Iven Mackay
Sir Iven Giffard Mackay | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | "Mister Chips" |
Born | Grafton, New South Wales | 7 April 1882
Died | 30 September 1966 Sydney, New South Wales | (aged 84)
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/ | Australian Army |
Years of service | 1913–1946 |
Rank | Lieutenant general |
Service number | NX363 |
Commands held | New Guinea Force (1943–44) Second Army (1942–44) 6th Division (1940–41) 2nd Division (1937–40) 5th Infantry Brigade (1930–32) 8th Infantry Brigade (1921–26) 9th Infantry Brigade (1920–21) 1st Infantry Brigade (1918) 1st Machine Gun Battalion (1918) 4th Infantry Battalion (1916–18) |
Battles/wars | First World War
Second World War
|
Awards | Australian High Commissioner to India (1943–48) |
Mackay graduated from the
After the war, Mackay studied physics at the
Early life and career
Iven Giffard Mackay
Mackay had served in the Newington College
First World War
Mackay joined the Australian Imperial Force on 27 August 1914 as adjutant of the 4th Infantry Battalion, with the rank of captain.[4] On 4 September 1914, he married his fiancée, Marjorie Eveline Meredith, the daughter of Lieutenant Colonel John Meredith, in a ceremony at St Philip's Church, Sydney. The couple had met while Mackay was on holiday in Paterson, New South Wales, in 1910.[7]
In October 1914, Mackay suffered a riding accident and was taken to
Gallipoli
On 6 August 1915, Mackay was involved in the Battle of Lone Pine. When the attack began, Mackay went over the top at the head of an attack. He ignored the first Turkish trench, taking a direct line to his objective. Firing from the hip, he shot and killed several Turks in the trenches below. Mackay positioned himself at the junction of two trenches, shooting down more enemy troops. When no others appeared, he came to the belief that the trenches were in Australian hands and ran across the junction into a wide bay. The first man who attempted to follow was shot dead, as were the next two after him. The rest decided not to follow. Mackay took up a position on a fire step, a raised part of the trench floor which allows men to fire over the top. Three Turkish soldiers appeared in the trench. Mackay attempted to fire but his magazine was empty. He lunged at the Turks, grazing one and making all three run. Mackay then instructed his party to fortify the position with sandbags. As the barricade was built up, it became possible for the rest of the party to join Mackay.[11] The post became the north eastern corner of the new Australian position at Lone Pine. It was in an exposed position and came under hand grenade attack from Turkish troops. Mackay was slightly injured in one such attack. When Lieutenant Jack Massie was sent to relieve Mackay during the night, Mackay refused to leave the post.[12]
By the next day, Mackay realised that the position could not be held. He personally kept the enemy at bay with his rifle while new barricades were constructed. When he was satisfied with the security of the new position he reported to the battalion commander, who sent him to have his wounds dressed.
Western Front
Mackay sailed for France on 20 March 1916 on the transport Minnewaska as part of the Advance Party of the 1st Division.[17] On 18 April 1916, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed command of the 4th Infantry Battalion.[4] He led it at the Battle of Pozières in July, where it was involved in the capture of the town.[18] 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."[19]
For his part in the battle, Mackay was mentioned in despatches a second time.
