Leslie Morshead
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General
Sir Leslie James Morshead KCB
, KBE
, CMG, DSO
, ED
(18 September 188926 September 1959) was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, with a distinguished military career that spanned both world war
s. Most notably, during World War II
he commanded the Australian and British troops at the Siege of Tobruk
and at the Second Battle of El Alamein
, achieving decisive victories over the German
Afrika Korps
, led by Erwin Rommel
. Morshead went on to lead the Australian forces against the Empire of Japan
during the New Guinea
and Borneo
campaigns. A strict and demanding officer, he came to be referred to by his soldiers humorously as "Ming the Merciless
," and later simply as "Ming," after the villain in Flash Gordon
comics. Morshead has been described as "arguably Australia's greatest soldier after Blamey
."
, Victoria, the sixth of seven children of William Morshead, a gold miner who had emigrated from Cornwall
, and his wife Mary Eliza Morshead, formerly Rennison, a native of South Australia. He was educated at Mount Pleasant High School and the Melbourne Teachers Training College, from which he graduated in 1910.
He became a schoolteacher, teaching first at Tragowell in the Swan Hill district, at Fine View State School, and then in the Horsham
district. After failing an exam at the University of Melbourne
, he decided to quit the state school system and in 1912 took up a position at The Armidale School
in New South Wales
. In 1914 he moved to Melbourne Grammar School
.
While at Armidale, Morshead joined the Australian Army Cadets
, and was commissioned as a lieutenant
on 10 February 1913. He was promoted to captain in September. At Melbourne he commanded a company in that schools' larger cadet unit.
to enlist as a private in the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force
(AIF) because it was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
George Braund, whom Morshead knew well from his time in Armidale. Morshead's time in the ranks was brief, as he was commissioned as a lieutenant
in the AIF on 19 September. He embarked for Egypt
on the transport A23 Suffolk on 18 October 1914. While his battalion was in training there, he was promoted to captain on 8 January 1915.
.jpg)
The 2nd Battalion landed at Anzac Cove
on Anzac Day
. Morshead's platoon made the farthest advance of an Australian unit that day, reaching the slopes of Baby 700 but were driven back by a Turkish counter-attack in the afternoon. Promoted to major
, Morshead served with his 2nd Battalion in the Battle of Gallipoli
, distinguishing himself in the Battle of Lone Pine
. On 16 September, like so many others, he succumbed to dysentery
and was evacuated to a hospital in Wandsworth
, England
.
Morshead returned to Australia on 22 January 1916 where he was posted to the newly-formed 33rd Infantry Battalion
. On 16 April he became its commander and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
three days later. He led his battalion, part of Major General John Monash
's 3rd Division through the battles of Messines
, Passchendaele, Villers-Bretonneux
and Amiens. For his services, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
(DSO) in June 1917, made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
(CMG) in December 1919, was awarded the French Légion d'honneur
in the grade of Chevalier, and was Mentioned in Despatches five times.
block of 23000 acres (9,307.8 ha) near Quilpie, Queensland
. This venture was a failure. After working odd jobs he joined the Orient Line in Sydney on 24 October 1924. He was appointed passenger manager of the Sydney office in 1926. Many Orient Line appointments followed including: publicity manager in January 1927; acting manager of the Melbourne office in May 1928; passenger and publicity superintendent; temporary business manager Brisbane
in April 1931; of the Melbourne office, which became permanent in December 1933; and the Sydney office in 1937.
He married Myrtle Catherine Hay Woodside, whom he had known since his days at Melbourne Grammar when she was a schoolgirl, at Scots Church, Melbourne, on 17 November 1921. They had a daughter, Elizabeth.
Throughout the inter-war years he remained active in the part-time CMF, commanding the 19th and 36th Infantry Battalions in turn. Promoted to colonel
in 1933 and brigadier
in 1938, he was appointed to command the 14th Infantry Brigade in 1933. When he moved to Melbourne in 1934, he transferred to command of the 15th Infantry Brigade, then part of the 3rd Division under Major General
Sir Thomas Blamey
. On returning to Sydney in 1937, he commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade.
Known for his right-wing views even before the war, he was also a member of the clandestine far-right wing paramilitary organisation the New Guard
.
Sir Thomas Blamey
to command the 18th Infantry Brigade
in the new 6th Division. This brigade was composed of four battalions from the smaller states, and would have been a natural assignment for a regular officer had Prime Minister
Robert Menzies
not restricted appoints to senior posts to Militia
officers, few of whom had much experience of the Army outside their home states. Morshead met with Blamey on 13 October to select officers for the new brigade. He was given a regular officer as Brigade Major
, Major
Ragnar Garrett
.
Morshead formally enlisted in the Second AIF
on 10 October 1939 and was given the AIF serial number NX8. He was given the rank of colonel
and temporary brigadier
three days later. A delay in preparing its camp at great in the Hunter Valley
meant that it was not concentrated there until December. In the meantime its battalions trained in their home states. After the 16th Infantry Brigade departed for Palestine
in January 1940, the 18th Infantry Brigade
moved into its vacated accommodation at Ingleburn, New South Wales
. As a consequence, its training proceeded more slowly than that of the 16th and 17th Infantry Brigades.
The 18th Infantry Brigade finally embarked from Sydney
on the Mauretania
on 5 May 1940 but en route was diverted to the United Kingdom
owing to the dangerous military situation there following the Battle of France
. It moved into camps on the Salisbury Plain
, where the 3rd Division had trained back in 1916. The Australian force there under Major General
Henry Wynter
was poorly equipped but the 18th Infantry Brigade was nonetheless given an important role in the defence of Southern England. In September 1940, Wynter was informed that his force would become the nucleus of a new 9th Division, which he was appointed to command. Morshead and his 18th Infantry Brigade embarked for the Middle East on 15 November, reaching Alexandria
on 31 December. Morshead was made a Commander of Order of the British Empire
on 1 January 1941.
Before his other two brigades could arrive from England and Australia, Wynter became seriously ill. Blamey decided to send him home and appointed Morshead to command the 9th Division on 29 January 1941.
According to Official Historian Barton Maughan:
. The 9th Division, less its partly trained and equipped artillery, was ordered to move to the Tobruk
-Derna area where it would relieve the 6th Division, so that formation could participate in the Battle of Greece
.
The half-trained and half-equipped 9th Division was pitched into the thick of the action almost immediately, steadying the retreat of Commonwealth
forces from the newly-arrived German
Afrika Korps
, under Erwin Rommel
, and occupying the vital port of Tobruk
in Libya
. Morshead was given command of the Tobruk garrison which, as the retreat (known to the Australians as the "Benghazi handicap") continued, became surrounded, hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. Lieutenant General
John Lavarack
determined that Tobruk could be held and ordered Morshead to defend it. He also ordered the 18th Infantry Brigade to reinforce the garrison, bringing it to four brigades, and British artillery and tank units up to provide support.
General Archibald Wavell instructed Morshead to hold the fortress for eight weeks, while the remaining forces reorganised and mounted a relief mission. With the 9th Division, 18th Infantry Brigade and supporting forces from various Allied nations, Morshead's force decisively defeated Rommel's powerful initial assaults, and retained possession of the fortress. His strategy for the defence of Tobruk is still mentioned in officer training colleges around the world as an example of how to arrange and conduct in-depth defences against a superior armoured force.
An important part of Morshead's strategy was offensive operations when these were possible. His attitude was summed-up in a reported remark, made when his attention was drawn to a British propaganda article entitled "Tobruk can take it!" Morshead commented: "we're not here to take it, we're here to give it.". The 9th Division held Tobruk not for eight weeks, but for eight months, during which time three separate relief campaigns, by the main Allied force in Egypt failed. The Axis
troops learned to fear the aggressive patrolling of the Australian infantry who dominated no-man's-land and made constant raids on enemy forward positions for intelligence, to take prisoners, to disrupt attack preparations and minelaying operations, even to steal supplies that were not available in Tobruk. Axis propagandists described him as "Ali Baba Morshead and his 40,000 thieves" and branded the defenders of the port as the "Rats of Tobruk", a sobriquet that they seized on and wore as a badge of pride.
By July 1941, Morshead had become convinced that his troops were becoming tired. Their health was deteriorating and, in spite of his efforts, their morale and discipline were slipping. He informed Generals Blamey and Auchinleck
that they should be relieved. Auchinleck arranged for the 18th Infantry Brigade to be relieved by the Polish Carpathian Brigade so that it could rejoin the 7th Division in August but baulked at relieving the 9th Division.
At this point, political considerations came into play. The newly installed government of Prime Minister
John Curtin
in Australia, on Blamey's advice, took up the matter with Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
, who protested that the relief would cause a postponement of Operation Crusader
. As it turned out, the operation had to be postponed anyway. In October 1941, Morshead and most of the 9th Division was replaced by the British 6th Division. The 9th Division moved to Syria
to serve as an occupation force, as well as resting, re-equipping and training reinforcements.
The Battle of Tobruk marked the first time that the Panzerwaffe had been defeated in battle. For his part, Morshead was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(KBE) on 6 January 1942. He was also awarded the Virtuti Militari
by the Polish government in Exile
and was decorated by Generał broni Władysław Sikorski on 21 November 1941.
.jpg)
The outbreak of war with Japan
, in December 1941, and the imminent threat of invasion saw Blamey and the 6th
and the main bodies of the 7th Division
transferred to Ceylon and Australia
respectively, in early 1942. In March that year, Morshead was given command of all Australian forces in the Mediterranean theatre
and was promoted to lieutenant general
.
Morshead was one of only a few Allied divisional commanders with a distinct record of success at this stage of the war and had been acting commander of the British XXX Corps, a formation largely composed of Commonwealth troops, on two occasions. He had hopes that he might be given command of the corps, as Harry Chauvel
had been in the Great War. But while Chauvel had been an Australian, he had been a regular officer while Morshead was not and the new commander of the British Eighth Army
, Lieutenant General
Bernard Montgomery
felt that a reservist could not possess the "requisite training and experience" to command a corps and Morshead was passed over in favour of Oliver Leese
, a British regular officer, who was junior to him and had never commanded a division in action.
