John Monash
Encyclopedia
General
Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD
(27 June 18658 October 1931) was a civil engineer
who became the Australia
n military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade
before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt
shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part in the Gallipoli campaign
. In July 1917 he took charge of the new Australian 3rd Division
in north-west France
and in May 1918 he was made commander of the Australian Corps
, at the time the largest individual corps on the Western Front
. In August 1918 the successful allied attack at the Battle of Amiens was spearheaded by the Australian Corps under Monash.
, Victoria
, on 27 June 1865, the son of Louis Monash and his wife Bertha, née Manasse. Both parents were Jews from Germany (the family name was originally spelt Monasch and pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable), living in Krotoschin
in the Kingdom of Prussia
, now Krotoszyn
in the Greater Poland Voivodeship
, Poland
. However, the family were German speakers, and some sources describe them as being of German origin. From 1914 until his death, Sir John Monash had no good reason to attract attention to his German background. His parent's original home was close to where the German general Erich Ludendorff
was born. As might have been expected from a man brought up by cultivated German-Jewish parents who had arrived in Australia barely two years before John's birth, Monash spoke, read and wrote splendid German.
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 his raid there in 1879. Monash attended the public school and his intelligence was recognised. The family was advised to move back to Melbourne to let John reach his full potential, and they moved back in 1877 (Sam Aull). He was educated under Alexander Morrison
at Scotch College, Melbourne
, where he passed the matriculation examination when only 14 years of age. At 16 he was dux of the school. He graduated from the University of Melbourne
: B.A.
in 1887, Master of Science
in civil engineering
in 1893, law
in 1895 and Doctor of Engineering
in 1921.
On 8 April 1891, Monash married Hannah Victoria Moss, and their only child, Bertha, was born in 1893. 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 Harbour 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 became a lieutenant in the North Melbourne battery militia unit in 1887. He was made captain in 1895, major in 1897 and in 1906 became a lieutenant-colonel in the intelligence corps. He was colonel commanding the 13th Infantry Brigade
in 1912; on the outbreak of First World War he was appointed chief censor in Australia.
.
In 1915 his brigade, as part of the New Zealand and Australian Division
under Major General
Godley
, participated in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign
against the Ottoman
Army. 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.
During the August offensive
, Monash's objective was the capture of Hill 971, the highest point on the Sari Bair range, but a failure to get his troops through poorly mapped mountainous terrain prior to the battle resulted in disaster for the last co-ordinated effort to defeat the Turkish forces on the Gallipoli
Peninsula. This marked the lowest point of his military career.
He commanded the final significant assault of the Gallipoli fighting in the attack on Hill 60
on 21 August, which was only partially successful. His war letters are full of accounts of the gallantry of the men he commanded. When orders came in December 1915 for the evacuation, he methodically supervised the exact course to be followed by members of his own command, and was in one of the last parties to leave.
Great as the disappointment had been over the failure at Gallipoli, there was some comfort in the fact that the evacuation had been so successful. Forty-five thousand men, with mules, guns, stores, provisions and transport valued at several million pounds, had been withdrawn with scarcely a casualty, and without exciting the slightest suspicion in the enemy. Hours afterwards the Turks opened a furious bombardment on the empty trenches.
After a rest period in Egypt, by June 1917 Monash was in north-west France
. In July, with the rank of major general, he was in charge of the new Australian 3rd Division
. He trained the division in England with the minutest attention to detail, and led stage by stage to the nearest approach that could be improvised to the conditions of actual warfare. He was involved in many actions, including Messines
, Broodseinde
, and the First Battle of Passchendaele
, with some successes, but with the usual heavy casualties. The British High Command was impressed by Monash's abilities and enthusiasm. In May 1918 he was promoted to lieutenant general
and made commander of the Australian Corps
, at the time the largest individual corps on the Western Front
.
Lieutenant General Sir John 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, recaptured Villers-Bretonneux
.
Monash, despite not being a professionally trained officer, was a noted advocate of the co-ordinated use of infantry
, aircraft
, artillery
and tank
s. He wrote :
Charles Bean
, the official Australian war historian, noted that Monash was more effective the higher he rose within the Army, where he had greater capacity to use his skill for meticulous planning and organisation, and to innovate in the area of technology and tactics. Bean had been no great admirer of Monash in his early career, in part due to a general prejudice
against Monash's Prussian-Jewish background, but more particularly because Monash did not fit Bean's concept of the quintessential Australian character that Bean was in the process of mythologising in his monumental work Australia in the War of 1914-1918. (Both Bean and Monash, however, having seen the very worst excesses of British military doctrines and the waste of life on the Western Front, were determined that the role of the commander was to look after, and protect as far as possible, the troops under their command.) Bean, who wrote in his diary of Monash "We do not want Australia represented by men mainly because of their ability, natural and inborn in Jews, to push themselves", conspired with Keith Murdoch
to undermine Monash, and have him removed from the command of the Australian Corps. They misled Prime Minister Billy Hughes
into believing that senior officers were opposed to Monash. Hughes arrived at the front before the Battle of Hamel
prepared to replace Monash, but after consulting with senior officers, and after seeing the superb power of planning and execution displayed by Monash, he changed his mind.
At the Battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918 Monash, with the support of the British 4th Army commander Sir Henry Rawlinson commanded the 4th Australian Division, supported by the British 5th Tank Brigade, along with a detachment of US troops, to win a small but operationally significant victory for the Allies
. On 8 August 1918, the Battle of Amiens was launched. Allied troops under the command of Douglas Haig
, predominantly Rawlinson's British 4th Army (consisting of the Australian Corps under Monash and the Canadian Corps under Arthur Currie
, and the British III Corps) attacked the Germans. The allied attack was spearheaded by the Australian Corps, who had been given the capture of enemy artillery as a key objective in the first phase by Monash in order to minimize the potential harm to the attacking forces. The battle was a strong, significant victory for the Allies, the first decisive win for the British Army of the war, causing the Germans to recognise that for them the War was lost. The defeated German leader, General Ludendorff, described it in the following words: "August 8th was the black day of the German Army in the history of the war". These operations were just a start of a broad Allied offensive across the Western Front. On 12 August 1918 Monash was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on the battlefield by King George V
, the first time a British monarch had honoured a commander in such a way in 200 years. The Australians then achieved a series of victories against the Germans at Chignes, Mont St Quentin
, Peronne
and Hargicourt
. Monash had 208,000 men under his command, including 50,000 inexperienced Americans. Monash planned the attack on the German defences in the Battle of the Hindenburg Line
between 16 September and 5 October 1918. The Allies eventually breached the Hindenburg Line by 5 October, and the war was essentially over. On 5 October, Prinz Max von Baden
, on behalf of the German Government, asked for an immediate armistice
on land, water and in the air.
By the end of the war Monash had acquired an outstanding reputation for intellect, personal magnetism, management and ingenuity. He also won the respect and loyalty of his troops: his motto was "Feed your troops on victory". Monash was regarded with great respect by the British - a British captain on the staff of William Heneker
's 8th Division described Monash as "a great bullock of a man ... though his manners were pleasant and his behaviour far from rough, I have seen few men who gave me such a sensation of force ... a fit leader for the wild men he commanded". Field Marshal
Bernard Montgomery later wrote: "I would name Sir John Monash as the best general on the western front in Europe".
forcefully demonstrated the benefit of thorough planning and integration of all arms of the forces available, and of all of the components supporting the front line forces, including logistical, medical and recreational services. Troops later recounted that one of the most extraordinary things about the Battle of Hamel
was not the use of armoured tanks, nor simply the tremendous success of the operation, but the fact that in the midst of battle Monash had arranged delivery of hot meals up to the front line.
Soon after the conclusion of hostilities Monash was appointed Director-General of Repatriation and Demobilisation, heading a newly created department to carry out the repatriation of the Australian troops. He returned to Australia on 26 December 1919 to a tumultuous welcome.
Later, Monash worked in prominent civilian positions, the most notable being head of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria
(SECV) from October 1920. He was also Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne
from 1923 until his death eight years later. Monash was an active member of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Australia's first Rotary Club, and served as its second President (1922–23). In 1927, he became patron of the newly-founded Zionist Federation of Australia and New Zealand.
He was called upon by the Victorian Government of Harry Lawson
in 1923 to organise 'special constables' to restore order during the 1923 Victorian Police strike
. He was one of the principal organisers of the annual observance of ANZAC Day
, and oversaw the planning for Melbourne's monumental war memorial, the Shrine of Remembrance
. Monash was honoured with numerous awards and decorations from universities and foreign governments. Monash was devastated in early 1929, when his eldest grandchild, John (who was 6 at the time), died after catching a rare influenza virus.
Sir John Monash died in Melbourne on 8 October 1931 and was given a state funeral. An estimated 250,000 mourners, the nation's largest funeral crowd to that time, came to pay their respects. Monash University
, the City of Monash
, Monash Medical Centre
(the location of his bust, which originally resided in former SECV town Yallourn), Monash Freeway
and John Monash Science School
are named after him. His face is on Australia's highest value currency note ($100). Also named in his honour is Kfar Monash
("Monash village") in Israel
. The Canberra
suburb of Monash
is also named after him. Monash's success in part reflected the tolerance of Australian society, but to a larger degree his success - in the harshest experience the young nation had suffered - shaped that tolerance and demonstrated to Australians that the Australian character was diverse, multi-ethnic
and a blend of the traditions of the 'bush' and the 'city'.
In a final sign of humility, despite his achievements, honours and titles, he instructed that his tombstone simply bear the words "John Monash". He is buried in Melbourne's Brighton General Cemetery
.
In late 2008, former Australian Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer
began campaigning for the Australian Parliament to posthumously promote Monash to Field Marshal, as the US Congress did to General of the Armies
George Washington
.
General (Australia)
General is the second highest rank, and the highest active rank, of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of General; it is also considered a four-star rank....
Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD
Volunteer Decoration
The Volunteer Officers' Decoration was created by Royal Warrant under command of Queen Victoria on 25 July 1892 to reward 'efficient and capable' officers of the Volunteer Force who had served for twenty years...
(27 June 18658 October 1931) was a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
who became the 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...
n military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade
13th Brigade (Australia)
The 13th Brigade is an Army Reserve formation of the Australian Army headquartered at Perth, Western Australia and its various units have depots in Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Albany and Katanning as well as Joondalup and Rockingham in the metro area. The 13th Brigade was first created in early 1916 and...
before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in 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...
shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part in the Gallipoli campaign
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
. In July 1917 he took charge of the new Australian 3rd Division
Australian 3rd Division (World War I)
The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. Existing during various periods between 1916 and 1991, it is considered the "longest serving Australian Army division". It was first formed during World War I, as an infantry division of the Australian Imperial Force and saw service...
in north-west 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...
and in May 1918 he was made commander of the Australian Corps
Australian Corps
The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire army in France...
, at the time the largest individual corps 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...
. In August 1918 the successful allied attack at the Battle of Amiens was spearheaded by the Australian Corps under Monash.
