[Music] Anzac Day the uniquely Australian day which symbolizes the sacrifice that made the Anzac Legend a foundation stone of the Australian identity each April 25th crowds gather at galipoli to remember the troops who fought and fell in 1915 their country's first battle of the blood bath that was World War I but the Anzac Ledger began at gipo the Digger's true worth was forged on the Western Front they became one of the crack fighting core of the British army while making up only 5% of the Allied Forces they played a crucial role in winning the war to end all wars if the anzacs were remarkable so was their leader General John mes would become one of the most famous Australians of his era he was the first Commander to be knighted in the field by a British king in 200 years but for all his Brilliance mes had to fight his way to the top prime minister I will not voluntarily forgo this command with respect sir moners he's Jewish and as a race they do tend to be pushy it's the natural trait but there was no doubting mesha's commitment to his men it's Madness it's bloody Madness it's a waste of lives off the battlefield M's dangerous liaison would also affect his career and the King 5 minutes with the King and I have a 10 minutes with the queen and what about that dreary son of theirs the prince of Wes to you you Wicked Woman such was his impact that when monach died more than 300,000 people lined the streets for the biggest funeral ever seen in Australia mes had achieved something far more enduring than success on the Western Front he had helped to create a legend it is a memorial to the diggers and that alone [Music] when World War I was declared Australian to be in it men rushed to enlist as a young country Australia was eager to prove its worth Australia was deeply loyal to England incredibly proud of the Empire when war came now excited about it intensely enthusiastic and certain that it would be brief it would be short and that the Empire would be remarkably Victorious and wouldn't it be a Pity if it was all over before the Australians had the time to get there 49-year-old John mes had waited all his life for a chance like this although he was Australian born his parents were German and in but his wife Vic and daughter Bera knew exactly where he stood I think that every man who can must help the Empire to crush a Peril which ultimately threatens the existence of Australia as a free country like most of the Australian military of the time monach was a part-time Soldier professionally he was an engineer he'd made his name Building Bridges staring down the tough times of the 1890s depression to build a successful business more atie when war was declared mes was given the 5,000 strong Fourth Brigade he had to argue hard to get it given his German Jewish background well punch says that I'm Stout and Ruddy with a typical Hebrew mouth and Hebrew eye some hum is ous Auntie I want you to promise me that you won't speak German in public I have lived here for 40 years it doesn't matter we are at war with Germany me and Auntie it probably would be better if you didn't visit us while John's away for bera's sake just until John returns for many years Monash and Vic had not always seen eye to eye but mh's personal life would always have its complications [Music] as monach prepared to leave trench lines were snaking across [Music] Europe within weeks both sides would find themselves hopelessly bogged down in a lethal stalemate desperation to break out and find a second led to one of the great War's early disasters galipoli we went up the valley under a hail of shrapnel and in a chorus of whistling and crackling bullets the men behave like hero their battle discipline is perfect mes commanded the Fourth Brigade at the head of Mones Valley which was the most critical part of the Anzac position they held the position the Turks never broke through but Mones didn't just fight he wanted recognition for himself and his men it would lead to an early show odan with Charles Bean Australia's official War correspondent I've got a bind upic with you and what's that I don't think the Fourth Brigade is getting its fair share of press coverage do you in my defense General if I single out one Brigade all the others will want their turn as they should so they can start with the fourth no Brigade has had such a continuously hard time of it as mine wouldn't you agree I'm a correspondent not a pedler of advertisements all I want is fair recognition of my I meant sacrifice or is that too much to ask Bean dismissed monach as a showy self-promoter just out for himself he would become mesha's most determined critic you don't hide your light under a bushel nor do you failed to keep an eye to the Future mes said he always wanted his men to have the runs on the board he wanted their achievements to be widely publicized now that is going to rub off on him that's true and he will benefit from that but it also does wonders for their morale and it gives them an incentive to keep performing at very high levels when the Anzac finally withdrew from galipoli in December 1915 they were deeply disillusioned with their British commanders the whole thing was a rotten and badly organized show insufficient troops inadequate Munitions attempting more than was possible with the means of Al [Music] for monach gipo had been a searing experience bad planning had wasted lives and ended in Failure he'd learned that those in command didn't always know best back home Australians were stunned the 8,000 dead from galipoli led to a collective outpouring of [Music] grief the days of public enthusiasm for the war were over it's hard to explain isn't it how people could send young men off to war and expect that everything would be just a romp in the beginning there was simply no expectation that the war would caused such grief and such Devastation in the families and homes of Australia the monach family was also facing a crisis Vic had been diagnosed with cancer of the uterus mes was determined to return home refused leave by his superiors he was on the verge of throwing away his career and going anyway well you're looking much better this morning I suppose we should send your father a cable put his mind at rest Vick's cable arrived in the nick of [Music] time mon as's career now took a dramatic turn in June 1916 he was promoted to command the newly formed third division of more than 20,000 men the third was one of five divisions making up Australia's commitment to the war in Europe mindful of galipoli and its mistakes mes trained his men hard he also studied reports on the trench warfare on the Western Front this was a new kind of War needing new tactics as mish's troops improved they began to attract attention all the way up to the king now they reviewed the troops and you got 27,000 troops that takes 2 and 1/2 hours and they're having a conversation are you sure you have enough overcoats yes your majesty and they have waterproof capes as well good the king is a bit of a prattler but there was a method in the way he prattled on he wanted to see what Monash was made of you met my son in Egypt I believe yes I did have that pleasure very complimentary about you Australians despite all the problems at galipo what exactly did we do wrong there in your opinion well the train was against us the enemy knew we were coming I'm afraid some of the planning was inadequate if we win this war if we win and then the king for some reason then said if we win the war and Mish cut him dead without that a big pardon your majesty how would he react to that yes we'll win all right nobody need make any mistake about that Germany started out to smash the British Empire and look just look see what they've done they've made an Empire of us as mes prepared to leave for the Western Front the war had been going for too long years trenches ran all the way from Switzerland to the Belgian Coast military leaders were still groping for answers the Allies had suffered enormous casualties over 20,000 dead in one day during the infamous Battle of the S mesh's Division was nicknamed The Deep thinkers by the battle hardened Australian soldiers who'd been doing all the fighting and dying there's animosity hostility towards the third division on the part of the other division and that was manifested in nicknames such as the neutrals or those blooders in the third division still deciding whether they're going to declare war or not hence the the Deep thinkers that meant that it was very important that the third division distinguish itself in its first big battle to prove that it could stand alongside the others that it was as good as the others and to dispel their hostility towards it it's fortunate in many respects that the third division's first big battle was at mine mine was a heavily fortified Ridge taking it was essential for a future attack on passendale Mona's third division was one of 12 Allied divisions that would take part 220,000 men would attack The Ridge at various [Music] points if the Allies could take passendale the way was open to the Belgian ports and a quicker end to the war for his first battle on the Western Front himself into an unprecedented level of detail planning to communicate with his troops he built a large scale model of the battlefield to familiarize them with the terrain in a sense he prepared for mine for the whole of his professional life both his military career and his engineering career that desire to be methodical and to be organized and command and control was exactly what he was suited [Music] for the Battle of mine began at dawn on June 7th 19 1977 by midday it was all but one it was a strictly limited attack what was called bite and hold where you bite off what you can hold what you can retain and this is important for mes because he sees how well it works machines is the biggest success that the British have had on the Western Front since the start of the war but mine would also renew an old Feud mes is increasingly concerned that an Australian story gets told he's unhappy with the way Charles Bean is telling it and bean has this desire to be fair and not to exaggerate for propaganda Bean's report on mesine is the apotheosis of banality not only is his language silly TSH but his facts are for the most part quite wrong monach has got an Army's morale to maintain and he wants its achievements to be extolled even if they're not strictly true so really from the time that he has the capacity to promote his own story that's something he does and this builds the Anzac Legend not the Anzac legend that Charles Bean wants to create but the anet legend that John mes does create the success at mine was something that the British commanderin-chief Field Marshall hay needed badly his government had been deeply concerned about the appalling casualty rates going back to the song even enthusiastic supporters of the war like Australian prime minister Billy Hughes were [Music] complaining you Marshall heg I'd like to introduce Mr Keith Murdoch things came to a head when Charles Bean brought a special Emissary to meet hag Australian journalist Keith Murdoch the diggers feel that they've been let down on a number of occasions by the British army let down on a number of occasions they want to run their own show Mr Hughes is very keen to combine all five divisions into one Australian core under Australian leadership Mr Hughes wants that does he well