Chapter 63 – John

John Monash’s letter to NZ&A HQ, regarding Private Simpson and his donkey, dated 20 May 1915, is reproduced verbatim, from War Letters of General Monash (p. 41).

Accounts of the initiation of the May armistice vary. Monash claims to have been involved, but his role is not mentioned in Bean’s official history. John Monash describes his experiences of the May armistice in a letter to his wife dated 7 June 1915, preserved in War Letters of General Monash (p. 49-51).  Many details are taken from this letter, including:

p. 50 – initial request came from Turkish trench 50 yards in front of Courtney’s Post on 22 May, when the Turks waved a red crescent flag and cried “Docteur, Docteur.” Monash send two doctors and an orderly carrying a red cross flag. One doctor called back that the Turks wanted an armistice to bury their dead. Monash called the Turkish officer over, and told him in French that corps commanders would have to agree to such an arrangement.

p. 51 – During the armistice on 24 May, Monash observed the burials with General Godley from Pope’s Hill and saw a Turk repairing a loophole. He pointed this out to a Turkish officer who ran over and beat the soldier with a stick. The Turkish officer then returned and intimated that Monash and Godley should stop using their field glasses.

Roland Perry describes the events of May 1915 in his biography Monash: The Outsider Who Won a War. The following details are referenced:

p. 195 – General Bridges was shot below Steele’s Post on a visit to Monash Valley on 15 May. Bridges was hit in the thigh by a sniper’s bullet that severed his femoral artery and he died three days later on a hospital ship.

p. 196 – Bridges had a tendency to stand in exposed spots. Perry notes the thin line between bravery and bravado, and that Bridges’ bravado demonstrated foolhardiness, resulting in his death which demoralised the troops. He contrasts this with the bravery that Monash observed in Private Simpson which “inspired everyone”.

p. 199 – A plague of bloated blue flies followed the dead. Maggots wriggled into the trenches and had to be swept out every few hours.

p. 200 – Monash was not happy about his men fraternising with the enemy, as this “destroys the will to kill”. He believed that the men should “understand that they are dealing with some human vermin they are going to eradicate.”

Peter Pederson, in Monash as a Military Commander , stated that during the armistice of 24 May, Monash walked with Godley and Birdwood along the length of trenches in front of Courtney’s, Quinn’s and Popes’s.

Charles Bean states in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol II that General Bridges was shot on 15 May in Monash Valley, and that he had a tendency to recklessly expose himself (pp. 128-129).