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Subject: Restoring the spirit of Anzacs
Volkodav    11/7/2008 5:24:32 PM
Tim Fischer | November 08, 2008 AUSTRALIAN lieutenant-general John Monash played a key role in turning the Allies' fortunes in World War I , yet is overlooked by history. Monash, the Australian Army corps commander, made a huge contribution to victory at Hamel on the Western Front with his holistic battle method. This was followed by the Battle of Amiens, then on to Mont StQuentin and beyond. "Monash was, according to the testimony of those who knew well his genius for war and what he accomplished by it, the most resourceful general in the whole British Army," wrote British prime minister Lloyd George. Anthony Eden, the PM after Winston Churchill, reputedly said of Monash: "There was no greater soldier in World War I." Field marshal Bernard Montgomery said that if Monash had replaced Haig as commander-in-chief in early 1917, "World War I would have ended one year earlier". Monash went ashore at Gallipoli one day after the first landings, learned much during the disastrous Dardanelles campaign and August offensive, and repaired to Egypt for retraining in December 1915. On April 25, 1916, the brigade commander initiated the first field Anzac Day service. Then it was on to the Western Front and the dreadful stalemates that dominated 1916 and 1917. It was not until July 1918 that he was given command and orders to conduct a battle from start to finish. A thousand soldiers from the 33rd Division of the US Army swept into battle alongside 7000 Australians on July 4, 1918, at Le Hamel to take the village and surrounding plateau from the German army. Not only did it represent precision in battle, it was a turning point. Tanks were inserted with platoons for the first time. The artillery barrage was precisely co-ordinated to protect the infantry, and battle orders were explained up and down the chain of command. Monash wrote in his diary that if all went to plan, the battle would take 90 minutes. In fact, it took 93 minutes, and far fewer casualties than expected. Never again did the German army move forward. They were broken in spirit and broken apart on the ground. After Amiens on August 8, the German leaders sought terms for an armistice. Within three months the war was over. Monash is rarely recognised as our greatest general. He was Jewish, of Prussian descent, a colonial and too old for some. But the main reason was because he was not the product of a military academy. He should have been Australia's first field marshal. Prime minister Billy Hughes denied him promotion to full general in late 1918. Monash resented being kept down the scale after all he had done. And now he is airbrushed or too often spun out of the history of Australia. When asked to lead a coup during the Depression, he gave a firm no, adding: "There is not too much wrong with Australia that the ballot box and good education will not fix." Monash deserves a higher place in the history of this nation. The Government can confer retrospective promotion, an option that should be considered between now and 2015 or 2018, key World War I anniversaries. Tim Fischer is a former Australian Army second lieutenant and deputy PM. ABC1 will screen Monash: The Forgotten Anzac on Tuesday at 8.30pm.
 
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gf0012-aust       11/7/2008 6:41:55 PM
Monash was also Jewish (to add to the woes of being a colonial, a part time militia soldier and an engineer which full time officers also resented)
 
He was also IIRC the last general to be knighted in the field by a reigning monarch.
 
IIARC it was the only time that americans were commanded by a non american officer.  Pershing did try to make a scene about it was told to get on his bike (by Plummer I think).  Pershing also wanted to shove his troops in straight away whereas Monash insisted that they be trained in depth before committing them to battle.
 
 

 
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Aussiegunneragain       11/7/2008 7:08:38 PM
And apart from his military achievements Monash was an engineer who built many of the bridges in late 19th and early 20th century Australia, a lawyer who specialised in engineering case, the chief of the State Electricity Board of Victoria for whom he introduced brown coal generated electricty from Germany after the war and a generous philanthropist who helped out down on their luck veterans. He would have to be one of the greatest Australians ever and his achievements should be celebrated in a country that too often only worships sporting hero's to the exclusion of  all else.  
 
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Arty Farty       11/7/2008 10:48:35 PM

Monash was also Jewish (to add to the woes of being a colonial, a part time militia soldier and an engineer which full time officers also resented)



German-Jew.
 
Almost the anti-thesis of the British race patriotism that was rampant at the time.
 
 
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gf0012-aust       11/7/2008 11:13:09 PM
Poor bastard copped it from that slimy toad Billy Hughes and that galloping ant-semite, CE Bean  and Ken Murdoch as well.  For some reason Hughes is cut some slack re his treatment of Monash - but it was only the fact that he had the support of the King and Plummer I suspect that he sidestepped their machinations.
 
In fact I don't know why we still heap praise on Bean - he was a malicious little twerp (ditto for Murdoch).  He only changed his opinion on Monash when it was apparent that he would do his own name no good.
 
 

 
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Volkodav       11/8/2008 5:04:02 AM
Australia hasn't always been a very tolerant place, in fact it still doesn't take much to bring bigotry to the fore.
 
I can't help but wonder what the Australian Army would have been like in WWII had Monash had the input he deserved in the years immediately following WWI.  He had the foresight to form Survey Corps and considering his integrated use of armour along with Artillery and engineers, What would the 2nd AIF have looked like?
 
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gf0012-aust    clarity   11/8/2008 3:57:32 PM

Poor bastard copped it from that slimy toad Billy Hughes and that galloping ant-semite, CE Bean  and Ken Murdoch as well.  For some reason Hughes is cut some slack re his treatment of Monash - but it was only the fact that he had the support of the King and Plummer I suspect that he sidestepped their machinations.


should read:
 
"but it was only the fact that Monash had the support of the King and Plummer I suspect that he sidestepped their machinations."

 
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