John Monash

General Sir John Monash (27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and a senior army commander in the First World War. Before the war, he led the 13th Infantry Brigade, and soon after hostilities began, he took command of the 4th Brigade in Egypt, serving in the Gallipoli campaign. In July 1916, he assumed command of the newly formed 3rd Division in north-western France, and in May 1918 he became head of the Australian Corps, then the largest corps on the Western Front. The historian A. J. P. Taylor called him "the only general of creative originality produced by the First World War."

Monash was born in West Melbourne, Victoria, to Jewish parents who had emigrated from Krotoschin in Prussia (now Krotoszyn, Poland). His birth certificate gives 23 June 1865, but this is likely an error; he was almost certainly born on 27 June. He was the first child of Louis Monash and Bertha Manasse, who had arrived in Melbourne in June 1864. The family name was originally Monasch, pronounced with the stress on the second syllable. After a few moves around Melbourne, his mother used a large inheritance in 1873 to buy two houses—one large, one small—and the family lived in the smaller while renting out the larger. Young John attended St Stephen's School in Richmond, where he was remembered as bright, alert, skilled in drawing, with a good sense of fun and no interest in organised sport. At home, his mother taught him piano and encouraged reading in English, French, and German; the family spoke German natively. Monash remained fluent in German throughout his life, though after 1914 he had reason to downplay that background.

In 1874 the family moved to Jerilderie, New South Wales, where his father ran a store. Monash later claimed to have met the bushranger Ned Kelly during the Kelly gang's 1879 raid. Recognised for his intelligence at the local state school, his family was advised to return to Melbourne, which they did in 1877. Though his parents had largely stopped practising religion, Monash celebrated his bar mitzvah at the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and sang in its choir. He was educated at Scotch College under Alexander Morrison, passing the matriculation exam at age 14 and becoming dux at 16. He earned a Master of Engineering in 1893, a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 1895, and a Doctor of Engineering in 1921, all from the University of Melbourne.

Monash married Hannah Victoria Moss in April 1891; their only child, Bertha, was born in 1893. Before marriage, he had an affair with Annie Gabriel, the wife of a colleague, which ended when he chose Vic, though they continued corresponding for years. As a civil engineer, he was instrumental in introducing reinforced concrete to Australian practice. He worked on bridge and railway construction for private contractors, then with the Melbourne Harbor Trust, and later formed partnerships and companies, including the Reinforced Concrete & Monier Pipe Construction Co and the S. A. Reinforced Concrete Co. He served as president of the Victorian Institute of Engineers and was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in London.

Monash joined the university militia company in 1884, became a lieutenant in the North Melbourne battery in 1887, and rose through the ranks: captain in 1895, major in 1897, lieutenant-colonel in the intelligence corps in 1908, and colonel in 1913. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade from 1912.

When the First World War began in August 1914, Monash became a full-time officer, initially as chief censor in Australia. Unhappy with that role, he sought a field command and in September was appointed commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade, made up of the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th battalions. Some protested the appointment because of his German and Jewish ancestry, but senior officers like James Legge, James McCay, and Ian Hamilton supported him, and it stood. While the 1st Division sailed in October, the 4th Brigade trained at Broadmeadows, Victoria, before embarking in December 1914. Arriving in Egypt in January 1915, the brigade set up at Heliopolis, assigned to the New Zealand and Australian Division under Major General Alexander Godley. After further training...