undoubtedly there are some capable Australian commanders monach solid man great success at mine with respect sir mes is he's Jewish and as a race they do tend to be pushy it's their natural trait ban didn't like mes because was Jewish he had a pure view of how the commander should look fairhead Anglo-Saxon and they just didn't get on Murdoch had a different motive he didn't care whether he was a Jew Gypsy or a geranium he couldn't manipulate him we look upon General white as the superior Soldier White's a capable officer no doubt so perhaps you can explain to me why founded a division in battle General white was chief of staff and the brains behind the first Anzac core the first troops to have left Australia he had distinguished himself at gipo where he became a close friend of Charles Bean while the British and Australians pondered the formation of an Australian core pag remained desperate at passendale but after 3 months and 200,000 casualties the battle to advance to the Belgian ports had gone nowhere in early mesha's third division were the latest to be ordered in but it began to rain heavily turning the Battleground into a [Music] quagar monach appealed to his immediate Superior liutenant general godle for a delay until the weather cleared mes had clashed with him at gipo and like a nightmare those mistakes were coming back to haunt him he was being forced to follow an order he knew was Folly it's the whole place is a sea of M waste bloody deep look calm down John I've spoken to hag and he is convinced that if we keep out the pressure we'll break through that's bull ax the whole assault has to be delayed by at least 24 hours not possible y it's Madness it's bloody Madness it's a waste of lives egg has made up his mind and that's that our men are being put into the hottest fighting and sacrificed in hair brain schemes and there was no one in the war cabinet to raise a voice in protest the weather did not change it poured right through so he had this virtual Quagmire that he had to go into I think Monash knew that they were going to be absolutely slaughtered things are bloody very bloody we are bed down in a sea of mud Australia lost 3,000 of the 5,000 ,000 that went out and the new zealanders lost 3500 that's in a few hours operation it was absolute [Music] disaster in Australia the horrific casualties demolished enthusiasm for the war just when the need for reinforcements was most urgent as a passionate supporter of the war effort prime minister Billy Hughes had already tried once to introduce conscription passendale forced him to try again the second referendum was defeated by an even greater margin than the first the interesting thing I think of all of that is it's known that the majority of the soldiers uh who were fighting in France and in Belgium uh in Palestine voted against conscription they didn't want to force others to do what they had voluntarily done but now realized the the true horror of meanwhile mes had gone to London on leave the war had opened more than one new chapter in his life his wife Vic had suggested he make contact with an old friend of the family Lizette bentwich and how is Vic I had a letter from her she insists that you're not to choose presents for her because your tastes are to Bohemian she wants to come over and join me and you don't think that's a good idea well order her to stay home God's sake I mean I would have thought that was the point of all that rank getting and taking whatever you want de Vic on the question of you both coming to England early next year I'm sorry to say that I feel it is my duty to advise you very strongly against undertaking such a risky [Music] Enterprise early in November 1917 the Russian Revolution finally came to a head Russia withdrew from the war and the German High command now had a million troops to transfer to the Western front on the 21st of March 1918 47 German divisions launched the biggest attack of the war after years of static trench warfare they broke through advancing 65 km in 10 days threatening to take pis the Germans were on the edge of winning World War I a stunned British Army urgently recalled every spare man to the front mesh's third division along with the fourth Australian division were ordered to defend the vital rail Junction at Amon just 120 km from Paris after Fierce fighting along the whole front the German offensive was finally brought to a halt the boldness of the Breakthrough had shaken the Allies confidence the British government seriously considered sacking hag who grossly underestimated the size of the attack I want you to circulate the following order to all ranks hag remained in place but other commanders were less fortunate as part of the changes that followed mes was appointed to command the Australian Corps he was now a member of an elite group one of only 17 core commanders in the British army my new command exceeds 166,000 troops at long last the Army has an Australian as its commander-in-chief but Charles Bean was appalled by the decision and caught the next train to London to enlist Keith Murdoch in a plan to have the decision overturned Keith CH so it's true birdie is leaving yes and he's taking white with him into the Fifth Army that's not the worst of it he's recommended monach for command of the core but White's the best choice surely berdie can see that Whit's wanting in ambition unlike Monash always thrusting insinuating himself to the four you'll get there Kei the Jew will always get there it's in their blood perhaps that's the very quality needed to win the war Charles you got to think not of just two journalists you got to think of Keith Murdoch uh at that time the agent for the Prime Minister very powerful position