Editing John Monash (section)

=== 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>