At the Second Battle of El Alamein
, the 9th Division was given responsibility for clearing a corridor through the German and Italian forces in the North and threatening to cut off those between the coastal road and the sea. In the initial assault the division hacked its way through the enemy defences but failed to clear the minefields. However, as the British attack faltered, the main effort switched to the 9th Division, which punched a massive dent into the German and Italian position over the next five days at great cost, "crumbling" the Afrika Korps in the process, and ultimately forcing Rommel to retreat. "I am quite certain," Leese informed Morshead, that this breakout was made possible by Homeric fighting over your divisional sector." During the El Alamein Campaign, the 9th Division suffered 22% of the British Eighth Army's casualties; 1,177 Australians were killed, while 3,629 were wounded, 795 were captured and 193 were missing.
For his part in the famous victory, Morshead received yet another Mention in Despatches in June 1942 and in November 1942 he was also created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
(KCB).
.jpg)
After El Alamein, Morshead and the 9th Division were recalled to the South West Pacific Area
. Morshead arrived in Fremantle
on 19 February 1943 where he was welcomed home by Lieutenant General
Gordon Bennett
, who had been his division commander between the wars. Morshead then flew to Melbourne where he was met by Lady Morshead, Sir Winston Dugan
and Sir Thomas Blamey
, who informed Morshead that he would take over command of a corps. In March 1943, Morshead became commander of the II Corps
, handing over command of the 9th Division to Major General
George Wootten
. The association between Morshead and the 9th Division was not entirely broken however, as it formed part of his corps, along with the 6th and 7th Divisions. All three were undergoing jungle training on the Atherton Tableland
for upcoming battles in New Guinea.
It was Blamey's intention that Morshead would spend some time learning the art of jungle warfare before his II Corps replaced Lieutenant General
Sir Edmund Herring
’s I Corps in New Guinea. In late September 1943, Morshead was summoned to New Guinea to relieve Herring by Lieutenant General
Sir Iven Mackay
, the commander of New Guinea Force
, which he did on 7 October 1943.
Morshead found a difficult situation. The Japanese not only held the high ground overlooking the Australian beachhead at Finschhafen, they were rapidly reinforcing their position and were about to mount a major counterattack. Morshead demanded and got critical reinforcements, including Matilda tank
s of the 1st Tank Battalion. The Japanese counterattack was crushed.
Afterward, Morshead relieved Brigadier
Bernard Evans of command of the 24th Infantry Brigade, replacing him with Brigadier Selwyn Porter
, who had commanded a brigade in the Kokoda Track campaign
. Unlike most reliefs of senior officers in SWPA this relief, while controversial at the time, has attracted little attention since.
On 7 November 1943, Morshead became acting commander of New Guinea Force
and Second Army
on Mackay's departure. This became permanent on 20 January 1944. Morshead was in overall charge of the forces in New Guinea in the battles of Sattelberg
, Jivevaneng, Sio
and Shaggy Ridge. He was rewarded with the capture of Madang
in triumph in April 1944.
to Lieutenant General
Stanley Savige
on 6 May 1944 and returned to Australia, where he took Lieutenant General
Iven Mackay
's place as commander of the Second Army
. Despite the fact that Morshead had been in command in an active area, some critics of the government had already picked up on the November announcement that Morshead would command Second Army and charged that he had been "shelved".
However, this was not the end of Morshead's wartime service, just a respite. In July 1944, Morshead was appointed as commander of I Corps on the Atherton Tableland
. Although nominally a lesser command, it would be the spearhead of the Australian Army in subsequent operations.
In February 1945, Morshead received word that his objective would be Borneo. General of the Army
Douglas MacArthur
placed Morshead's I Corps under his direct command for the operation. I Corps had to make a series of landings on the East and North West coasts of the island. These were carried out with great efficiency, achieving their objectives with low casualties.
The British government proposed that British Lieutenant General Sir Charles Keightley
be given command of a Commonwealth Corps
for Operation Coronet
but the Australian government had no intention of concurring with the appointment of an officer with no experience fighting the Japanese, and counter-proposed Morshead for the command. The war ended before the issue was resolved.
.jpg)
After the war Morshead returned to civilian life, becoming the Orient Steam Navigation Company
's Australian general manager on 31 December 1947. However, he continued to receive additional honours for his military service, including a further Mention in Despatches in 1947. From 1950 he headed 'The Association', a secret organization prepared to oppose communist attempts at subversion. It was quietly disbanded in 1952. Morshead had had a brief connexion with a similar movement in the mid-1920s.
In 1957 he was appointed chairman of a committee which reviewed the group of departments concerned with defence. The Menzies
government accepted the committee's recommendation that Supply and Defence Production be amalgamated but dropped the key proposal that the Department of Defence
absorb Army, Navy and Air. This was finally carried out by the Whitlam
government in 1975.
In later life, Morshead turned down various offers of military and diplomatic posts, as well as the governorship of Queensland
. Survived by his wife and daughter, Sir Leslie died of cancer on 26 September 1959 at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
, and was cremated with Anglican rites.
The road Morshead Drive which runs past the Royal Military College, Duntroon
in Canberra
, Australia
is named after him. His portrait by Ivor Hele
is held by the Australian War Memorial
, as are his wartime papers.
In the Canberra suburb of Lyneham
is the Morshead War Veteran
s Home
, with high-dependency care and associated self-care two-bedroom houses.
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Sir Leslie James Morshead KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CMG, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, ED
Efficiency Decoration
The Efficiency Decoration is a defunct medal of Britain and the Commonwealth awarded for long service in the Territorial Army of the UK, the Indian Volunteer Forces and Colonial Auxiliary Forces....
(18 September 188926 September 1959) was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, with a distinguished military career that spanned both world war
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s. Most notably, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he commanded the Australian and British troops at the Siege of Tobruk
Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...
and at the Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
, achieving decisive victories over the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
, led by Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
. Morshead went on to lead the Australian forces against the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
during the New Guinea
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...
and Borneo
Borneo campaign (1945)
The Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area, during World War II. In a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and...
campaigns. A strict and demanding officer, he came to be referred to by his soldiers humorously as "Ming the Merciless
Ming the Merciless
Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the Flash Gordon comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, TV shows and film adaptation.- First appearance :...
," and later simply as "Ming," after the villain in Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
comics. Morshead has been described as "arguably Australia's greatest soldier after Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
."
Early life
Morshead was born on 18 September 1889 in BallaratBallarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
, Victoria, the sixth of seven children of William Morshead, a gold miner who had emigrated from Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, and his wife Mary Eliza Morshead, formerly Rennison, a native of South Australia. He was educated at Mount Pleasant High School and the Melbourne Teachers Training College, from which he graduated in 1910.
He became a schoolteacher, teaching first at Tragowell in the Swan Hill district, at Fine View State School, and then in the Horsham
Horsham, Victoria
Horsham is the largest city by population and regional centre of the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia and is approximately north-west of Melbourne via the Western Highway. At the 2006 census, Horsham had a population of 14,125. Horsham is in the federal Division of Mallee...
district. After failing an exam at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, he decided to quit the state school system and in 1912 took up a position at The Armidale School
The Armidale School
The Armidale School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in Armidale, on the New England Tablelands of northern New South Wales, Australia...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. In 1914 he moved to Melbourne Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in South Yarra and Caulfield, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
.
While at Armidale, Morshead joined the Australian Army Cadets
Australian Army Cadets
The Australian Army Cadets is a youth organisation that is involved with progressive training of youths in military and adventurous activities. The programme has more than 19,000 Army Cadets between the ages of 12½ and 19 based in 236 units around Australia...
, and was commissioned as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on 10 February 1913. He was promoted to captain in September. At Melbourne he commanded a company in that schools' larger cadet unit.
World War I
Morshead's teaching career was interrupted by the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. He resigned both his teaching position and his commission in the Cadet Corps and travelled up to SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to enlist as a private in the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
(AIF) because it was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
George Braund, whom Morshead knew well from his time in Armidale. Morshead's time in the ranks was brief, as he was commissioned as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the AIF on 19 September. He embarked for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
on the transport A23 Suffolk on 18 October 1914. While his battalion was in training there, he was promoted to captain on 8 January 1915.
Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
on Anzac Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
. Morshead's platoon made the farthest advance of an Australian unit that day, reaching the slopes of Baby 700 but were driven back by a Turkish counter-attack in the afternoon. Promoted to major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
, Morshead served with his 2nd Battalion in the Battle of Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
, distinguishing himself in the Battle of Lone Pine
Battle of Lone Pine
The Battle of Lone Pine was a battle between Australian and Turkish forces that took place during the Gallipoli campaign from 6–10 August 1915. It was part of a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, which became...
. On 16 September, like so many others, he succumbed to dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
and was evacuated to a hospital in Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Morshead returned to Australia on 22 January 1916 where he was posted to the newly-formed 33rd Infantry Battalion
33rd Battalion (Australia)
The 33rd Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised for service during World War I as part of the 1st Australian Imperial Force, the battalion was formed in January 1916 as part of the 9th Brigade of the Australian 3rd Division during an expansion of the AIF...
. On 16 April he became its commander and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
three days later. He led his battalion, part of Major General John Monash
John Monash
General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD 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...
's 3rd Division through the battles of Messines
Messines
Messines may refer to:* Mesen, a village in Belgium**Battle of Messines, World War I,* Messines, Quebec* HMCS Messines, one of twelve Battle class naval trawlers used by the Royal Canadian Navy* Messines, Queensland...
, Passchendaele, Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway.-History - World War I:...
and Amiens. For his services, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(DSO) in June 1917, made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(CMG) in December 1919, was awarded the French Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in the grade of Chevalier, and was Mentioned in Despatches five times.
Between the wars
Morshead returned to Australia in November 1919 and his AIF appointment was terminated in March 1920. He tried farming — accepting a soldier settlementSoldier settlement (Australia)
Soldier settlement refers to the occupation and settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under schemes administered by the State Governments after World Wars I and II.- World War I :...
block of 23000 acres (9,307.8 ha) near Quilpie, Queensland
Quilpie, Queensland
-External links:* *...
