Around the time of the outbreak of war with Japan, many senior officers with distinguished records in the Middle East were recalled to Australia to lead militia formations and fill important staff posts. One of these was Robertson, who was recalled to take command of the 1st Cavalry Division in January 1942. In March 1942, an unusual event occurred. Major Generals Alan Vasey and Edmund Herring, and Brigadier Clive Steele, fearing that Gordon Bennett or John Lavarack was about to be appointed Commander in Chief, approached the Minister for the Army, Frank Forde, with a proposal that in view of the danger of an invasion of Australia, all officers over the age of 50 be immediately retired and Robertson be appointed Commander in Chief. This reflected an extraordinary endorsement of Robertson by his colleagues, but such favourable opinion was not universally held. Sydney Rowell later explained that: