John Monash

John Monash

General Sir John Monash, GCMG, KCB, VD (27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part in the Gallipoli campaign. In July 1917 he took charge of the new Australian 3rd Division in north-west France and in May 1918 he was made commander of the Australian Corps, at the time the largest individual corps on the Western Front. On 8 August 1918 the successful allied attack at the Battle of Amiens, which led to the earlier than expected end to WW1, was planned by Monash and spearheaded by the Australian and Canadian Corps under Monash and Currie.