George Alan Vasey

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George Alan Vasey
29 March 1895 – 5 March 1945

Portrait of Major General George Vasey by A. M. E. Bale
Nickname Bloody George
Place of birth Malvern East, Victoria
Place of death near Cairns, Queensland
Allegiance Australia
Service/branch Australian Army
Years of service 1913-1945
Rank Major General
Commands held Australian 19th Infantry Brigade
Australian 6th Division
Australian 7th Division
Battles/wars World War I:

World War II:
Awards Companion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order & Bar
Mention in Despatches (3)
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
War Cross (Greece)

Major General George Alan Vasey CB, CBE, DSO and Bar (29 March 1895–5 March 1945) was an Australian soldier. He rose to the rank of Major General during World War II, before being killed in a plane crash.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Vasey, known as Alan to his family,[1] was born in Malvern East, Victoria on 29 March 1895, the third of six children of George Brinsden Vasey, a barister and solicitor, and his wife Alice Isabel, née McCutcheon.[2]

He was educated at Camberwell Grammar School and Wesley College, Melbourne, where his schoolmates included Robert Menzies and Edward James Milford. At Wesley, Vasey served in the Australian Army Cadets, in which he became a Second Lieutenant.[3]

In 1913, he entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra, Australia. Of 33 members of his class, in which Vasey graduated tenth, nine died in the Great War. Six later became generals: Leslie Ellis Beavis, Frank Horton Berryman, William Bridgeford, John Austin Chapman, Edward James Milford and George Vasey. The war caused his class to be graduated early, in June 1915.[4]

[edit] World War I

Vasey was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Permanent Military Forces (regular army), and joined the First AIF. He was posted to the 2nd Division Artillery, and sailed for Egypt in December 1915. The 2nd Division moved to France in March 1916, where Vasey was promoted to Captain in August, and given command of the 13th Field Battery in November.[5]

In February 1917 Vasey was posted to Brigadier General James Cannan's 11th Infantry Brigade as a trainee staff captain. This brigade, part of Major General John Monash's 3rd Division, was involved in heavy fighting at Messines and Third Ypres.[6]

Vasey became Brigade Major of the 11th Infantry Brigade in August 1917,[7] General Cannan having formed a high opinion of him. He was promoted to Major in September 1917. In July 1918 he was assigned to 3rd Division Headquarters as a staff officer (GSO3) but this appointment was brief; his successor at the 11th Infantry Brigade was wounded and Vasey returned to his former post. As such, he participated in the defence of Amiens, the Battle of Amiens in August 1918 and the attack on the Hindenburg Line in September.[8] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order[9] and was twice Mentioned in Despatches. He served for a time as GSO2 of the 3rd Division before embarking for Australia on 14 September 1919.[10]

[edit] Between the wars

Vasey returned to the to PMF, in which he held the substantive rank of Lieutenant and the honorary rank of Major, by November 1934 his substative rank was that of Captain and he had a brevet Majority, and the local rank of Major,[11] but he was not promoted to the substantive rank of Major until 1 March 1935.[12] He became so discouraged at his prospects with the Army that, studying at night, he qualified as an accountant.[13]

He married Jessie Mary Halbert at St Matthew's Church of England, Glenroy, Victoria on 17 May 1921. They bought a house in Kew, Victoria with a War Service Loan.[14]

Between the wars, Vasey held a series of staff postings in Australia and India. He attended the Staff College at Quetta, India, from 1928 to 1929.[15] In October 1934 he was appointed as a Brigade Major once more.[16] Following a brief stint as a GSO2 on the headquarters of the 1st Indian Division, his final posting in India was again as a Brigade Major,[17] from April 1936 to March 1937.[18]

Vasey was finally promoted to brevet Lieutenant Colonel on 12 May 1937, after nearly 20 years as a Major, although he was only promoted to the substantive rank on 2 November 1939.[19] This fostered a sense of injustice and frustration among regular officers, who found themselves outranked by CMF officers who enjoyed faster promotion.[20]

