Blamey

Gallipoli, Kokoda and beyond: the story of Australia’s greatest general

By Brent D Taylor

Published by ABC Books; Dist. by Harper Collins

RRP $36.99 in paperback | ISBN  9780733343735

 

Twenty-seven years after David Horner’s scholarly biography of General Sir Thomas Blamey, Commander in Chief of Australian Military Forces during World War II, Brent Taylor, an engineer and businessman specialising in quantitative research and benchmarking studies, has turned his attention to a reassessment of Blamey in an effort to re-evaluate his success as a leader.

Blamey was known to be an abrasive yet shrewd commander. He could act both decisively and brutally, creating enemies within and outside the military. That reputation, encouraged in the years after the war by his rivals, has followed him ever since and.  As a result, his contributions to Australia’s defence have been downplayed.

In this re-evaluation of our most senior military commander, Taylor traces Blamey’s career, describing the highs and the lows, while attempting to calculate his success as a leader by asking the question: how many lives saved?

In Taylor’s estimation, more than 30,000 lives.

There is an interesting chapter on fighting efficiency. Casualty figures are a strong indicator of command capability, Taylor writes. He concludes that Blamey’s emphasis on troop welfare significantly reduced casualties.

It’s no surprise he clashed with US General Douglas MacArthur, for whom winning was everything.

He clashed too with Australian PM John Curtin.

Long after these seismic events, Taylor makes a strong case to elevate Blamey in our collective memory. He was, he concludes, an outstanding leader.