representing the Australians you've got the uh War historian with a lot of pool that's been riding for the Sydney Morning Herald and they virtually formed a little cabel to try and stop this appointment although it already been made they were going to try and stop it you say the Jew's ambitious let's appeal to that he's good at Administration so we work on Hughes casually suggesting he promotes monach to full General and base him in London running the administrative side leaving white to command the core I'll drop a rumor into one of my dispatches something like on the lines of sources in London a brilliant move to enhance the Australian war effort the plotters were too late to stop mes stepping into his new role but their influence with Billy Hughes cast a shadow over his future Brigadier General Thomas blamy was promoted to become his chief of staff they rapidly formed a close working relationship power Mur and B are attacking my capacity to command this cor because of my race we haven't got enough an out plate prove them wrong John King and the chief will support you Mones had the power he'd always craved now he had to use it he might not get a second chance mes proposed a battle to retake the village of haml it was his chance to show how he thought the war should be fought I'd formed the theory that the true role of the Infantry was not to wither away under merciless machine gun fire nor to impale itself on hostile bayonets but to advance under the maximum protection of mechanical resources monach wanted to combine tanks artillery aircraft and infantry in a way that had never been done before but the Infantry to a man shuddered at the thought of Tanks mechanical beat invented only a few years before I've always found that it pays to consider the psychology not merely the enemy but also of my own troops it's because we don't consider psychology enough that we're taking so long to win this war The Genius of mes at Hamil was to get the Australian infantry to work again with tanks remember at buor they'd been mangled by the failure of the British tanks and the Australians really had an enormous concern that the tanks would fail them again and so monach allowed them to train with the tanks for weeks before the Battle of Hil so that the Infantry could see what the tanks were capable of doing the effect on the spirit of the men was remarkable the Digger took the tank to his heart and gave each one a pet name but just as he was in a position to prove himself prime minister Billy Hughes landed on his doorstep monach was ready for a fight prime minister these criticisms we've undoubtedly heard about my taking command of the Court let's talk about that later on no I'm HonorBound to inform you that any Arrangement that would involve my removal as a commander of this core would be highly distasteful to me I will not be degraded and humiliated you may thoroughly rely on your concerns receiving the greatest possible consideration prime minister I will not voluntarily for go this command Hughes questioned the Australians about their new Commander he soon realized that mes had more support than Murdoch had led him to believe I haven't met a single one of them who thinks as you do they all say the same thing you tell me there are men who think the other way you say they want white where are they give me their names but but it still wasn't smooth sailing for mes he had been allocated 2,000 raw American soldiers for the battle but General persing objected to them fighting under a foreign commander and wanted to withdraw them mesha's boss General rollinson brought the bad news Henry you know as well as I do that an order followed by a countermanding order results in disorder John the chief has decided no American troops are to be used we have no choice but to obey but it's too late to carry out his order the battle will go ahead with the Americans involved or the battle will not go ahead at all you can't disobey the chief but you can disobey an order me yes as an army Commander it's open to you to disobey and issue a new order if new information comes to light so you want me to run the risk of being sent back home for disobeying an order for you yes I do surely it's more important to preserve the confidence the Americans and the Australians have in each other than to preserve one Army Commander well you're right technically I can countermand an order providing the commander-in-chief isn't available for reference well is he available here now no IIs my case M's skill as an advocate had come to the for War the battle went ahead including the Americans the morning of July the 4th was ushered in with a heavy ground Mist the tank suddenly emerged out of the fog striking Terror into the German soldiers a perfect modern battle plan is like nothing so much as a score for an orchestral composition where the various arms and units of the instruments and the tasks they perform are their respective music iCal phrases each unit must make its entry precisely at the proper moment and play its phrase in the general Harmony colored smoke bombs confused the Germans into thinking that they were under mustard gas attack planes were used to drop ammunition to the Infantry as they Advanced below never before did we have such immediate and reliable information about the conduct of the battle observers in Planes marked the positions of the German strong points on the maps which were dropped and collected then rushed to our Command Center no battle within my previous experience passed off so smoothly so exactly to timetable but was so free of any kind of hitch it was over in 93 minutes it was the Perfection of teamwork for the Australians the effect of haml was electric