Military history of New Zealand
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The Military history of New Zealand spans a period of nearly two centuries, during which New Zealand went from fighting under the control of the British Empire to fighting alongside its allies in various theatres.
Maori Tribal Warfare pre 1806
Ancient Maori were the "Vikings of the Pacific" and were highly skilled in the construction of defence settlements pā, stone tools, and stone and wooden weapons.
The Musket Wars 1806-1845
Flagstaff War 1845-1846
The Flagstaff War, sometimes called Hone Heke's Rebellion or the Northern War, began when Heke cut down the flagstaff at Kororareka on 11 March 1845 to start a series of battles that raged through the Bay of Islands for 10 months. Troops from the British Army's 96th Regiment were involved throughout that period, and were assisted in some of the battles by seamen from the Royal Navy's HMS Hazard and guns from that vessel which were lugged overland to bolster the attacks.
The major battles of this war occurred during the burning of Kororareka March 11, the burning of Pomare's Pa April 30, the attack on Puketutu Pa May 8, the burning of Kapotai Pa May 15, the battle of Te Ahu Ahu June 12, the attack on Ohaeawai Pa on June 23 which led to its total destruction on July 10, and the decisive siege of Ruapekapeka Pa which lasted from December 27 to January 11, 1846.
The Royal New Zealand Fencibles 1847-1852
Overview
The Royal New Zealand Fencibles established four very important military villages during the settlement of Auckland town; they were Onehunga, Howick, Panmure, Otahuhu. The word Fencible is a corruption of the word Defence, and came to mean four Infantry companies of retired British soldiers who were recruited in Britain and were sent out to New Zealand with their families to settle on land promised them, in return for military service.
Henry George Grey, third Earl Grey, also known as Viscount Howick (1802-1894), in his reply to the New Zealand Governor George Grey (later KBE 1848), in a letter dated 24 November 1846 set in motion the recruiting, arming and shipping of three companies of retired British soldiers from the various famous Line Infantry Regiments of the British Army.
A very general unrest by Maori in the North Auckland region had led Governor Robert Fitzroy, and his successor Governor George Grey to badger the Colonial Office in London for armed [retired] Troops to be stationed in the Auckland region, so as to protect this very important town.
The Fencibles received a free passage out to New Zealand for themselves, wives and children and on arrival in Auckland town each Fencible was to receive a two-roomed cottage and an acre of land.
Those retired soldiers who were enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Fencibles were drawn from men who had served a minimum of 15 years service in a British Line Infantry Regiment and who had been discharged or retired with a "good character." Each Fencible had to be aged 48 (later reduced to 41) years of age, over 5 feet 5 inches in height and be medically fit. Each soldier was enlisted into the Fencibles for a period of 7 years.
Each Fencible was required to parade (with arms) each Sunday at his church, and as well a furth committment of 12 training days each year.
When called out for Exercise on any other day, each Fencible (Private) would be paid 2 shillings, or in the event of Aid to Civil Power, 2 shillings and 6 pence.
Memorial
The following Memorial was erected inside of the Catholic church Our Lady Star of the Sea in Howick village; it reads:
ERECTED IN MEMORY of the IMPERIAL SOLDIERS who fought in the Maori War and are interred in the Howick Cemetery.
