| Stuart Clarence Graham | |
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Stuart Graham, then a brigadier, while serving as Commander 1 ATF in South Vietnam, 1967. |
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| Born | 23 October 1920 Ulmarra, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 20 July 1996 (aged 75) Isle of Capri, Queensland, Australia |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1938–1977 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held | 2nd Battalion, Australian Regiment 1st Armoured Regiment 6th Task Force 1st Australian Task Force Northern Command |
| Battles/wars | Second World War Occupation of Japan Vietnam War |
| Awards | Officer of the Order of Australia Distinguished Service Order Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross |
Major General Stuart Clarence Graham AO, DSO, OBE, MC (23 October 1920 – 20 July 1996) was a senior officer in the Australian Army, seeing service during the Second World War, the Occupation of Japan and the Vietnam War. Graduating from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1940, Graham subsequently held a series of regimental and staff appointments, serving in a number of infantry and armoured units during the Second World War. In the post-war period he served in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, and held a number of staff and command positions in the Armoured Corps. In the late 1950s he was posted to Army Headquarters, and later served as Director of Military Intelligence. Commanding the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) during fighting in South Vietnam during 1967, he was responsible for establishing the controversial barrier minefield from Dat Do to the coast. Later, Graham filled a range of senior command, staff and diplomatic roles in Australia and overseas, including the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS), before retiring in 1977. He died in 1996.
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Graham was born in Ulmarra, New South Wales on 23 October 1920, and was educated at Grafton High School.[1] After joining the Australian Army in 1938 as an 18-year old cadet,[2] in August 1940 he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon (RMC) into the Armoured Corps as a regular officer in the Permanent Military Force (PMF), following the outbreak of the Second World War.[3][4] Top of his graduating class, he received the Kings Medal for his achievements.[2] Shortly after, he married Joyce Lawrence of Canberra on 20 August 1940, and the couple later had two sons—Stuart and Ray.[1][2]
Graham subsequently held a series of regimental and staff appointments, serving in a number of infantry and armoured units.[1] Transferring to the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF) on 26 July 1941,[5] he was subsequently posted to the 2/11th Armoured Car Regiment, followed by attendance at the Staff School.[2] Graham was subsequently attached to the British Army in the North Africa and Italy,[1] including service with the British 7th Armoured Division in 1943–1944.[6] During this period he gained considerable operational experience in armoured warfare.[2] Following a short period in staff positions after returning to Australia, Graham spent the remainder of the war in the South-West Pacific.[2] He went on to distinguish himself as a captain commanding an infantry company of the 24th Battalion during fighting against the Japanese during the Bougainville campaign in April 1945. Wounded during heavy fighting in difficult terrain during the Australian advance along the Buin Road,[4][7] he was subsequently awarded the Military Cross (MC) for his actions.[8] Later he served with the 2/4th Armoured Regiment, ending the war as a lieutenant colonel.[9]
Following the war, Graham served in various staff positions in New South Wales, and in 1946 he was posted to Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.[2] Later he briefly commanded the 2nd Battalion, Australian Regiment (2 AR) between 23 November 1948 and 10 January 1949.[1][10] Graham was subsequently posted as a tactics instructor to RMC during 1950–1951, and completed further training in the United Kingdom and Germany in 1952.[1] In the 1950s he was considered one of Australia's foremost tank experts, commanding the 1st Armoured Regiment during 1952–1953, after which he served as commandant of the Armoured School between 1953–1956, and filled the position of Director of Armour during the same period.[3][11] He later wrote an influential paper on the successful use of armour in jungle warfare and its ability to reduce casualties among the infantry.[4] Graham attended the United States Armed Forces Staff College and subsequently filled the role of Assistant Military Attaché in Washington, D.C. in 1957–1958. Graham's exposure to US military culture and intelligence during this period affected his own military thinking and would be influential during his later service.[2] He was subsequently posted to Army Headquarters as a member of the Joint Planning Staff in 1959.[1]