Early life
Monash was born in Dudley Street, West MelbourneWest Melbourne, Victoria
West Melbourne is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, on 27 June 1865, the son of Louis Monash and his wife Bertha, née Manasse. Both parents were Jews from Germany (the family name was originally spelt Monasch and pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable), living in Krotoschin
Krotoszyn
Krotoszyn is a town in central Poland with 30,010 inhabitants . It has been part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was within Kalisz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998....
in the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, now Krotoszyn
Krotoszyn
Krotoszyn is a town in central Poland with 30,010 inhabitants . It has been part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was within Kalisz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998....
in the Greater Poland Voivodeship
Greater Poland Voivodeship
Wielkopolska Voivodeship , or Greater Poland Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznań, Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. However, the family were German speakers, and some sources describe them as being of German origin. From 1914 until his death, Sir John Monash had no good reason to attract attention to his German background. His parent's original home was close to where the German general Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg...
was born. As might have been expected from a man brought up by cultivated German-Jewish parents who had arrived in Australia barely two years before John's birth, Monash spoke, read and wrote splendid German.
In 1874, the family moved to the small town of Jerilderie
Jerilderie, New South Wales
Jerilderie is a town of 768 people in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the only town in the Jerilderie Shire Local Government Area....
in the Riverina
Riverina
The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
region of 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...
, where his father ran a store. Monash later claimed to have met the bushranger
Bushranger
Bushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
during his raid there in 1879. Monash attended the public school and his intelligence was recognised. The family was advised to move back to Melbourne to let John reach his full potential, and they moved back in 1877 (Sam Aull). He was educated under Alexander Morrison
Alexander Morrison (headmaster)
Alexander Morrison was Headmaster of Scotch College, Melbourne, Australia, for 47 years.-Early life:Morrison was born Edinkillie, Morayshire, Scotland, sixth son of Donald Morrison, a farmer, and his wife Catherine née Fraser. Alexander was educated at the Elgin Academy and King's College,...
at Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, where he passed the matriculation examination when only 14 years of age. At 16 he was dux of the school. He graduated from the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
: B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1887, Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
in 1893, law
Practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...
in 1895 and Doctor of Engineering
Doctor of Engineering
The Doctor of Engineering is an academic degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and research in engineering or applied sciences...
in 1921.
On 8 April 1891, Monash married Hannah Victoria Moss, and their only child, Bertha, was born in 1893. He worked as a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, and played a major role in introducing reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
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 Harbour Trust, in 1894 he entered into partnership with J. T. N. Anderson
Joshua Thomas Noble Anderson
Joshua Thomas Noble Anderson was an engineer practising in Melbourne, Australia, and New Zealand during the difficult times in the Depressions of the 1890s and 1930s, but still practised innovative engineering in these periods.-Early career and migration to Australia:Anderson, known commonly by...
as consultants and contractors. When the partnership was dissolved in 1905 he joined with the builder David Mitchell
David Mitchell (builder)
David Mitchell was a Scottish-Australian builder. He was born in Forfarshire, Scotland. He left for Australia, arriving in Melbourne on 24 July 1852....
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
Victorian Institute of Engineers
The Victorian Institute of Engineers was founded in 1883 in Melbourne, Victoria Australia.In 1885 there were 124 members including 40 civil engineers engaged in hydraulic, gas, electric and roadway engineering, about 10 in mining, six in marine, and about 68 mechanical engineers...
and a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Monash joined the university company of the militia in 1884 and became a lieutenant in the North Melbourne battery militia unit in 1887. He was made captain in 1895, major in 1897 and in 1906 became a lieutenant-colonel in the intelligence corps. He was colonel commanding the 13th Infantry Brigade
13th Brigade (Australia)
The 13th Brigade is an Army Reserve formation of the Australian Army headquartered at Perth, Western Australia and its various units have depots in Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Albany and Katanning as well as Joondalup and Rockingham in the metro area. The 13th Brigade was first created in early 1916 and...
in 1912; on the outbreak of First World War he was appointed chief censor in Australia.
First World War
When war broke out in 1914, Monash became a full-time Army officer. Despite the anti-German hysteria of the time, there seems to have been no adverse comment on his German origins. When the Australian Imperial Force was formed, he was sent as the commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade to EgyptEgypt
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...
.