Sgt Patrick FITZPATRICK, Sgt R.N. BARRY, Sgt John EVERS, Sgt Michael PAGE, Sgt Thomas Wilson, Cpl Michael BROPHY, Pte John GOONAN, Pte John SHERRY, Pte Eugene BUTLER, Pte James DUNN, Pte John DOYNE, Pte Michael LORD, Pte Patrick BRYAN, Pte Michael FOLEY, Pte Charles HARE, Pte John COLLINS, Pte Anthony CONLON, Pte Patrick WALSH, Pte Anthony CONLON, Pte Patrick WALSH, Pte James DELANEY, Pte John GRIMES, Pte James WINEPRESS, Pte Owen LYNCH, Pte Edward McKENNA, Pte John CASEY, Pte Dennis COFFEE, Pte Michael MAHAR, Pte John EGAN, Pte John KANE, Pte F. DRISCOLL,Capt Oswald PILLING, Sgt John SMITH, Sgt Felix MONAHAN, (obscured), (obscured),(obscured),(obscured),Pte William KERR, Pte John BRYAN, Pte Daniel MACKAY, Pte Dennis O'LEARY, Pte William SHERRY, Pte James KEENAN, Pte Michael CURLEY, Pte John WOODS, Pte Mathew FINLAY, Pte James DELANEY, Pte Michael MURPHY, Pte Michael GOSS, Pte James THOMPSON, Pte James DONNELLY, Pte Thomas KNOX, Pte Austin MURPHY, Pte Patrick O'DOWD, Pte Edward DWYER, Pte James MACLEAN, Pte Henry KAVANAGH, Pte Joseph NORTON
PRAY FOR THEIR SOULS
Bibliography: The New Zealand Fencible Society (1997), The Royal New Zealand Fencibles 1847-1852, Waiuku, W.J. Deed Printing, ISBN 0-473-04716-0; O'Dowd Family History of Private Patrick O'Dowd (Mike Subritzky unpublished).
The New Zealand Wars 1861-1864
The New Zealand Wars were fought mainly over land ownership disputes and confiscation of Māori by the new European settlers, known as the Pākehā, who were assisted by thousands of experienced British Imperial troops. During the conflict, 16 British servicemen were awarded the Victoria Cross.
Wars were fought in the 1850s and 1860s in Taranaki and the Waikato. Some Māori fought on the side of the British Crown. Māori hostile to the Crown won some of the battles but the Imperial and locally raised troops eventually won the war by occupying the land, and exhausting the enemy into surrender.
Muskets played an important part in the wars. As Māori had no firearms before colonisation, their use by both sides was decisive.
A Māori innovation which emerged from the New Zealand wars was trench warfare. At several different sieges of Māori villages, or pa, camouflaged trenches were effectively used to safely attack British regiments from ground level.
The Forest Rangers
The Waikato Militia
The Armed Constabulary
Second Boer War 1899-1902
The Second Boer War, fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 and between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic), resulted from the history of British encroachment into or involvement in areas already settled by Afrikaners — who were known colloquially as Boers (farmers) — the descendants of the original Dutch settlers. This was exacerbated by the discovery of gold and diamonds in the South African Republic, after which many miners from British Empire countries migrated there.
New Zealand decided to help fight for the Empire and sent 6,500 mounted troops to assist the British efforts. Virtually every man in New Zealand was desperately keen to get to war, so the first soldiers to go were selected on the basis of who could afford to go. If one could provide your own horse, rifle and equipment, to the tune of about 25 pounds, one could go to war. The first two of the 10 contingents paid their own way. The proposal to send the first contingent - 200 mounted rifleman - was approved by Parliament prior to the outbreak of war on September 28, 1899. Prime Minister Richard Seddon's proposition to do so was overwhelmingly supported, meeting opposition from only five members of parliament.
In total, New Zealand provided ten contingents to the British, numbering 6,500 men. New Zealand losses were 71 men killed in action, 25 killed in accidents and 133 of disease. Figures for New Zealanders serving with units outside of the New Zealand contingents are unknown.
First World War 1914-1918
When the United Kingdom declared war on Germany at the start of the First World War, the New Zealand government followed without hesitation, despite its geographic isolation and small population. It was believed at the time that any declaration of war by the United Kingdom automatically included New Zealand.
The total number of New Zealand troops and nurses to serve overseas in 1914-18, excluding those in British and other Dominion forces, was 103,000, from a population of just over a million. Forty-two percent of men of military age served in the NZEF. 16,697 New Zealanders were killed and 41,317 were wounded during the war - a 58 percent casualty rate. Approximately a further 1,000 men died within five years of the war's end, as a result of injuries sustained, and 507 died whilst training in New Zealand between 1914 and 1918. New Zealand had the highest casualty and death rate per capita of any country involved in the war.