[edit] World War II

Women friends and family on the wharf waving farewell to the departing troop transport ship RMS Strathallan carrying the Advance Party of the 6th Division AIF to service overseas. They include: Vasey's wife Jessie (second from the left), her sisters Thelma Halbert (left) and Doris Sleigh (second from right), and Vasey's sister Marjorie (right).
Women friends and family on the wharf waving farewell to the departing troop transport ship RMS Strathallan carrying the Advance Party of the 6th Division AIF to service overseas. They include: Vasey's wife Jessie (second from the left), her sisters Thelma Halbert (left) and Doris Sleigh (second from right), and Vasey's sister Marjorie (right).
Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Blamey talking with Jessie Vasey, Lieutenant Colonel George Vasey and Lieutenant Colonel J. A. Chapman on board the troop transport Strathallan during embarkation of the Advance Party 6th Division AIF for service overseas.
Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Blamey talking with Jessie Vasey, Lieutenant Colonel George Vasey and Lieutenant Colonel J. A. Chapman on board the troop transport Strathallan during embarkation of the Advance Party 6th Division AIF for service overseas.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Blamey appointed Vasey to the 6th Division as his Assistant Adjutant General and Quartermaster General (AA&QMG).[21] As such, he was the senior logistics staff officer of the division. Vasey embarked for Palestine as commander of the advance party of the division in December 1939.[22]

Gavin Long noted that Vasey was "highly strung, thrustful, hard working... concealed a deeply emotional even sentimental nature behind a mask of laconic and blunt speech. Although he was appointed to head the administrative staff there burned within him a desire to lead Australian troops as a commander." [23] Nonetheless. Vasey remained AA&QMG during the Battle of Bardia.[24] Following the capture of Tobruk in January 1941, he replaced Berryman as GSO1.[25]

In March 1941, Vasey was promoted to temporary Brigadier and took command of the 6th Division's 19th Infantry Brigade following the departure of Horace Robertson to Australia on medical grounds.[26] He led it in Greece, suffering a defeat at the Battle of Vevi. The 19th Infantry Brigade was evacuated to Crete, where his brigade in the Battle of Crete.[27] Vasey was commended for his work in Crete and was among the last to be evacuated from there, but some 3,000 Australians were taken prisoner.[28] Although it was a bitter defeat, Vasey's performance was considered outstanding; he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE),[29] and awarded a Bar to his DSO,[30] and later the Greek War Cross.

Vasey returned to Australia in December 1941 to become chief of staff of Home Forces, with the rank of Major General, which became substantive on 1 September 1942. At age 46, this made him the youngest general in the Australian Army for a time.[31] His new command had the role of training and organising the Army in Australia, a task which became urgent with the entry of Japan into the war. In March 1942, Vasey, along with Major General Edmund Herring and Brigadier Clive Steele, approached Army Minister Frank Forde with a proposal that all officers over the age of 50 be immediately retired and Major General Horace Robertson appointed Commander in Chief. The "revolt of the generals" collapsed with the welcome news that Blamey was returning from the Middle East to become Commander in Chief.[32]

In the reorganisation that followed his return, Blamey appointed Vasey as Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS).[33] The two men worked closely, with Vasey conveying Blamey's orders to commanders in the field.[34] With the establishment of Advanced Land Headquarters (Landops) at St Lucia, Queensland, Vasey became the principal operational staff officer there.[35]

In September 1942, Blamey decided to send the 6th Division to Papua to help stem the Japanese advance. Blamey visited Lieutenant General Sidney Rowell, commander of I Corps, in Port Moresby and asked him who he would prefer to command the division. Rowell selected Vasey, so Vasey became commander of the 6th Division, and was replaced as DCGS by Major General Frank Berryman.[36] Blamey relieved first Rowell, replacing him with Herring,[37] and then Major General Arthur "Tubby" Allen of the 7th Division, which was fighting along the Kokoda Trail. On 27 October, Vasey flew up to Myola to relieve Allen.[38]

Buna, New Guinea, 7 January 1943. Men of the 7th Division and 2/6th Armoured Regiment attack Japanese pillboxes around Buna.
Buna, New Guinea, 7 January 1943. Men of the 7th Division and 2/6th Armoured Regiment attack Japanese pillboxes around Buna.

Under Vasey's command, the 7th Division recaptured Kokoda on 2 November.[39] It pushed on towards the north coast of Papua, only to be stopped by the Japanese short of their ultimate objective.[40] The division was forced to fight a bloody battle around Buna, and, together with American troops under Lieutenant General Robert L. Eichelberger, ultimately defeated the Japanese and captured Gona.[41]

After the campaign, the 7th Division returned to Australia. The men went on leave before reassembling for training on the Atherton Tableland. Vasey went on leave in Melbourne but wound up being admitted to the Heidelberg Military Hospital for treatment for Malaria.[42]

By July 1943, the 7th Division was on its way back to Port Moresby. Vasey flew up to work out arrangements with Herring and the air commander in New Guinea, Major General Ennis Clement Whitehead of the US Fifth Air Force.[43]

Nadzab, New Guinea, 5 September 1943. Paratroops of the US 503rd Parachute Infantry seize the airstrip at Nadzab, allowing the 7th Division to fly in. General Vasey was in the plane from which the photograph was taken.
Nadzab, New Guinea, 5 September 1943. Paratroops of the US 503rd Parachute Infantry seize the airstrip at Nadzab, allowing the 7th Division to fly in. General Vasey was in the plane from which the photograph was taken.

