Post-war Career
He returned to Palestine in 1947 where he assumed command of the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force. Under his direction the force was disbanded as part of the British withdrawal from the region. He attended university at Graz as a postgraduate in Post Mediæval Studies. After attending Staff College in 1951 he was appointed to command the 20th Armoured Brigade and, on being promoted to Major General, assumed command of the 7th Armoured Division. In 1958 he became Commandant of the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham, and was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1961. He became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Ireland Command in 1961. In 1963, he was appointed to Ministry of Defence as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, responsible for forces organisation and weapon development and became the leading figure in the reorganisation of the Territorial Army, something which made him unpopular. It was a controversial decision therefore to promote him to general and, in 1965, give him command of the British Army of the Rhine and the parallel command of NATO's Northern Army Group, but his ability to speak several languages made him a natural choice, as did his friendship with foreign soldiers such as General Kielmansegg of the Bundeswehr. In 1968 he wrote a highly controversial letter to The Times, critical of the British Government's apparent lack of concern over the strength of NATO forces in Europe but signed the letter as a NATO officer, not as a British commander.
After retirement from the Army, Sir John continued to be active in several areas. From 1968 to 1975 he was Principal of King's College London. He proved to be a popular figure, addressing gatherings of students on several occasions, and attending at least one NUS demonstration for higher student grants.
In 1978, Sir John wrote a novel, The Third World War: August 1985, which was a fictionalized scenario of the Third World War based on a Soviet Army invasion of West Germany in 1985. It was followed in 1982 by The Third World War: The Untold Story, which elaborated on the original, including more detail from a Soviet perspective. The American author Max Brooks has cited Hackett's work as one source of inspiration for the latter's World War Z novel.
His (British) military decorations included the Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, Commander of the British Empire, Distinguished Service Order and Bar, Military Cross, twice Mentioned in Dispatches.
His obituary in The Times called him a man of "intellect and prodigious courage."
Read more about this topic: John Hackett (British Army Officer)
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