John Monash
Sir John Monash, was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the war and then, shortly after its outbreak, became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt, with which he took part in the Gallipoli campaign.
In July 1916, he took charge of the newly raised 3rd Division in north-western France and, in May 1918, became commander of the Australian Corps, at that time the largest corps on the Western Front. According to historian A. J. P. Taylor, he was "the only general of creative originality produced by the First World War".
Early life
Monash was born in 58 Dudley Street, West Melbourne, Victoria, to Jewish parents, both from Krotoschin in the Prussian province of Posen. His birth certificate records his date of birth as 23 June 1865, but that is probably a mistake, because he was almost certainly born on 27 June. He was the first child of Louis Monash and his wife Bertha, née Manasse, who had arrived in Melbourne on the Empire of Peace on 5 June 1864. The family name was originally spelt Monasch and was pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable.The young family soon relocated from Dudley Street to larger premises on nearby Victoria Parade, before moving to a third rental property in Church Street, Richmond. In 1873, Bertha received a large inheritance from her mother, with which she purchased two houses, a large one in Yarra Street, Hawthorn, and a smaller one in Clifton Street, Richmond. The family resided in the smaller one and rented-out the larger one. The young John was sent to St Stephen's School on Docker's Hill in Richmond, and was remembered as a bright and alert schoolboy, with a special interest in English, some skill in drawing, a keen sense of fun, and no interest whatsoever in organised sport. At home his mother taught him piano, and encouraged him to read to her in English, French and German. The family spoke German as their native language. As might be expected from a man brought up by cultivated German parents who had arrived in Australia barely two years before John's birth, Monash spoke, read, and wrote German fluently. However, from 1914 until his death, he had good reason not to attract attention to his German background.
In 1874, the family moved to the small town of Jerilderie, in the Riverina region of New South Wales, where his father ran a store. Monash later claimed to have met the bushranger Ned Kelly during the Kelly gang's raid there in 1879. Monash attended the state school where his intelligence was recognised. The family was advised to move back to Melbourne to let John reach his full potential, which they did in 1877. Although his parents had largely abandoned religious practice, Monash celebrated his bar mitzvah at the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and sang in its choir. He was educated under Alexander Morrison at Scotch College, Melbourne, where he passed the matriculation examination when only 14 years of age. At age 16, he was dux of the school. He graduated from the University of Melbourne: a Master of Engineering in 1893; a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 1895, and a Doctor of Engineering in 1921.
On 8 April 1891, Monash married Hannah Victoria Moss, and their only child, Bertha, was born in 1893. Monash had previously engaged in an affair with Annie Gabriel, the wife of one of his colleagues, which ended as an active matter after his conscious choice of 'Vic' for marriage. He worked as a civil engineer, and played a major role in introducing reinforced concrete to Australian engineering practice. He initially worked for private contractors on bridge and railway construction, and as their advocate in contract arbitrations. Following a period with the Melbourne Harbor Trust, in 1894 he entered into partnership with J. T. N. Anderson as consultants and contractors. When the partnership was dissolved in 1905 he joined with the builder David Mitchell and industrial chemist John Gibson to form the Reinforced Concrete & Monier Pipe Construction Co, and in 1906 with them and businessmen from South Australia, to form the S. A. Reinforced Concrete Co. He took a leading part in his profession and became president of the Victorian Institute of Engineers and a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London.
Monash joined the university company of the militia in 1884, and he became a lieutenant in the North Melbourne battery on 5 April 1887. He was promoted to captain in 1895 and in April 1897 was promoted to major and given command of the battery. On 7 March 1908, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the intelligence corps. He was given command of the 13th Infantry Brigade in 1912, and was promoted colonel on 1 July 1913.
