Horace Robertson
Sir Horace Clement Hugh Robertson | |
---|---|
(1939–40) | |
Battles/wars |
|
Awards | Taegeuk Order of Military Merit (Korea) |
During the First World War, Robertson served with the
During the Second World War, Robertson led the
Following the war, he commanded the
Early life
Horace Clement Hugh Robertson was born in
In October 1911 Robertson took the entrance examination for the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and was accepted into the second intake of cadets in 1912. His class was due to be commissioned on 1 January 1916, but the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 caused it to be graduated early. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in both the Permanent Military Forces (PMF) and the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 3 November 1914.[2]
On 7 November 1914, Robertson married Jessie Bonnar in a private service at a
First World War
The 10th Light Horse was concentrated at
The 10th Light Horse was reorganised after returning to Egypt in January 1916, and Robertson assumed command of B Squadron, with the AIF rank of major from May 1916. This was as far as he could go, for Duntroon graduates could not be promoted above major in the AIF. This was the result of an AIF policy aimed at giving them a broad a range of experience, which would benefit the post-war Army, while not allowing an accumulation of young officers of high rank, for whom the reduced post-War Army would not have sufficient posts.[7] His substantive rank remained that of lieutenant; he would not be promoted to the substantive rank of captain in the PMF until 30 September 1920, and promotion to major would not come until 1 July 1932.[2] At the Battle of Magdhaba, his colonel was wounded and Robertson took over command of the 10th Light Horse.[8] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his actions during this battle.[9] His citation read:
For distinguished and gallant service in the field. He led a mounted charge and was the first officer to enter the enemy's trenches. He is an officer of exceptional organising and training powers and thoroughly deserves reward.[10]
Robertson's men took many Turkish prisoners, including a senior officer of engineers who insisted that he would only surrender his sword to the Australian officer in charge. He was disappointed to discover that it was Robertson, a youthful major, but handed it over anyway.[11]
In February 1917 Robertson was attached to the
Between the wars
On returning to Australia, Robertson became
Afterwards, Robertson went on to attend a series of shorter training courses in Britain. He attended the
Robertson was finally breveted as a lieutenant colonel in June 1936. The rank became substantive in July 1937.[2] Like other regular officers, Robertson was opposed to the "Singapore strategy", and therefore to the defence policy of the government of the day, and said so publicly in the British Army Quarterly. Robertson argued for a local defence of Australia by land and air units. The naval theorist, Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond, responding to Robertson's arguments in an editorial, pointed out that local defence would fragment the British Empire's defence effort and could not secure the sea lanes. However, in view of the weakness of the Royal Navy, Richmond was forced to concede that Robertson's approach was not unreasonable.[20]
Second World War
Libya
In March 1939, Robertson was appointed commander of the 7th Military District, which encompassed the Northern Territory. It was his first command since the First World War. He was promoted to the temporary rank of colonel in August 1939, and this became substantive in November.[2] The job involved cooperation with the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force, and the administration of a company of regular soldiers known as the Darwin Mobile Force. After the Second World War began in September 1939, Robertson became responsible for supplying the 7th Military District's quota of volunteers for the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). A strike on the waterfront saw Robertson committing troops to help unload cargo.[21]
On 4 April 1940, Robertson joined the Second AIF himself, with the rank of brigadier, and was allocated the AIF service number VX20321.[2] He was appointed to command the 19th Infantry Brigade, which was then being formed from units made surplus by the reduction of the 6th Division from 12 infantry battalions to nine. All three of its battalions, the 2/4th, 2/8th and 2/11th Infantry Battalions, were initially commanded by over-age officers, but the commander of the 2/4th was replaced by Ivan Dougherty in August. Initially, Dougherty received a cool reception from Robertson, who was disappointed at being unable to select his own battalion commanders, but Dougherty soon made such a good impression that when Robertson went on leave in October 1940 he recommended that Dougherty act as brigade commander, despite the fact that he was the youngest and most junior of Robertson's battalion chiefs.[22]
The Battle of Bardia brought to the fore the simmering hostility between regular officers and reservists. Frank Berryman, the 6th Division's General Staff Officer (Grade 1), and Alan Vasey, the Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General (DA&QMG), were eager for Robertson to do well and show that Staff Corps officers could make good commanders, and if that could be done at the expense of an old-style reservist like Stanley Savige, so much the better. They pushed for Robertson's 19th Infantry Brigade, then in reserve, to be committed when the attack by Savige's 17th Infantry Brigade slowed down. The abrupt manner in which this was done generated antipathy between Robertson and Savige.[23]
The 19th Infantry Brigade then advanced on Tobruk. The attack on this fortified town proceeded along similar lines to that on Bardia, with the
For this campaign, Robertson was made a
Defence of Australia
Around the time of the outbreak of war with Japan, many senior officers with distinguished records in the Middle East were recalled to Australia to lead militia formations and fill important staff posts. One of these was Robertson, who was recalled to take command of the
Robbie, although in Sydney, was not unaware of what was going on. The thing that really riled me was Vasey's saying that "perhaps Robbie's vices in peace would be virtues in war, to which I replied that "if meanmindedness and disloyalty could be counted as virtues at any time I might be prepared to go along with him."[34]
