Australia’s greatest soldier deserves nation’s respect

JOHN Monash ranks undoubtedly as Australia’s greatest soldier so far. He was the best and most effective Allied General on the brutal Western Front during World War 1. His move away from trench warfare saved the lives of countless of his soldiers.

For his brilliance and accomplishments in stopping German advances into France and turning the tide of war he was awarded the French Grand Officer of the Légion d’honneur, and the Croix de Guerre. The Belgians appointed him a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown and awarded him their Croix de Guerre, and the United States awarded him the Distinguished Service Medal.

Yet the Commonwealth of Australia has awarded him not one honour!

And why? Many historians attribute this back to petty jealously by WW1 Prime Minister Billy Hughes, who saw Monash as a militia upstart and, due to his popularity amongst his troops and in postwar Australia, as possible political rival. Then there was the continual white-anting by CEW Bean and Frank Murdoch.

The famed WW2 desert fighter British Field Marshal Lord Montgomery of Alamein said in 1968: “I would name Sir John Monash as the best general on the western front … And the war might have been over sooner, and certainly with fewer casualties, had (Field Marshal) Haig been relieved of his command and Monash appointed to command the British Armies in his place”.

Put simply, Montgomery believed that Monash should have been made Field Marshal in 1918.

Under Monash, the Australian Corps stood tall as without equal in the liberation of France and Belgium, and the toast of allied forces and nations. Isn’t that something for we Australians to be proud of, considering the tragic losses to almost every family in our land during the horrors of World War 1?

The proposal to posthumously promote General Sir John Monash gathers pace and would be a fitting formal honour to a great Australian and the Australian soldiers and airmen that he led.

Yet there seems to be lingering prejudice against Monash in some academic and defence retiree circles based on spurious reasoning, possibly as a smoke screen to ongoing bigotry about his Prussian Jewish family heritage.

This week marks the 100th anniversary of Monash’s brilliance in defeating the occupying Germans at the Battle of Le Hamel.

This November will mark the centenary of the Armistice, an outcome that put an end to the horror of WW1. The ending of the war may be attributed, in no small measure, to “a war-winning combination … of a corps commander of genius (Monash), the Australian infantry, the Tank Corps, the Royal Artillery and the RAF”. (British General Hubert Essame)

The British continue to recognise Monash’s genius to this day. Why not Australia?

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull now has the chance to make his mark on history and approve the posthumous promotion of Sir John Monash by Australia to the rank of Australian Field Marshal. PETER SCOTT, TALLEBUDGERA