Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/115/1 - June 1918 - Part 6

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White - Murdoch said. and he spoke exceedingly 
highly of / fighting o / Australians. Lloyd George 
did / same.
Wilson asked Murdoch whether he wd
rather have the A.L.H., when brought over,
broken up to save / five divns; or whether
he wd think they ought to be kept as
cavalry. Murdoch replied tt he thought it
 

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lay w / English Govt. If they decided to
break up their cavalry, then ours, he supposed,
ought to go too. He ^Murdoch has since come to / opinion
tt ours, having proved itself / best, ought
to be broken up last. He asked me what I
thought. I told him what ws my immediate
tt it seemed to me tt / breaking up of our
L.H. ws only to be contemplated to meet /
 

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risk o / Germans breaking thro. But if
/ Germans broke thro - then ^one of our L.H. was
as good as 3 infantrymen for stopping
/ gap, If there were no as ^& had much better be retained as a 
Lighthorseman. If there were no risk o /
Germans breaking thro then / urgency 
ws gone; the 6000 or 9000 reinfts whom
we shd get by it were a drop in / bucket
 

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& if / German break-thro were no longer
feared, it was not worth while breaking
up our Australian cavalry – / arm wh is
always more useful for Australia than
for England – in order to save a division
from dissolution.
Murdoch had a talk to Birdwood
this morning. He sd tt Birdwood ws
 

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hurt. Birdie now made a great point
o / chance tt White might within a
reasonable time become Chief o / Genl.
Staff. But if Britain wants him for tt
she cd take him from / Corps just as
she took Lawrence from a division.
Birdwood sd he ws hurt tt on / first
occasion when / possibility of it arose,
  

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Murdoch took steps to have him leave the A.I.F.
Murdoch sd tt it ws B. who had taken /
decision to go to a British army -
Birdwood sd tt if / Austla Govt did not
think he cd do both the work of GOC Army &
G.O.C. A.I.F. he wd return to the Corps -
& Murdoch ws evidently shaken by
sentiments of regard for / little man &
was wavering as to whether this course
 

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ought not to be taken.
But this time it seemed to me
so clear tt G.O.C. A.I.F. involved problems
wh B. cd not possibly tackle (nor cd anyone
else) w any other command - finance,
repatriation & other huge subjects - tt I
think I held Howse (who ws there) &
Murdoch to this conclusion: that G.0.C.
A1F & G0C Corps must be separated. That
 

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B. can be offered which ever of them he pleases
- if he cares to take it up. But I am
sure he will not take either. At the back of
ones mind all / time is / conviction
: The Corps & / men in it are safe w White;
he will put great ideals into it & the spirit
of real devotion. Monash is a man of
very ordinary ideals – lesser than ordinary,
I shd say. He cannot inspire this force
 

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w a high chivalrous patriotic spirit -
w his people ^in charge it wd be fill o / desire to
look & show well - tt is / highest. There
is no question where / interest of /
Australian nation his - It lies in making
White one of its great men & makers.
Yesterday up came - for / first
time for many weeks of glorious weather -
 

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rain & a thunderstorm.
This morning it ws again fine tho
cold. Tonight it is pouring again.
This is ^possibly / first real break in / glorious
weather since / German offensive began.
There ws a little rain about April 4.
The Italians seem to be holding /
Austrians tho' there is a dangerous
intrusion at Montello, overlooking /
plain behind / Piave River.