Americans and Australians Fighting Side by Side | American Guardsman Reacts | Battle of Hamel

[@anthonyhain5760]

Trivia: Monash was the last person to be knighted on the battlefield by a British monarch.

[@blueycarlton]

The last, but he was the first person in 200 years to receive that honour.

[@BradSimmonds-j7o]

Something a lot of People don't know about Monash and his planning ability, is that he drilled down to every aspect including the supply of hot meals, laundry services and medical support as part of his battle plan. He was truly the first modern thinking Commander of combined services. His plan for the Battle of Hamel was for 90 minutes, the battle was over in 93 minutes.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

I suggest you Google the Western Front Association there is a talk given by an Australian historian who puts that battle into perspective. It was the artillery that facilitated the battle by firing 136,000 precision rounds which shattered the Germans and that it was a combined ops battle which included the British and the French and she shows a map of where the Aussies were at the Armistice some 40 miles from the final front line. It doesn’t belittle what was a brilliantly executed battle but puts a more balanced view of it. In short shows that all the way through it was an artillery war.

[@BradSimmonds-j7o]

I have read the book, "Monash, The Soldier who Shaped Australia". Probably a better source than Google. @@anthonyeaton5153

[@blueycarlton]

The were 40 miles from the front line because they had been in front line for so long that the Australian PM demanded Monash that they were given a rest.

[@7thsealord888]

If looking at Aussie military history, Monash is a very good starting point. He continues to be held in high regard here , with a university, suburbs and roads named after him, and his picture featuring on Australian currency.

[@mickvonbornemann3824]

Monash was a great Australian, slash, German Jew. As such he knew the enemy well.

[@anthonybaldry9611]

Monash is the inventor of combined military attack the farther of blitz strig which the Germans used in the second ww2

[@doubledee9675]

Monash was one of the very few generals to come through WW I with an enhanced reputation.

[@amsuther]

Monash's biggest enemy wasn't on the battlefield. Keith Murdoch (father of Rupert Murdoch and founder of the Murdoch media empire) was a constant thorn in Monash's side, constantly trying to have him replaced and in many cases outright lied to the likes of Prime Minister Billy Hughes. It was Hughes meeting with Australian troops and Monash prior to Hamel that kept Monash in command despite the protests of Murdoch.

[@baabaabaa-yp2jh]

And Charles Bean, he was against Monash... but definitely wanted an Australian leading Australians.

[@adriaandeleeuw8339]

The funeral procession of Sir John Monash had at least one QUARTER Of the total population Melbourne over two hundred and fifty thousand people considering the total population of Melbourne at the time was one million people..... This gives a real idea of how he was revered by the people.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

Quite remarkable the American troops who fought with the seasoned Australian troops had only been in France for 4 or 5 weeks and performed extremely well. This was the first and last time American troops fought under foreign command. Pershing the US commander tried to put a stop to the idea when he heard of the plan, withdrawing 1000 of the 2000 American troops. Monash pulled a bit of a swifty on the eve of the battle to retain 1000 of the Americans. The French press and people thought the world of the Australian's ability to kill germans who were possibly the finest troops the allies had and the American troops were in a bit of awe of the accomplishments they had achieved. The Australians near the end of 4 years of fighting played the situation down suggesting that any sense of glory will dissolve very quickly by the horrific reality of action on the battlefield. With limited training with the Australians and 1000 fewer men than Monash considered necessary and a two-week softening with artillery including gas and smoke shells, planes were also used to harass the German line and to also create noise around the designated battle start time. The scene was set for what was and is considered the first perfect battle although small in scale as stated it combined all elements available including using tanks to supply ammo, pickets, wire and water onto the battlefield this freed hundreds of men from the exhausting and very dangerous job, planes were also used to drop ammo. Secrecy was paramount so planes were used as usual to cover the noise of the tanks as they moved to the start line in the darkness. A creeping barrage was used to provide as much cover as possible to allow the troops to get themselves on top of the German front line almost intact. As they walked under cover of the barrage a few American troops got themselves excited and ran ahead straight into the creeping barrage, this was nothing to be ashamed of as there wouldn't be an army on the western front that didn't do the same at some point in the development arc. Monash had insisted that the Americans were not dispersed among the Australians and were kept in their respective units to fight as they were. When the troops arrived at the German front line the Germans all in their gas masks were confronted by the Australians and Americans not wearing gas masks as only smoke, and no gas was used for the battle, simple but clever enough. Monash cited a 90-minute battle that took 93 minutes. the real objective was the high ground on the other side of Hammel which was held, repelling German counter-attacks. through the day and next night. Monash went from being seen as a bit of a braggart insisting his Australian troops were the, 'finest troops on the Western Front' to being acclaimed as such as messages from all Allied Commands poured in later that day. Over the next day's officers from all Allied Commands arrived at Monash's Head Quarters to be briefed in detail about the operation. On the 12th of August 1918, His Majesty King George V, knighting Lieutenant-General Sir John Monash, Australian Corps Commander, at the Corps Headquarters in the Chateau, when General Monash was invested as a Knight Commander of the Bath. This was the first time in 200 years that a British monarch had knighted a commander on the battlefield.