The First World War saw Māori soldiers serve for the first time in a major conflict with the New Zealand Army (although a number had fought in the Second Boer War when New Zealand recruiters chose to ignore British military policy of the time of disallowing 'native' soldiers). A contingent took part in the Gallipoli campaign, and later served with distinction on the Western Front as part of the New Zealand (Māori) Pioneer Battalion. 2688 Māori and 346 Pacific islanders served with New Zealand forces in total.
Samoa
New Zealand's first act of the war, in August 1914, was to send an expeditionary force to seize and occupy German Samoa. On 6 August 1914 the British government indicated that it would be "a great and urgent Imperial service" if New Zealand forces seized Samoa, so a mixed force of 1,413 men plus six nursing sisters sailed on the 15th and, after stopping in Fiji to collect some guides and interpreters landed at Apia on the 29th. Although Germany refused to officially surrender the islands, no resistance was offered and the occupation took place without any fighting - the first German territory to be occupied in the name of King George V.
Middle East
Training in Egypt
As early as October 1914 the New Zealand Expeditionary Force sailed from Wellington. Diverted from their original destination in Europe, the New Zealanders were landed in Egypt, where they helped repulse a Turkish attack on the Suez Canal in February 1915.
The New Zealand volunteer soldiers remained encamped in Egypt, alongside their Australian comrades, undergoing training prior to being sent to France.
Gallipoli, Turkey
On 25 April 1915, as part of the New Zealand and Australian Division, the New Zealanders landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, and fought in the Battle of Gallipoli under the command of British general Alexander Godley. The combined British Empire and French operation was mounted in order to eventually capture the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul). Because of a navigational error, the Anzacs came ashore about a mile north of the intended landing point in their initial landing. Instead of facing the expected beach and gentle slope they found themselves at the bottom of steep cliffs, offering the few Turkish defenders an ideal defensive position. Establishing a foothold, the Anzacs found an advance to be impossible. On 30 April 1915, when the first news of the landing reached New Zealand a half-day holiday was declared and impromptu services were held - the origin of the commemorative public holiday, ANZAC Day, recognised by New Zealand and Australia.
Evacuation from Gallipoli
Despite the blunder at Anzac Cove, the New Zealand soldiers fought valiantly throughout the campaign but it was a failed venture overall, and an estimated 505,000 soldiers were killed and 262,000 wounded, including New Zealand casualties of 2,701 dead and 4,852 wounded. The Allied forces eventually evacuated in early December and early January of 1916. The significance of the battle of Gallipoli was strongly felt in New Zealand (and Australia) where it was the first great conflict experienced by the fledgling nation. Before Gallipoli the citizens of New Zealand were confident of the superiority of the British Empire and were proud and eager to offer their service. The campaign in Gallipoli shook that confidence.
Palestine Campaign
Back in Egypt, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force was reorganised into the New Zealand Mounted Brigade and the New Zealand Division (infantry). Reinforcements from New Zealand replaced the Australian component of the Division, which embarked for France in April 1916. The New Zealand Mounted Brigade, 147 officers and 2,897 other ranks, remained in Egypt as part of the Anzac Mounted Division. In April 1916 it was deployed to the Sinai Peninsula where it took part in the ultimately successful Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Turks. New Zealanders fought in most of the battles leading up to the fall of Jerusalem and the defeat of the Ottoman Army, and were praised for their fighting alongside their Australian and British comrades. In 1919 Field-Marshall Sir Edmund Allenby, said this of the New Zealand soldiers in the Sinai campaign;
- "Nothing daunted these intrepid fighters: to them nothing was impossible."
A total of 17,723 New Zealanders served in this campaign and New Zealand casualties were 640 killed in action and 1,146 wounded.
