# Sir Herbert Plumer — Now It Can Be Told character guide

> Sir Herbert Plumer in Now It Can Be Told by Philip Gibbs.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

A general Gibbs credits with sound judgment and sober choice of men, whose Second Army is quietly shaped by a chief of staff's organizing genius.

## Who they are

Plumer commands the Second Army, but Gibbs is careful: the real brain, he suspects, is Sir John Harington, whose battle briefings reveal war as a science of gunfire, gas, and morale. Plumer stands as the steady figurehead of a command that, at its best, treats killing as calculation rather than theater. He matters because he represents the possibility—rare in this book—that generalship might be competent, even humane, in its clarity.

## In the story

### [Part I: Observers and Commanders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-i-observers-and-commanders)

Commander of the Second Army, given credit for sound judgment in general ideas and choice of men, though the narrator cannot assess his exact share.

### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xxi)

Army commander of the Second Army, described with a caricature-like appearance but credited with sound judgment and good organization.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v)

Mentioned as being ordered to Italy with Harington; his Second Army staff is contrasted favorably with the Fifth Army.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned as one reason the inhabitants of Cassel believe the town is never bombed.

### [The German Offensive of 1918](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/viii)

Sent to Italy with staff officers and divisions after Caporetto, weakening Haig's forces.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/sir_herbert_plumer
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters