John Antill (General)
Encyclopedia
Major General
John Macquarie Antill, Jr. CB
, CMG
(26 January 1866 – 1 March 1937) was a senior Australian Army
officer in World War I
. Antill is best known for his refusal to call off a suicidal charge on the Turkish lines at The Nek
in the Gallipoli Campaign. He was forced to do so, as he was under direct orders from Major General Alexander Godley
. The charge was fully repulsed with the ANZAC forces suffering a 60% casualty rate, most having been cut down en masse just feet from their own trenches. He retired from the army in 1924 as an honorary Major General.
, New South Wales
, the second surviving son of John Macquarie Antill (1822–1900) and Jessie Hassall Campbell (1834–1917). Antill was educated at Sydney Grammar
where he served in the school cadet unit, and became a surveyor. His sister was Elisabeth Ann Antill (1871–1927) who married Major General Harry Lassetter
in 1891 and survived the sinking of the RMS Lusitania
in 1915.
Antill joined the local militia in 1887. In 1889, he raised a squadron of mounted infantry in Picton. The squadron later became part of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles, the unit into which Antill was commissioned as a captain on 19 January 1889. The commander of the New South Wales military forces, Major General Edward Hutton
, arranged for Antill to do a tour of duty with the British army
in India in 1893, where he served with the 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
and the 2nd Dragoon Guards
. On his return to Australia
in 1894, Antill was commissioned into the state's regular forces as a captain.
In late 1899, Antill was promoted to the rank of Major and given command of 'A' Squadron of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles, 'A' Squadron was raised specially for service in the Boer War
. Antill saw only limited action during the war, but he was present during the Battle of Paardeberg
on 18 February 1900. Antill returned to Australia in January 1901, but returned to South Africa
in March as second in command of the 2nd New South Wales Mounted Rifles, taking part in the capture of Potgier's convoy on the River Vaal
. For service in South Africa, Antill was twice Mentioned in Despatches, was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1901, and was made a brevet
lieutenant colonel.
From 1904 to 1906, Antill filled the position of aide de camp to the Governor General, Henry Northcote
. After this, he retired from the army and returned to Picton. Antill returned to the Army in 1911 as Commandant of the Instructional Staff Schools.
as Brigade Major
of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade
, under the command of Colonel F. G. Hughes, an experienced regular brigade major. Antill embarked for Egypt
on 25 February 1915. In May, Antill and the brigade moved to Anzac
for dismounted action. During the fierce fighting at The Nek
, Antill, now in temporary command of the Brigade, refused a request from the commander of the 10th Light Horse to cancel the third wave. Colonel Hughes had gone forward to call off the attack, leaving Antill in charge. Due to a communications breakdown, Antill believed Hughes had gone forward to lead the Brigade forward and therefore ordered the attack to continue. Hughes reached the line in time to call off the fourth wave. Antill took over command of the brigade in September 1915 when Hughes was evacuated due to illness. Antill remained with the brigade until the end of the campaign, though the brigade never took part in another major battle.
On 1 January 1916, Antill was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general and confirmed in command of 3rd Light Horse. The brigade was placed in the rear and for a time took over part of the defence of No. 2 Section of the Suez Canal defences
. Only in August was the brigade released to join the Anzac Mounted Division
at Romani
, too late to be decisive, and nearly too late to join the battle at all. Antill's only major action during the battle was at Bir el Abd on 5 August 1916. Antill began by piercing the Turkish flank and overrunning the Turkish position at Hamisah, taking some 425 prisoners. While reforming after the engagement his regiments came under light shell fire, and Antill decided to fall back. He appeared to have lost his nerve. Antlll's actions cost Major General Chauvel
vital hours and led to the removal of 3rd Light Horse from the line.
Only days after Romani, General William Birdwood
sent a message requesting Antill take command of an infantry brigade on the Western Front
. Antill elected to go and handed over command of his brigade on 9 August. He was immediately given command over the 2nd Infantry Brigade. Antill became ill and was evacuated sick to England
in November 1916. He returned to France
on 20 March 1917 and took command of the 16th Infantry Brigade which was forming in England as part of the new 6th Division
. During this time Antill's health deteriorated and the medical review board refused to clear him for active duty. After failing his final medical examination he relinquished command of the brigade on 20 September 1917 and returned to Australia, where his AIF appointment was terminated in December 1917. For his service during World War I, Antill was created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1916.
. He retired again on 26 January 1924 with the honorary rank of major general. In retirement he co-authored a play with his daughter about the life of William Redfern
, called The Emancipist. At the age of 71, John MacQuarie Antill finally lost a three year battle against cancer
on 1 March 1937.
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
John Macquarie Antill, Jr. CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(26 January 1866 – 1 March 1937) was a senior Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
officer in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Antill is best known for his refusal to call off a suicidal charge on the Turkish lines at The Nek
Battle of the Nek
The Battle of the Nek was a small World War I battle fought as part of the Gallipoli campaign. "The Nek" was a narrow stretch of ridge in the Anzac battlefield on the Gallipoli peninsula. The name derives from the Afrikaans word for a "mountain pass" but the terrain itself was a perfect bottleneck...
in the Gallipoli Campaign. He was forced to do so, as he was under direct orders from Major General Alexander Godley
Alexander Godley
General Sir Alexander John Godley GCB, KCMG was a First World War general, best known for his role as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force...
. The charge was fully repulsed with the ANZAC forces suffering a 60% casualty rate, most having been cut down en masse just feet from their own trenches. He retired from the army in 1924 as an honorary Major General.
Early life and career
Antill was born at Jarvisfield, PictonPicton, New South Wales
Picton is a small town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. The town is located 80 kilometres South-west of Sydney, close to Camden and Campbelltown. It is also the administrative centre of Wollondilly Shire....
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, the second surviving son of John Macquarie Antill (1822–1900) and Jessie Hassall Campbell (1834–1917). Antill was educated at Sydney Grammar
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
where he served in the school cadet unit, and became a surveyor. His sister was Elisabeth Ann Antill (1871–1927) who married Major General Harry Lassetter
Harry Lassetter
Brigadier-General Henry Beauchamp "Harry" Lassetter CB, CMG was an Australian military officer.Lassetter was born at Edgecliff and attended Cheltenham College, Eton and Sandhurst Military Academy; his father, Frederic Lassetter, was a prominent merchant...
in 1891 and survived the sinking of the RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
in 1915.
Antill joined the local militia in 1887. In 1889, he raised a squadron of mounted infantry in Picton. The squadron later became part of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles, the unit into which Antill was commissioned as a captain on 19 January 1889. The commander of the New South Wales military forces, Major General Edward Hutton
Edward Hutton (army)
Lieutenant General Sir Edward Thomas Henry Hutton KCB, KCMG was a British military commander, who pioneered the use of mounted infantry in the British Army and later commanded the Canadian Militia and the Australian Army....
, arranged for Antill to do a tour of duty with the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in India in 1893, where he served with the 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
The Devonshire Regiment
The Devonshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army which served under various titles from 1685 to 1958. Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles.-Origin and titles:...
and the 2nd Dragoon Guards
Dragoon guards
Dragoon Guards was the designation used to refer to certain heavy cavalry regiments in the British Army from the 18th century onwards. While the Prussian and Russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments amongst their respective Imperial Guards, different titles were applied to these...
. On his return to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1894, Antill was commissioned into the state's regular forces as a captain.
In late 1899, Antill was promoted to the rank of Major and given command of 'A' Squadron of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles, 'A' Squadron was raised specially for service in the Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. Antill saw only limited action during the war, but he was present during the Battle of Paardeberg
Battle of Paardeberg
The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley....
on 18 February 1900. Antill returned to Australia in January 1901, but returned to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in March as second in command of the 2nd New South Wales Mounted Rifles, taking part in the capture of Potgier's convoy on the River Vaal
Vaal River
The Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source in the Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg and about 30 km north of Ermelo and only about 240 km from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction...
. For service in South Africa, Antill was twice Mentioned in Despatches, was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1901, and was made a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
lieutenant colonel.
From 1904 to 1906, Antill filled the position of aide de camp to the Governor General, Henry Northcote
Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
Henry Stafford Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote GCMG, GCIE, CB, PC , known as Sir Henry Northcote, Bt, between 1887 and 1900, was a Conservative politician and colonial administrator...
. After this, he retired from the army and returned to Picton. Antill returned to the Army in 1911 as Commandant of the Instructional Staff Schools.