[@seanlander9321]

Further into the 100 day advance Britain sy and American divisions were again under Australian command.

[@nigelmcconnell1909]

"Monash the forgotten ANZAC" is documentary/drama with more details about this fascinating man.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

Monash a forgotten ANZAC?! There are universities named after him, there are 22 biography’s about him and people like you keep banging on about him as though no other nation did anything in WW1.

[@craigauckram1087]

If you like to hear about Australian Generals, try reading about the Defence of Tobruk in the second World War, commanding General Australian Moreshead, (nicknamed Ming the merciless) and the tactics he used against Erwin Rommel's Africa Korp.

[@jackfitzpatrick8173]

A friend of mine was a US Marine in Vietnam during the war. While there he had a good amount of contact with Aussie "diggers" and had noting but the highest praise for them.He described them as being "tough as nails".

[@charlesdare2046]

As I recall, the Americans troops were pissed off with Pershing facilitating recalling half the Americans planned to join Monash. Later, some switched uniforms or wore slouch hats to join Monash again. At some stage they held up an advance as they had to be hurried along from taking cover as Monash timed his battles meticulously like an opera, timing was so important~The King came from Britain to knight him at the front ~

[@dennis12dec]

The portrait of Sir John Monash is on the reverse of the Australian $100 banknote introduced in 1996 which is on polymer.

[@Thepigfromthepot]

Monash was a great strategist but being Australian he got on well with Australian troops where Australians really butted heads with the British leadership

[@rocnoir4233]

My great grandfather fought at Hamel in the vicinity of the Roman Road with 23rd Battalion A.I.F. He was gassed during the German counter-attack and had a terrible hacking cough for the rest of his life.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

One thing we Australians all too often forget is that the mighty New Zealanders were every bit as good as we were on the battlefield without a doubt, the difference was the Australians played up something fierce off the battlefield whereas the New Zealanders were far better behaved. This surprised the fuck out of the Americans who couldn't believe their eyes at the shit we got up to. Monash and his brass largely tolerate this because of the way the Australian troops and New Zealand were used plugging holes in the British lines where the real threat of breakout was imminent, so we saved the day on more than a few occasions. An example of how good we were is that Australians gained 2.1 times the distance of a British soldier on the battlefield. The British captured more German equipment and German soldiers because of a different battle philosophy whereas we were all about meters gained we would leave the British to tidy up after the damage we caused to the Germans line. There are no other soldiers from any country on earth that the Australian troop would rather have on our flank than the mighty New Zealanders period because we can trust them to a tee in the thick violent battle.

[@andysparks1973]

You had steely Australian soldiers , smart to the metre. Smart and tough boys .

[@anthonyeaton5153]

Not in the beginning, they were useless like the British and Americans were. They got better thru experience. Stop showing off.

[@clivelamond3488]

Study up on the March/April 1918 German spring offensive at Villers Brettoneux. The Germans came within a whisker of winning WW1. The French armies had mutinied and were refusing to fight or advance, The Germans completely destroyed the British fifth army, routing it, taking 100 000 prisoners and advanced to within 10 miles of Amiens. this left a huge gap between the French and British armies . Fortunately 4 Australian divisions were rushed into the gap and fought 20+ German divisons to a stand still, in 12 battles over 4 weeks they defeated 10 times their number all 12 times. Two brigades of australians launched a night attack on the 25th April that surrounded Villers Brettoneux and recaptured the town. This attack was called the finest feat of arms of the War. This led to the failure of the german spring offensive. After rest and reinforcement the Australians then attacked Hamel, and finally St Quentin leading to the collapse of the German front lines pricipating the end of the war.

[@baabaabaa-yp2jh]

Most AIF used to plug the gap and retake VB were meant to be resting as it was... They didn't get much of a break!

[@blueycarlton]

I remember a doco when the last WW1 soldiers were alive. A bloke called Lockett from Ballarat said, we were relieved from VB and handed it over to the British. We marched 20 miles to the rear for a well earned break. On arrival we heard the news about VB, turned around and marched back. Soldiers and refugees were running away as we got closer to VB. There was an old lady who was struggling with her suit cases. Seeing the Australians she sat down on them. Lockett called out to her why she had stopped. She replied, I have no need to run now, now that the Australians have returned. They retook VB in a night raid without the usual prior bombardment. Whoever held VB, held the high ground, Amiens a railway hub 10 miles away could be shelled with ease, cut the Allies supply lines in half and only 80 miles from Paris.

[@raymondhorvath2406]

Fantastic information

[@glenmcinnes4824]

And we put him on our Money, the Hundred

[@dalewyatt1321]

Monash cared about his men and the horrific number of casualties so he though and planned. The English officers still just wanted to throw wave after wave of men to their death while they had tea.

[@franklee3800]

Checkout the Battle of Long Tan. 18th August 1966. Sam Worthington (Avatar + other movies) narrates a brilliant documentary and see Danger Close staring Travis Fimmel (Ragnar Lothbrok from Vikings). You won't be disappointed.

[@richardeast5660]

A Great Uncle, a ww1 Australian Gunner told me when I was a kid Monash was a brilliant planner. Same Uncle asked me to get a old aussie jam tin off the sill and look inside. What I saw was a twisted ball of rusted steal. Old Uncle Jack lifted his trouser up his leg to reveal a hole in his calf muscle where this German artillery shrapnel had been cut out, he had also been gassed In battle . Mate God bless the Anzacs

[@anthonyhain5760]

You may also find the Battle of Beersheba 1917 interesting. While Hamel was the first truely intergrated modern battle, Beersheba was the last great successful cavalry charge carried out by the Australian Light Horse

[@southerncross1941]

History has it that the Light horseman were mounted infantry and not cavalry men as they charged with bayonets in hand and not swords. It was not considered a cavalry charge although the action could be construed as such.

[@peterfromgw4615]

@@southerncross1941 mate, 100% correct. The Australian Light Horse were mounted infantry. Grüße aus Australien.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

Beersheba was part of the Battle of Gaza.

[@albrussell7184]

I was researching some British WW1 records recently and found in a 1918 regimental war diary the plans to be followed for an upcoming battle and information for ground troops. It was the same as the co-ordinated use of tanks, artillery, troops and planes mentioned in the video. But what I was amazed at was the way ground troops could communicate with planes using ground markers allowing the planes to pass on the messages by radio to HQ and request support or changes in almost real time, for instance increase, decrease or halt the speed of creeping barrage. I was even more surprised to find that small units could request re-supply by air of ammo, food or water, however the advice did state that this should only be used when absolutely necessary as resources for this were limited. Resupply by air was something I thought didn't even exist until WW2.

[@timmcdonald5335]

To learn more about Monash I can recommend an excellent biography "Monash - The Outsider that won a War" by Roland Perry.

[@DK-cy5mt]

Great video mate, keep them coming

[@Skipper.17]

What this guy fails to mention is that general Pershing withdrew most of the Americans from the battle of hamel at the last minute due to him not wanting to have American troops fight under “foreign “ command. Only those who were right in the front line were not withdrawn. This is why American was not an allied country, it was considered a co-billigirant country as it didn’t come under the allied command structure.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

Pershing wanted to withdraw all troops but Monash played the situation on the eve of the battle and kept 1000 of 2000 originally requested by Monash

[@seanlander9321]

The Americans were under the command of the Australians at Hamel, well kind of. At the last minute the Americans withdrew. A few who seemed to have developed a temporary hearing loss and didn’t hear the order to run away, stayed for the fight, which turned out to be the first successful use of combined arms and planned to perfection.

[@adriaandeleeuw8339]

There was a countermand of the orders by Pershing but only to those US soldiers that had not left the staging area. It should be also remembered this was because the US troops were Green and had not seen real fighting yet. Monash's plan was slated to take ninety minutes.....it took ninety three.

[@seanlander9321]

@@adriaandeleeuw8339 Pershing disobeyed his orders. He should have been court-martialled, but instead accepted battle honours from Foch over the Australians.

[@judileeming1589]

General Sir John Monash was also a qualified Patent Attorney. After WW1 he was instrumental in honouring Australian servicemen with constructing War Memorials and a road engineering project that is the single biggest war memorial in the World (the Great Ocean Road in the State of Victoria).When you know that no other allied nation lost more men per head of population than Australia in WW1 and that Australia only had a total population of slightly less than 5 Million in 1914 and 38.7 % of all males aged 18-44 enlisted you realise that the outcome was horrendous to the population demographics. As the oldest member of my family and the family historian, I have gathered information on our WW1 ANZAC WW2 servicemen family members and their and keep the history alive when ANZAC commemorations by my youngest grandchildren at school occur.

[@EarlJohn61]

As an Australian I have a bit of an issue with the thought that "Australia lost more men per head of population"! I suspect Belgium might actually be the holder of that title. (but I've done no research & I could be wrong. It just seems illogical that the country in which a lot of the western front was situated wouldn't lose a lot of its population.)

[@judileeming1589]

@@EarlJohn61 I was referring to military personnel, not resident combatants and non-combatants. For instance, in WW1, my grandfather was rejected for military service on health grounds but his older and younger brothers both served in WW1. The older brother died at Gallipoli and his younger brother returned home aged 20 blind for life. In the WW2 every male member of my family served as volunteers including my father, his three brothers and two brothers in law. Thankfully trench warfare was limited in WW2 but different issues were faced by soldiers, airmen and sailors in the different theatres of war.

