General and engineer. Born in Melbourne, Australia, to Austrian Jewish immigrants, Monash earned degrees in arts, law, and engineering at the University of Melbourne. After a brilliant career in engineering, he enlisted in the Victoria militia through which he advanced rapidly. During World War I he was named commander of the Australian forces on the Western Front with the rank of lieutenant general. Thus, he became the first Jewish general in the English army. After the war, Monash was active in Australian Jewish life, and in 1928, was elected President of the Anzac Zionist Federation. His many foreign military honors include the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal.