Cyril Clowes
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General
Cyril Albert Clowes CBE, DSO
, MC
(11 March 1892 – 19 May 1968) was an Australian soldier
. He won the first land victory against the Japanese in the Second World War, at the Battle of Milne Bay
, New Guinea. Like many other senior officers involved in the Papuan campaign, he was then transferred to a less important posting by General Sir Thomas Blamey
.
in Queensland, and entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon
in 1911. In August 1914 he graduated and was appointed lieutenant in the Australian Imperial Force
(AIF) with a commission in the Permanent Military Force. Posted to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, he landed at Gallipoli
on 25 April 1915, serving as a forward observation officer and directing naval gunfire against Turkish positions. He was wounded on Gallipoli. After he recuperated Clowes was promoted to captain in the 2nd Divisional Artillery in Egypt
during January 1916.
On the Western Front
during 1916, Clowes served as the 2nd Division's Trench Mortar Officer and was awarded the Military Cross
. He received a promotion to major in January 1917 and the following year was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
for his work at Villers-Bretonneux
. He returned to Australia in April 1919, and left the AIF in late June.
. There Clowes undertook staff, training, and command duties until 1930. He filled similar positions in Sydney
and Darwin
until, in 1936, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He went to England and completed a gunnery staff course, before returning to Australia as the Chief Instructor at Sydney's School of Artillery. In August 1939 he was given command of Australia's 6th Military District, receiving a promotion to colonel.
, in April 1941. The Germans were attempting to drive a wedge between Greek units and the allied force sent to their aid. Clowes was successful in holding the gorge against a strong German tank attack, until the situation on other parts of the front stabilised.
Although Greece fell and the campaign was a failure, Clowes' tactics minimised casualties in the withdrawal of the allied force. This battle saw the beginning of a problem that would dog Clowes' career – disputes between his superior General Sir Thomas Blamey
, and Blamey's Chief of Staff, Colonel Sydney Rowell
, a personal friend of Clowes. Clowes returned to Australia in January 1942, was promoted to temporary Major General, and given command of the 1st Division
.
, Allied Commander in Chief of the South West Pacific Area (C in C SWPA), ordered the construction of an airfield at Milne Bay
, at the eastern tip of New Guinea
. His intention was to use this and other new airfields to attempt the reconquest of Rabaul
, taken by the Japanese early in the war. However the airfield would also be a prize for the Japanese to attack. Once taken it could be a base for bombing sorties over the cities of south eastern Australia. MacArthur requested Thomas Blamey send troops to secure the construction site.
Initially a militia brigade was dispatched. As building progressed this was progressively reinforced with regular troops. Once buildup was complete, the garrison assumed the name Milne Force, and Clowes, now promoted to Major General, was given command. He reached Milne Bay and assumed command of the Australian troops there just four days before the Japanese began landing, beginning the Battle of Milne Bay
.
.
By dawn of 26 August, the Japanese had reached KB Mission. A counter attack by the 61st Militia Battalion
drove the Japanese from KB Mission, however after six hours of intense fighting, the militia withdrew to the Gama River. Clowes ordered the Australian 2/10th Infantry Battalion to the Gama River, where they attacked. The Japanese troops and the supporting tanks inflicted severe casualties on the 2/10th, which was forced to retreat to north of No. 3 Strip (under construction), on 27 August. The 25th Battalion held the Japanese back and a two day lull followed.
On 29 August, 768 Japanese marine reinforcements were landed with Commander Minoru Yano, who took over from Hayashi. On 31 August at 3:00am, three banzai charge
s were repelled at No. 3 Strip with withering machine gun and mortar fire from Milne Force. The Australians launched a counter offensive at 9:00am on 31 August, and pushed the Japanese along the north coast of Milne Bay. By 4 September Japanese resistance was suicidal in intensity.
On 5 September, the Japanese high command ordered a withdrawal. On 6 September the offensive reached the main camp of the Japanese landing force. That night most Japanese survivors were evacuated. Some, trying to reach the Japanese beachhead at Buna
through the mountains, were intercepted and routed.
s or four-wheel drive
vehicles for moving troops around. Milne Force included the highly trained 18th Infantry Brigade
of the Australian 7th Division, but also the inexperienced and poorly-equipped 7th Militia Brigade. Of the total force of 8,824, only about 4,500 were infantry.