especially in the depressed times following the devastating German offensive M here from Billy Hughes my personal congratulations on the brilliant success of the battle I'm sure the achievement will have the most considerable military and political effect upon the allies and will heighten the morale of all Imperial forces changed his tune as he we'll see flushed with success monach pushed his superiors for a major assault to roll back the Germans from their newly won positions what he didn't know was that the Allied High command had already been planning a Counterattack since well before haml I took every opportunity of pressing My Views upon rollinson for an immediate sustained offensive on these specifics all right then reduce my front from three divisions to two return the first division from Flander so the Australians are together give me the Canadians to protect our Southern flank and give me some more tanks lots of Tanks 500 between the SS would be adequate how about 100 debutant and a th000 cases of champagne as well wouldn't say nine I'll see what I can do the Wy rollinson let mes think he was the the instigator so he would convince Billy Hughes to keep the Australians involved he knew Hughes was very worried about the Australians being overused as Frontline troops oblivious to this Intrigue mes went to London for a break a 30 minute discussion about strategy with hag the other day I couldn't understand a word the man said man's a fossil no understanding of Modern Warfare thought after your Triumph at haml you were feeling more confident about it all ham was small beer anyway enough of all that your current mission is to relax for a few days with me what it goes wrong thousands of men could die it has to be meticulously planned John one man can only do so much that's why you have subordinates I mean they may even do it better without you peering over their shoulder now he's having a dog and barking your exactly now you're going to enjoy your leave we're going to see a new play tomorrow night it's called The Naughty husband sorry I mean the naughty [Music] wife I received a coded message to return to the front I requested a destroyer to meet me at DOA and transport me across the channel the battle was about to [Music] begin the Battle of Amon was the largest battle monach had taken part in to date as part of rollinson fourth Army of nearly half a million men the Australian and Canadian Corp would spearhead the Allied counter offensive to drive the Germans back from their devastating breakthrough that nearly reached Paris all movement of troops and transport of all descriptions took place during the hours of Darkness over 600 guns with rattle positions as well as 10,000 tons of ammunition Zer hour was fixed for 20 minutes past 4 on the morning of August the 8th in that first huge volley 400 German guns were put out of action by the pinpoint accuracy of the artillery by 8:00 p.m. that night 8,000 prisoners had been taken 173 guns captured and hundreds of vehicles a hole had been driven on the width of nearly 12 Mi right through the German defense and blotted out at one blow the whole of the military resources which it contained we sustained only 1% casualties the tanks and artillery had protected the Infantry very well again the victory at a major turning point in the war the Allies had taken back control monach and the Australians had been in the Forefront it's profoundly important because on the German side it breaks the Germans will to Victory uh ludendorf says of the 8th of August that it was the black day of the German Army and really from then on Germans who looked at the war objectively knew that they weren't going to win [Music] success at Amon was a huge relief to hag after the disaster of passendale his prime minister had cut off the supply of reinforcements and was waiting for a chance to sack him Amel had saved hag's reputation [Music] Versa Vera it's come it's really come what's come my this from Lady hod addressed to Lady mes then I opened the Gus and saw Sir John mes lady [Music] Mones I feel like I'm dreaming but it wasn't a dream on August the 12th the king himself arrived to invest mes with his Knighthood the showman in Mes reveled in the occasion it was a day of theater but when the show was over monach knew what he wanted to do next montson Quenton overlooked the city Fortress of Peron if taken the way was open for the Allies to attack the Germans last line of defense the massive Hindenberg line and if that fell the war was all but over so you're going to take mon s quent with only three battalions so have presumptuous I will thought I quickly will put plans into action I wish you luck thank you oh and before you go one more thing only one I would like to Lodge a formal complaint about the lack of coverage Australian forces are receiving in the British press I'm not sure I follow you John you are suppressing information about our achievements and I resent it now my men are by Nature an instinct Sportsman if you score a century at Lords you want to see it up on the scoreboard don't you the day you beat us at Lords I'll run naked down whiteall I'll talk to the chief see what I can do as nearly all his tanks had been put out of action Mish would have to rely more than ever on the courage and daring of the Australian infantry he was expecting a tough encounter and was quite prepared to push his troops hard to win it the battle began at 5:00 a.m. during the operation to capture monsen Quenton the 23rd Battalion was held up by several enemy machine gun posts [Music] The Taking of morson Quenton is a different sort of battle than any of the Australians had fought it's a freewheeling fluid battle and this is something