The "revolt of the generals" collapsed with the welcome news that Blamey was returning from the Middle East to become Commander in Chief.[33] In the reorganisation of the Army that followed, Robertson was appointed to command the 1st Armoured Division.[35] Initially, the 1st Armoured Division had a key role in the defence of Australia as a mobile reserve, but it was only partly trained and equipped, representing another major challenge to Robertson as a trainer of troops. When the prospect of an invasion of Australia became remote, the 1st Armoured Division was sent to Western Australia in January 1943, where it became part of Bennett's III Corps. The area became a backwater and the 1st Armoured Division was slowly broken up and then disbanded. To recoup some of the nation's investment in training for armoured warfare, Robertson arranged for 25 officers to be seconded to the British 7th Armoured Division in Europe.[36] Following the disbandment of the 1st Armoured Division, Robertson took over command of the 2nd Division, the other division in Western Australia, and then, upon Bennett's retirement, III Corps in April 1944. This too was disbanded in June 1944 and Robertson took over Western Command.[2]
Because the Army reached its greatest extent in 1942 and shrank in size thereafter, Blamey was faced with a limited number of senior appointments and more senior officers than he needed to fill them. He faced public and political criticism over "shelving" senior officers, including Robertson.[37] That Robertson and Bennett, two troublesome potential rivals of Blamey's, had been sent to Western Australia did not escape comment. However, it was always more likely that Robertson would be the one recalled. Nevertheless, Blamey had serious concerns about Robertson's health, after the latter was hospitalised with internal haemorrhaging in July 1944 and sent to the eastern states to convalesce.[38] While there he joined Vasey and Brigadier Bertrand Coombes, the Commandant of Duntroon, in conducting an inquiry into the future training and organisation of the Royal Military College. Their report, submitted to Blamey in January 1945, called for a number of reforms, the most significant being that the postings of regular officers should alternate between staff and regimental duties.[39]
New Guinea
In April 1945, Robertson returned to the field, replacing
Occupation of Japan
Robertson returned to Australia in March 1946 to take over Southern Command. In June he was appointed to replace Lieutenant General
The British government's principal interest in Japan was to renew pre-war trade concessions, and to secure new ones; it was particularly interested in the port city of
Korean War
By mid-1950, the BCOF was winding down. All the contingents other than the Australians had departed, and the Australians were preparing to leave. For his services as commander of the BCOF, Robertson was created a
Robertson built up what became the
Once again, the British government did not wish to entrust its interests in Japan to a foreign officer, so the
Later life
Robertson was recalled to Australia in November 1951, replacing Sir Edmund Herring as Director General of Recruiting. In January 1953, Robertson took over Southern Command again. This put him in uncomfortably close proximity to Rowell, however, and the two clashed over a number of minor issues. Robertson turned 60 on 29 October 1954, and retired the next day, after racking up 3,985 days of active service in 43 years in the Australian Army.
On 28 April 1960 he suffered a ruptured
Notes
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 3–4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Army List of Officers of the Australian Military Forces, 1950.
- ^ a b Grey 1992, pp. 4–6.
- ^ Bean 1921, p. 56.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 8–12.
- ^ Bean 1924, p. 757.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Grey 1992, p. 31.
- ^ "No. 30111". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1917. p. 5475. Distinguished Service Order
- ^ Honours and Awards – Horace Clement Hugh Robertson (PDF), Australian War Memorial, retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ Gullett 1923, p. 223.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 35–37.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 43–44.
- ^ "No. 30169". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 July 1917. p. 6773. Mentioned in Despatches
- ^ "No. 31728". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 January 1920. p. 507. Mentioned in Despatches
- ^ "No. 31736". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 January 1920. p. 700. Order of the Nile
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 54–58.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 62–63.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 69–75.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 76–79.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 83–86.
- ^ Long 1952, p. 231.
- ^ Long 1952, p. 237.
- ^ Grey 1992, p. 86.
- ^ Grey 1992, p. 92.
- ^ "No. 35209". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 July 1941. p. 3882. Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 93–96.
- ^ "No. 35611". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 June 1942. p. 2857. Mentioned in Despatches
- ^ McCarthy 1959, p. 13.
- ^ a b Horner 1978, pp. 57–58.
- ^ Grey 1992, p. 105.
- ^ Horner 1978, p. 299.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 108–113.
- ^ Long 1963, pp. 57, 70–71.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 113–115.
- ^ Long 1963, p. 75.
- ^ Long 1963, p. 265.
- ^ Long 1963, p. 384.
- ^ Long 1963, p. 559.
- ^ "No. 37898". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 March 1947. p. 1091. Mentioned in Despatches
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 126–129.
- ^ Grey 1992, p. 133.
- ^ Grey 1992, p. 134.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 148–150.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 157–158.
- ^ "No. 38929". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 1960. p. 2780. Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 179–181.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 181–183.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 184–189.
- ^ "No. 39412". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 December 1951. p. 6600. Legion of Merit
- ^ "No. 39456". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 February 1952. p. 709. Order of Military Merit Taiguk
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. 198–201.
- ^ a b Grey 2002, p. 110.
- ^ a b Grey 1992, pp. 201–201.
- ^ Grey 1992, pp. xx.
- ^ "History – 2nd Cavalry Regiment – Forces Command". Australian Army. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
References
- OCLC 7837386.
- Bean, Charles (1924). Volume II – The Story of ANZAC from 4 May 1915, to the Evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula. OCLC 7837386.
- OCLC 24502133.
- Grey, Jeffrey (2002). "Robertson, Sir Horace Clement Hugh (1894–1960)". OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- OCLC 10162745.
- OCLC 5103306.
- OCLC 3134176.
- Long, Gavin (1963). The Final Campaigns. OCLC 633626846.
- McCarthy, Dudley (1959). South-West Pacific Area – First Year. OCLC 3134247.
- The Army List of Officers of the Australian Military Forces. OCLC 220833388.