Western Front
In France, the New Zealand Division settled in on the stalemated Western Front and their first major trial was during the Battle of the Somme. It took part in the Fourth Army's attack on 15 September, under the command of the British XV Corps. By the time they were relieved on 4 October, the New Zealanders had advanced three kilometres and captured eight kilometres of enemy front line. 7,048 had become casualties, of whom 1,560 were killed. In June 1917 the New Zealand Division further distinguished itself in the storming of Messines ridge and the capture of the village of Messines. During the fighting at Passchendaele in the following October, however, it was bloodily repulsed in its second attack, with 850 dead in exchange for no more than 500 yards of ground gained. This was the first time the Division had failed in a major operation; but more notably remains the worst disaster in New Zealand's history in terms of lives lost in a single day.
The Division now had four battalions, making it one of the largest on the Western Front, and was stationed in the Polygon Wood area, before again seeing action in a major battle. As the Germans launched their great Spring Offensive of 1918, the New Zealand Division was rushed to stem a breakthrough in the First Battle of the Somme, which threatened Amiens. The gap was between British IV and V Corps in the Ancre Valley. After confused fighting the New Zealanders eventually gained the upper hand and soon were counter-attacking advantageous land, stabilising the British line. Later in the year, they excelled in the open country fighting that was brought about by the Allied counter-offensive.
In their last action of the war, the Division captured the ancient fortress (Vauban-designed) town of Le Quesnoy in a daring assault on 4 November 1918. The day proved to be Division's most successful of their whole time on the Western Front as they pushed east and advanced ten kilometres, capturing 2000 German soldiers and sixty field guns. The town occupied a strategic position in north-eastern France and had been held by the Germans since 1914. Although with no specific orders indicating that the town need to be captured with any haste, the New Zealand soldiers were determined to and just before midday the first New Zealand troops reached the outer walls and scaled them with ladders. Propping the ladders against the precariously narrow inner walls, sections of one New Zealand battalion ascended the walls and engaged with fleeing German defenders. The few thousand strong German garrison surrendered soon after New Zealand soldiers entered the town itself.
Other theatres
New Zealand also contributed to the war at sea. Just after its outbreak, the cruiser HMS Philomel, loaned to New Zealand as a training ship, was augmented with 70 New Zealand reservists and sailed with two Royal Navy cruisers to escort the New Zealand troops sent to occupy German Samoa. Later in 1914 these three ships also escorted the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to Egypt.
From January 1915, Philomel patrolled the Gulf of Alexandretta in the Eastern Mediterranean, supporting several landings and sustaining three fatal casualties, one being the first New Zealander killed in action in the war. She also took part in the defence of the Suez Canal, operations in the Gulf of Aden and patrols in the Persian Gulf. Although refitting from time to time at Malta or Bombay kept her seaworthy, age eventually forced her out of the war and in March 1917 she returned to Wellington for a major overhaul. In June 1917 a German raider laid minefields in New Zealand waters, causing the loss of a merchant ship off Farewell Spit and another off Three Kings Islands. Two fishing trawlers, the Nora Niven and Simplon, were fitted as minesweepers and took up sweeping duties in these areas.
New Zealand had no air force of her own during the First World War but several hundred New Zealanders served with the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Air Force.