Between 1960 and 1964 Graham served as Director of Military Intelligence, and while the Australian Army was developing its own doctrine on counter-revolutionary warfare, Graham's ideas on counter-insurgency were influenced by a visit to South Vietnam in November 1961.[4] Graham's understanding of the challenges of the prevailing Cold War environment allowed him to reform Australia's nascent military intelligence apparatus, encouraging developments in joint intelligence arrangements with Australia's allies and fostering liaison with his British and US counterparts, as well as establishing relationships with countries in South-East Asia. In recognition of his service to the Australian Staff Corps he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1963.[2] He then took up an appointment as commandant of the Jungle Training Centre (JTC) at Canungra, Queensland in 1964.[3] The Australian Army Training Team (AATTV) was being prepared for Vietnam during this time, and army officers were learning new tactics, techniques and procedures.[12] Promoted to brigadier in 1965 he then commanded the 6th Task Force in southern Queensland, supervising the training of 2 RAR and 6 RAR, both battalions which would later serve under his command in Vietnam.[12] In 1966, Graham studied at the Imperial Defence College in London.[3]
On 1 January 1967 Graham was appointed Commander 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) based in Phuoc Tuy Province in Vietnam, taking over from Brigadier David Jackson.[3] Graham quickly established himself, and developed a sound operational concept, yet the Viet Cong succeeded in preventing him from implementing it as he had intended. During February 1967 1 ATF had sustained its heaviest casualties in the war to that point, losing 16 men killed and 55 wounded in a single week, the majority during Operation Bribie.[13] Such losses underscored the need for a third infantry battalion and tanks, while confirming in Graham's mind the need to establish a physical barrier to deny the Viet Cong freedom of movement and thereby regain the initiative.[14] During Operation Leeton (6 March – 1 June) Graham subsequently established an 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) long barrier minefield from Dat Do to the coast.[15] Although in keeping with the orthodoxy of Australian counter-insurgency doctrine, this strategy ultimately proved both controversial and costly for the Australians, and despite initial success, the minefield became a source of munitions for the Viet Cong and later the decision was made to remove it amid growing casualties.[16]
For the first six months the barrier minefield had resulted in a dramatic decline in Viet Cong infiltration, reducing re-supply movement by up to 80 percent. However, recognising the threat that the obstacle posed to them, the Viet Cong had immediately begun attempting to penetrate it, cutting gaps in the fence and clearing lanes through the minefield to restore the flow of supplies, as well as lifting mines for their own use.[17] While considered an innovative plan to hinder the movement of the Viet Cong between their jungle bases and the villages on which they relied for supplies, the failure of South Vietnamese forces to protect the barrier minefield allowed the Viet Cong to remove thousands of mines, many of which were subsequently used against 1 ATF.[18] Yet these flaws were not immediately obvious and during Graham's tour of duty 1 ATF conducted 32 operations before he handed over command in October 1967, returning to Australia.[3] He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his leadership.[19]
By 1969 a large percentage of Australian casualties in Vietnam were being caused by mines, including significant quantities of M16 anti-personnel devices removed from the barrier minefield at Dat Do.[20] These losses increasingly became a political issue as support for the war in Australia waned,[21] and the efficacy of the decision was later criticised, both within the military and in the media. After visiting Phouc Tuy Province journalist Denis Warner concluded that although the original concept had been sound, it was ultimately one of the greatest Australian mistakes of the war. Graham, by then Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS), was ultimately forced to defend his decision, while questions were raised about the knowledge and approval of the decision of the tactical commander by a number of senior army officers, including then Commander Australian Forces Vietnam, Major General Tim Vincent, the Chief of General Staff (CGS), Lieutenant General Thomas Daly, and the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, General John Wilton, all of whom had acquiesced to its construction. By August 1969 work had begun to remove the minefield.[22]
After returning to Australia, Graham was subsequently appointed Chief of Staff, Northern Command in late 1967. In 1969 he was promoted to major general and appointed DCGS, a position he held until 1972.[3] As DCGS, Graham unsuccessfully argued for the retention of national service following the eventual Australian withdrawal from Vietnam in order to further expand the Regular Army.[23] He was later involved in managing the drawdown of Australian forces and played a role in shaping the post-war Army.[2] Graham was subsequently appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) Northern Command in 1973. He then filled the position of head of the Australian Defence Staff in London over the period 1974–1976, and was subsequently made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours.[1] He retired in 1977.[3]
Graham and his wife settled on the Gold Coast in Queensland and were involved in community activities and fundraising.[2] In his later life he enjoyed swimming and fishing.[1] Despite the controversy surrounding the laying of the barrier minefield, the official historians of Australian involvement in the Vietnam War later described Graham as a "clever and imaginative" commander, who was "widely regarded as having one of the best minds in the army", and who's "broad knowledge and fair approach earned him the respect of his subordinates."[4] He died at his home on the Isle of Capri, Queensland on 20 July 1996 and was survived by his widow and two sons.[2]