. This venture was a failure. After working odd jobs he joined the Orient Line in Sydney on 24 October 1924. He was appointed passenger manager of the Sydney office in 1926. Many Orient Line appointments followed including: publicity manager in January 1927; acting manager of the Melbourne office in May 1928; passenger and publicity superintendent; temporary business manager Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in April 1931; of the Melbourne office, which became permanent in December 1933; and the Sydney office in 1937.
He married Myrtle Catherine Hay Woodside, whom he had known since his days at Melbourne Grammar when she was a schoolgirl, at Scots Church, Melbourne, on 17 November 1921. They had a daughter, Elizabeth.
Throughout the inter-war years he remained active in the part-time CMF, commanding the 19th and 36th Infantry Battalions in turn. Promoted to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in 1933 and brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
in 1938, he was appointed to command the 14th Infantry Brigade in 1933. When he moved to Melbourne in 1934, he transferred to command of the 15th Infantry Brigade, then part of the 3rd Division under Major General
Major General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
. On returning to Sydney in 1937, he commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade.
Known for his right-wing views even before the war, he was also a member of the clandestine far-right wing paramilitary organisation the New Guard
New Guard
The New Guard was a fascist movement in Australia formed in 1931. It was opposed to communism and democracy, called for class collaboration to replace class conflict, and engaged in street fighting against opponents and in plans for a coup d'etat against the Australian government...
.
World War II
On 6 October 1939, Morshead was selected by Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
to command the 18th Infantry Brigade
18th Brigade (Australia)
The 18th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army, which served during the Second World War. The brigade was raised on 13 October 1939 and was one of the first three infantry brigades of the Second Australian Imperial Force to be formed. Initially commanded by Brigadier Leslie...
in the new 6th Division. This brigade was composed of four battalions from the smaller states, and would have been a natural assignment for a regular officer had Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
not restricted appoints to senior posts to Militia
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
officers, few of whom had much experience of the Army outside their home states. Morshead met with Blamey on 13 October to select officers for the new brigade. He was given a regular officer as Brigade Major
Brigade Major
In the British Army, a Brigade Major was the Chief of Staff of a brigade. He held the rank of Major and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section directly and oversaw the two other branches, "A - Administration" and "Q - Quartermaster"...
, Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Ragnar Garrett
Ragnar Garrett
Lieutenant General Sir Alwyn Ragnar Garrett KBE, CB was a senior officer in the Australian Army who served as Chief of the General Staff .-Military career:...
.
Morshead formally enlisted in the Second AIF
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force was the name given to the volunteer personnel of the Australian Army in World War II. Under the Defence Act , neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to...
on 10 October 1939 and was given the AIF serial number NX8. He was given the rank of colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and temporary brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
three days later. A delay in preparing its camp at great in the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
meant that it was not concentrated there until December. In the meantime its battalions trained in their home states. After the 16th Infantry Brigade departed for Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in January 1940, the 18th Infantry Brigade
18th Brigade (Australia)
The 18th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army, which served during the Second World War. The brigade was raised on 13 October 1939 and was one of the first three infantry brigades of the Second Australian Imperial Force to be formed. Initially commanded by Brigadier Leslie...
moved into its vacated accommodation at Ingleburn, New South Wales
Ingleburn, New South Wales
Ingleburn is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ingleburn is located 44 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of City of Campbelltown and is part of the Macarthur region...
. As a consequence, its training proceeded more slowly than that of the 16th and 17th Infantry Brigades.
The 18th Infantry Brigade finally embarked from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on the Mauretania
RMS Mauretania (1938)
RMS Mauretania was launched on 28 July 1938 at the Cammell Laird yard in Birkenhead, England and was completed in May 1939. A successor to RMS Mauretania , the second Mauretania was the first ship built for the newly formed Cunard White Star company following the merger in April 1934 of the Cunard...
on 5 May 1940 but en route was diverted to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
owing to the dangerous military situation there following the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. It moved into camps on the Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
, where the 3rd Division had trained back in 1916. The Australian force there under Major General
Major General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
Henry Wynter
Henry Wynter
Lieutenant General Henry Douglas Wynter, CB, CMG, DSO was a regular Australian Army officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general during World War II...
was poorly equipped but the 18th Infantry Brigade was nonetheless given an important role in the defence of Southern England. In September 1940, Wynter was informed that his force would become the nucleus of a new 9th Division, which he was appointed to command. Morshead and his 18th Infantry Brigade embarked for the Middle East on 15 November, reaching Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
on 31 December. Morshead was made a Commander of Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
on 1 January 1941.
Before his other two brigades could arrive from England and Australia, Wynter became seriously ill. Blamey decided to send him home and appointed Morshead to command the 9th Division on 29 January 1941.
According to Official Historian Barton Maughan:
Tobruk
In February 1941, the 9th Division was completely reorganised, with its 18th and 25th Infantry Brigades transferred to the 7th Division. In return, it received the 20th and 24th Infantry Brigades, the latter short one battalion which was on garrison duty in DarwinDarwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
. The 9th Division, less its partly trained and equipped artillery, was ordered to move to the Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
-Derna area where it would relieve the 6th Division, so that formation could participate in the Battle of Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
.
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces from the newly-arrived German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
, under Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
, and occupying the vital port of Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. Morshead was given command of the Tobruk garrison which, as the retreat (known to the Australians as the "Benghazi handicap") continued, became surrounded, hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
John Lavarack
John Lavarack
Lieutenant General Sir John Dudley Lavarack KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was an Australian soldier who was Governor of Queensland from 1 October 1946 to 4 December 1957, the first Australian-born governor of that state....
determined that Tobruk could be held and ordered Morshead to defend it. He also ordered the 18th Infantry Brigade to reinforce the garrison, bringing it to four brigades, and British artillery and tank units up to provide support.
General Archibald Wavell instructed Morshead to hold the fortress for eight weeks, while the remaining forces reorganised and mounted a relief mission. With the 9th Division, 18th Infantry Brigade and supporting forces from various Allied nations, Morshead's force decisively defeated Rommel's powerful initial assaults, and retained possession of the fortress. His strategy for the defence of Tobruk is still mentioned in officer training colleges around the world as an example of how to arrange and conduct in-depth defences against a superior armoured force.
An important part of Morshead's strategy was offensive operations when these were possible. His attitude was summed-up in a reported remark, made when his attention was drawn to a British propaganda article entitled "Tobruk can take it!" Morshead commented: "we're not here to take it, we're here to give it.". The 9th Division held Tobruk not for eight weeks, but for eight months, during which time three separate relief campaigns, by the main Allied force in Egypt failed. The Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
troops learned to fear the aggressive patrolling of the Australian infantry who dominated no-man's-land and made constant raids on enemy forward positions for intelligence, to take prisoners, to disrupt attack preparations and minelaying operations, even to steal supplies that were not available in Tobruk. Axis propagandists described him as "Ali Baba Morshead and his 40,000 thieves" and branded the defenders of the port as the "Rats of Tobruk", a sobriquet that they seized on and wore as a badge of pride.
By July 1941, Morshead had become convinced that his troops were becoming tired. Their health was deteriorating and, in spite of his efforts, their morale and discipline were slipping. He informed Generals Blamey and Auchinleck
Claude Auchinleck
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE , nicknamed "The Auk", was a British army commander during World War II. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he developed a love of the country and a lasting affinity for the soldiers...
that they should be relieved. Auchinleck arranged for the 18th Infantry Brigade to be relieved by the Polish Carpathian Brigade so that it could rejoin the 7th Division in August but baulked at relieving the 9th Division.
At this point, political considerations came into play. The newly installed government of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
in Australia, on Blamey's advice, took up the matter with Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, who protested that the relief would cause a postponement of Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader was a military operation by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941. The operation successfully relieved the 1941 Siege of Tobruk....
. As it turned out, the operation had to be postponed anyway. In October 1941, Morshead and most of the 9th Division was replaced by the British 6th Division. The 9th Division moved to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to serve as an occupation force, as well as resting, re-equipping and training reinforcements.
The Battle of Tobruk marked the first time that the Panzerwaffe had been defeated in battle. For his part, Morshead was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(KBE) on 6 January 1942. He was also awarded the Virtuti Militari
Virtuti Militari
The Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war...
by the Polish government in Exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
and was decorated by Generał broni Władysław Sikorski on 21 November 1941.
El Alamein
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, in December 1941, and the imminent threat of invasion saw Blamey and the 6th
Australian 6th Division
The 6th Division of the Australian Army was a unit in the Second Australian Imperial Force during World War II. It served in the North African campaign, the Greek campaign and the New Guinea campaign, including the crucial battles of the Kokoda Track, among others...
and the main bodies of the 7th Division
Australian 7th Division
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force...
transferred to Ceylon and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
respectively, in early 1942. In March that year, Morshead was given command of all Australian forces in the Mediterranean theatre
Mediterranean Theatre of World War II
The African, Mediterranean and Middle East theatres encompassed the naval, land, and air campaigns fought between the Allied and Axis forces in the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and Africa...
and was promoted to lieutenant general
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
.
Morshead was one of only a few Allied divisional commanders with a distinct record of success at this stage of the war and had been acting commander of the British XXX Corps, a formation largely composed of Commonwealth troops, on two occasions. He had hopes that he might be given command of the corps, as Harry Chauvel
Henry George Chauvel
General Sir Harry Chauvel GCMG, KCB was a senior officer of the Australian Imperial Force who fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle Eastern theatre during the First World War. He was the first Australian to attain the rank of lieutenant general and later general, and the first to lead a corps...
had been in the Great War. But while Chauvel had been an Australian, he had been a regular officer while Morshead was not and the new commander of the British Eighth Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
, Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Bernard Montgomery
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
felt that a reservist could not possess the "requisite training and experience" to command a corps and Morshead was passed over in favour of Oliver Leese
Oliver Leese
Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, KCB, CBE, DSO was a British general during World War II.-Early years:...
, a British regular officer, who was junior to him and had never commanded a division in action.
At the Second Battle of El Alamein
Second Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
, the 9th Division was given responsibility for clearing a corridor through the German and Italian forces in the North and threatening to cut off those between the coastal road and the sea. In the initial assault the division hacked its way through the enemy defences but failed to clear the minefields. However, as the British attack faltered, the main effort switched to the 9th Division, which punched a massive dent into the German and Italian position over the next five days at great cost, "crumbling" the Afrika Korps in the process, and ultimately forcing Rommel to retreat. "I am quite certain," Leese informed Morshead, that this breakout was made possible by Homeric fighting over your divisional sector." During the El Alamein Campaign, the 9th Division suffered 22% of the British Eighth Army's casualties; 1,177 Australians were killed, while 3,629 were wounded, 795 were captured and 193 were missing.
For his part in the famous victory, Morshead received yet another Mention in Despatches in June 1942 and in November 1942 he was also created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(KCB).
New Guinea Campaign
South West Pacific Area
South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatres of World War II, during 1942–45...
. Morshead arrived in Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
on 19 February 1943 where he was welcomed home by Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Gordon Bennett
Gordon Bennett (Australian soldier)
Lieutenant General Henry Gordon Bennett CB, CMG, DSO, VD , Australian soldier, served in both World War I and World War II...
, who had been his division commander between the wars. Morshead then flew to Melbourne where he was met by Lady Morshead, Sir Winston Dugan
Winston Dugan, 1st Baron Dugan of Victoria
Major-General Winston Joseph Dugan, 1st Baron Dugan of Victoria GCMG, CB, DSO, KStJ , known as Sir Winston Dugan between 1934 and 1949, was a British administrator and a career British Army officer...
and Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
, who informed Morshead that he would take over command of a corps. In March 1943, Morshead became commander of the II Corps
Australian II Corps
The Australian II Corps was an Australian Army corps. II Corps was established in early 1942 to command Australian Army units deployed to protect the Sydney region and later commanded operational units in New Guinea, Bougainville and New Britain...
, handing over command of the 9th Division to Major General
Major General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
George Wootten
George Wootten
Major General Sir George Frederick Wootten KBE, CB, DSO & Bar, ED , was an Australian soldier, public servant, right wing political activist and solicitor. He rose to the rank of temporary Major General during World War II....
. The association between Morshead and the 9th Division was not entirely broken however, as it formed part of his corps, along with the 6th and 7th Divisions. All three were undergoing jungle training on the Atherton Tableland
Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It is located west to south-south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around...
for upcoming battles in New Guinea.
It was Blamey's intention that Morshead would spend some time learning the art of jungle warfare before his II Corps replaced Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Sir Edmund Herring
Edmund Herring
Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...
’s I Corps in New Guinea. In late September 1943, Morshead was summoned to New Guinea to relieve Herring by Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Sir Iven Mackay
Iven Giffard Mackay
Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay KBE, CMG, DSO & Bar, VD was a senior Australian soldier who served in both World Wars. A graduate of the University of Sydney, Mackay taught physics there from 1910 until 1914, when he joined the Australian Imperial Force...
, the commander of New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, territory of Papua and territory of New Guinea troops serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942 it was responsible for planning and directing all operations within the territory up until October 1944,...
, which he did on 7 October 1943.
Morshead found a difficult situation. The Japanese not only held the high ground overlooking the Australian beachhead at Finschhafen, they were rapidly reinforcing their position and were about to mount a major counterattack. Morshead demanded and got critical reinforcements, including Matilda tank
Matilda tank
The Infantry Tank Mark II known as the Matilda II was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. It was also identified from its General Staff Specification A12....
s of the 1st Tank Battalion. The Japanese counterattack was crushed.
Afterward, Morshead relieved Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Bernard Evans of command of the 24th Infantry Brigade, replacing him with Brigadier Selwyn Porter
Selwyn Porter
Major General Selwyn Havelock Watson Craig Porter CBE, DSO was an Australian Army officer and chief commissioner of Victoria Police.-Early life:...
, who had commanded a brigade in the Kokoda Track campaign
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
. Unlike most reliefs of senior officers in SWPA this relief, while controversial at the time, has attracted little attention since.
On 7 November 1943, Morshead became acting commander of New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, territory of Papua and territory of New Guinea troops serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942 it was responsible for planning and directing all operations within the territory up until October 1944,...
and Second Army
Second Army (Australia)
The Australian Second Army was a field army of the Australian Army, during World War II. It was created in April 1942, when the commander of Allied land forces in the South West Pacific Area, General Thomas Blamey, gave it responsibility for land forces in the Australia's most populous areas:...
on Mackay's departure. This became permanent on 20 January 1944. Morshead was in overall charge of the forces in New Guinea in the battles of Sattelberg
Battle of Sattelberg
The Battle of Sattelberg took place during the Huon Peninsula campaign of the Second World War. Involving forces from Australia, the United States and Japan, the fighting centred around the Sattelberg mission station which was situated atop a hill about above sea level, approximately inland from...