Second World War 1939-1945
New Zealand entered the Second World War by declaring war on Germany at 9.30 pm 3 September 1939 (NZT). Politically, New Zealand had been a vocal opponent of European fascism and also the appeasement of those dictatorships, national sentiment for a strong show of force was generally supported. Economic and defensive considerations also motivated the New Zealand involvement - reliance on Britain meant that if she were threatened, New Zealand would be too in terms of economic and defensive ties. There was also a strong sentimental link between the former British colony and the United Kingdom, with many seeing Britain as the "mother country" or "Home". Prime Minister of the time Michael Joseph Savage summed this up at the outbreak of war with a quote that would become a popular cry in New Zealand during the war;
- "Where Britain goes, we go! Where she stands, we stand!"[1]
New Zealand provided personnel for service in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, the Royal New Zealand Navy was placed at the Admiralty's disposal and new medium bombers waiting in the United Kingdom to be shipped to New Zealand were made available to the RAF. The New Zealand Army contributed the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF). In total, around 140,000 New Zealand personnel served overseas for the Allied war effort, and an additional 100,000 men were armed for Home Guard duty. At its peak in July 1942, New Zealand had 154,549 men and women under arms (excluding the Home Guard) and by the war's end a total of 194,000 men and 10,000 women had served in the armed forces at home and overseas. The costs for the country were high - 11,625 killed, a ratio of 6684 dead per million in the population which was the highest rate in the Commonwealth (Britain suffered 5123 and Australia 3232 per million population). The 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force was formed under Major-General Bernard Freyberg and would see active service in Greece, Crete, North Africa, Italy, and Yugoslavia. The main fighting unit of the expeditionary force was the New Zealand 2nd Division also commanded by Major-General Bernard Freyberg.
Greece
The 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force was deployed to the war in three echelons - all destined for Egypt, but one was diverted to Scotland (and would arrive there in June, 1941) following the German invasion of France. In April of that year, after a period training in Egypt, 2NZEF's New Zealand 2nd Division, stationed in Egypt, was deployed to take part in the defence of Greece against invasion by Italian troops, and soon German forces too when they joined the invasion. This defence was mounted alongside British and Australian units - the corps-size Commonwealth contingent under the command of British General Henry Maitland Wilson known together as W Force, supporting a weakened Greek Army. As German panzers began a swift advance into Greece on April 6, the British and Commonwealth troops found themselves being outflanked and were forced into retreat. By April 9, Greece had been forced to surrender and the 40,000 W Force troops began a withdrawal from the country to Crete and Egypt, the last New Zealand troops leaving by 29 April. The New Zealanders lost 291 men killed, 1,826 captured and 387 seriously wounded in this brief campaign.
Crete
Most of the New Zealand 2nd Division had been evacuated to Crete from Greece - two out of three brigades (the third and division headquarters to Alexandria) and here they bolstered the Crete garrison to 34,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers (25,000 were evacuees of Greece) and 9,000 Greek troops (see Crete order of battle#Allied Forces for more detail). Evacuated from to Crete on 28 April (having disregarded an order to leave on 23 April), the New Zealand General Freyberg was appointed commander of the Allied forces on Crete on the 30th. Ultra intercepts of German signals had already alerted Allied commanders to the German plans to invade Crete with fallschirmjäger (Luftwaffe paratroopers). With this knowledge of the plans General Freyberg began to prepare the island's defences, hampered by a lack of modern and heavy equipment as the troops from Greece had in most cases had to leave only with their personal weapons. Although German plans had underestimated Greek, British and Commonwealth numbers, and incorrectly presumed that the Cretan population would welcome the invasion, Freyberg was still faced with the harsh prospect that even lightly equipped paratroopers could overwhelm the island's defences.
Operation Mercury opened on 20 May when German fallschirmjäger were landed around the Maleme airfield and Chania area, at around 8:15 pm, by paradrop and gliders. Most of the New Zealand forces were deployed around this north-western part of the island and with British and Greek troops they inflicted heavy casualties upon the initial German attacks. Despite near complete defeat for their landing troops east of the airfield and in the Galatas region, German invaders were able to gain a foothold by mid-morning west of Maleme Airfield (5 Brigade's area) - along the Tavronitis riverbed and in the Ayia Valley to the east (10 Brigade's area - dubbed 'Prison Valley').
Maleme
Over the course morning, the 600-strong New Zealand 22 Battalion defending Maleme Airfield found its situation rapidly worsening. Telephone contact had been lost with the brigade headquarters, the battalion headquarters (in Pirgos) was out of contact with C and D Companies, stationed on the airstrip and along the Tavronitis-side of Hill 107 (see map) respectively and the battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Leslie Andrew (VC) had no idea of the enemy paratrooper strength to his west as his observation posts lacked wireless sets. While a platoon of C Company situated northwest of the airfield, nearest the sea, was able to repel German attacks along the beach, attacks across the Tavronitis bridge by fallschirmjäger were able to overwhelm weaker positions and take the Royal Air Force camp. Not knowing whether C and D Companies had been overrun, and with German mortars firing from the riverbed, Colonel Andrew (with unreliable wireless contact) ordered the firing of white and green signals - the designated emergency signal for 23 Battalion (to the south-east of Pirgos), under the command of Colonel Leckie, to counterattack. The signal was not spotted, and further attempts were made to get the message through to no avail. At 5:00 pm contact was made with Brigadier James Hargest at the New Zealand 2nd Division headquarters, but Hargest responded that 23 Battalion fighting paratroopers in its own area, an untrue and unverified assertion.
Faced with a seemingly desperate situation, Colonel Andrew played his trump card - two Matilda tanks, which were ordered to counterattack with the reserve infantry platoon and some additional gunners turned infantrymen. The counterattack was unsuccessful - one tank had to turn back after technical issues were discovered (the turret would not traverse properly) and the second tank ignored the German positions in the RAF camp and the edge of the airfield, heading straight for the riverbed. This lone tank stranded itself quickly on a boulder and, faced with the same technical difficulties as the first Matilda, the crew abandoned the vehicle. The exposed infantry were repelled by the fallschirmjäger. At around 6:00 pm the failure was reported to Brigadier Hargest and the prospect of a withdrawal was raised. Colonel Andrew was informed that he could withdraw if he wished, with the famous reply "Well, if you must, you must," but that two companies (A Company, 23 Battalion and B Company, 28 (Māori) Battalion) were being sent to reinforce 22 Battalion. To Colonel Andrew the situation seemed bleak; ammunition was running low, the promised reinforcements seemed not to be forthcoming (one got lost, the other simply did not arrive as quickly as expected) and he still had no idea how C and D companies were. The two companies in question were in fact resisting strongly on the airfield and above the Tavronitis riverbed and had inflicted far greater losses on the Germans than they had lost. At 9:00 pm Colonel Andrew made the decision to make a limited withdrawal, and once that had been carried out, a full one to the 21 and 23 Battalion positions to the east. By midnight all of 22 Battalion had left the Maleme area, with the exception of C and D Companies which withdrew in the early morning of the 21st upon discovering that the rest of the Battalion had gone.
This allowed German troops to seize the airfield proper without opposition and take nearby positions to reinforce their hold on the airfield. Ammunition and supplies were flown in by Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft, as well as the rest of the fallschirmjäger and troops of the 5th Mountain Division. Although the landings were extremely hazardous, with the airstrip under direct British artillery fire, substantial reinforcement was made. On the 21st the village of Maleme was attacked and captured, and a counter attack was made by the 20 Battalion (with reinforcements from the Australian 2/7 Battalion), 28 (Māori) Battalion and later 21 Battalion. The attack was hampered by communications problems and although the New Zealanders made significant advances in some areas, the overall picture was one of stiff German resistance. 5 Brigade fell back to a new line at Platanias, leaving Maleme securely in German hands, allowing them to freely build up their force in this region.
Galatas
On the night of the 23rd, and the morning of the 24th, 5 Brigade withdrew again to the area near Daratsos, forming a new front line running from Galatas to the sea. The relatively fresh 18 Battalion replaced the worn troops from Maleme and Platanias, deploying 400 men on a two kilometre front.