that mes also proves to be good at it turns out that he doesn't just win methodical setpiece advances he can also make rapid decisions change plan and Direction and still come out on top I was compelled to harden my heart it was imperative to recognize a great opportunity and seize it unflinchingly casualties no longer mattered few prisoners were taken because it was Bay at work all the way and the field was strewn all over with enemy dead some units went into this battle not having had any sleep fighting continuously for 72 hours one of M's divisional commanders General Hobs protested that his men were too exhausted to continue but mes knew that one more push and victory would be theirs and the justification for that is in the outcome of the tremendous success three Victoria crosses were won that day on the slopes of Rollins Henry we're on top of Monson Quenton it's a beautiful view pull the other one if you don't believe me come and see for yourself I'll be damned if it's true John you just altered the course of the [Music] war my complaints about the publicity the Australian troops are receiving seems to have had a remarkable effect the capture of Monson Quenton is reported all over in the British press as the greatest single feet of arms of the whole War but the personal war between monach and Hughes was getting worse there had been 50,000 Australian casualties over the last 6 months and Billy Hughes was deeply concerned about it mes believed that only by keeping up the pressure could the war be brought to an end he was prepared to push himself and his men to the brink but I've been talking to the diggers in London John they're saying that if this frenetic Pace continues there won't be any of them left to fight on I want the a if to cease all Fighting by October well they've certainly done their first here mhm and no one would like to see the man of the front line more than myself but I'm a soldier and I'm under orders you're in command of the Australians aren't you yes but field Marshall hag is in command I don't give a tinker's cuss about all that I am the Prime Minister of Australia and this is a direct command from me well I'll speak to HG you're not listening John you are a great Soldier no doubt about it but if I choose to have you remov from your command tomorrow I can do it I want our troops out their welfare is my first priority Hughes without consulting mes gives a Furlow leave to 1914 men so the most experienced often the most senior men in the battalions are pulled out at the last minute and sent home which is great for them because they survived the war but it weakens mh's Force at its last critical battle diggers had been pushed too far monach was now facing an open Revolt the war office insisted on disbanding some understrength battalions to bolster others men were being taken away from their mates and they hated the idea I'm facing a mutiny Henry the Australians are not conscripts they're volunteers is is that W be in it spirit that gives them the edge over the Germans I know but we have to face the fact the other reason they're so good at fighting is loyalty to their mates so what do the bean counters at the war office do scatter them to other battalions separate them from their mates it's lunacy all I want is another fortnite to strike a decisive blow at the enemy no man wants to Desert a Victorious Army a fortnite monach knew the Australians had only one more battle left in them all the terrible years of war had come down to this Berg line 70 km of concrete bunkers machine gun posts and barbed wire it was the last and greatest line of German defense if the Allies could break through the Germans were broken rolinson fourth Army was given the job of making the main assault monach and the Australian Corp would play the central role ha gave monach 50,000 American troops for this crucial strike but he overestimated their ability and his usual meticulous planning began to [Music] unravel the inexperienced American soldiers quickly ran into difficulties mes refused to believe reports that his plan wasn't working he was becoming increasingly rattled [Music] the exhausted but battle hardened diggers had to go forward to cover for the Americans and with a brilliant British Advance on their flank the Australians cracked the Hindenburg line one concrete pillbox at a time victory was one but at a cost for myself I'm very heartily sick of the whole War business it's horror its ghastly inefficiency will cruelty and misery have always uphold [Music] me when rollinson arrived to congratulate monach he found him close to Breaking Point congratulations John brilliant job Germans are well and truly on the own my in a bush me so am I yes it's time for you and your men to have a good spell I've earned it we all have I know John now sometimes I venture to hope that this is the last serious work I ever do in my life I doubt that John I really do the exhausted Australian divisions were ordered out of the front line as only 5% of the Allied fight in force they had punched well above their weight they had fought the main enemy on the main front and earned their place on the world stage on the 11th of November 1918 the German government signed the Armistice after four terrible years and 20 million dead the war was finally over when Monash arrived in England he was F all over London social decorum meant lazette couldn't attend it was a Royal Banquet I want to know everything that happened down to the dullest detail I'm going to have to drag it out of you am I very well who are you seated next to raded kibling I got his autograph and sitting opposite was Winston Churchill Kipling amused him with stories about me that he' heard from Diggers