Overview of New Zealand's contribution to WW1

• Until final demobilisation in 1919, New Zealanders served "King and Country" in Samoa, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, France, Belgium and Germany. 
  • A total of 110,386 men and women from New Zealand served in World War I. 
    • 100,444 of these served overseas. 
• 18,166 died. 

The following is a brief overview of the major campaigns and battles in which New Zealanders were involved.

Samoa The first action New Zealand troops were involved in was the occupation of Western Samoa which was a German possession. A force of 1413 men landed unopposed on 29 August 1914. New Zealand troops were there for the rest of the War.

Gallipoli The Main Body, as it was known, of 8,417 men sailed from Wellington on October 16 1914. The largest single body of men ever to leave the country, it reached Alexandria in Egypt on November 3. Here they settled into a routine of training and preparation. 

They saw their first action on 3 February 1915 when they repulsed a Turkish incursion across the Suez Canal. Private William Ham from the Canterbury Infantry Regiment died of his wounds the next day - New Zealand's first casualty in action. 

On 25 April 1915, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed at Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula of Turkey. They were to remain there for 8 months until the successful evacuation operation completed by 20 December 1915.

The major battles of the NZ Gallipoli campaign were: May 6-8 Second battle of Krithia Aug 6-21 Battle of Suvla (The struggle for Chunk Bair occurred on 7-8 August during the Battle of Suvla and was mainly carried out by the Wellington Battalion.)
	New Zealand troops at Gallipoli

• The ANZACs were evacuated from Gallipoli by December 20. 
  • 8,556 New Zealand troops served on Gallipoli. 
  • 2,721 died and 
  • 4,752 were wounded.

France/Belgium The New Zealand forces returned to Egypt and were reorganised and reinforced. They became the New Zealand Division under the command of Major General Andrew Russell. They comprised 4 brigades, each of 3 battalions. They then sailed for France. Arriving at Marseilles in April 1916, the NZ Division moved into front line trenches on May 13. This was a four mile stretch of the line in the "quiet" sector near Armentieres. They began acclimatizing to the weather and the battle conditions. The Somme Campaign began further north around Albert on July 1 1916. 

The NZ Division's first action there was on 15 September when they attacked the village of Flers. This was the first time tanks were used in battle. The Division was in the line on the Somme for 23 days. 1,560 were killed and 5,440 were wounded. The Division left the Somme on November 10 and spent the winter on the River Lys. The New Zealand engineers were instrumental in constructing a complex of tunnels at Arras which were important during the Battle of Vimy Ridge (9-12 April 1917)

The next major action was the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917. The battle began with the detonation of 19 large mines under the German lines. The Division took all its initial objectives in 2 days. There were 3,660 casualties i.e. dead and wounded. A feint attack against Lille in support of the Ypres offensive was staged by the Division on 28 July. After capturing Le Basse-ville, the Division stayed in the line until 31 August.

Going "up to the Line"

They returned to battle on 4 October as part of the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) when the Division attacked at Gravenstafel. After 2 days they had sustained 1653 casualties (330 dead, 1323 wounded). They were withdrawn and went back in on 12 October which was the worst day on the Western Front for the division. 

Struggling through thick mud, with inadequate artillery cover and against uncut wire, they sustained 2,700 casualties in just 4 hours. It has been said that this "broke the spirit of the Division". Winter of 1917/1918 was spent in the Ypres sector around the Polygon Wood area. 

• During these so-called quiet months, there were another 3,000 casualties.

On 21 March 1918, the German Army began its final offensive of the War. The Allied lines crumbled and the NZ Division was flung into the gaps. They fought at Serre on the Somme on 25 March and held the Germans from the strategic centre of Amiens despite heavy bombardment on 5 April. The Allies now went on the attack and the NZ Division was involved in many battles such as the Battle of Bapaume (21 August), Havrincourt in September, Le Cateau and Selle river in October.

The most famous of the 1918 battles was that of Le Quesnoy on 4 November when the Rifle Brigade scaled the 60 foot ramparts of this walled town using ladders. The Armistice came into effect on 11 November. At this point New Zealand had 58,129 troops in the field and another 10,000 in training. On 20 December 2nd Brigade was the first NZ formation to cross the Rhine into Cologne as part of the Allied Army of Occupation. The New Zealand Division was officially disbanded on 25 March 1919.

Sinai/Palestine When the New Zealanders returned from Gallipoli to Egypt, they were reorganised into an infantry division and a mounted rifle brigade. 

The Mounted Brigade comprised 147 officers and 2897 other ranks. It served as part of the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division and was deployed in April 1916 to the Sinai Peninsula.  The Mounted Brigade served in the desert until the Turkish capitulation on 31 October 1918.  It was disbanded on 30 June 1919. It took part in the battles such as Romani (28 July 1916), Gaza (16 April 1917), the fall of Jaffa (16 November 1917), and the capture of Jerusalem (9 December 1917) Much of the work carried out in the desert was in the form of long range reconnaissance patrols using camels.  During this campaign, 17,723 New Zealanders served.  1,146 were wounded. 640 died <<< NZ Mounted Rifles in Palestine

Other Services

Along with the infantry force, the New Zealand Army also maintained artillery, machine gun corps, hospitals, veterinarians, educational services, military police, chaplains and other logistical support needed for a large force in the field. The medical services included nurses and these women served in all the theatres mentioned. On October 23 1915, 10 of these women died when the "Marquette" was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. The New Zealand Navy consisted of One ship throughout the war, the "Philomel". Many other men served with the Royal Navy. The same situation applies to airmen. New Zealand had no air force so fliers served with the Royal Flying Corps.

Te Hokowhitu a Tu - The Maori Pioneer Battalion

A Maori Battalion was raised and sailed from New Zealand on the 14 February 1915. Some doubts were held about the men's fighting ability and they had fewer numbers than a full battalion so they were designated as a pioneer battalion when they arrived in Egypt. They landed at Anzac Cove on 3 July 1915 and soon proved their worth both as hard working and cunning engineers, as well as doughty fighters. They were soon committed to the fighting as a contingent and from a strength of 476 officers and men were reduced to 60 by august when they were rested on Lemnos.

Not a real Haka

The New Zealand Pioneer Battalion was formed on 20 February 1916 from the remnants of the original Maori Contingent along with reinforcements and men of the Otago Mounted Rifles. The battalion also included 125 Niue Islanders and 45 Rarotongans. 

The Pioneer Battalion reached France on 9 April 1916. They served on the Western Front until their demobilisation in March 1919. During this time they dug trenches, established fortifications, repaired roads and took part in raids and battles. They were the only New Zealand battalion to return home as a complete unit and received a rapturous welcome at cities, towns and maraes. 

• 2,227 Maori and 458 Pacific Islanders served with the unit. 
  • 336 died on active duty and 
    • 734 were wounded.

 partly from http://www.ake.quik.co.nz/phoar/OVER.html

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