoen |language=da}}
- {{cite web |last1=Wolff |first1=E. H. |title=W.W. Prior |url=https://biografiskleksikon.lex.dk/W.W._Prior |website=Dansk Biografisk Leksikon |access-date=15 December 2020 |language=da |date=18 July 2011}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prior, William Wain}}
Category:Military personnel from Copenhagen
Category:Chiefs of the Royal Danish Army