Editing John Monash (section)

== First World War ==

=== Gallipoli ===
[[File:6230649 Monash group portrait Captains cropped.jpg|thumb|Monash during the First World War]]

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/person/349254 |title=First World War Service Record – Sir John Monash |date=23 October 2013 |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |access-date=8 October 2014}}</ref> Monash did not enjoy the job, and was keen for a field command.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|pp=148–151}}</ref> In September, after the [[First Australian Imperial Force|Australian Imperial Force]] was formed, he was appointed as the commander of the [[4th Brigade (Australia)|4th Infantry Brigade]], which consisted of four [[battalion]]s: the [[13th Battalion (Australia)|13th]], [[14th Battalion (Australia)|14th]], [[15th Battalion (Australia)|15th]] and [[16th Battalion (Australia)|16th]].<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|p=151}}</ref> 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 Gordon Legge|James Legge]], [[James Whiteside McCay|James McCay]] and [[Ian Hamilton (British Army officer)|Ian Hamilton]], and his appointment stood.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|pp=151–153}}</ref>

When the first contingent of Australian troops, the [[1st Division (Australia)|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 (Cairo suburb)|Heliopolis]], where it was assigned to the [[New Zealand and Australian Division]] under [[Major General]] [[Alexander Godley]].<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|pp=154–161}}</ref> After a period of training, in April, the brigade took part in the [[Gallipoli campaign]] against the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]]. Assigned the role of divisional reserve, Monash came ashore early on 26 April.<ref name=ADB /> The brigade initially defended the line between Pope's Hill and [[Courtney's and Steel's Post Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery|Courtney's Post]], and the valley behind this line became known as "Monash Valley".<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|p=183}}</ref> There he made a name for himself with his independent decision-making and his organisational ability.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|p=xiv}}</ref> He was promoted to [[brigadier general (Australia)|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".<ref name=ADB /> His promotion was gazetted in September, with effect from 15 September 1914.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232466062|title=Australian Imperial Forces – Promotions|newspaper=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette |issue=111 |date=18 September 1915 |access-date=30 March 2020 |page=2338 }}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29224|page=6707|date=9 July 1915}}</ref>

During the [[Battle of Sari Bair|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.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|p=209}}</ref> On the evening of 6/7 August, the brigade launched its attack, but poor maps, heavy resistance and the mountainous terrain defeated them. Elsewhere, the offensive also stalled,<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|p=221}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|p=222}}</ref> On 21 August, Monash led them in an attack on [[Battle of Hill 60 (Gallipoli)|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]].<ref name=ADB /> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|pp=230–235}}</ref>

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."<ref>Serle, Geoffrey, ''John Monash: A Biography'', Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1982, 2002 edition, p. 209.</ref> 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."<ref>Serle, Geoffrey, ''John Monash: A Biography'', Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1982, 2002 edition, p. 247.</ref>

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 [[en cadre|cadre]] of experienced personnel to form the [[12th Brigade (Australia)|12th Brigade]]. It was also reassigned to the [[4th Division (Australia)|4th Division]].<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|pp=238–239}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2007|p=245}}</ref>

=== Western Front ===
In June 1916, Monash and his command were transferred to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], being sent to the front around [[Armentières]]. On 10 July, Monash was promoted to temporary [[major general (Australia)|major general]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29730|page=8597|date=1 September 1916}}</ref> and placed in command of the [[3rd Division (Australia)|Australian 3rd Division]].<ref name=ADB /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232455840|title=Australian Imperial Forces – Appointments, Promotions, etc.|newspaper=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette |issue=176 |date=30 November 1916 |access-date=30 March 2020 |page=3246 }}</ref> He trained the division in England with attention to detail,{{sfn|Dennis et al|1995|p=405}} and after the division was sent to the Western Front in November 1916, including [[Battle of Messines (1917)|Messines]], [[Battle of Broodseinde|Broodseinde]], and the [[First Battle of Passchendaele]],<ref name=ADB /> with some successes, but incurring the usual heavy casualties.{{sfn|Palazzo |2002| pp= 37–41}} The British High Command was impressed by Monash and, according to biographer Geoffery Serle, while dining with [[Field Marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Sir Douglas Haig]], Monash was informed that Haig "wanted him as a corps commander".<ref name=ADB />

Monash's division spent the winter of 1917–1918 around [[Ploegsteert]]. Early the following year, after the Germans launched their [[German spring offensive|Spring Offensive]], the 3rd Division was deployed to undertake defensive operations around [[Amiens]]. Throughout April and May, the division undertook several [[peaceful penetration]] operations.<ref name=ADB /> Monash later described the recapture of the town of [[Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux|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.<ref>{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography
 | last= Harry
 | first= Ralph
 | title= Glasgow, Sir Thomas William (1876–1955)
 | year= 1983
 | id= A090021b
 | access-date= 12 March 2011
}}</ref>

=== Commander of the Australian Corps ===
[[File:John Monash portrait 1918.jpg|thumb|left|Monash in 1918]]

On 1 June 1918, the promotion of Monash to [[lieutenant general (Australia)|lieutenant general]] and commander of the [[Australian Corps]], at the time the largest individual corps on the Western Front,<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2004|p=xiii}}</ref> was confirmed.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8334259|title= NAA: B2455, Monash Sir John, pp. 3 & 29 of 101|publisher= [[National Archives of Australia]]|access-date= 14 May 2019}}</ref>

Monash's promotion was not without contention. Among those who considered and advocated for Major General [[Brudenell White]] to have command of the Australian Corps were Australia's Official War Correspondent and later Official Historian, Charles Bean, and journalist Keith Murdoch, although historian Justin Chadwick has written that Bean was one of many of that view.<ref>Chadwick, Justin (2017). ''Sword and Baton: Senior Australian Army Officers from Federation to 2001''. NSW: Big Sky Publishing. p. 613.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/white.htm|title= Sir Brudenell White|website=www.firstworldwar.com – Who's Who|access-date=31 August 2022}}</ref>

Bean had reservations about Monash's "ideals".<ref>Bean diary, entry 12 June 1918, AWM38, 3DRL 606/114/1. p. 93.</ref><ref name=beandiary56>Bean diary, entry 18 June 1918, AWM38, 3DRL 606/115/1, p. 56.</ref> and was said to have a general prejudice against Monash's Prussian Jewish background.<ref>Serle, Geoffrey ''John Monash: A Biography'', Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1982, p. 298.</ref> According to Kelly, Bean's core motivation at that time was that Brudenell White's appointment was in the best interest of the AIF,<ref>Kelly, Paul "Charles Bean; Man of his time and for all time". The Australian. (23 May 2018).</ref> and that it would be a big mistake for White to leave the Australian Corps and go with [[William Birdwood|Birdwood]] to the British Fifth Army.<ref>Bean diary, entry 2 June 1918, AWM38, 3DRL 606/ 113/1 opp. p. 53.</ref><ref name=beandiary56 /> Historian Burness noted that Bean did recognise Monash's ability and was not concerned that he should be promoted, but he considered Brudenell White was better fitted to command the fighting corps.<ref>Burness, Peter 'Notes from the Western Front', Wartime, Issue 84, p. 63.)</ref>
In that climate [[Billy Hughes|Hughes]] arrived at the front, before the [[Battle of Hamel]], prepared to replace Monash but, after consulting with senior officers, and having seen the superb power of planning and execution displayed by Monash, he changed his mind.

In his Official History, [[Charles Bean]] noted that Monash was more effective the higher he rose within the Army.<ref>Bean. Official History. Vol II, The Story of Anzac, p. 588.</ref> His depth of knowledge not only of military matters, but also of engineering and business, ensured that his operational plans were the product of meticulous preparation and thorough and rigorous scrutiny.<ref>Chadwick, Justin (2017). ''Sword and Baton: Senior Australian Army Officers from Federation to 2001''. NSW: Big Sky Publishing. p. 457.</ref>

Bean later wrote of his own "high intentioned but ill-judged intervention" and that "those who took action (relating to Monash's appointment) did so as I afterwards realised, without adequate appreciation of Monash, who, though his reputation as a front line soldier had been poor, was never the less a much greater man than most of us then thought."<ref>Bean, ''Two Men I Knew: William Bridges and Brudenell White Founders of the A.I.F.'', Angus and Robertson, Sydney, (1957), pp. 170–171 and footnote.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/24486729 |title=The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910–1954) – 11 Oct 1931 – p. 13 |website=Trove |access-date=31 August 2022}}</ref>

At the Battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918, Monash, with the support of the British 4th Army commander [[Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson|Sir Henry Rawlinson]], commanded the 4th Australian Division, supported by the British 5th Tank Brigade, along with a detachment of American troops, to win a small but operationally significant victory for the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-07-04/battle-of-hamel-still-considered-turning-point/2494406 |title=Battle of Hamel still considered 'turning point' |author=McLintock, Penny |date=4 July 2008 |work=ABC News |access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref>

On 8 August 1918, the [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]] was launched. Allied troops under the command of Haig, predominantly Rawlinson's British 4th Army (consisting of the Australian Corps under Monash, Canadian Corps under [[Sir Arthur Currie]], British III Corps under Butler and British Cavalry Corps under Kavanagh), attacked the Germans. The Australian Corps sprearheaded the allied attack. Monash gave them, as a key objective in the first phase, the capture of enemy artillery, in order to minimise the potential harm to the attacking forces.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2004|p=xv}}</ref>
The battle was a strong, significant victory for the Allies, the first decisive win for the British Army of the war,<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2004|p=xii}}</ref> causing the Germans to recognise that for them the War was lost. The defeated German leader, General [[Erich Ludendorff]], described it in the following words: "August&nbsp;8th was the black day of the German Army in the history of the war".<ref>{{harvnb|Ludendorff|1971}}, cited in {{harvnb|Pedersen|1985|p=247}}</ref> Those operations were just a start of a broad Allied offensive across the Western Front. On 12 August 1918, at [[Château de Bertangles]], Monash was knighted by [[George V|King George V]] as a Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Bath]].<ref name=ADB /><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30450|date=28 December 1917|page=1 |supp=y}}</ref>

[[File:King George V congratulating Lieutenant General Sir John Monash KCB VD.jpg|thumb|right|King [[George V]] congratulating Lieutenant General Sir John Monash, August 1918.]]

After that, the Australians achieved under Monash a series of victories against the Germans at [[Chuignes]], [[Battle of Mont St. Quentin|Mont St Quentin]], [[Péronne, Somme|Peronne]] and [[Hargicourt, Somme|Hargicourt]]. Of the battle of Mt St Quentin and the subsequent taking of the town of Peronne, Charles Bean wrote in the Official History: "the dash, intelligence, and persistence of the troops dealt a stunning blow to five German divisions, drove the enemy from one of its key positions in France, and took 2,600 prisoners at a cost of slightly over 3,000 casualties."<ref>Chadwick, Justin, Sword and Baton: Senior Australian Army Officers from Federation to 2001. Big Sky Publishing, NSW, 2017, p. 470.</ref>

Monash had 208,000 men under his command, including 50,000 inexperienced Americans. He planned the attack on the German defences at the [[Battle of the Hindenburg Line]] between 16 September and 5 October 1918. The Allies had eventually breached the [[Hindenburg Line]] by 5 October, and the war was essentially over. On 5 October, [[Prince Maximilian of Baden|Prinz Max von Baden]], on behalf of the German Government, asked for an immediate [[armistice]].<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|2004|p=443}}</ref>

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".<ref>''Leadership in War'', address to the Beefsteak Club, Melbourne, 30 March 1926.{{harvnb|Warhaft|2004|p=81}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{harvnb|Hart| 2008|p=257}}</ref> Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery]] later wrote: "I would name Sir John Monash as the best general on the western front in Europe".<ref>{{harvnb|Montgomery|1972|}}, cited in {{harvnb|Pedersen|1985|p=294}}</ref>

For his services during the War, and in addition to his creation as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, Monash was appointed as a Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]] on 1 January 1919.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31092|date=1 January 1919|page=4200|supp=y}}</ref> He also received numerous foreign honours – the French appointed him a Grand Officer of the {{lang|fr|[[Légion d'honneur]]|italic=no}}<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31150|date=28 January 1919|pages=1445–1445|supp=y}}</ref> and awarded him the [[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de Guerre]],<ref name="LG31514" /><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31465|date=21 July 1919|pages=9219–9221|supp=y}}</ref> the Belgians appointed him a Grand Officer of the [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Order of the Crown]] (''Grand-Officier Ordre de la Couronne'') and awarded him the [[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31263|date=1 April 1919|page=4200|supp=y}}</ref> and the United States awarded him the [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31451|date=12 July 1919|pages=8937–8938|supp=y}}</ref> The Australian Government honoured Monash with promotion to the full rank of general explicitly "in recognition of his long and distinguished service with the Australian military forces" on 11 November 1929.<ref>''Sydney Morning Herald'', 12 November 1929, p. 11.</ref>