[@pshehan1]

Remember also that the Australian Imperial Force was an all volunteer army.

[@fluffybunnyslippers2505]

Fun fact any military historian worth there salt should know. When the U.S. finally entered WW I and the vanguard of there army arrived they were offered British leadership to help them adapt to global industrialized warfare. They refused this and an offer from the French. Instead they chose to join the Newly formed ANZAC forces. This was the start of a long and still enduring partnership of trust and respect between the Aussies and Americans that exists to this day. This makes Australia the ONLY country in the world to have direct command over U.S. forces in any conflict and, those Americans are the only soldiers outside of Australia and New Zealand that have the right to call themselves ANZAC's. One of the main reasons for this was Sir John Monash was the first commanding general to lead a successful large scale combined arms operation EVER, Allowing the evolution of the modern doctrine and strategic planning we see today.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

Yeah, the French press and French people were in awe of the work the Anzacs were doing especially in 1918 we were used by General Haig to stop breakouts in the English lines, especially so we sort of became heroes saving the day so to speak. This frustrated Monash who wanted a real battle so he could display the Australian might and skill on the battlefield and hounded Haig for the chance. The problem for Monash was that unlike the French press the British press attributed all success to British forces kindly not distinguishing the Australians. Monash was also King George the V's favourite General. And Haig also thought the world of him. Monash was seen as a bit of a bragart to other British brass and scoffed at beacause he insisted his Australains were the best troops on the western front.

[@henrypulleine8750]

Sorry- but this is total garbage. Pershing was fundamentally opposed to any American soldiers fighting under 'Australian command' (which were not 'newly formed'), but was overruled by Haig. Your claim that Australia was the 'ONLY country in the world to have direct command over US forces in any conflict' is also nonsense. The Second World War is replete with examples of US forces under British command (for example). E.g. the Italian campaign was fought under the overall command of British generals (Alexander and Jumbo Wilson); while the Battle of Normandy was fought under the tactical command of Montgomery until the establishment of Bradley's army group.

[@richardcostello360]

​@@henrypulleine8750 you are partially right American units were NEVER under direct command of any foreign national except by Monash. In WW2 Yanks weren't under the direct command of anyone except Americans (you say about Montgomery but the US generals had discretion of placing units under direct command of a foreigner, which they never allowed)

[@henrypulleine8750]

@@richardcostello360 That is just nonsense. American units were frequently placed under the command of French and British generals. To give but one example, the US II Corps served under Rawlinson' Fourth Army in 1918 during the Hundred Days offensive, while others served with the French. There is a very good book on this by an American, Mitch Yockelson, called 'Borrowed Soldiers' you may wish to read. He concludes that the divisions which served under British and French command performed far better than those under Pershing as they absorbed the lessons learned by their allies earlier in the war. In the Second World War (not WW2, please!) there are numerous examples of British troops under American command (Eisenhower!), Canadians under British command, and Americans under British command (under Montgomery, Horrocks, Alexander etc etc). It is otiose to make sweeping and inaccurate nationalistic arguments when the reality was that the allies fought well together as a team to defeat the Germans in two world wars.

[@colinross6259]

Monash was a legend. Having German parents he spoke German. Before the war he corresponded with German weapons makers so he knew what artillery, machine guns and most other German weapons could do. Any prisoners he interrogated himself, speaking the language he got vital up to date info he could use in his planning. Realized the importance of aerial reconnaissance during a battle so he could make adjustments to a battle plan. On the flip side his german speaking made the English officers think he had German sympathies which held him back for so long. It was the complete uselessness of English Field Marshall Haig who by his own men was nicknamed the butcher that Monash finally got the command he so well deserved. The Americans after witnessing Haig in action would not let their men serve under him. And to many men Monash shortened the war and saved thousands of Allied lives with his well planned attacks using every weapon at his disposal. On a sort of flip side it's said Hitler based his Blitzkrieg on Monash's attacks.

[@matthewcharles5867]

Monash learned the hard way at Gallipoli if attacks were not planned well they went to shit rather quickly. Fighting at dead man's Ridge , quinns post and out in the hills during the august offensive showed him that you had to plan assaults properly to have a chance of success.

