Thomas Blamey (1884–1951) was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian ever to attain the rank of field marshal. He joined the Australian Army as a regular soldier in 1906, and served at Gallipoli, where he led a daring raid behind enemy lines, and on the Western Front as chief of staff of the Australian Corps under Lieutenant General Sir John Monash. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Australian Imperial Force and the I Corps in the Middle East. In 1942, he returned to Australia as Commander in Chief of the Australian Military Forces and Commander of Allied Land Forces in the South West Pacific Area under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. On the orders of MacArthur and Prime Minister John Curtin, he assumed personal command of New Guinea Force during the Kokoda Track Campaign. He won a series of victories over the Japanese, including the Battle of Wau and the landing at Nadzab, and signed on behalf of Australia at Japan's ceremonial surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. He was promoted to field marshal in June 1950. (Full article...)
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