which struck a decisive blow at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, the action that sounded the final death knell of the Austro-Hungarian Army towards the close of the war. Following the end of the war the King of Italy awarded him the War Cross for Military Valor and made him a Commander, and subsequently a Grand Officer, of the Military Order of Savoy as well as appointing him a Grand Officer of the Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus. Cavan was also appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George for his contribution to operations in Italy, awarded the American Distinguished Service Medal and appointed to the Chinese Order of Wen-Hu (1st Class). Postwar His first appointment after the war was when he became lieutenant of the Tower of London on 22 March 1920. Appointed Aide-de-Camp General to the King on 1 October 1920, he became General Officer Commanding at Aldershot Command on 2 November 1920 before being promoted to general on 2 November 1921. He was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff on 19 February 1922. He may have been chosen as a steady man, the antithesis of his predecessor Henry Wilson, whose relations with the government had deteriorated, and who was in Wilson's view more likely to agree to withdraw troops from Egypt and India. CIGS Cavan advised the Government on the implementation of the Geddes report, which advocated a large reduction in defence expenditure, and he officiated over a major reduction in the size of the British Army. Earl Cavan made a famous speech at the 'Royal Academy Banquet' to his equals in government and fellow peers and royalty. Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the New Year Honours 1926, he retired on 19 February 1926. He was also colonel of the Irish Guards from 23 May 1925 and colonel of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment from 10 December 1928. In May 1927, he accompanied the Duke and Duchess of York to Australia to open the Provisional Parliament House at Canberra, for which he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire on 8 July 1927. He became Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms on 23 July 1929 and was promoted to field marshal on 31 October 1932. He also took part in