of the Somme in 1916 heavily influenced Gale's thinking, and he emerged from the war with a suspicion of predominantly firepower-led operations. Looking back, Gale was to remember the 'wonderful panorama' of the infantry successfully advancing using modern infiltration tactics on a clear day in the spring of 1918, contributing to his embracing the interwar manoeuvrist theorists during his time at the Staff College, Quetta in the early 1930s. Gale saw a narrative in the sequence of developments from the creation of the new infantry tactics of 1918, through to the tanks and airborne forces of the 1940s, that demonstrated the 'fundamental necessity of mobility on the battlefield', and the importance of surprise at all levels of warfare. During the Second World War, Gale applied these principles to the development of airborne forces. An advocate of shock manoeuvre with elite forces, Gale stressed extensive training, the use of the latest battlefield technologies and strong personal leadership. For Gale, the quality of one's military forces were as important as their number, and he drew additional lessons on the disproportionate effect that surprise manoeuvre had on a "demoralised or unprepared enemy", as opposed to a 'well-trained opposition', from the operations of his own 6th Airborne Division in Normandy. Later in life, Gale examined the issues of war in the nuclear age. Still an advocate of manoeuvre and high-quality forces, Gale was to stress the importance of achieving mobility and flexibility in the face of the Soviet threat, foreshadowing in many ways the evolution of the AirLand battle doctrine of the 1980s. Honours and awards Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath – 1954 (KCB – 1953; CB – 2 August 1945) Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire – 1950 (OBE: 11 July 1940) Distinguished Service Order 31 August 1944 Military Cross – 1918 Mention in Despatches – 22 March 1945, 7 January 1949 Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA) – 16 January 1948 (Officer – 20 June 1944) Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur (France) – 28 December 1956 Croix de Guerre with Palm (France) – 28 December 1956 Grand Officier de la Couronne (Belgium) Publications With the 6th Airborne Div in Normandy (Sampson Low, Marston & Co, London, 1948) Infantry in Modern Battle: Its Organization and Training (Canadian Army Journal 8, no. 1, 1955: 52–61) Generalship and the art of Command in this Nuclear Age (RUSI