New Zealand and Australian Division
The New Zealand and Australian Division was formed at the start of the Battle of Gallipoli as a composite division under the command of New Zealand general Alexander Godley. At the start of World War I New Zealand had mustered insufficient infantry battalions to form their own division while...
under Major General
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...
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...
, participated in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
against the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Army. The brigade initially defended the line between Pope's Hill
Pope's Hill
Pope's Hill is a hill and a small village situated in the east of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire within the parish of Littledean. The hill is 12 miles south west of Gloucester and 3 miles east of Cinderford. The small village of Flaxley lies in the valley to the immediate north...
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
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
in July.
During the August offensive
Battle of Sari Bair
The Battle of Sari Bair , also known as the August Offensive, was the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during First World War.The Battle of Gallipoli had raged on two fronts, Anzac and Helles, for three months since...
, Monash's objective was the capture of Hill 971, the highest point on the Sari Bair range, but a failure to get his troops through poorly mapped mountainous terrain prior to the battle resulted in disaster for the last co-ordinated effort to defeat the Turkish forces on the Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
Peninsula. This marked the lowest point of his military career.
He commanded the final significant assault of the Gallipoli fighting in the attack on Hill 60
Battle of Hill 60 (Gallipoli)
The Battle of Hill 60 was the last major assault of the Battle of Gallipoli. It was launched on 21 August 1915 to coincide with the attack on Scimitar Hill made from the Suvla front by General Stopford's British IX Corps. Hill 60 was a low knoll at the northern end of the Sari Bair range which...
on 21 August, which was only partially successful. His war letters are full of accounts of the gallantry of the men he commanded. When orders came in December 1915 for the evacuation, he methodically supervised the exact course to be followed by members of his own command, and was in one of the last parties to leave.
Great as the disappointment had been over the failure at Gallipoli, there was some comfort in the fact that the evacuation had been so successful. Forty-five thousand men, with mules, guns, stores, provisions and transport valued at several million pounds, had been withdrawn with scarcely a casualty, and without exciting the slightest suspicion in the enemy. Hours afterwards the Turks opened a furious bombardment on the empty trenches.
After a rest period in Egypt, by June 1917 Monash was in north-west 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...
. In July, with the rank of major general, he was in charge of the new Australian 3rd Division
Australian 3rd Division (World War I)
The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. Existing during various periods between 1916 and 1991, it is considered the "longest serving Australian Army division". It was first formed during World War I, as an infantry division of the Australian Imperial Force and saw service...
. He trained the division in England with the minutest attention to detail, and led stage by stage to the nearest approach that could be improvised to the conditions of actual warfare. He was involved in many actions, including Messines
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
, Broodseinde
Battle of Broodseinde
The Battle of Broodseinde was the most successful attack of the Battle of Passchendaele. Using the "bite and hold" tactic , the Allied forces conducted an attack on well-entrenched German forces and showed that it was possible for the allies to overcome even the stoutest German...
, and the First Battle of Passchendaele
First Battle of Passchendaele
The First Battle of Passchendaele was a World War I battle that took place on 12 October 1917 in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, outside the Belgian village of Passchendaele, during the Third Battle of Ypres...
, with some successes, but with the usual heavy casualties. The British High Command was impressed by Monash's abilities and enthusiasm. In May 1918 he was promoted to lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
and made commander of the Australian Corps
Australian Corps
The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire army in France...
, at the time the largest individual corps 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...
.
Lieutenant General Sir John Monash later described the recapture of the town of Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway.-History - World War I:...
on 25 April 1918 after the Germans had overrun the 8th British Division under General William Heneker
William Heneker
General Sir William Charles Giffard Heneker KCB KCMG DSO was a Canadian born and educated soldier who served with the British Army in West Africa, India, and then later on the western front during the First World War...
as the turning-point of the war. Sir Thomas William Glasgow
Thomas William Glasgow
Sir William Glasgow, KCB, CMG, DSO , was an Australian Army Major General in World War I and member of the Australian Senate, representing Queensland as a Nationalist Party member from 1919 - 1931.-Early life and career:...