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.[23] 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.[24]
Acting brigade commander again during the
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.[26]
Along with
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
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.[2] Through his "careful preliminary preparations and sound tactical knowledge", Mackay contributed to the successes of his brigade and was once more mentioned in despatches.[32] For his service as a brigade commander, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1919 New Year Honours.[33] He was also awarded the French Croix de guerre for his service on the Western Front.[34]
Between the wars
After the end of the war Mackay took advantage of Brigadier General George Long's education scheme to study physics at Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge under Ernest Rutherford. His first child, Jean Margaret, was born in Cambridge in 1919. Iven and Marjorie later had two more children – a son, Iven John, born in Sydney in 1920, and another daughter, Alison, born in Sydney in 1930.[35]
They returned to Australia aboard the transport Mantua, which reached Sydney on 19 February 1920. With the war over, the AIF was demobilised, and Mackay's appointment to the AIF was terminated on 4 April 1920.[36] Mackay returned to lecturing in physics at the University of Sydney. Between 1922 and 1932 he was student adviser. From 1925 he was also faculty secretary.[2] From 1932 to 1940 Mackay also worked evenings as a Commonwealth Film Appeals Censor.[37]
In 1933, he was appointed headmaster of
Mackay remained active in the Militia throughout the inter-war period. He held the rank of honorary brigadier general from 21 January 1920 to late June 1937, when he was promoted to that rank substantively. He commanded the 9th Infantry Brigade from 1 July 1920 to 30 April 1921; the 8th Infantry Brigade from 1 May 1921 to 30 April 1926; and the 5th Infantry Brigade from 1 May 1930 to 31 December 1932. On 24 March 1937 he took command of the 2nd Division. He was promoted to major general on 1 July 1937.[4] Mackay was one of only four Militia officers to be substantively promoted to that rank between 1929 and 1939.[40]
His term of office at Cranbrook ended acrimoniously after Justice Kenneth Street and others blamed Mackay for the school's slow recovery from the Great Depression, and the school council voted to remove him on 25 October 1939. Mackay was given twelve months' notice. When, in December 1939, Mackay's daughter Jean married Lieutenant W. H. Travers,[41] the grandson of Major General William Holmes;[42] the reception was held at Cranbrook.[41]
Second World War
At the outbreak of war in 1939, Mackay was ranked seventh on the army's seniority list.
The troops nicknamed him "Mr Chips", after the title character of the best-selling 1934 novel Goodbye, Mr. Chips and the subsequent 1939 film, a reference to his peacetime profession, but also to the impression he gave of being cool, reserved and strict. Some of his staff had reservations about him. Colonel Alan Vasey, his assistant adjutant and quartermaster general, asserted that Mackay lacked the ruthlessness to remove Militia officers who were not performing well.[2] Vasey fumed about "that bloody schoolteacher who wants to dot every 'i' and cross every 't'".[46] Many regular officers were embittered by years of slow promotion followed by Prime Minister Robert Menzies ordering that commands in the 6th Division be given to Militia officers. Colonel Frank Berryman considered this "a damn insult to the professional soldier, calculated to split the Army down the centre. We were to be the hewers of wood and the drawers of water. We, the only people who really knew the job, were to assist these Militia fellows".[47] Berryman, who worked closely with Mackay as his chief of staff, held him in high regard. "For moral and physical courage", said Berryman, "few equalled him—none ever surpassed him. He was an educated and most knowledgeable soldier ... and extremely patient".[48] His Commander, Royal Australian Artillery, a reservist, Brigadier Edmund Herring, considered Mackay "a most competent and able commander in North Africa and Greece, but a bit old ... Modest, dignified, shy and scholarly ... In action he never knew the meaning of fear ..."[46]
Libya
His appointment to command the 6th Division meant that Mackay led its—and the Australian Army's—first battles of the war. Doubts about Mackay's ability soon disappeared with the commitment of the division to Operation Compass. During the Battle of Bardia, in Libya in January 1941, the 6th Division captured the fortified town along with 36,000 Italian prisoners.[49] For this success, Mackay was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).[50] In a war of rapid movement over long distances, Mackay demonstrated careful planning and recognised the need to reinforce success.[2] He also impressed others with the way he cared for soldiers' lives. "Not only do I want Tobruk quickly", he told his brigadiers before the battle, "but I also want it cheaply".[51] The victory at Bardia was followed by successes at Tobruk, Derna and Benghazi.[52]
Greece
The 6th Division's next campaign was the failed
As in Libya, Mackay shared the hardships of living in the field with his men, and impressed them by his coolness during air raids. They watched him sit in the open during attacks; on one such occasion on 19 April 1941, Mackay waited out a two-and-a-half-hour raid when his car was hit and his driver wounded.
Casualties in Greece included Mackay's son-in-law, Captain W. H. Travers, who was captured in the Battle of Crete.[58] Mackay resolved to reform the battalions that had been destroyed in Greece, and to rebuild his shattered division from the remnants that had been evacuated to Alexandria.[59] He developed a training program in Syria in which he attempted to apply the lessons of the campaign in Greece.[60]
Defence of Australia
One lesson of Greece was that modern war was a young man's trade. Brigadier
On 14 August 1941, Mackay handed over command of the 6th Division to Herring. Mackay departed Cairo for Australia by flying boat on 22 August. En route, he stopped in Singapore to confer with Bennett, now the commander of the 8th Division, which was based there, and had dinner at the Raffles Hotel with his son, Lieutenant Iven Mackay, an officer with the 8th Division's 2/18th Infantry Battalion.[62]
Mackay assumed command of Home Forces on 1 September 1941, with the rank of lieutenant general. His task was to prepare the Militia to repel a Japanese invasion. Official historian Dudley McCarthy noted that:
If Mackay had been in any way deceived by the grandiloquence of his new title his illusions were soon dissipated when he assumed command on 1 September. Initially there was reluctance to grant him the substantive promotion he had been promised. He found that his authority did not extend over the forward areas of New Guinea and the Northern Territory; nor was he to be responsible for "the defence of Australia" as such, as this responsibility remained with General Sturdee, the Chief of the General Staff. In short his command was far more circumscribed than he might have expected, with the added disadvantage of calling for a political finesse to the possession of which he laid few claims. He was a gallant and successful soldier, with a long record of distinguished service to his country, and a man of instinctive and unassuming courtesy. But neither his qualities of character and temperament nor the academic seclusion of his life between the wars fitted him well for the role of a senior military adviser to a Cabinet inexperienced in military affairs.[63]
With the Fall of Singapore in February 1942, Mackay's son Iven became a prisoner of war of the Japanese.[58] A Japanese invasion of Australia now became a real possibility, so Mackay submitted a contingency plan in which he outlined a defence strategy whereby the army would concentrate on the defence of the most vital areas of eastern and southern Australia.[64] This later gave rise to the controversial but mythical "Brisbane Line".[65]
Regular officers took the opportunity to give Mackay petty snubs. Army Headquarters continually addressed him as "major general", although his promotion to lieutenant general had been gazetted, and his pay was only £1,564 compared with Sturdee's £2,269.[66] His AIF serial number was taken away from him and he was sent a new recruit's papers to fill in. The Military Board even attempted to bring him before a medical board to decide his fitness for further service. Only the intervention of the Minister for the Army, Frank Forde, averted this.[67] During a sweeping reorganisation of the army by Blamey, Mackay became commander of the Second Army on 6 April 1942.[68]
New Guinea
When Blamey relieved Rowell of command of I Corps in New Guinea, he nominated Herring as successor. Blamey proposed Mackay as a second choice but preferred Herring as he was much younger, and this was important in the taxing New Guinea climate.
On 28 August 1943, Mackay once again assumed command of New Guinea Force.[4] This time, important operations were being undertaken in the Battle of Finschhafen and Mackay's period of command was marred by disagreements with General Douglas MacArthur's staff over the reinforcement of Finschhafen.[71] Junior commanders felt that Mackay should have been more forceful, and should have enlisted the help of his superior, Blamey, at an earlier stage. Blamey agreed with them, feeling that his old colleague was slowing down, and no longer possessed the vigour required for the campaign in New Guinea.[72][73] Mackay left New Guinea in November 1943, handing over command of New Guinea Force to Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead, and on 20 January 1944 Mackay relinquished command of Second Army and New Guinea Force.[4]
India
In November 1943, it was announced that Prime Minister
Post war
Mackay was approached to consider nomination as a
Mackay died at his home in East Lindfield, New South Wales, on 30 September 1966 and was cremated after a service at St Stephen's, Sydney. He was survived by his wife, his son and his two daughters.[2] Veterans lined the streets and he had ten generals for his pallbearers: Herring, Woodward, Stevens, Pulver, Stevenson, Macarthur-Onslow, Dougherty, Harrison, Cullen and Galleghan.[79] Mackay's papers and portraits are held in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.[80]
Notes
- ^ The G in Giffard is soft, as in "general". Chapman 1975, p. 2
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Grey 2000, pp. 235–237
- ^ a b Chapman 1975, p. 7
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j The Army List of Officers of the Australian Military Forces. Melbourne: Australian Military Forces. 1945. p. 2.
