Byng, Lord, of Vimy. British general, son of the earl of Stafford. Was born in 1862. He joined the royal hussars, 1883. Served in the Sudan expedition 1884, and in the South African War 1899-1902, during which he became colonel. Promoted major-general in 1909, he was placed in command of a cavalry division in Flanders, October 1914. For services at the Dardanelles, 1915, he was made lieutenant-general, and in 1916 was given command of the Canadian division on the western front. In November 1917 he won a signal victory at Cambrai, breaking through the strongest trench systems by means of tanks, which he was the first to employ in attack. This important military discovery led to the great later successes of the Allies in breaking the Hindenburg line and other defenses which the Germans believed impregnable. In March, 1918, following the disaster to Gough's army in Picardy, Byng thwarted the efforts of the Germans to extend their gains by crushing their most powerful attacks against Arras and Vimy Ridge. In August, 1918, Byng made a successful drive from the old Somme front to Bapaume, which prevented the retreating Germans from making a stand west of the Hindenburg line. Byng's work during the final weeks preceding the German collapse was very effective. In 1921 Lord Byng was appointed governor-general of Canada.

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