Charles Townshend (British Army officer)

Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend
Born	(1861-02-21)21 February 1861 London, United Kingdom
Died	18 May 1924(1924-05-18) (aged 63) Paris, France
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Marines (1881–1886) British Army (1886–1920)
Years of service	1881–1920
Rank	Major general
Commands held	6th (Poona) Division[1] 4th Rawalpindi Brigade[1] 9th Jhansi Brigade[1] 54th East Anglian Division[1] 44th Home Counties Division[1] Orange River Colony District 12th Sudanese Battalion
Battles/wars	Mahdist War Hunza–Nagar Campaign Chitral Expedition North-West Frontier First World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order
Relations	George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend
Member of Parliament for The Wrekin
In office 20 November 1920 – 26 October 1922
Preceded by	Charles Palmer
Succeeded by	Howard Button
Personal details
Political party	Independent Parliamentary Group

Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, KCB, DSO (21 February 1861 – 18 May 1924) was a British soldier who during the First World War led an overreaching military campaign in Mesopotamia. His troops were besieged and captured at the Siege of Kut (December 1915 - April 1916), which was possibly the worst defeat suffered by the Allies.

Controversially and in contrast to the miserable captivity endured by his men, Townshend was held on Prinkipo, where he was treated like an esteemed guest until his release in October 1918. He was briefly a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1920 to 1922.