- ^ a b Chapman 1975, p. 10
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 8
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 13
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 15
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 17
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 31–33
- ^ Bean 1924, pp. 511–512
- ^ Bean 1924, pp. 533–534
- ^ Bean 1924, p. 538
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 68
- ^ Cameron 2012, p. 322
- ^ "No. 29455". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 January 1916. p. 1208. (Mentioned in Despatches – Gallipoli)
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 70
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 74–75
- ^ Bean 1929, p. 537
- ^ "No. 29890". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 January 1917. p. 254. (Mentioned in Despatches – Western Front)
- ^ "No. 29886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1917. p. 28. (Distinguished Service Order)
- ^ "Honours and Awards – Iven Giffard Mackay – Recommended: Distinguished Service Order". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 85
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 88
- ^ "No. 30448". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1917. p. 13566. (Mentioned in Despatches – Bullecourt)
- ^ "No. 30135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 June 1917. p. 5980. (Distinguished Service Order – bar)
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 91
- ^ "No. 31089". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1918. p. 15225. (Mentioned in Despatches – Broodseinde)
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 100–102
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 105
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 106–107
- ^ "No. 31488". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1919. p. 8827. (Mentioned in Despatches – Amiens)
- ^ "No. 31092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1919. p. 5. (Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George)
- ^ "No. 31109". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 January 1919. p. 313. (Croix de guerre)
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 123–124
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 125
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 131
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 136
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 2
- ^ Horner 1998, p. 108
- ^ a b Chapman 1975, pp. 143–145
- ^ Long 1952, p. 165
- ^ a b Long 1952, p. 43
- ^ Long 1952, p. 84
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 156
- ^ a b Chapman 1975, p. 165
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 152
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 166
- ^ Stockings 2009, p. 2
- ^ "No. 35094". The London Gazette. 4 March 1941. p. 1304. (Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire)
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 199
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 200–211
- ^ Long 1953, pp. 56–59
- ^ Long 1953, pp. 128–129
- ^ Long 1953, p. 135
- ^ "No. 35396". The London Gazette. 30 December 1941. p. 7357. (Mentioned in Despatches – Greece)
- ^ "Honours and Awards – Iven Giffard Mackay". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 12 November 2009. (Greek War Cross)
- ^ a b Chapman 1975, p. 155
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 239
- ^ Long 1953, p. 537
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 239–240
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 240–241
- ^ McCarthy 1959, p. 5
- ^ McCarthy 1959, pp. 6–8
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 283–289
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 245
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 265–266
- ^ McCarthy 1959, p. 25
- ^ "Blamey for Prime Minister and General MacArthur, 26 September 1942, NAA (ACT) A5954 266/1". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 272–276
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 278–279
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 280–281
- ^ Coates 1999, pp. 140–144
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 281
- ^ a b Chapman 1975, pp. 293–301
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 303
- ^ Chapman 1975, pp. 303–305
- ^ Chapman 1975, p. 308
- ^ Mackay's papers and portraits held at the Australian War Memorial:
- Papers
- 3DRL/6433 Archived 6 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, 32 items, letters written between April 1968 and September 1970.
- 3DRL/6850 Archived 6 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Extensive collection of material relating to Mackay's First and Second World War service as well as his time in India. Includes diaries, orders, notebooks, correspondence, photographs, rolls, files, maps and manuals.
- PR88/198 Archived 6 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Congratulatory letter sent by Lt Gen Mackay to Brig Gen E. C. Whitehead, Deputy Commander 5th (US) Air Force for their activity against a Japanese convoy.
- Portraits
- ART02990, ART27537, ART23414 Archived 6 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Painting by Ivor Hele, 1941, North Africa: Egypt, Heliopolis.
References
- OCLC 59249649.
- Bean, Charles (1929). Volume III: The AIF in France: 1916. OCLC 48526946.
- Cameron, David (2012). The Battle for Lone Pine: Four Days of Hell at the Heart of Gallipoli. Camberwell, Victoria: Viking. OCLC 798328997.
- Chapman, Ivan D. (1975). Iven G. Mackay: Citizen and Soldier. Malvern, Victoria: Melway Publishing. OCLC 2346434.
- OCLC 43736921.
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- OCLC 39291537.
- OCLC 18400892.
- Long, Gavin (1953). Greece, Crete and Syria. OCLC 3134080.
- McCarthy, Dudley (1959). South-West Pacific Area – First Year. OCLC 3134080.
- OCLC 298612750.