Several times during the battle, urgent signals arrived from MacArthur and Blamey, warning of imminent Japanese reinforcements, and urging him to pursue and exterminate the enemy landing force immediately. However, Clowes' original orders confirmed that his priority was holding the completed airstrip at Gili Gili. He maintained a defensive perimeter there which was never penetrated, even while taking the fight to the enemy at some distance from this base. MacArthur was responding to inaccurate intelligence. Clowes had no choice but to heed the new intelligence, and try to relocate his forces to deal with threats that in fact did not materialise.
At one point Rowell received orders from Blamey that the "landed force must be attacked with greatest vigor and destroyed as soon as possible". Rowell refused to relay this to Clowes, and instead wrote "Confident you have the situation well in hand and will administer stern punishment".
Blamey subsequently sacked Rowell and shortly after, Rowell's friend Clowes. Clowes returned to Australia in 1943 and held various postings until the end of the war.
in June 1949. His chief staff officer at Milne Bay, Colonel Fred Chilton, said he was
He was known as "Silent" Cyril Clowes. In A Bastard of a Place : The Australians in Papua, Australian historian Peter Brune explained why;
Clowes died on 19 May 1968 at Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, Melbourne.
Lieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
Cyril Albert Clowes CBE, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(11 March 1892 – 19 May 1968) was an Australian soldier
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
. He won the first land victory against the Japanese in the Second World War, at the Battle of Milne Bay
Battle of Milne Bay
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese retreated on 5...
, New Guinea. Like many other senior officers involved in the Papuan campaign, he was then transferred to a less important posting by General Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
.
First World War
Clowes was born at WarwickWarwick, Queensland
Warwick is a town in Queensland, Australia, lying south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Local Government Area. In 2006 the town of Warwick had a population of 12,562....
in Queensland, and entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
in 1911. In August 1914 he graduated and was appointed lieutenant in the Australian Imperial Force
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
(AIF) with a commission in the Permanent Military Force. Posted to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, he landed at Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
on 25 April 1915, serving as a forward observation officer and directing naval gunfire against Turkish positions. He was wounded on Gallipoli. After he recuperated Clowes was promoted to captain in the 2nd Divisional Artillery in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
during January 1916.
On the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
during 1916, Clowes served as the 2nd Division's Trench Mortar Officer and was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
. He received a promotion to major in January 1917 and the following year was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
for his work at Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux
Villers-Bretonneux is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway.-History - World War I:...
. He returned to Australia in April 1919, and left the AIF in late June.
Inter war years
In 1920 Clowes took up a post as instructor at Duntroon, and remained there until 1925. That year he married Eva Magennis, and moved to BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. There Clowes undertook staff, training, and command duties until 1930. He filled similar positions in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
until, in 1936, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He went to England and completed a gunnery staff course, before returning to Australia as the Chief Instructor at Sydney's School of Artillery. In August 1939 he was given command of Australia's 6th Military District, receiving a promotion to colonel.
Second World War
When World War II began, Clowes was made a temporary brigadier in the AIF, and in April 1940 was appointed commander of the Royal Australian Artillery, I Corps. Clowes performed very well under pressure in directing the fighting withdrawal at Pinios Gorge, GreeceBattle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
, in April 1941. The Germans were attempting to drive a wedge between Greek units and the allied force sent to their aid. Clowes was successful in holding the gorge against a strong German tank attack, until the situation on other parts of the front stabilised.
Although Greece fell and the campaign was a failure, Clowes' tactics minimised casualties in the withdrawal of the allied force. This battle saw the beginning of a problem that would dog Clowes' career – disputes between his superior General Sir Thomas Blamey
Thomas Blamey
Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
, and Blamey's Chief of Staff, Colonel Sydney Rowell
Sydney Rowell
Lieutenant General Sir Sydney Fairbairn Rowell, KBE, CB was an Australian soldier who served as Chief of the General Staff from 17 April 1950 to 15 December 1954...
, a personal friend of Clowes. Clowes returned to Australia in January 1942, was promoted to temporary Major General, and given command of the 1st Division
1st Division (Australia)
The 1st Division is the main formation of the Australian Army and contains the majority of the army's regular forces. Its headquarters is in Enoggera, a suburb of Brisbane...
.
Milne Force
In May 1942 General Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, Allied Commander in Chief of the South West Pacific Area (C in C SWPA), ordered the construction of an airfield at Milne Bay
Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
, at the eastern tip of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. His intention was to use this and other new airfields to attempt the reconquest of Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, taken by the Japanese early in the war. However the airfield would also be a prize for the Japanese to attack. Once taken it could be a base for bombing sorties over the cities of south eastern Australia. MacArthur requested Thomas Blamey send troops to secure the construction site.