on leave and the King i' had 5 minutes with the King and I have a 10 minutes with a queen and what about that dreary son of their the Prince of Wales to you you Wicked Woman I guess had a long conversation with him really what did he say he said oh rather I wish I could have been there so do I with the war over 200,000 troops needed to be repatriated back to Australia Billy Hughes was considering mes for the job surprisingly Charles Bean the man who opposed mes from the very beginning now became his Advocate it's the kind of thing he would Excel it oh he's capable enough I'm just concerned he'll turn it into the monar show again 6 months I would have agreed with you but having worked closely with him I'm afraid I may have misjudged the man the monach show it became he introduced a Visionary scheme to occupy the men while they waited for transport back to Australia it was called non-military employment but was soon dubbed by the diggers as non-military [Music] enjoyment people take themselves off to dairy farms cuz they knew they were coming back to a soldier settlement block and they needed to know how these things work people took themselves to all sorts of skills training he was saying what do you want find the opportunities find the learning that is going to make you a better person when you get back home and go there and do it mes had fought hard to have his men's achievements recognized now he wrote his own account of the war mes becomes the symbol of the aif because it was a National Force he was its Commander at the moment of Victory and mes becomes the embodiment of the aif spirit and he helps us along himself because he writes the Australian victories in France a book that he dashes off in a month it sells 10,000 copies in Australia but it's also serialized in the newspapers and everybody reads not Charles Bean's version of the war but John mh's version of the war Vic and berther were about to arrive in London mh's relationship with Lizette needed to be resolved divorce divorce is just not something I can entertain there's a question of my position my responsibilities not to mention my sense of loyalty loyalty to Vic of course how could I forget what about your loyalty to me John your ally am I just to be cast aside of course not well that's what it looks like 4 days later Vic and Bera arrived Vic knew her husband had seen Lizette occasionally but she assumed they were friends and nothing more Monash Vic and Bera arrived back in Australia on boxing day 1919 and although prime minister Billy Hughes was conspicuous by his absence the family was swamped with [Music] well-wishes but mon life back home would be far from Easy the family soon faced tragedy Vic's caner had returned she died on the 27th of February [Music] 1920 in the lonely months of morning that followed mes began writing to Lizette been meaning to have a talk with you I'd like loette to come and live with us here at Ayana why on Earth would she want to live here she and I became quite close when I was in London yes I know I know this is difficult for you no no despite bera's attitude Lizette arrived in late September 1920 she discreetly took up Residence at the Grand Hotel by the standards of the day it was an unconventional relationship some say it was the reason monach was never offered a high public position such as governor general but he was offered the job of running the state electricity Commission in Victoria it suited his engineering background and gave him the chance to find jobs for former soldiers as the recession that swept through the 1920s began to bite Australia is a nation of 5 million people and it's got 2,000 traumatized War veterans in its population so it's a nation that's got profound and one of M's roles is to help to heal those wounds so meses his role really is is almost greater after the war than it was during the war as the symbol of the aif marash's last campaign would be for a memorial to the 60,000 diggers who failed to return but Australians were deeply fatigued by everything to do with the war and the government was reluctant to approve M's recommended design for a shrine his old enemy newspaperman Keith Murdoch disum of Gloom proposing a city square instead and he had a lot of support mes was down but not out on the eve of Anzac Day 1927 he made his move using the only artillery he had passion and words the shrine design is a beautiful concept dignified Noble and appealing eminently suited as a memorial to great service and sacrifice without that ridiculous note of Triumph and Conquest which characterizes the memorials of the Barbarian past it is not a design for a tourist attraction nor is it even to beautify the city it is a memorial to the diggers and that alone the next morning 600,000 people gathered for Anzac Day War weariness had seen the day nearly wither and die now it was back with a vengeance the diggers would have their memorial I think the Anzac Legend as we know it started at galipoli let's face it in terms of the contribution to the war Gip was a sideshow the war was decided in 1918 in the austral aans were center stage in that decision their contribution was enormous that's Mon's Legacy and of course the legacy of the Australian core and it's also an important part of the Anzac Legend because it gives the Anzac Legend substance the trouble is that today we tend to overlook that and are captivated by gipo when we think about war we think about ordinary blos doing extraordinary things we don't think about leadership we don't think about creativity we don't think about genius it monach was all of those and More in fact now John monach is all but forgotten but without him there may not be an Anzac day at all [Music] n
