 Blamey felt he had no choice , but his assumption of command of New Guinea Force sat uneasily with Rowell , the commander of I Corps there , who saw it as displaying a lack of confidence in him . A petulant Rowell would not be mollified , and , after a series of disagreements , Blamey relieved Rowell of his command , replacing him with Herring . More reliefs followed . Herring relieved Brigadier Arnold Potts of the 21st Infantry Brigade , replacing him with Brigadier Ivan Dougherty on 22 October . Five days later , Blamey replaced Allen as the 7th Division 's commander with Vasey . Nor were generals the only ones to be removed . Blamey cancelled Chester Wilmot 's accreditation as a war correspondent in October 1942 for spreading a false rumour that Blamey was taking payments from the laundry contractor at Puckapunyal . Wilmot was reinstated , but on 1 November 1942 , Blamey again terminated Wilmot 's accreditation , this time for good . 