[@alvashoemaker8536]

ANOTHER one of YOUR vids,?which are GOOD…. THANK YOU! 😃🙃👍🏼👣

[@briantayler1230]

The real tragedy of WW1 is that it took the Allies until 1918 to introduce combined arms and that it had to come from the small army of Australia, and not the British or French. Like many inventions, it is easy to say that it is so obvious, that someone should have thought of it earlier. Monash had the idea long before 1918 but he could not implement it until he was put in charge.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

The tanks were simply not reliable enough until the Mk V and after at Bullecort in 1917 previous disaster where the tanks broke down or taken out leaving the Australians exposed

[@anthonyeaton5153]

Tactics and strategy change during wars by experience . What happened in 1918 wasn’t possible in the previous years of the war. Also the first years were a hard learning curve for all combatants and the toe to toe slogging match made the victory possible.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

Following a recommendation from an Australian officer, 'Corporal Thomas Pope of Company "E", 131st Infantry Regiment, 33rd Division' who passed away on June 14 1989 was awarded the Medal of Honor also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, by King George V and Médaille Militaire and Croix de Guerre (France). His Citation: His company was advancing behind the tanks when it was halted by hostile machinegun fire. Going forward alone, he rushed a machinegun nest, killed several of the crew with his bayonet, and, standing astride his gun, held off the others until reinforcements arrived and captured them. One of two Victoria Cross Australia's highest medals was won by Private Harry Dalziel who was serving as a Lewis gun operator with the 15th Battalion capturing a position called Pear Trench. With a revolver in each hand, Harry dashed at an enemy machine-gun post, single-handedly capturing the gun and its entire crew. He raced out over open ground under heavy fire three times to secure ammunition boxes even though he’d been severely wounded. We were harassed by murderous fire from a nearby enemy stronghold,” he wrote. “My gun had cleaned up one nest, but another planted in a different direction opened fire. I dashed at it killing seven Germans with my own revolvers. One German bloodhound wounded me in the hand, but I soon had him on the ground. I lunged at him with my German dagger, catching him right over the heart. His dying cry upset me and I shivered. Harry was ordered to the rear for medical treatment, but ignored the order and was found in the thick of the fighting when Pear Trench was finally captured. “Blood was pouring from my wounded hand but I advanced with the others,” he wrote. “The poor Huns came up with their hands above their heads calling ‘Merci Comrade’. They were handing out watches of different makes, gold and silver leaf wrist watches of beautiful designs. I felt like a warlord with my two revolvers pointing at them and one dagger in my belt. We sent them off with their beautiful watches to the ‘moppers up’. This was a grand experience for me and I relished every minute of it. We found Huns dead in all directions, up in trees, under duck boards, in shell holes … everywhere.” Harry’s trigger finger had been badly injured when his hand was wounded in the attack on the machine-gun post, and he was again ordered to the aid post for treatment, but again he refused, going only as far as the ammunition boxes. “My ammunition ran out, so I had to go and look for more,” he wrote. “One machine gun dogged me up, only for my vamoose he would have had me. I noticed when he finished firing, I had two spent bullets stuck in my puttee. A near miss. I had to crawl on my hands and knees over the hill. I had a charmed life and carried on to the ammunition dump. I could see the ammunition in boxes scattered all over the place. The first box I saw I put on my shoulder and made my way back, and then the fun commenced. They were throwing everything at me from the needle to the elephant. One whiz-bang burst behind me. A 5.9 came at me nearly hitting the box. “I was going to carry on only I fell into a shell hole full of water. I crawled as I have never crawled before, placing my belt around the box of ammunition. I could see my cold-blooded machine gun nest near at hand so I pushed on and almost fell over into it. To my consternation, I found that I had brought hand grenades instead of ammunition for my little “Tilly” Lewis machine gun … “I gave the grenades to the troops digging in, and got going again … A few stray shells were lobbing around me but they did not concern me. The Germans might have been clearing out, but to my sorrow they were advancing again, coming on in hoards about five hundred yards away from our objective … I got down to my gun again and this time it was real shooting. All along the line, our machine guns rattled and our artillery had them in a quandary… “After crawling and puffing and dodging shells, and falling into shell holes, I managed to get back with another box of ammunition. I had to change my cocking handle over to the left side because my right hand was getting stiff. My feet were sore and my head ached as if there were two or three heads on my shoulders … The Germans were slacking off a bit but the sniper fire still kept on popping away. They had several pot shots at me so I climbed a little nearer to the ground and hugged my little Lewis gun. “I started to roll about in pain. I got out of my machine gun nest and scrambled back again … I felt a pain in my head with blood streaming from the left side of my head near the temple. They had hit me at last. Harry had been hit in the head by a sniper’s bullet which shattered his skull and left part of his brain exposed. His mates thought he was dead, but despite all odds, Harry managed to survive. “He was put on the pile of bodies, but someone noticed that he was still going,” David said. “He was rushed off to a hospital in Rouen in France where the real life-saving work happened … [but] I argue about why he didn’t die actually. A mate who was with him [said] the sniper’s bullet hit his helmet and the hole in the helmet was as big as a man’s fist … The wound was quite big Harry was awarded the 1,000th Victoria Cross for his actions that day at Hamel a century ago. “His magnificent bravery and devotion to duty was an inspiring example to all his comrades,” the citation read. “And his dash and unselfish courage at a most critical time undoubtedly saved many lives and turned what would have been a serious check into a splendid success.” When King George V presented Harry with the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace in December 1918, Harry was said to have been so nervous that he was bowing to everyone he met, including the waiters. But even in the thick of battle at Hamel, Harry never lost his compassion. “A little German boy in tin hat and grey uniform only about 14 or 15 years old came crying to me ‘Merci Comrade Merci’ out in No Man’s Land,” he later wrote. “Two burly Yanks came at him with their bayonets fixed. Stop I cried, raising my two empty revolvers. Don’t move or I will blow your bloody heads off.” He told them to take the “little German back to the Captain” and “on passing the dressing station, I saw a German soldier with his foot blown away and the two Yanks and the little Fritz conversing together. One of the Yanks came over to me and said, ‘This German soldier wants to speak to you.’ ‘Comrade,’ he said to me, ‘you have saved my son,’ and without any hocks to it, he shook my hand.” It was a moment, Harry would never forget. Australia is the only country that has fought alongside the Americans in every theatre America has fought in from the Battle of Hammel to this very day, quite a remarkable shared history.

[@terminusest5902]

Great show. Thanks. Black Americans were among the first to fight. Pershing was happy to allocate black units to the French with few restrictions. It would have been great for them to be allocated to the Australian AIF. Pershing wanted other US units to be under his direct control. The AIF units were undermanned due to 4 years of heavy and bloody fighting. The last 100 days of allied victories started a few weeks after the Hamel battle. Using more combined arms tactics. Monash was Australia's greatest military leaders. The battle plan was very complex. This included specific training for all of the soldiers. The August offensive was a heavy blow for the Germans with heavy losses and the Hindenburg line broken in places.

[@Craigstew100]

What the video fails to mention is that the US troops were directly under the command of Monash and when the commander of the American Expeditionary Force, General General John J. Pershing heard of Monash's plan, Pershing, ordered the withdrawal of all six American companies from Monash's command. However, the US 42nd Battalion ignored Pershing's order and fought alongside the Australians, earning their place in the history of modern warfare.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

Monash played the situation on the eve of battle retaining 1000 of 2000 requested. A few Americans from the1000 that were pulled snuck into the Australian outfits and fought anyway much to the Australians delight

[@timmcdonald5335]

Interesting trivia about Monash, he became wealthy before the war when he gained the licence in Australia to use the Intellectual property for reinforced concrete

[@mickvonbornemann3824]

Considering how recently the Americans had arrived, they put on a cracking good performance at Hamel with the Australians who were fine by example, they thoroughly deserved the medals they got fighting with the Australian’s who of course deserved theirs too.

[@raymondhorvath2406]

Monash is a national hero here in Melbourne Australia there is a Uni named after him a hospital and a city in Melbourne

[@raymondhorvath2406]

Look up sir John Monash he is regarded as the best general in WW1 He was knighted by the king first person to do so. And he was from my home town of Melbourne there is a Uni named after him

[@keithmcwilliams7424]

American anzacs 😊

[@bodgiesteve8849]

At 7:40, America did not 'give' any equipment to the allied war effort before entering the war. The equipment was sold. But hey, Australia got a loan off Britain, to fight Britons war. After the war, repayments made the great depression much greater than it had to be.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

And France should have paid for the lot but chose not to.

[@timlinator]

As an American who has lived in Australia the mateship became obvious immediately. The relationship is like a big brother (USA), little brother (AUS) which can cause some friction but don't date pick on little bro.

[@QBTO]

Can you make a video, explaining what the National Guard is, many people outside the USA won't know.

[@peterlinsley4287]

Monash was a brilliant General I think his biggest gift was he wasn't a professional soldier. He was an engineer so he understood Artillery was a survey scheme and him planning was meticulous. There is still a push in Australia to get him posthumously promoted to Field Marshall the heights rank in the Australian Army.

[@julesmarwell8023]

hi mate. happy fourth of July

[@robparsons1527]

The video was disappointing in very little detail as to the battle. The comments section here however is awesome, packed with details, thanks everyone!

[@raymondhorvath2406]

The British really didn't like the Aussie to do well they often took credit for our gains it often is stated as a British victory or allied victory not Aussie one.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

No they did not. Don’t be so silly that’s schoolboy history. Why would the British want the Aussies to fail. Just think for a moment about what you have written. Anyway, you weren’t truly Australians until 1946, until then you were a citizen of the Empire.😂

[@baabaabaa-yp2jh]

​​@@anthonyeaton5153I've got books where it's says Allied victory instead of Australia, New Zealand or any other colony, so youre dead wrong mate. These books were printed in London, before Bean's Official History came out in the 1930s. They were my grandfathers. I'll show you a few examples of the same happening in WW2 also... Schoolboy stories me arse mate! Edit: We became a country when we Federated in 1901, once we got involved in WW1, we definitely realised we were different. Read Bill Gammage's The Broken Years, a collection of diary entries by men who fought. While Britain made officers of men from certain schools or social groups... Australia gave the best man the job (in probably 80% of cases). Curtin had to pull diggers out of Africa to defend Australia... Churchill was about to let Australia go (it's in official documents and memos)...he hated Curtin for it, we were denied planes that were promised.. and 1946!?! Read up, then come back and argue...if you fancy.

