 Indeed, casualties among the initial volunteers were so high, that of the 32,000 original soldiers of the AIF only 7,000 would survive to the end of the war.The initial response was so good that in September 1914 the decision was made to raise the 4th Infantry Brigade and 2nd and 3rd Light Horse Brigades.The 4th Infantry Brigade was commanded by Colonel John Monash, a prominent Melbourne civil engineer and businessman.