Leslie Morshead

Lieutenant General Sir Leslie James Morshead, (18 September 1889 – 26 September 1959) was an Australian soldier, teacher, businessman, and farmer, whose military career spanned both world wars. During the Second World War, he led the Australian and British troops at the Siege of Tobruk (1941) and at the Second Battle of El Alamein, achieving decisive victories over Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. His soldiers nicknamed him "Ming the Merciless", later simply "Ming", after the villain in the Flash Gordon comics (Morshead had a habit of squinting and stroking his chin when in deep thought, much like how Ming the Merciless was portrayed when describing evil plans).

When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Morshead resigned his teaching position and his commission in the Cadet Corps to travel to Sydney and enlist as a private in the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in September. He landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, and his battalion made the farthest advance of any Australian unit that day. Invalided to Australia, he became commander of the 33rd Infantry Battalion, which he led on the Western Front at Messines, Passchendaele, Villers-Bretonneux, and Amiens.

Between the wars Morshead made a successful business career with the Orient Steam Navigation Company, and remained active in the part-time Militia, commanding battalions and brigades. In 1939, he was appointed to command the 18th Infantry Brigade of the 6th Division in the Second Australian Imperial Force. In 1941, he became commander of the 9th Division, which he led in the Siege of Tobruk and the Second Battle of El Alamein. He returned to Australia in 1943, where he was appointed to command II Corps, which he led during the New Guinea campaign. In 1945, he commanded I Corps in the Borneo campaign.

Early life

Morshead was born on 18 September 1889 in Ballarat, Victoria, the sixth of seven children of William Morshead, a gold miner who had emigrated from Cornwall, England via Canada, and his wife Mary Eliza Morshead, formerly Rennison, the Australian-born daughter of a fellow Cornish immigrant. William died when Morshead was six years old. He was educated at Mount Pleasant High School, where he was appointed a junior teacher in 1906.

In 1909, he became a student at the Melbourne Teachers' Training College to obtain formal teaching qualifications. After his graduation in December 1910, he was awarded a scholarship to complete an education diploma at the University of Melbourne, but decided to defer for a year in order to teach at schools in country Victoria. He became a schoolteacher, teaching first at Tragowell in the Swan Hill district, and then at Fine View State School in the Horsham district. In 1911 he entered Trinity College at the University of Melbourne. After failing an exam in deductive logic, he decided to quit the state school system, and in 1912 took up a position at The Armidale School in the New England district of New South Wales. In 1914 he moved to the prestigious Melbourne Grammar School.

Morshead had been commissioned as a lieutenant in the Australian Army Cadets in 1908. At Armidale, he was appointed commander of the school cadet unit, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Militia on 10 February 1913. He was promoted to captain in September. At Melbourne Grammar he commanded a company in that school's much larger cadet unit. While at Melbourne Grammar, he met Myrtle Catherine Woodside, the daughter of a Happy Valley, Victoria, grazier, and the sister of one of Morshead's pupils.

First World War

Gallipoli

Morshead's teaching career was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. He resigned both his teaching position and his commission in the Cadet Corps and travelled up to Sydney 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 teaching 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 Suffolk on 18 October 1914. While his battalion was in training there, he was promoted to captain on 8 January 1915.

thumb|right|Morshead (right) at Lone Pine after the [[Battle of Lone Pine]]

The 2nd Infantry Battalion landed at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915. Morshead's platoon transferred from the transport Derfflinger to the destroyer , which took it to within of the shore. They then transferred to wooden boats which were towed to the shore, arriving at around 09:30. The battalion made the farthest advance of any Australian unit that day, reaching the slopes of Baby 700, but was driven back by a Turkish counter-attack in the afternoon. It beat off further counter-attacks over the next three days. Morshead assumed command of C Company on 28 April. The battalion defeated major Turkish attacks on its position on 18 May and 8 June.

Promoted to major on 8 June, Morshead distinguished himself in the Battle of Lone Pine on 6 August. So intense was the fighting that of the 22 officers in the battalion, Morshead was the only one who did not become a casualty. However, on 16 September, like many others, he succumbed to dysentery and paratyphoid fever. He was evacuated to the 3rd General Hospital on Lemnos, and then to England on the hospital ship Aquitania, where he was admitted to the 3rd London General Hospital in Wandsworth, England. For his services in the Gallipoli campaign, he was mentioned in despatches.

Western Front

thumb|left|Morshead as a lieutenant colonel in the AIF.

Morshead returned to Australia on 22 January 1916 where he was treated at the 4th General Hospital at Randwick, New South Wales. After he recovered, he was posted to the 33rd Infantry Battalion, which was being raised in Armidale as part of the 3rd Division. He became its commander on 16 April, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel three days later. He embarked for England again with his battalion on 4 May 1916.

The 33rd Infantry Battalion trained at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain in England until November 1916, when it embarked at Southampton for France. and awarded the Distinguished Service Order. His citation, written by his division commander, Major General John Monash, read:

Official historian Charles Bean described Morshead as:

Morshead subsequently led the 33rd Infantry Battalion through the Battle of Messines in June 1917, and the disastrous Battle of Passchendaele in October, where the 3rd Division suffered heavy losses. In March 1918, the 3rd Division was sent to the Somme sector to help halt the German Spring Offensive. The 9th Infantry Brigade, of which the 33rd Infantry Battalion was a part, was detached from the 3rd Division and sent to Villers-Bretonneux. On 30 March, the 9th Infantry Brigade's commander, Brigadier General Charles Rosenthal, ordered Morshead to restore the front around Aubercourt. With the aid of the British 12th Lancers, the battalion was able to restore the line, although it was unable to advance as far as Rosenthal hoped. The 33rd Infantry Battalion was then relieved, and withdrawn to Villers-Bretonneux to rest. However, on 4 April, Morshead was astonished to find that the line had again been broken and Villers-Bretonneux threatened. In the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, the battalion participated in halting the advance, and prevented the Germans from capturing the town. On 18 April, the 33rd Infantry Battalion was still in the town when it was heavily shelled with poison gas. Many men, including Morshead, became mustard gas casualties. He did not return to his unit until June.

Morshead again led the 33rd Infantry Battalion in the Battle of Amiens. For the fighting in August 1918, he was awarded the French Légion d'honneur in the grade of Chevalier. His citation, written by his new division commander, Major General John Gellibrand, read:

For his service on the Western Front, Morshead was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in December 1919, and was mentioned in despatches three more times.

Between the wars

Morshead returned to Australia in November 1919 and his AIF appointment was terminated in March 1920. He considered applying for a regular army commission, but found that these were reserved for graduates of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. He tried farming, accepting a soldier settlement block of near Quilpie, Queensland, but this venture was a failure, and he returned to Melbourne, where he married Myrtle at Scots Church, on 17 November 1921. They had a daughter, Elizabeth in 1923. 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 Darwin. 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 General Erwin Rommel, and occupying the vital port of Tobruk. 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 up to four brigades, with British artillery and tank units brought up to provide support.

thumb|left|Australian troops occupy a front line position at Tobruk

General Sir Archibald Wavell instructed Morshead to hold the fortress for two months while the rest of Wavell's 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 tactics was conducting 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."

Aggressive use of snipers, artillery and counter-attacks achieved surprise at crucial junctures, and kept Rommel's forces off balance. 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. The troops were backed up by well-sited artillery and mobile reserves. 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. Axis propagandists described Morshead as "Ali Baba Morshead and his 20,000 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. Morshead's men referred to him humorously as "Ming the Merciless", and later simply as "Ming", after the villain in Flash Gordon comics.

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. This account is contradicted, in terms of the commander's views, in the documentary Narrow Escapes of World War II (2012) "Morshead Holds Tobruk" with a statement that Morshead objected to the withdrawal. This information is recorded here merely to advise that a contrary account exists in the only documentary account. The documentary also adds important information on this stage of the siege. A description, with footage, is given of the extraordinary replacement operation which was undertaken entirely by sea over many nights, and was completed without the Axis becoming aware of it; according to the documentary. 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 a rare defeat for German armoured forces at this stage of the war. For his part in the battle, Morshead was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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.