First World War
Gallipoli
When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Monash became a full-time army officer, accepting an appointment as the chief censor in Australia. Monash did not enjoy the job, and was keen for a field command. In September, after the Australian Imperial Force was formed, he was appointed as the commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade, which consisted of four battalions: the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th. His appointment was met with some protest within the military, in part due to his German and Jewish ancestry, but Monash was supported by numerous high-ranking officers, including James Legge, James McCay and Ian Hamilton, and his appointment stood.When the first contingent of Australian troops, the 1st Division, sailed in October, the 4th Brigade remained behind. Training was undertaken at Broadmeadows, Victoria, before embarking in December 1914. After arriving in Egypt in January 1915, Monash's brigade established itself at Heliopolis, where it was assigned to the New Zealand and Australian Division under Major General Alexander Godley. After a period of training, in April, the brigade took part in the Gallipoli campaign against the Turks. Assigned the role of divisional reserve, Monash came ashore early on 26 April. The brigade initially defended the line between Pope's Hill and Courtney's Post, and the valley behind this line became known as "Monash Valley". There he made a name for himself with his independent decision-making and his organisational ability. He was promoted to brigadier general in July, although the news was marred by spiteful rumours that were passed in Cairo, Melbourne and London about him being a "German spy". His promotion was gazetted in September, with effect from 15 September 1914.
During the August offensive, launched by the Allies to break the deadlock on the peninsula, Monash's brigade was to conduct a "left hook" to capture of Hill 971, the highest point on the Sari Bair range. On the evening of 6/7 August, the brigade launched its attack, but poor maps, heavy resistance and the mountainous terrain defeated them. Monash's performance was criticised for excessive delegation, and for failing to properly command his brigade, which broke and ran. Elsewhere, the offensive also stalled, resulting in disaster for the last co-ordinated effort to defeat the Turkish forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula. By mid-August, Monash's brigade was down to just 1,400 men out of the 3,350 at the beginning of the campaign. On 21 August, Monash led them in an attack on Hill 60, before it was withdrawn from the peninsula for rest. While the brigade recuperated on Lemnos, Monash took leave in Egypt, where he learned of his appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath. In November, the 4th Brigade returned to Gallipoli, occupying a "quiet sector" around Bauchop's Hill. Monash used his engineering knowledge to improve his brigade's position to withstand the winter, and he worked to improve the conditions that his troops would have to endure but, in mid-December, the order to evacuate the peninsula came.
Monash's time on Gallipoli and his departure from it were not, however, without controversy for reasons unrelated to the fighting. While on Gallipoli he "wrote very freely to his wife revealing much current information" and "opened himself to the criticism that he would not keep the rules by which his juniors had strictly to adhere." Later, in a long diary-letter sent home by Monash and known by him to be illegal in Army terms, Monash implied that he was "one of the very last off Gallipoli". However, "he had left for the beach nearly five hours before the last. It was a clumsy deception as so many people knew the facts."
Following the withdrawal from Gallipoli, Monash returned to Egypt, where the AIF underwent a period of reorganisation and expansion. That process resulted in the 4th Brigade being split, providing a cadre of experienced personnel to form the 12th Brigade. It was also reassigned to the 4th Division. After a period of training, Monash's brigade undertook defensive duties along the Suez Canal. On 25 April 1916, the first anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli, while at Tel-el-Kebir, Monash and his men solemnly observed Anzac Day. Monash distributed red ribbons to soldiers present at the first landing and blue ribbons to those who came later.
Western Front
In June 1916, Monash and his command were transferred to the Western Front, being sent to the front around Armentières. On 10 July, Monash was promoted to temporary major general and placed in command of the Australian 3rd Division. He trained the division in England with attention to detail.After the division was sent to the Western Front in November 1916, it fought at Messines, Broodseinde, and in the First Battle of Passchendaele, with some successes, but incurring heavy casualties. The British High Command was impressed by Monash and, according to biographer Geoffery Serle, while dining with Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, Monash was informed that Haig "wanted him as a corps commander".
Monash's division spent the winter of 1917–1918 around Ploegsteert. Early the following year, after the Germans launched their Spring Offensive, the 3rd Division was deployed to undertake defensive operations around Amiens. Throughout April and May, the division undertook several peaceful penetration operations. Monash later described the recapture of the town of Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918, after the Germans had overrun the 8th British Division under General William Heneker, as the turning-point of the war. Sir Thomas William Glasgow's 13th Brigade, and Harold Elliott's 15th Brigade, were both heavily involved in the operation.