Initially a militia brigade was dispatched. As building progressed this was progressively reinforced with regular troops. Once buildup was complete, the garrison assumed the name Milne Force, and Clowes, now promoted to Major General, was given command. He reached Milne Bay and assumed command of the Australian troops there just four days before the Japanese began landing, beginning the Battle of Milne Bay
Battle of Milne Bay
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese retreated on 5...
.
Battle of Milne Bay
The Japanese made their initial landing on 25 August 1942 under Commander HayashiYoshihide Hayashi
- Notes :...
.
By dawn of 26 August, the Japanese had reached KB Mission. A counter attack by the 61st Militia Battalion
61st Battalion (Australia)
The 61st Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in 1917 during the First World War but was disbanded the same year without seeing active service. Later it was re-raised as a part of the Militia in 1938 in Brisbane, Queensland...
drove the Japanese from KB Mission, however after six hours of intense fighting, the militia withdrew to the Gama River. Clowes ordered the Australian 2/10th Infantry Battalion to the Gama River, where they attacked. The Japanese troops and the supporting tanks inflicted severe casualties on the 2/10th, which was forced to retreat to north of No. 3 Strip (under construction), on 27 August. The 25th Battalion held the Japanese back and a two day lull followed.
On 29 August, 768 Japanese marine reinforcements were landed with Commander Minoru Yano, who took over from Hayashi. On 31 August at 3:00am, three banzai charge
Banzai charge
Banzai charge was a term applied during World War II by the Allied forces to human wave attacks mounted by infantry forces of the Imperial Japanese Army...
s were repelled at No. 3 Strip with withering machine gun and mortar fire from Milne Force. The Australians launched a counter offensive at 9:00am on 31 August, and pushed the Japanese along the north coast of Milne Bay. By 4 September Japanese resistance was suicidal in intensity.
On 5 September, the Japanese high command ordered a withdrawal. On 6 September the offensive reached the main camp of the Japanese landing force. That night most Japanese survivors were evacuated. Some, trying to reach the Japanese beachhead at Buna
Buna
Buna may refer to the official Mbum language of Cameroon, as well as:People:*Buna Lawrie, an Australian Aboriginal musician.Places:*Buna village, a small Bosnia and Herzegovina village at the confluence of the Buna and Neretva rivers...
through the mountains, were intercepted and routed.
Difficulties at Milne Bay
Milne Bay is a very high rainfall area, and the all-pervading mud made transport a constant problem for Clowes. He had no bargeBarge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s or four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
vehicles for moving troops around. Milne Force included the highly trained 18th Infantry Brigade
18th Brigade (Australia)
The 18th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Australian Army, which served during the Second World War. The brigade was raised on 13 October 1939 and was one of the first three infantry brigades of the Second Australian Imperial Force to be formed. Initially commanded by Brigadier Leslie...
of the Australian 7th Division, but also the inexperienced and poorly-equipped 7th Militia Brigade. Of the total force of 8,824, only about 4,500 were infantry.
Several times during the battle, urgent signals arrived from MacArthur and Blamey, warning of imminent Japanese reinforcements, and urging him to pursue and exterminate the enemy landing force immediately. However, Clowes' original orders confirmed that his priority was holding the completed airstrip at Gili Gili. He maintained a defensive perimeter there which was never penetrated, even while taking the fight to the enemy at some distance from this base. MacArthur was responding to inaccurate intelligence. Clowes had no choice but to heed the new intelligence, and try to relocate his forces to deal with threats that in fact did not materialise.
At one point Rowell received orders from Blamey that the "landed force must be attacked with greatest vigor and destroyed as soon as possible". Rowell refused to relay this to Clowes, and instead wrote "Confident you have the situation well in hand and will administer stern punishment".
Relieved of command
MacArthur and Thomas Blamey determined that rather than being commended and rewarded for the victory, Clowes should be relieved of his command and sidelined for the duration of the war, for showing insufficient "vigour". Blamey wrote to Sydney Rowell, now Clowes' superior officer in Port Moresby:Blamey subsequently sacked Rowell and shortly after, Rowell's friend Clowes. Clowes returned to Australia in 1943 and held various postings until the end of the war.
Later life
Clowes retired from the Army with the rank of lieutenant generalLieutenant General (Australia)
Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....
in June 1949. His chief staff officer at Milne Bay, Colonel Fred Chilton, said he was
He was known as "Silent" Cyril Clowes. In A Bastard of a Place : The Australians in Papua, Australian historian Peter Brune explained why;
Clowes died on 19 May 1968 at Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, Melbourne.
External links
- Who's who in Australian Military History - Australian War MemorialAustralian War MemorialThe Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...