's 13th Brigade, and Harold Elliott's 15th Brigade, recaptured Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway.-History - World War I:...
.
Commander of the Australian Corps
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s. He wrote :
- ... the true role of infantry was not to expend itself upon heroic physical effort, not to wither away under merciless machine-gunMachine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire, not to impale itself on hostile bayonetBayonetA bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s, nor to tear itself to pieces in hostile entanglements—(I am thinking of PozièresPozièresPozières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.-Population:-History:...
and Stormy Trench and BullecourtBullecourtBullecourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in France.-Geography:Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. This shows Bullecourt just north of centre. Quéant is the larger of the two...
, and other bloody fields)—but on the contrary, to advance under the maximum possible protection of the maximum possible array of mechanical resources, in the form of guns, machine-guns, tanks, mortarsMortar (weapon)A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
and aeroplanes; to advance with as little impediment as possible; to be relieved as far as possible of the obligation to fight their way forward; to march, resolutely, regardless of the din and tumult of battle, to the appointed goal; and there to hold and defend the territory gained; and to gather in the form of prisoners, guns and stores, the fruits of victory.
Charles Bean
Charles Bean
Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean , usually identified as C.E.W. Bean, was an Australian schoolmaster, judge's associate, barrister journalist, war correspondent and historian....
, the official Australian war historian, noted that Monash was more effective the higher he rose within the Army, where he had greater capacity to use his skill for meticulous planning and organisation, and to innovate in the area of technology and tactics. Bean had been no great admirer of Monash in his early career, in part due to a general prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
against Monash's Prussian-Jewish background, but more particularly because Monash did not fit Bean's concept of the quintessential Australian character that Bean was in the process of mythologising in his monumental work Australia in the War of 1914-1918. (Both Bean and Monash, however, having seen the very worst excesses of British military doctrines and the waste of life on the Western Front, were determined that the role of the commander was to look after, and protect as far as possible, the troops under their command.) Bean, who wrote in his diary of Monash "We do not want Australia represented by men mainly because of their ability, natural and inborn in Jews, to push themselves", conspired with Keith Murdoch
Keith Murdoch
Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch was an Australian journalist and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the CEO and Chairman of News Corp.-Life and career:Murdoch was born in Melbourne in 1885, the son of Annie and the Rev...
to undermine Monash, and have him removed from the command of the Australian Corps. They misled Prime Minister Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
into believing that senior officers were opposed to Monash. Hughes arrived at the front before the Battle of Hamel
Battle of Hamel
The Battle of Hamel was a successful attack launched by the Australian Corps of the Australian Imperial Force and several American units against German positions in and around the town of Hamel in northern France during World War I....
prepared to replace Monash, but after consulting with senior officers, and after seeing the superb power of planning and execution displayed by Monash, he changed his mind.
At the Battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918 Monash, with the support of the British 4th Army commander Sir Henry Rawlinson commanded the 4th Australian Division, supported by the British 5th Tank Brigade, along with a detachment of US troops, to win a small but operationally significant victory for the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
. On 8 August 1918, the Battle of Amiens was launched. Allied troops under the command of Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I.Douglas Haig may also refer to:* Club Atlético Douglas Haig, a football club from Argentina* Douglas Haig , American actor...
, predominantly Rawlinson's British 4th Army (consisting of the Australian Corps under Monash and the Canadian Corps under Arthur Currie
Arthur Currie
Sir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...