Galatas had come under attack on the first day of the battle - fallschirmjäger and gliders had landed around Chania and Galatas, to suffer extremely heavy casualties. They retreated to 'Prison Valley' where they rallied around the Ayia Prison and repulsed a confused counterattack by two companies of 19 Battalion and three light tanks. Pink Hill (named so for the colour of its soil), a crucial point on the Galatas heights was attacked several times by the Germans that day, and was remarkably held by the Division Petrol Company with aid from Greek soldiers, though at a heavy cost to both sides. The Petrol Company was comprised of poorly armed support troops, primarily drivers and technicians and by the day's end all their officers had been wounded, with most of their NCOs. They withdrew around dusk. On the second day the New Zealanders attacked nearby Cemetery Hill to take pressure off their line, and although they had to withdraw for it was too exposed, the hill became a no man's land as Pink Hill was, relieving the New Zealand front. Day three, the 22nd, saw German soldiers take Pink Hill. The Petrol Company and some infantry reserve prepared a counterattack but a notable incident pre-empted them - as told by Driver A. Pope:
- "Out of the trees came [Captain] Forrester of the Buffs, clad in shorts, a long yellow army jersey reaching down almost to the bottom of the shorts, brass polished and gleaming, web belt in place and waving his revolver in his right hand [...] It was a most inspiring sight. Forrester was at the head of a crowd of disorderly Greeks, including women; one Greek had a shot gun with a serrated-edge bread knife tied on like a bayonet, others had ancient weapons—all sorts. Without hesitation this uncouth group, with Forrester right out in front, went over the top of a parapet and headlong at the crest of the hill. The [Germans] fled."[2]
Days four and five were marked only by skirmishes between the two forces. Luftwaffe air raids targeted Galatas on the 25th at 8:00 am, 12:45 pm and 1:15 pm, and the German ground attack came at around 2:00 pm. 100 Mountain and 3 Parachute Regiment attacked Galatas and the high ground around it, while two battalions of 85 Mountain Regiment attacked eastwards, with the aim of cutting Chania off. The New Zealand defenders were ready, but at a disadvantage - 18 Battalion, 400 men, was the only fresh infantry formation on the line - the rest were non-infantry groups like the Petrol Company and the Composite Battalion, consisting of mechanical, supply and artillery troops. The fighting was fierce, especially along the north of the line, and platoons and companies were forced to make retreats. Brigadier Lindsay Inglis called for reinforcement and received 23 Battalion, who along with an improvised group of reinforcements scraped together at Brigade Headquarters (including the Brigade band and the Kiwi Concert Party) they stabilised the north of the line. South of Galatas, only 18 Battalion and the Petrol Company were defending - 18 Battalion was forced to withdraw, and the Petrol Company on Pink Hill followed suit after becoming aware of this eventually. 19 Battalion was the only formation still in combat on Pink Hill, and they too withdrew. These forces withdrew past Galatas, as no defenders were in the village to link up with.
By nightfall Galatas was occupied by German troops and Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Kippenberger prepared a counter attack. Two tanks led two companies of 23 Battalion into Galatas at a running pace - heavy fire was encountered and as the tanks went ahead towards the town square, the infantry cleared each house of German soldiers as they worked inward. When the infantry caught up with the tanks they found one out of action. With German fire coming primarily from one side of the square a charge was mounted and with bayonets the New Zealanders cleared the German opposition. Patrols quelled resistance elsewhere in Galatas - apart from one small strongpoint, Galatas was back in New Zealand hands.
At a conference between Brigadier Inglis and his commanders, the consensus was that a further counterattack was urgently needed and if it were not to be made, Crete would be lost. Despite hard fighting so far in the battle, the 28 (Māori) Battalion was considered to be the only 'fresh' battalion available and the only one capable of carrying out such an attack. Their commander was willing to mount the attack despite the difficulty, but a representative sent from Brigadier Edward Puttick at New Zealand 2nd Division headquarters recommended against such an attack for fear of being unable to hold the line subsequently. The counter-attack was scrapped, and so too was Galatas, its position being far too vulnerable to hold. However, without Galatas the whole line was untenable and so the New Zealanders again retreated, forming a line from the coast to Perivolia and Mournies, near the Australian 19th Brigade.
