Lord Mountbatten: A Man for the Century

Saw this years ago on US public TV. As I recall it was broadcast in many (12+) parts and amounts to an autobiography on film of Lord "Louie" Moutbatten, Last Viceroy of India, Supreme Allied Commander of SE Asia in WWII, 1st Lord of the Admiralty, etc., who was ultimately, tragically, assassinated by an Irish Republican Army bomb.

Particularly striking in my recollection are his account, and amazing footage (shot on 16mm?), of many important moments in history; the West's failure to reciprocate Ho Chi Mhin's embrace after we jointly rousted the Japanese occupiers from Vietnam, thereby sowing the seeds of the "Indochina/Vietnam" War; the harrowing and bloody partition of India and Pakistan, and many more. All of this narrated in his droll, erudite manner. Riveting stuff.

We on this side of the pond never got to see this BBC documentary series where Lord Louis Mountbatten narrates his life story in twelve episodes until he was assassinated by the IRA. I always thought it ironic indeed that Mountbatten's talents for diplomacy were never put to use with the perennial Irish question in British and Irish politics.

Mountbatten, a member of the United Kingdom's royal family, he was Prince Phillip's uncle and a many times removed cousin of Queen Elizabeth was not happy simply being a jaded member of the royal family. He wanted to contribute and he used his royal connections to get into the inner war councils of his country. He was also trained in battle in both World Wars and one of the chapters tells of his experience losing the destroyer HMS Kelly in battle. He was no armchair admiral.

Probably his worst moment was while a member of the Inner Allied Council he pushed for the Dieppe raid where a lot of mostly Canadian troops were killed or taken prisoner. I'm still not clear what the objective was with that one.

He was more a diplomat in his position as the Theater Commander in the Southeast Asia Theater. He had to be dealing with the feuding American generals Claire Chenault and Joe Stilwell. Mountbatten would be lucky indeed to have as a good army ground commander General William Slim in Burma. He did have no bones about making that admission.

He was the last Governor-General of India and was charged by the Attlee Labour government to work out the arrangements for the British to leave India, former crown jewel of their Empire. In the end that included partition of India and Pakistan created out of it. He earned the respect of both sides.

He was also First Sea Lord during the Suez canal crisis and dryly admits that he thought the whole business was a disaster waiting to happen. A little zing into the then prime minister Anthony Eden who lost power and had to resign.

All in all a fine documentary mini-series. It's how Mountbatten saw himself and how he liked for others to see him. In any event I give him credit for wanting to lead a useful life.

Seeing this miniseries on American public TV (late 70s/early 80s) made Lord Louis Mountbatten one of my heroes. I recall that the miniseries was excellently produced and interesting overall. Nowadays I remember clearly only two anecdotes, both of which show Lord Louis' inborn genius for handling people.

In one (at a formal public event outdoors (possibly re the independence of India and creation of Pakistan), attended by thousands of standees, word came to him that riot was imminent from a faction. Immediately he urged the crowd, "Sit down! Sit down!" What a simple yet brilliant insight! Rioting is near-impossible when most everyone is sitting...

The other moving story was told by a seaman who'd been aboard Mountbatten's battleship when it was sunk by enemy fire. In a lifeboat, Mountbatten and crew members watched as the ship began to sink. As it disappeared, Mountbatten shouted something like "The Kelly, God bless her!" and started a hip-hip-hooray. At first the crew's response was half-hearted, but it grew.

Then -- and this is the extraordinary part -- he started _singing!_ "Roll out the barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun..." --How bizarre!! But the dazed crewmen, following their leader, began to join in -- weakly, raggedly at first, then stronger... and (according to the eyewitness crewman) finished with renewed hope and strength.

I've heard some were critical of Mountbatten's career, specifically about his handling of the independence of India and separation of Pakistan. For all I know, they may be correct. But I say, the world needs more Louis Mountbattens...