El Alamein

right|thumb|Morshead (centre) with [[Winston Churchill (left) and General Claude Auchinleck (right) in August 1942]]

The outbreak of war with Japan in December 1941, and the imminent threat of invasion saw the 6th and 7th Divisions transferred to the Far East in early 1942. In March, Morshead was given command of all Australian forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and was promoted to lieutenant general, while still remaining commander of the 9th Division. and in November 1942 he was also created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.

New Guinea Campaign

left|thumb|Morshead (at right) with other senior Australian officers in the [[Ramu Valley, New Guinea in 1943]]

After El Alamein, Morshead and the 9th Division were recalled to the South West Pacific Area (SWPA). Morshead arrived in Fremantle on 19 February 1943 where he was welcomed home by Lieutenant General Gordon Bennett, who had been his divisional commander in Sydney 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 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 of which were undergoing jungle warfare 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. Morshead's chief of staff at II Corps was Brigadier Henry Wells, who had been his chief of staff at El Alamein.

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 counter-attack. Morshead demanded and got critical reinforcements, including Matilda tanks of the 1st Tank Battalion. The Japanese counter-attack was crushed. 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.

Adjusting to jungle warfare was a challenge for both Morshead and his men. Gavin Long recalled that

On 7 November 1943, Morshead became acting commander of New Guinea Force and Second Army on Mackay's departure to become the Australian High Commissioner to India. This became permanent on 20 January 1944. Major General Frank Berryman became commander of II Corps. Because of some sensitivities concerning the relative seniority of Berryman and Major General George Alan Vasey, Blamey placed Vasey's 7th Division directly under Morshead's command. Vasey soon chafed under Morshead's command, feeling that "he has too many favourites both individually and collectively", with men who had served at El Alamein receiving preferential treatment. Morshead was in overall charge of the forces in New Guinea in the battles of Sattelberg, Jivevaneng, Sio and Shaggy Ridge. His perseverance was rewarded with the capture of Madang in April 1944.

Borneo campaign

thumb|right|upright|Lieutenant General Morshead with General Douglas MacArthur on [[Labuan Territory|Labuan in June 1945]]

Morshead handed over command of New Guinea Force to Lieutenant General Stanley Savige on 6 May 1944, and returned to Australia, where he remained the commander of the Second Army. Despite the fact that Morshead had been in command in an active area, some critics of the government picked up on the public announcement in November that Morshead would command Second Army, and charged that he had been "shelved". On the contrary, Blamey had recommended to Curtin that Morshead should succeed him as commander-in-chief in the event that he became incapacitated. However, dealing with the politicians held little appeal for Morshead, and while he was pleased at the recognition, hoped that this would not occur.

In the event, 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. The staff was that of Morshead's former II Corps, as the I and II Corps headquarters had exchanged names. In February 1945, Morshead received word that his objective would be Borneo. General Douglas MacArthur placed I Corps under his direct command for the operation. Morshead had to make a series of landings at Tarakan, North Borneo and Balikpapan 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, the proposed invasion of Honshu, the main island of Japan, 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.

Postwar life

thumb|left|Morshead Home, with [[HMAS Barcoo (K375)|Barcoo anchor, 25-pounder gun and DC-3 propeller, representing the three arms of the Australian Defence Force]]

After the war Morshead returned to civilian life, becoming the Orient Steam Navigation Company's Australian general manager on 31 December 1947. He continued to receive honours for his military service, including a further mention in despatches in 1947 and the American Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm. He was president of the Bank of New South Wales, the chairman of David Jones, and director of several companies. From 1950 Morshead headed 'The Association', a secret organization similar to the New Guard movement with which he had been involved in the mid-1920s, and which was prepared to oppose communist attempts at subversion. It was quietly disbanded in 1952. 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 the Departments of Army, Navy and Air. This reform was finally carried out by the Whitlam government in 1975.

Morshead died of cancer on 26 September 1959 at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. He was given a military funeral at which former soldiers of the 9th Division paid their respects, after which his body was cremated. He was survived by his wife and daughter. as are his wartime papers.

A memorial fountain to Morshead stands opposite the State Library of New South Wales, at the entrance to Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, designed by Robert Woodward, who also designed the El Alamein Fountain in Kings Cross.