, Jivevaneng, Sio
Battle of Sio
The Battle of Sio, fought between December 1943 and March 1944, was the breakout and pursuit phase of General Douglas MacArthur's Huon Peninsula campaign, part of the New Guinea campaign of World War II....
and Shaggy Ridge. He was rewarded with the capture of Madang
Madang
Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....
in triumph in April 1944.
Borneo Campaign
Morshead handed over command of New Guinea ForceNew Guinea Force
New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, territory of Papua and territory of New Guinea troops serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942 it was responsible for planning and directing all operations within the territory up until October 1944,...
to Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Stanley Savige
Stanley Savige
Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, KBE, CB, DSO, MC, ED , was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in World War I and World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant general....
on 6 May 1944 and returned to Australia, where he took Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Iven Mackay
Iven Giffard Mackay
Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay KBE, CMG, DSO & Bar, VD was a senior Australian soldier who served in both World Wars. A graduate of the University of Sydney, Mackay taught physics there from 1910 until 1914, when he joined the Australian Imperial Force...
's place as commander of the Second Army
Second Army (Australia)
The Australian Second Army was a field army of the Australian Army, during World War II. It was created in April 1942, when the commander of Allied land forces in the South West Pacific Area, General Thomas Blamey, gave it responsibility for land forces in the Australia's most populous areas:...
. Despite the fact that Morshead had been in command in an active area, some critics of the government had already picked up on the November announcement that Morshead would command Second Army and charged that he had been "shelved".
However, this was not the end of Morshead's wartime service, just a respite. In July 1944, Morshead was appointed as commander of I Corps on the Atherton Tableland
Atherton Tableland
The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It is located west to south-south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around...
. Although nominally a lesser command, it would be the spearhead of the Australian Army in subsequent operations.
In February 1945, Morshead received word that his objective would be Borneo. General of the Army
General of the Army
General of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
placed Morshead's I Corps under his direct command for the operation. I Corps had to make a series of landings on the East and North West coasts of the island. These were carried out with great efficiency, achieving their objectives with low casualties.
The British government proposed that British Lieutenant General Sir Charles Keightley
Charles Keightley
General Sir Charles Frederic Keightley, GCB, GBE, DSO was a senior officer in the British Army during and following World War II.-Military career:...
be given command of a Commonwealth Corps
Commonwealth Corps
The Commonwealth Corps was the name given to a proposed British Commonwealth army formation, which was scheduled to take part in the planned Allied invasion of Japan in during 1945 and 1946. The corps was never formed however, as the Japanese surrender obviated any need for it...
for Operation Coronet
Operation Coronet
During World War II, two operations in the Pacific theater were called Operation Coronet.* an early planning name for Operation Chronicle, which was executed in June 1943...
but the Australian government had no intention of concurring with the appointment of an officer with no experience fighting the Japanese, and counter-proposed Morshead for the command. The war ended before the issue was resolved.
Post-war life
Orient Steam Navigation Company
The Orient Steam Navigation Company, also known as the Orient Line, was a British shipping company with roots going back to the late 18th century...
's Australian general manager on 31 December 1947. However, he continued to receive additional honours for his military service, including a further Mention in Despatches in 1947. From 1950 he headed 'The Association', a secret organization prepared to oppose communist attempts at subversion. It was quietly disbanded in 1952. Morshead had had a brief connexion with a similar movement in the mid-1920s.
In 1957 he was appointed chairman of a committee which reviewed the group of departments concerned with defence. The Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
government accepted the committee's recommendation that Supply and Defence Production be amalgamated but dropped the key proposal that the Department of Defence
Department of Defence (Australia)
The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...
absorb Army, Navy and Air. This was finally carried out by the Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
government in 1975.
In later life, Morshead turned down various offers of military and diplomatic posts, as well as the governorship of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. Survived by his wife and daughter, Sir Leslie died of cancer on 26 September 1959 at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Sisters of Charity.-History:...
, and was cremated with Anglican rites.
Memorials
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
is named after him. His portrait by Ivor Hele
Ivor Hele
Sir Ivor Henry Thomas Hele, CBE was an Australian artist. He was the longest serving war artist for the Australian War Memorial and completed more commissioned works than any other Australian artist in the history of Australian art.He was the first war artist appointed in the Second World War, and...
is held by the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
, as are his wartime papers.
In the Canberra suburb of Lyneham
Lyneham, Australian Capital Territory
Lyneham is a suburb of Canberra, Australia in the North Canberra district. It is named after Sir William Lyne, premier of the Australian state of New South Wales from 1899 to 1901. The suburb name was gazetted in 1928, but development did not commence until 1958. The streets of Lyneham are named...
is the Morshead War Veteran
War Veteran
War Veteran is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. It was first published in If magazine in March 1955.-Plot summary:The plot concerns an old man who claims to have travelled back in time from a future in which Earth has lost a devastating war to its own Martian and Venusian colonies...
s Home
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
, with high-dependency care and associated self-care two-bedroom houses.
External links
- WW2DB: Biography of Morshead
- Morshead War Veterans Home
- Photo of Generals Morshead and Freyberg conferring in a shell hole in North Africa