Sword and Baton Vol 1: Federation - 1939: Senior Australian Army Officers from Federation to 2001

Sword and Baton is a collection of 86 biographies representing every Australian Army officer to reach the rank of major general from Federation to the outbreak of World War II. This is the first of two volumes, and its scope is broad, including chaplains-general, surgeons-general and British Army officers who served with the AIF or the permanent forces. Author Justin Chadwick portrayal of these officers careers provides a lens through which he examines trends such as the development of military skills which ensured that, by the commencement of hostilities in 1914, Australia boasted a pool of well-trained, albeit inexperienced officers. The effects of command under pressure of war and the enormous physical impact of combat are likewise portrayed in these comprehensive biographies. By the end of hostilities Australian officers had garnered immense experience and were among the best in the Allied forces. Ironically, this hard-won skill base was to be all but lost in the interwar period. Sword and Baton offers its readers more than a series of biographies. Rather, it describes a crucial period in Australian military history through the lives of the extraordinary men at its head. Introduction..........................................................................................................5 Acknowledgements................................................................................................8 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................9 Major General John Macquarie Antill .................................................................12 Major General George Walter Barber ..................................................................18 Lieutenant General Henry Gordon Bennett ........................................................28 Field Marshal Sir William Riddell Birdwood .......................................................40 Chaplain-General Albert Percy Bladen ................................................................47 Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey.............................................................51 Major General Charles Henry Brand...................................................................73 Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges ........................................................79 Major General Reginald Spencer Browne, ...........................................................90 Major General Sir Julius Henry Bruche...............................................................95 Major General James Burston............................................................................102 Chaplain-General Thomas Joseph Carr .............................................................107 General Sir Henry George Chauvel ...................................................................110 Major General Sir Edward Walter Clervaux Chaytor.........................................124 Chaplain-General The Most Rev Dr Patrick Joseph Clune ................................130 Major General James Henry Courtney..................................................................133 Major General Charles Frederick Cox ...............................................................138 General Sir Herbert Vaughan Cox.....................................................................143 Major General Walter Adams Coxen .................................................................148 Major General Sir George Cuscaden .................................................................157 Major General Thomas Henry Dodds ...............................................................162 Major General Major Francis Downes...............................................................171 Major General Rupert Major Downes ...............................................................177 Major General Edmund Alfred Drake-Brockman..............................................184 Major General William L’Estrange Eames ..........................................................193 Major General Harold Edward Elliott ...............................................................198 Major General Richard Herbert Joseph Fetherston............................................212 Major General Henry Finn................................................................................220 Major General John Keatly Forsyth ...................................................................225 Major General Sir George Arthur French ..........................................................230 Major General Sir John Gellibrand....................................................................235 Major General Sir Thomas William Glasgow.....................................................246 General Sir Alexander John Godley ...................................................................257 Major General Joseph Maria Gordon ................................................................263 Major General Harold William Grimwade .......................................................269 Major General Sir Charles William Gwynn.......................................................276 Major General John Leslie Hardie .....................................................................281 Major General Sir John Charles Hoad...............................................................288 Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs...............................................297 Major General Sir Henry West Hodgson...........................................................310 Chaplain-General Albert Thomas Holden .........................................................314 Major General William Holmes ........................................................................318 Major General Sir Neville Reginald Howse .......................................................328 Major General Frederic Godfrey Hughes...........................................................340 General Sir Edward Thomas Henry Hutton .....................................................346 Major General Godfrey George Howy Irving ....................................................354 Lieutenant General Sir Carl Herman Jess ..........................................................360 Major General George Jameson Johnston............................................................372 General Sir George Macaulay Kirkpatrick .........................................................380 Lieutenant General Sir John Dudley Lavarack...................................................385 Lieutenant General George Leonard Lee ...........................................................396 Chaplain-General Henry Frewen Le Fanu .........................................................400 Major General James Gordon............................................................................403 Chaplain-General George Merrick Long ...........................................................416 Major General James William Macarthur-Onslow ...............................................420 Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay ............................................................ 424 Major General James Alexander Kenneth Mackay .............................................435 Chaplain-General The Most Rev Dr Daniel Mannix .........................................441 Lieutenant General Sir James Whiteside McCay................................................445 General Sir John Monash ..................................................................................456 Major General Sir Newton James Moore...........................................................475 Lieutenant General John William Parnell ..........................................................479 Major General John Gibson Paton ....................................................................483 Major General Owen Forbes Phillips.................................................................489 Major General Gustave Mario Ramaciotti.........................................................496 Major General George James Rankin ................................................................500 Chaplain-General John Laurence Rentoul .........................................................508 Chaplain-General Thomas Craike Rentoul........................................................511 Major General John Dalyell Richardson ............................................................515 Chaplain-General Charles Owen Leaver Riley.....................................................520 Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal.................................................................524 Major General Sir Charles Snodgrass Ryan........................................................533 Major General Sir Granville de Laune Ryrie ......................................................539 Major General Victor Conradsdorf Morisset Sellheim .......................................548 Chaplain-General William Floyd Shannon........................................................556 Major General Ewen George Sinclair-MacLagan ...............................................560 Major General Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth.......................................................567 Lieutenant General Ernest Ker Squires ..............................................................572 Major General John Stanley ..............................................................................577 Major General Edwin Tivey ..............................................................................583 General Sir Harold Bridgwood Walker ..............................................................590 Major General Ernest Townshend Wallack,..........................................................595 Major General Arthur Thomas White ...............................................................600 General Sir Cyril Brudenell Bingham White .....................................................605 Lieutenant General John Lawrence Whitham....................................................619 Major General Robert Ernest Williams..............................................................625 Surgeon General Sir William Daniel Campbell Williams...................................631 Chaplain-General William Frederick Wray........................................................640 Bibliography......................................................................................................644 Index .................................................................................................................657 "Sword and Baton is a collection of 86 biographies representing every Australian Army officer to reach the rank of major general from Federation to the outbreak of World War II. This is the first of two volumes, and its scope is broad, including chaplains-general, surgeons-general and British Army officers who served with the AIF or the permanent forces.Author Justin Chadwick portrayal of these officers careers provides a lens through which he examines trends such as the development of military skills which ensured that, by the commencement of hostilities in 1914, Australia boasted a pool of well-trained, albeit inexperienced officers. The effects of command under pressure of war and the ermous physical impact of combat are likewise portrayed in these comprehensive biographies. By the end of hostilities Australian officers had garnered immense experience and were among the best in the Allied forces. Ironically, this hard-won skill base was to be all but lost in the interwar period. Sword and Baton offers its readers more than a series of biographies. Rather, it describes a crucial period in Australian military history through the lives of the extraordinary men at its head." --Publisher description Sword and Baton is a collection of 86 biographies representing every Australian Army officer to reach the rank of major general from Federation to the outbreak of World War II. This is the first of three volumes, and its scope is broad, including chaplains-general, surgeons-general and British Army officers who served with the AIF or the permanent forces. Author Justin Chadwick's portrayal of these officers' careers provides a lens through which he examines trends such as the development of military skills which ensured that, by the commencement of hostilities in 1914, Australia boasted a pool of well-trained, albeit inexperienced officers. The effects of command under pressure of war and the enormous physical impact of combat are likewise portrayed in these comprehensive biographies. By the end of hostilities Australian officers had garnered immense experience and were among the best in the Allied forces. Ironically, this hard-won skill base was to be all but lost in the interwar period. Sword and Baton offers its readers more than a series of biographies. Rather, it describes a crucial period in Australian military history through the lives of the extraordinary men at its head.