World War I
In October 1914, Antill was appointed to the AIFAustralian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
as Brigade Major
Brigade Major
In the British Army, a Brigade Major was the Chief of Staff of a brigade. He held the rank of Major and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section directly and oversaw the two other branches, "A - Administration" and "Q - Quartermaster"...
of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade
3rd Light Horse Brigade
The 3rd Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I....
, under the command of Colonel F. G. Hughes, an experienced regular brigade major. Antill embarked for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
on 25 February 1915. In May, Antill and the brigade moved to Anzac
Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
for dismounted action. During the fierce fighting at The Nek
Battle of the Nek
The Battle of the Nek was a small World War I battle fought as part of the Gallipoli campaign. "The Nek" was a narrow stretch of ridge in the Anzac battlefield on the Gallipoli peninsula. The name derives from the Afrikaans word for a "mountain pass" but the terrain itself was a perfect bottleneck...
, Antill, now in temporary command of the Brigade, refused a request from the commander of the 10th Light Horse to cancel the third wave. Colonel Hughes had gone forward to call off the attack, leaving Antill in charge. Due to a communications breakdown, Antill believed Hughes had gone forward to lead the Brigade forward and therefore ordered the attack to continue. Hughes reached the line in time to call off the fourth wave. Antill took over command of the brigade in September 1915 when Hughes was evacuated due to illness. Antill remained with the brigade until the end of the campaign, though the brigade never took part in another major battle.
On 1 January 1916, Antill was promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general and confirmed in command of 3rd Light Horse. The brigade was placed in the rear and for a time took over part of the defence of No. 2 Section of the Suez Canal defences
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
. Only in August was the brigade released to join the Anzac Mounted Division
Anzac Mounted Division
The ANZAC Mounted Division was a mounted infantry and mounted rifles division formed in March 1916 in Egypt during World War I following the Battle of Gallipoli when the Australian and New Zealand regiments returned from fighting dismounted as infantry...
at Romani
Battle of Romani
The Battle of Romani was fought east of the Suez Canal, near the Egyptian town of Romani and the site of ancient Pelusium on the Sinai Peninsula during the First World War...
, too late to be decisive, and nearly too late to join the battle at all. Antill's only major action during the battle was at Bir el Abd on 5 August 1916. Antill began by piercing the Turkish flank and overrunning the Turkish position at Hamisah, taking some 425 prisoners. While reforming after the engagement his regiments came under light shell fire, and Antill decided to fall back. He appeared to have lost his nerve. Antlll's actions cost Major General Chauvel
Henry George Chauvel
General Sir Harry Chauvel GCMG, KCB was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle Eastern theatre during the First World War. He was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general, and the first to lead a corps...
vital hours and led to the removal of 3rd Light Horse from the line.
Only days after Romani, General William Birdwood
William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, CIE, DSO was a First World War British general who is best known as the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.- Youth and early career :Birdwood was born...
sent a message requesting Antill take command of an infantry brigade on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. Antill elected to go and handed over command of his brigade on 9 August. He was immediately given command over the 2nd Infantry Brigade. Antill became ill and was evacuated sick to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in November 1916. He returned to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on 20 March 1917 and took command of the 16th Infantry Brigade which was forming in England as part of the new 6th Division
Australian 6th Division
The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others...
. During this time Antill's health deteriorated and the medical review board refused to clear him for active duty. After failing his final medical examination he relinquished command of the brigade on 20 September 1917 and returned to Australia, where his AIF appointment was terminated in December 1917. For his service during World War I, Antill was created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1916.
Post-war
In 1918, Antill became Assistant Adjutant General. Later that year he became Commandant of the 5th Military District (South Australia). From 1921 to 1922 he was Chief Instructor at the Training Depot in Liverpool, New South WalesLiverpool, New South Wales
Liverpool is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Liverpool is located 32 km south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Liverpool...
. He retired again on 26 January 1924 with the honorary rank of major general. In retirement he co-authored a play with his daughter about the life of William Redfern
William Redfern
William Redfern was a leading surgeon in early colonial New South Wales.-Early life:Redfern appears to have been born in Canada and raised in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England...
, called The Emancipist. At the age of 71, John MacQuarie Antill finally lost a three year battle against cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on 1 March 1937.