Who was known as 'the man with the sledgehammer' in 1916 Romania?

• A. Archimedes Sweet
• B. Colonel John Norton-Griffiths
• C. Percy Powell-Cotton
• D. Archibald Wavell

Answer: (B)

The nickname comes from a hands-on, no-nonsense approach to military engineering in the Romanian theater in 1916. Colonel John Norton-Griffiths was a British Army engineer who led heavy construction and demolition tasks under difficult conditions, and he was famously associated with swinging a sledgehammer to drive work forward. That image—direct, physical leadership in clearing and building routes, bridges, and obstacles—made him the person people referred to as “the man with the sledgehammer.” The other names listed aren’t linked to that persona or that campaign, so Norton-Griffiths fits the description best.