[@HenriHattar]

A Little bit MORE trivia, is the US production capacity had been so good The Philippines would not have fallen! The had PLENTY of notice and calls to send !

[@sydneygardener540]

I am not much of a war Historian! But I can tell you Monash is well respected here in Australia. When he came back from the Great War he was placed in charge of helping the soldiers integrate back into society with jobs created by him. Australian soldiers greatly respected him. However in higher society he was shunned, simply because he was a Jew and denied any job for a man of his standing. When he died (there is film footage) he was given a state funeral and Australian soldier far and wide attended and marched/ held the corridor that the funeral cart went through. The largest state funeral for anyone here before or since.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

Sydney, don’t apologise for not being military historian, almost all Aussies on this forum aren’t either.

[@raymondhorvath2406]

If he doesn't get a lot of recognition or do the ANZACs most of our achievements are put down as British accomplishments.

[@baabaabaa-yp2jh]

Youre a student of modern military history, yet you'd never heard of Monash!?! By now you'd know he modernised mechanical warfare.. Even after Hamel Ludendorffs Black Day of the German Army (Aug 8) this was mainly down the Monash and his meticulous planning..he saved an immense amount of lives. Pershing had definitely heard of him and the Australians, he wanted his men (US) blooded with the AIF..night raids, day raids (stunts). If you read into this, you'll find it got a lot of British noses out of joint, wanting to be taught Australian tactics. I suggest reading CEW Beans History of Australia in the Great War... How a military history shd be written (and a lot now are).. Only 5% of the Allied forces took 20% of ground, 20% of Prisoners, broke morale of the enemy in 'quiet' sectors.... It cost our country so much, yet you hardly ever hear about Australia and New Zealand. Ever wonder why all our 'war songs' are anti war? Read up and find out.

[@richardwilloughby1535]

John Monash 1st General knighted in the field by a British King for 300 years.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

This is a bit of lark, a bloke by the name of Barney Hines who was a merchant seaman from Liverpool as war broke out and jumped ship in Australia and joined the Australian Army. Barney was so full on that he should have won half a dozen VC's but because of his appalling behaviour off the battlefield that was never going to be the case. He was all too often fined and or jailed, so he would grab two hessian bags full of grenades and a knife and cross no man's land on his own hop into the German front line enter bunkers full of Germans to cause utter fucking havoc to steal German souvenirs to sell to pay his fines off. On one occasion under heavy fire machine guns and small arms fire in battle, with his mates pinned down, he single-handedly made his way forward to the concrete machine-gun bunker and did a jig on top of the bunker yelling, come out you bastards and proceeded to take the bunker killing multiple Germans. Barney was a man that all of the Australians were terrified of as you might imagine let alone the Germans. Barney settled in Sydney after the war and became the weird scary guy that lived up the street terrifying t local kids.

[@artistjoh]

It is sad that it is the incompetent British generals who are most remembered, mostly because of their disastrous results in deaths of their own men, while a truly great general like Monash is largely forgotten.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

That is nonsense. The British had great generals and not so great generals. In all wars there are good and bad and Australia had its share, Blamey, and Gordon Bennet are but two in question. This goes for German generals, French and American generals and Japanese generals. Spread you understanding of the subject instead of just blurting out what you have heard.

[@raymondhorvath2406]

Most of the Aussie Victorians were not credited to us the British took the credit. Monash was brilliant

[@billmago7991]

Monash's. bigest critic ,raising the fact he was of German jewish decent and the whole reason australian PM Billy Hughes visited the battle field was none other than Keith Murdoch, Rupets father..get the picture? After the war Monash set up the victorian electricity grid, when he died over 300,000 lined the streets of melbourne australia to pay their respects..,. His headstone simply reads John Monash.....he is one our $100 note..a great Australian🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@ant13665]

australians have fought in every war since the start of the 20th century as allies of the us. often to our detriment. this includes korea, vietnam, alghanistan, iraq.

[@stephencollins1568]

Good presentation. Thanks for that. If you are interested in finding out more about Monash and the Battle of Hamel, "The History Guy" on You Tube has a great 14 minute vid entitled: "John Monash, The Australian Corps and WW1" which goes into more detail about both the Battle and the man. Better still, is a book named: "The Heroes of Hamel" (published 2018) which devotes several Chapters to the involvement of the Americans in the Battle and the degree of coordination of available military resources. Keep up trhe good work.

