page_title: Iven Mackay
section_title: Western Front
hierarchical_section_title: Iven Mackay / First World War / Western Front
caption_attribution_description: English: Informal portrait of Lieutenant Colonel I. G. Mackay DSO (left), Commanding Officer of the 4th Infantry Battalion, AIF, with his Adjutant, Lieutenant L. A. McKenzie, at Samer.
context_page_description: Lieutenant General Sir Iven Giffard Mackay, KBE, CMG, DSO & Bar, VD was a senior Australian Army officer who served in both world wars.
  Mackay graduated from the University of Sydney in 1904 and taught physics there from 1910 until 1914, when he joined the Australian Imperial Force shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. He served with the 4th Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli, where he distinguished himself in hand-to-hand fighting at the Battle of Lone Pine. In April 1916, he assumed command of the 4th Infantry Battalion on the Western Front and led it at the Battle of Pozières, Battle of Bullecourt and Battle of Broodseinde. He was promoted to brigadier general in June 1918, and led the 1st Infantry Brigade at the Battle of Hazebrouck, the Battle of Amiens and in the attack on the Hindenburg Line.
  After the war, Mackay studied physics at the University of Cambridge under Ernest Rutherford before returning to Australia and his old job as a lecturer at the University of Sydney. From 1933 to 1940 he was headmaster of Cranbrook School, Sydney. He remained in the Militia between the wars, and was a major general by the time the Second World War broke out.
context_section_description: Mackay sailed for France on 20 March 1916 on the transport Minnewaska as part of the Advance Party of the 1st Division. On 18 April 1916, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed command of the 4th Infantry Battalion. He led it at the Battle of Pozières in July, where it was involved in the capture of the town. Here, a famous incident occurred:
  Colonels Stevens and Mackay had left their headquarters and walked forward up Dead Man's Road (the sunken end of the Chalk Pit road) to its junction with the main road for the purpose of making hurried plans for the advance of their men, and instructing the company commanders. As they stood at this desolate corner (the most actively shelled in Pozières), surrounded by shredded tree-trunks and the dead, a panting messenger stumbled up to them with an envelope marked "Urgent and Secret". They hurriedly tore it open. The message read: "A number of cases have lately occurred of men failing to salute the army commander when passing in his car, in spite of the fact that the car carries his flag upon the bonnet. This practice must cease."
  For his part in the battle, Mackay was mentioned in despatches a second time. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his gallantry at Lone Pine, his part in the capture of Pozières, and his role in repelling a German counterattack at Mouquet Farm, near Pozières.
  Mackay held the temporary position of commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade in January 1917, for the first of what would be five times totalling 92 days in 1917. He commanded the 4th Infantry Battalion in the advance to the Hindenburg Line, including the capture of the fortified town of Hermies. During the German counter-attack at Lagnicourt in April 1917 his battalion held its positions, repulsing the Germans with heavy casualties.
  Acting brigade commander again during the Second Battle of Bullecourt in May, Mackay was mentioned in despatches for the third time, and awarded a bar to his Distinguished Service Order. His citation read:
  For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While acting as brigadier, when the brigade on the right was broken into by the enemy, the battalion under his orders counter-attacked and assisted to drive out the enemy and restore the position. His action in repelling the counter-attack was of the utmost value, and his prompt action and extreme resolution showed leadership of a high order. 
  Along with Brigadier General H. Gordon Bennett and others, Mackay received personal congratulations from Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. He later received his medals from King George V in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Mackay led his battalion once more at the Battle of Broodseinde, earning a fourth mention in despatches. In March 1918, the four machine gun companies in each division were grouped into machine gun battalions. Mackay was given command of the 1st Machine Gun Battalion, the 1st Division's new battalion, which he led in the Battle of Hazebrouck. He was given the brevet rank of major in the 26th Infantry Battalion in the AMF back home on 3 June 1918.
  On 6 June 1918, Mackay was heading on leave to London to visit his wife, who had managed to reach England after a long battle with wartime travel restrictions, when he was stopped and turned back at Boulogne by British military police. He had been appointed to command the 1st Infantry Brigade and had to return at once. He was immediately promoted to colonel and temporary brigadier general. Mackay commanded the 1st Infantry Brigade in the later stages of the fighting around Hazebrouck. In the operations east of there in June and July, his brigade was exceptionally active in the form of minor operations and patrolling that became known as the peaceful penetration.
  In August, the 1st Division moved south to the Somme sector to participate in the Battle of Amiens and later the attack on the Hindenburg Line. Through his "careful preliminary preparations and sound tactical knowledge", Mackay contributed to the successes of his brigade and was once more mentioned in despatches. For his service as a brigade
caption: Informal portrait of Lieutenant Colonel I. G. Mackay DSO (left), Commanding Officer of the 4th Infantry Battalion, AIF, with his Adjutant, Lieutenant L. A. McKenzie, at Samer
exif: {}