The Generals of 1917

Craig Tibbitts

Collection Item C173370

Accession Number: ART03339

General Sir William Birdwood.  C173370

Collection Item C177227

Accession Number: ART03349

Major General Sir Harold Walker.  C177227

Major General William Holmes.

Major General William Holmes.

Collection Item C176492

Accession Number: ART02926

Major General Joseph Talbot Hobbs.  C176492

Collection Item C176514

Accession Number: ART02987

Lieutenant General Sir John Monash.  C176514

Collection Item C174674

Accession Number: ART00102

Major General Ewen Sinclair-MacLagan.   C174674

Collection Item C175018

Accession Number: ART00199

Major General Sir Neville Smyth, VC.   C175018

Collection Item C177225

Accession Number: ART03347

Major General Sir Cyril Brudenell White.   C177225

The AIF Generals

At the beginning of 1917 the general officers commanding the divisions and brigades of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) were a fairly experienced group, although quite a few were newly promoted or had been recently posted to command a different unit.

Of the five divisional commanders, only Walker (1st Division) had been in command of a division for more than one year. Monash had been in charge of 3rd Division for six months but had not yet led them in action, while the other three had only just taken command of their divisions. Nevertheless these men had gained a wealth of experience coming up over the last two years as battalion, then brigade commanders. Just two of the five (Holmes and Monash) were Australian born, the others being British, although Hobbs had migrated to Australia as a young man in 1887.

Of the fifteen brigade commanders, only three had been brigadiers for over 12 months, six had been for 6-12 months, while the remaining six had less than 3 months experience in the job. Again, even these newer brigade commanders possessed a wealth of experience as battalion commanders. Of these fifteen, twelve were Australian born and of the remaining three Britons, Evan Wisdom had migrated to Australia as a young man.

In early 1917 this group of men represented a mixture of experienced leaders and the newest wave of talent in the AIF to be promoted to the general rank. During the course of 1917 they would be tested harder than ever before. One would be killed in action during the year and the remainder would learn much about leadership and modern warfare, and much about themselves, their men and about loss.

Higher British Command during 1917

ANZAC formations during 1917

Author

Craig Tibbitts

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