, and the British III Corps) attacked the Germans. The allied attack was spearheaded by the Australian Corps, who had been given the capture of enemy artillery as a key objective in the first phase by Monash in order to minimize the potential harm to the attacking forces. The battle was a strong, significant victory for the Allies, the first decisive win for the British Army of the war, causing the Germans to recognise that for them the War was lost. The defeated German leader, General Ludendorff, described it in the following words: "August 8th was the black day of the German Army in the history of the war". These operations were just a start of a broad Allied offensive across the Western Front. On 12 August 1918 Monash was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on the battlefield by King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, the first time a British monarch had honoured a commander in such a way in 200 years. The Australians then achieved a series of victories against the Germans at Chignes, Mont St Quentin
Battle of Mont St. Quentin
The Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin was a battle on the Western Front during World War I. As part of the Allied counteroffensives on the Western Front in the late summer of 1918, the Australian Corps crossed the Somme River on the night of August 31, and broke the German lines at Mont Saint-Quentin...
, Peronne
Péronne, Somme
Péronne is a commune of the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is close to where the Battles of the Somme took place during World War I...
and Hargicourt
Hargicourt
Hargicourt may refer to the following places in France:* Hargicourt, Aisne, a commune in the department of Aisne* Hargicourt, Somme, a commune in the department of Somme...
. Monash had 208,000 men under his command, including 50,000 inexperienced Americans. Monash planned the attack on the German defences in the Battle of the Hindenburg Line
Battle of the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of St Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces in the spearhead attack and as a single combined force against the German Siegfried Stellung of the Hindenburg Line...
between 16 September and 5 October 1918. The Allies eventually breached the Hindenburg Line by 5 October, and the war was essentially over. On 5 October, Prinz Max von Baden
Prince Maximilian of Baden
Maximilian of Baden was a German prince and politician...
, on behalf of the German Government, asked for an immediate armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
on land, water and in the air.
By the end of the war Monash had acquired an outstanding reputation for intellect, personal magnetism, management and ingenuity. He also won the respect and loyalty of his troops: his motto was "Feed your troops on victory". Monash was regarded with great respect by the British - a British captain on the staff of William Heneker
William Heneker
General Sir William Charles Giffard Heneker KCB KCMG DSO was a Canadian born and educated soldier who served with the British Army in West Africa, India, and then later on the western front during the First World War...
's 8th Division described Monash as "a great bullock of a man ... though his manners were pleasant and his behaviour far from rough, I have seen few men who gave me such a sensation of force ... a fit leader for the wild men he commanded". Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Bernard Montgomery later wrote: "I would name Sir John Monash as the best general on the western front in Europe".
Impact
Monash's impact on Australian military thinking was significant in three areas. Firstly he was the first Australian overall commander of Australian forces and took, as subsequent Australian commanders did, a relatively independent line with his British superiors. Secondly, he promoted the concept of the commander's duty to ensure the safety and well-being of his troops to a pre-eminent position. And finally, he, along with the brilliant Staff Officer Thomas BlameyThomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
forcefully demonstrated the benefit of thorough planning and integration of all arms of the forces available, and of all of the components supporting the front line forces, including logistical, medical and recreational services. Troops later recounted that one of the most extraordinary things about the Battle of Hamel
Battle of Hamel
The Battle of Hamel was a successful attack launched by the Australian Corps of the Australian Imperial Force and several American units against German positions in and around the town of Hamel in northern France during World War I....
was not the use of armoured tanks, nor simply the tremendous success of the operation, but the fact that in the midst of battle Monash had arranged delivery of hot meals up to the front line.
After the war
Later, Monash worked in prominent civilian positions, the most notable being head of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria
State Electricity Commission of Victoria
The State Electricity Commission of Victoria was a monopoly electricity generation, transmission and supply utility located in Victoria, Australia...
(SECV) from October 1920. He was also Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
from 1923 until his death eight years later. Monash was an active member of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Australia's first Rotary Club, and served as its second President (1922–23). In 1927, he became patron of the newly-founded Zionist Federation of Australia and New Zealand.
He was called upon by the Victorian Government of Harry Lawson
Harry Lawson
Sir Harry Sutherland Wightman Lawson KCMG , Australian politician, was the 27th Premier of Victoria.Lawson was born in Dunolly, the son of a Presbyterian clergyman of Scottish descent. He was educated at a local school and then briefly Scotch College in Melbourne. He was a noted Australian rules...
in 1923 to organise 'special constables' to restore order during the 1923 Victorian Police strike
1923 Victorian Police strike
The 1923 Victorian Police strike occurred in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. On the eve of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival in November 1923, half the police force in Melbourne went on strike over the operation of a supervisory system using labour spies...
. He was one of the principal organisers of the annual observance of ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
, and oversaw the planning for Melbourne's monumental war memorial, the Shrine of Remembrance
Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war...
. Monash was honoured with numerous awards and decorations from universities and foreign governments. Monash was devastated in early 1929, when his eldest grandchild, John (who was 6 at the time), died after catching a rare influenza virus.
Sir John Monash died in Melbourne on 8 October 1931 and was given a state funeral. An estimated 250,000 mourners, the nation's largest funeral crowd to that time, came to pay their respects. Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
, the City of Monash
City of Monash
The City of Monash is a Local Government Area in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne and has an area of 81.0 square kilometres and has a estimated population of 176,069 people...
, Monash Medical Centre
Monash Medical Centre
Monash Medical Centres is a multicampus teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Clayton campus is located in Clayton, whilst the Moorabbin Campus is at Bentleigh East...
(the location of his bust, which originally resided in former SECV town Yallourn), Monash Freeway
Monash Freeway
Monash Freeway is an urban freeway in Victoria, Australia linking Melbourne's CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. The entire stretch of the Monash Freeway bears the designation...
and John Monash Science School
John Monash Science School
John Monash Science School is a state government coeducational specialist selective school in Victoria, Australia. It is the state's first specialist science secondary school....
are named after him. His face is on Australia's highest value currency note ($100). Also named in his honour is Kfar Monash
Kfar Monash
Kfar Monash is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the northern part of the Sharon plain and covering 2,700 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 785....
("Monash village") in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
suburb of Monash
Monash, Australian Capital Territory
Monash is a suburb in the district of Tuggeranong, Canberra, Australia. The suburb is named after General Sir John Monash, , who commanded the Australian Army in France in the First World War. It was gazetted on 1 August 1975 and first settled in 1978. The suburb has an area of 3.41 km²...
is also named after him. Monash's success in part reflected the tolerance of Australian society, but to a larger degree his success - in the harshest experience the young nation had suffered - shaped that tolerance and demonstrated to Australians that the Australian character was diverse, multi-ethnic
Multiethnic society
A multiethnic society is one with members belonging to more than one ethnic group, in contrast to societies which are ethnically homogenous. In practice, virtually all contemporary national societies are multiethnic...
and a blend of the traditions of the 'bush' and the 'city'.
In a final sign of humility, despite his achievements, honours and titles, he instructed that his tombstone simply bear the words "John Monash". He is buried in Melbourne's Brighton General Cemetery
Brighton Cemetery
Brighton Cemetery is located in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield South, Victoria, but takes its name from Brighton, Victoria.The Cemetery pre-dates the Caulfield Roads Board - the first official recognition of the suburb of Caulfield. Opened in 1855 it became, together with St. Kilda Cemetery, an...
.
In late 2008, former Australian Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer
Tim Fischer
Timothy Andrew Fischer, AC , is a former Australian politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 before retiring from Cabinet in 1999...
began campaigning for the Australian Parliament to posthumously promote Monash to Field Marshal, as the US Congress did to General of the Armies
General of the Armies
General of the Armies of the United States, or more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest possible officer rank of the United States Army.Only two soldiers have been granted the rank of General of the Armies; John J...
George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
External links
- General Officers of the 1st AIF: John Monash
- RBA: Sir John Monash Biographical Summary
- Sir John Monash (1865-1931) Gravesite at Brighton General Cemetery (Vic)
- Official Monash Forum
- Monash, John (Sir) (1865-1931) National Library of Australia, Trove, People and Organisation record for John Monash