The new campaign opened in spectacular fashion on 5 September 1943 with a parachute drop of the US 503rd Parachute Infantry in broad daylight to seize the airstrip at Nadzab in the Markham Valley. They were soon reinforced by Australian and Papuan troops that had advanced overland from Wau, and then by the 7th Division's 25th Infantry Brigade, which flew in by air.[44]

The 25th Infantry Brigade advanced down the Markham Valley and entered Lae on 16 September.[45] The division then advanced up the Markham Valley and down the Ramu Valley. A series of brilliant operations followed. First, commandos of the 2/6th Independent Company seized Kaiapit in the Battle of Kaiapit on 19 September. Vasey flew there on 21 September in a Piper Cub, followed by his 21st Infantry Brigade, under Brigadier Ivan Noel Dougherty.[46] The 21st Infantry Brigade advanced on Gusap and then Dumpu, where Vasey established his headquarters on 10 October. Finally, it pushed on into the Finisterre Range, where it was halted by logistical difficulties.[47] In the Finisterre Range campaign, the 7th Division captured Shaggy Ridge and advanced across the mountains towards Madang.[48]

Dumpu, New Guinea, 1 October 1944. Vasey (third from left) inspects the newly-completed airstrip along with Lieutenant Generals Herring (left) and Morshead (right) and Lieutenat Colonel J. A. Bishop of the 2/27th Infantry Battalion.
Dumpu, New Guinea, 1 October 1944. Vasey (third from left) inspects the newly-completed airstrip along with Lieutenant Generals Herring (left) and Morshead (right) and Lieutenat Colonel J. A. Bishop of the 2/27th Infantry Battalion.

Despite his achievements, Vasey was twice passed over for promotion. In November 1943, the announcement of the appointment of Lieutenant General Iven Mackay as High Commissioner to India, and the subsequent elevation of Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead to command New Guinea Force and Second Army, created a vacancy at II Corps, which was filled by Lieutenant General Frank Berryman.[49] Then in February 1944, the appointment of Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Herring as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, led to a vacancy at I Corps, for which General Blamey nominated both Vasey and Major General Stanley Savige, but recommended the latter.[50] Army Minister Frank Forde queried Blamey's recommendation, which was very unusual, and asked who was the senior officer. On being informed that Savige was senior to Vasey — although not as senior as Arthur "Tubby" Allen or James Cannan— he dropped his objection.[51] General Douglas MacArthur considered Vasey's supersession "outrageous".[52]

Yet Blamey had not lost faith in Vasey. Asked at a social function about his opinion of Vasey, Blamey called out to him across the room. "There, ladies and gentlemen," Blamey declared, "is my ideal fighting commander."[53]

Vasey chats with three of his men. Vasey's concern for and rapport with his men was a key factor in his success as a general.
Vasey chats with three of his men. Vasey's concern for and rapport with his men was a key factor in his success as a general.

Blamey had reason to be concerned about Vasey's health. Vasey was drinking heavily,[54] and was hospitalized in New Guinea in February 1944 with a skin condition,[55] and in Australia in March 1944 with a respiratory tract infection.[56] In June 1944, he became seriously ill with malaria and acute Peripheral neuropathy, and for a time was not expected to live. 7th Division soldiers in the hospital constantly asked the nursing staff about his progress.[57] The men called him 'Bloody George', not after his casualties, but after his favourite adjective, and Vasey's personable style of command attracted immense loyalty from his men. "Vasey owns the 7th," wrote a Melbourne jounalist, "but every man in the division believes he owns Vasey."[58] He was again Mentioned in Despatches on 21 July 1944.[59]

Generals Simpson, Blamey, and Morshead pay their respects at the military funeral service for Generals Vasey and Downes in Cairns. A public memorial service was also held in Melbourne.
Generals Simpson, Blamey, and Morshead pay their respects at the military funeral service for Generals Vasey and Downes in Cairns. A public memorial service was also held in Melbourne.

Vasey slowly recovered and in February 1945, Frank Forde pressed for Vasey to be given another active command.[60] Blamey appointed him to command the 6th Division, then in action in the Aitape-Wewak campaign. Vasey flew north to take up his new command.

