Photographs of the Generals, the men, the conditions

Field Marshal Sir Douglas "Butcher" Haig, Commander in Chief British Forces is responsible for more ANZAC deaths than any man in history, thousands of them needless. He did it with stupidity and stubbornness. He was a cavalryman who ran the war to allow the cavalry to shine, after it was obvious to everyone else that the cavalry days were over. His most famous remark "The machine-gun is greatly overrated as a weapon". He trained before the machine gun and barbed wire were used on the battlefield. He never learned from his mistakes. He never inspected the battlefields before an action. There are two photos of him here so that if you ever get to HELL (he won't be in Heaven) you won't miss him. I hope you are using a large calibre machine gun when you don't miss him; but don't believe me click here for a biography of the 'great' man. Even after the war he was espousing the benefits of cavalry and trying to explain how if his cavalry could have been let loose the war would have been shorter. He displayed NO idea of the effects of barbed wire, machine guns in concrete pill boxes and armoured vehicles on horses OR men. He appears to discount the mud that made cavalry action impossible. In his long rambling account of the war he refers NOT AT ALL to the ANZAC's or the Canadians or the South Africans. It were as though they did not exist. In the whole document his once only reference is to "troops from the Dominions". If ever existed a man that was an advertisement for the need for Australian command of Australian troops, he is it.

	Earl Roberts, called "Bobs". Colonel In Chief of the Forces from Overseas (those "damned colonials"). Much loved by British troops and respected by the Australians. He was recognized as a 'fighting soldier'. How his pretty uniform went down with the Diggers is not recorded.
	Major-General Sir John MONASH. Only my well developed sense of that world famous Australian trait of deference to English Officers allows me to put Monash under Haig & Roberts on this page. Haig was a stupid butcher. Earl Roberts was a good and competent General Officer. Monash was a military genius. More than any other 1 person he won the war. He led the Australian 3rd Division and later, as a Lt General, the Australian Corps. It was Monash's Third Division that invented 'Peaceful Penetration' which rewrote the rules of warfare and turned the German Army into a bunch of worriers. When, in March 1918, the British Fifth Army broke and ran and the Allies faced ultimate defeat it was Monash's Third Division that filled the gap, stopped the victorious Germans in their tracks and turned the tide. It was Monash and his Diggers that broke the Hindenburg Line and that led to the Armistice. As the son of a Polish/Jew from Prussia the mere fact that he achieved rank is a tribute to Australia. He repaid his country a thousand fold. At his funeral in 1931 there were 250,000 admirers/mourners. He is on my personal list as 1 of the top 5 Australians ever. His motto? "Feed your troops on Victory". Click for his biography
	HMAT (TSS) Borda the "old tub" that had the honour of taking (most of) the Forty-Second Battalion to war. It was owned by P&O, was 11,136 tons, capable of 14 knots and for the period of time she was leased by the Australian Government was known as HMAT (His Majesty's Australian Transport) Borda. Note . . . "Borda" was also involved in bringing some of the troops home after the war.
	The Bombers. In WW1 hand grenades did not come ready to use. The user was issued the case, the explosive and the detonator/handle. He had to build his own bomb. For that reason there was a designated Bombing Platoon who constantly practiced together but each man served as a normal part of the Unit. This is the 1917 version of 42nd's bombers. Many died on the Somme. Sgt C F W Harris 2nd from left, front. The 'blobs' in front are Mills Bombs.
	Vidgen's Paddock. I am unsure where this is but speculate that it was beside or near Thompson's Paddock Enoggera, Brisbane where the 42nd Battalion was raised (originally as the 36th). My father kept the photo from 1916 till his death in 1960 so it meant something to him.

	A scene on the Menin Road. This photo from the original book" Spirit of the Forty Second". I apologise for the quality. It is the best I can do.
	Trench Warfare. These soldiers are not 42nd men. They may not even be Aussies, although I think they are. The photo is here to demonstrate the difficulties that soldiers had to live with. Imagine spending weeks, even months in conditions like this....and then it starts to rain, or snow. Meanwhile the Germans are shelling the place most of the time. To say nothing of mortars, machine guns and other "unpleasantries" as the troops called them.
	Trench Warfare (2) A man has to sleep sometimes. Here an un-named digger from an unknown Unit catches 40 winks. It's not quite the Hilton.
	Trench warfare (3) HQ of B Company, 43rd Bn in the old Somme Line between Sailly-le-Sec and Corbie-Bray Road. The dugout is one of the old tunnels made by the French when they built the Amiens defence line. The Lucas lamp and runners is the only means through which communication was maintained with Battalion Headquarters. The trench was also occupied by C Company, 41st Battalion on relief of the 43rd Battalion. Note the Lucas (daylight) Signalling lamp in position on the parapet.
	Common Sense. Part of the brilliance of Monash was his insistence on good training and telling his troops what was happening. Here are men of the 3rd Division (42nd men would have been there) inspecting a huge model of the ground that they were going to be asked to attack over, before the battle of Messines. Monash knew that if the soldiers understood the what and the why of their orders they would be more likely to succeed. His men came to trust him and knew that he never asked them to do the impossible. Unlike Haig who stayed behind the lines and threw his troops wholesale into the barbed wire and the guns, Monash was known as a "dirty boots" general who knew the situation and planned for it.
	Before & After. This collage is copied from the 1939/40 Christmas Card sent out by the 42nd Bn Association. It shows the Battalion at Thompson's Paddock 1916 and somewhere in France 1919.
	Hell Fire Corner. Reputed to be one of the most dangerous spots in the war zone. It was under constant surveillance and all but continual artillery fire.
	Aftermath of 3rd Ypres. Australian troops waiting to go to the CCS (Casualty Clearing Station) after the Third Battle of Ypres, where the 42nd won another Battle Honour.
	Ypres. 25 Oct 1917. Australian troops moving through what is left of Ypres on the way to the front, 25 Oct 1917.
		1051 S/Sgt R S "Bob" Melloy, (Armourer). In the pressure cooker atmosphere of getting an army of civilians ready for war Melloy went from recruit to Sergeant in 6 weeks and to S/Sgt Armourer in another 4. Read his story at "Old Diggers" The top photos are both 1916 (note two different styles of headwear). In the AIF the 'slouch' hat (hat, fur felt) was work dress. Note the 3rd Divvy method of wearing the hat (without turn-up) In Pic 2 the moustache has been added later by an errant grandchild. Lower left is Major RS Melloy in Townsville in WW2 and lower right photo is 1989 with the 42nd Battalion Pipe Band Drum after it was retired to Victoria Barracks Museum, Brisbane.