[@paulp1450]

Lest we forget.

[@evanevans1843]

Monash was regarded by Rommel as the best General of WWI.

[@Smackedup100]

Monash - the greatest Australian the country has ever had.

[@HenriHattar]

More Trivia. Although they only made up 10% of the forces The Australians took 25% of all land, inflicted 25% of ALL caualities on the Germans in WW1.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

With respect that is bollocks! You simply did not have enough men to take on 2 million Germans. Check how many Germans died at Verdun and in the Eastern front.

[@stirlingmoss4621]

by the time that the USA came in to the war, the European Powers had fought each other almost to a standstill and would have been obliged to settle on realistic terms any peace deal. What you, Halestone, must consider, is what changed Pres. Wilson's mind re: staying out of the war. Had the USA not intervened, some say that Germany would nt have had such crippling reparations leveied against it and that Hitler would not have had a platform on which to stand against the German debt crisis and hence, no WW2.

[@jordanwhisson5407]

Perhaps Hitler might not have come to power but fair point

[@anthonyeaton5153]

That is patently wrong. Germany was on its knees both militarily and economically. By the time Saint Monash worked his miracle the Germans were actively calling up 16 year old boys they were that short of manpower. You never factor in the the Royal Navy had been strangling Germany from the start and the Americans did not do anything that materially brought an to end the war. It was their potential that scared the Germans.

[@Mav_F]

It was the first battle for the Americans but unfortunately, they got a few Australians killed including some with Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), VC etc, because of their inability to fight a war this way. I guess they were too gun-hoe and going too fast and getting bombed etc. They weren't allowed to fight in that battle some of them did anyway because the US didn't want their soldiers fighting in a battle with a first-time Australian battle plan under an Australian.

[@petefluffy7420]

Millions of quintals eh? what the stuff is a quintal ?

[@grantoneill7365]

Mate a known fact American said if we need a general to lead us we want Monash !! The poms we’re not happy with this! US had there own generals but learn from him

[@anthonyeaton5153]

Shows us the proof of your fact!

[@anthonyeaton5153]

So that was Rommel who said that and now it the Americans who said it. You will believe anything just so long as it praises Australia.

[@julesmarwell8023]

as long as us Anglos stick together She'lll be right mate

[@tantawan6]

Monash was a genius, imagine how things would have been had he not been a German-Jewish son of a migrant

[@anthonyeaton5153]

What difference would that have made his allegiance was to Australia like many other people who moved there.

[@davidtapp3950]

What happened to Field Marshall Sir John Monash?

[@gerardbryant4840]

Short version: When he returned to Australia, he was shunned by both the regular army, and the State Government of Victoria, because of his German jewish background. Many people wanted him to be the commander of the army, or the Governor General of Australia. He was given the post of head of the Victorian Electricity Commission, and built it up, and turned it into a profitable organisation. He made a lot of donations to the university he graduated from, and died in 1931(?). His funeral was one of the biggest events attended in Melbourne, up until that time. Neither Monash, or Chavel were ever promoted to the rank of Field Marshalls.

[@anthonyeaton5153]

@@gerardbryant4840 that shows the pure nastiness of the Aussie character.

[@blueycarlton]

​@@gerardbryant4840 The Victorian State Government put him in charge of developing the brown coal deposits and using them to generate electricity, ie The State Electricity Commission. Monash visited Germany who already had a brown coal to electricity industry. He instigated the building of The Shrine in Melbourne as a permament memorial to his fellow soldiers. Hardly shunned in Victoria. Monash Freeway, Monash University, Monash City Council area. He was given the largest State Funeral attended by 300,000 people.

[@westaussie965]

Geez, that was annoying! 1:59 I hate when people put on an accent to say foreign names! They certainly don’t do it when pronouncing our place names🤷🏼‍♀️

[@robertthomson1587]

John Monash is the last general to have been knighted on the battlefield.

[@henrypulleine8750]

No he wasn't. To give but one example, Miles Dempsey was knighted on the field in 1944 by King George VI.

[@robertthomson1587]

@@henrypulleine8750 Had Dempsey reached the rank of general at that point?

[@henrypulleine8750]

@@robertthomson1587 Yes, he was a Lieutenant General (same as Monash) commanding British Second Army at the time. I have found at least one other example from the Great War. Maj-Gen Robert Fanshawe was knighted in the field by George V in summer of 1917. There is a photo of the event freely available on the IWM website. I am sure that there were others.

[@robertthomson1587]

Very interesting. Thank you for the clarification.

[@gtpumps]

Strange there is basically nothing about the battle of Hamel? You need to learn about the ANZACS.

[@HorrorcoreXLGaming]

🇦🇺

[@keithmcwilliams7424]

Jewish general.😊