His aircraft, RAAF Lockheed Hudson A16-118 (VMZI-FM), took off from RAAF Station Archerfield on the afternoon of 5 March 1945. Due to a cyclone that was ravaging the Queensland coast at the time, the aircraft crashed into the sea about 400 metres out from Machan's Beach, just north of the mouth of the Barron River, 2 km short of the Cairns Airport.

Vasey was killed in the crash along with all those on board. He became the fourth most senior Australian officer to die in World War II, after General Sir Cyril Brudenell White, Lieutenant General Henry Douglas Wynter, and Major General Rupert Downes (who died in the same plane crash as Vasey). [61] Vasey's body was recovered from the crash site and was buried with full military honours in Cairns cemetery along with Downes and Lieutenant Colonel G. A. Bertram. Generals Blamey and Morshead were chief mourners. For pall bearers, Vasey had Major Generals Milford and Wootten and Brigadiers Chilton, Dougherty, Eather, O'Brien, Wells and Whitehead.[62]

The Mulgrave Shire Council (Cairns) named the esplanade at Trinity Beach "Vasey Esplanade" in his honour and erected a plaque on a brick memorial wall to commemorate all eleven service personnel lost in the crash.

[edit] Legacy

Vasey's concern for his men outlived him. Jessie would go on to found the War Widow's Guild, serving as its president until her death in 1966. Thus, "the legacy of George Vasey's war was a more compassionate Australian society."[63]

As a military commander, Vasey demonstrated beyond all doubt that a regular officer could be an "ideal fighting commander" and not just a competent staff officer. Vasey hastened the post-war transition of the Australian Army to a professional force dominated by regular soldiers. Although his reputation has faded away with time, the Australian Army's benchmark for the fighting commander remains where he left it.

Today, Vasey's papers are in the National Library of Australia. His decorations are in the Australian War Memorial. A final Mention in Despatches was published three days after his death.[64]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 8
  2. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 4
  3. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 8-9
  4. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 9-10
  5. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 10-13
  6. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 10-18
  7. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30325, page 10351, 5 October 1917. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  8. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 15-19
  9. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30716, pages 6457–6461, 31 May 1918. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  10. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 19-20
  11. ^ London Gazette: no. 34101, page 6985, 2 November 1934. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  12. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 29
  13. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 22-23
  14. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 23
  15. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 23
  16. ^ London Gazette: no. 34112, page 7929, 7 December 1934. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  17. ^ London Gazette: no. 34291, pages 3593–3594, 5 June 1936. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  18. ^ London Gazette: no. 34391, page 2632, 5 June 1936. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  19. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 32
  20. ^ Long, To Benghazi, p. 45
  21. ^ Long, To Benghazi, p. 50
  22. ^ Long, To Benghazi, p. 68
  23. ^ Long, To Benghazi, p. 50
  24. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 79-81
  25. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 81
  26. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 87-88
  27. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 90-131
  28. ^ Long, Greece, Crete and Syria, p. 316
  29. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35120, pages 1865–1866, 28 March 1941. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  30. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35333, page 6357, 31 October 1941. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  31. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 163
  32. ^ Horner, Crisis of Command, pp. 57-58
  33. ^ Horner, Crisis of Command, p. 299
  34. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 172-175
  35. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 175-176
  36. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 190
  37. ^ Horner, Crisis of Command, pp. 181-188
  38. ^ Horner, Crisis of Command, pp. 203-204
  39. ^ McCarthy, South West Pacific Area - First Year, pp. 314-315
  40. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 218-219
  41. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 235-237
  42. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 239
  43. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 258-259
  44. ^ Dexter, The New Guinea Offensives, pp. 344-346
  45. ^ Dexter, The New Guinea Offensives, pp. 380-392
  46. ^ Dexter, The New Guinea Offensives, pp. 414-425
  47. ^ Dexter, The New Guinea Offensives, pp. 426-443
  48. ^ Dexter, The New Guinea Offensives, pp. 689-712
  49. ^ Dexter, The New Guinea Offensives, pp. 594-595
  50. ^ Dexter, The New Guinea Offensives, p. 780
  51. ^ Keating, The Right Man for the Right Job, p. 137
  52. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 306
  53. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 308
  54. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 319
  55. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 305
  56. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 307
  57. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, pp. 310-314
  58. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 308
  59. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36615, page 3378, 18 July 1944. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  60. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 318
  61. ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission - casualty details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  62. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 323
  63. ^ Horner, General Vasey's War, p. 333
  64. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 36972, page 1305, 6 March 1945. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.

[edit] References

[edit] External links