RAA Liaison Letter 2024 - 2025 Edition

RAA Liaison Letter – 2024 / 2025 Edition 78 however our guide was a knowledgeable Englishmen. I vividly recall one of his opening comments as we drove to our first walk in the vicinity of Mont St Quentin. He said something along the lines of “that although this was an Australian tour and he was required to discuss Australia’s involvement, that despite what we Australians may believe, Monash did not singlehandedly achieve victory over Germany”. Once Monash was in command of all the Australian forces on the Western front, it was immediately evident that there was change in strategic thinking and leadership. Apart from a having a game changing understanding and appreciation of the application of manoeuvre warfare, a concept somewhat foreign to many leaders at the time, he brought to the war a clarity of thought and detailed planning supported by rehearsals, speed and surprise and an insight to what motivated his soldiers in tough times. This included simple yet important gestures like regularly receiving a warn cooked warm meal and a hot brew He had an unwavering faith in the skills, endurance and determination of his soldiers to carry out his plan. He pushed his troops to their physical and mental limits and beyond. This at times what not without its challenges. I have always been amazed by the stupidity of the WWI tactics used by commanders for most of the war on both sides. Not a single senior commander appeared to have learnt anything from the American civil war in terms of fighting static battles. When I visited France and Belgium one thing that struck me was the relatively small geographic area of the Western Front. The futileness of this static warfare fought by Generals from Headquarters located in Chateau’s safely behind the trenches is no more evident than what seems to the eye of a visitor an endless sea of war cemeteries. The affect this senseless human carnage had on the future develop of many counties cannot be underestimated or overstated. Yes, I acknowledge the words of our battlefield guide, Monash “did not win” the war single handedly, but he most certainly “broke the paradigm” of tactics used by commanders on the Western Front. He changed the strategic mindset of his peers and superiors with regard to what was required to end of the war which was set to drag on for another cold wet winter. Through this last 100 days on the Western Front the allies often struggled to “keep pace” with the speed of movement and agility of the Australian divisions. Consequently the Australian’s regularly had their flanks exposed to the enemy. On occasion this situation had deadly outcomes in terms of unnecessary casualties. The politics of appointing Monash as the commander of the 1st Australian Corps is something that also should not be underestimated. Despite Australia becoming nation in 1901, the British Empire still very much existed. This nexus was not really broken until World War Two. The early stages of the last 100 days incudes the Battle for Mont St Quentin and Peronne. Some historians have described the taking of Mont St Quentin and Peronne as among the finest Australian feats on the Western Front. This is highlighted by the eight Victoria Crosses awarded during the period 31 August to 4 September 1918. The recipient’s included Lieutenant Edgar Thomas Towner VC, MC from my own hometown of Blackall located in Central Western Queensland. On a practical note as a reader due to the detail and layout of the content I had to refer frequently to the very basic “mud” maps provided. This was important to keep orientated with the flow of the divisions and formations as the battles unfolded. To more easily follow the scheme of manoeuvre I would have appreciated a few more key towns and villages included on the maps.