Evacuation
On 26 May the New Zealanders came under attack again, and although there were no major breakthroughs, the situation was grim. Like the New Zealanders, British, Commonwealth and Hellenic forces were being pushed steadily southward across the island by the Germans, using heavy aerial and artillery bombardment that the defenders simply could not match. Recognising that Crete could not be held, General Freyberg began preparations for an evacuation. The New Zealanders and Australians withdrew to take up positions defending '42nd Street' - a section of road between Suda and Chania. A surprise attack here by German soldiers was met with a bayonet charge by the Australians and 28 (Māori) Battalion (who led). German casualties were high and they withdrew. Around midnight 27/28th the New Zealanders and Australians again withdrew, to Sfakia this time, with the commandos of Layforce covering them. Stylos was reached by daytime and the decision was made to risk the threat of attack by the Luftwaffe and continue marching through the day, and two companies of the 28 (Māori) Battalion would remain as a rearguard. The next stopping point for the soldiers was the Askifou Plain, beyond the White Mountains, whose pass reached a height of 3,000 feet. It was a harsh obstacle for these tired soldiers, deployed in battle for the past nine days, but most made it to their rest point. The Māori soldiers of the rearguard made a fighting retreat to meet the main force.
On this day the official evacuation order was issued and the first 300 wounded were evacuated from the beach at Sfakia by Royal Navy destroyers. Later cruisers would join the effort, a total of seven vessels sent from the stretched Mediterranean fleet by Admiral Andrew Cunningham who was determined that the "navy must not let the army down." When army generals feared he would lose too many ships, Cunningham said that "It takes three years to build a ship, it takes three centuries to build a tradition." Ultimately 17,000 troops were evacuated to Alexandria by the British surrender on 1 June. Most of the New Zealanders made it, but 2,180 were captured. Additional New Zealand casualties for the Battle of Crete were 671 dead and 967 wounded.
New Zealand Second Lieutenant Charles Upham, the only person to receive two Victoria Crosses during World War II and the only combat soldier to receive the award twice, gained his first award during the battle.
North Africa
A small number of New Zealand transport and signals units supported the British Operation Compass in December 1940, but it was not until November of the following year that the New Zealand 2nd Division became fully involved in the North African Campaign. Following the evacuation from Crete, the Division regrouped at it's camp near Maadi - at the base of the desert slopes of Wadi Digla and Tel al-Maadi - reinforcements arrived from New Zealand to bring the Division back up to strength and the training cut short by the move to Greece and Crete was completed. On 18 November 1941, Operation Crusader was launched to lift the Siege of Tobruk (the third such attack), under the command of General Alan Cunningham and the New Zealand 2nd Division (integrated into the British Eighth Army) took part in the offensive, crossing the Libyan frontier into Cyrenaica. Operation Crusader was an overall success for the British, although Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps inflicted heavy armour and infantry losses before its weakened and under supplied units retreated to El Agheila and halted the British advance. The New Zealand troops were the ones to relieve Tobruk after fighting around Sidi Rezegh, where Axis tanks had inflicted heavy casualties against the several New Zealand infantry battalions, protected by very little of their own armour. In February, 1942, With Crusader completed, the New Zealand government insisted that the Division be withdrawn to Syria to recover - 879 men were killed and 1700 wounded in Operation Crusader, the most costly battle the Division fought in the Second World War.
On 14 June, the New Zealanders were recalled from their occupation duties in Syria as the Afrika Korps broke through Gazala and captured Tobruk. The New Zealanders, put on the defence, were encircled at Minqar Qa'im but escaped thanks to brutally efficient hand-to-hand fighting by 4 Brigade. Rommel's advance was prevented from reaching Alexandria, Cairo and the Suez Canal by the British in the First Battle of El Alamein, where New Zealand troops captured Ruweisat Ridge in a successful night attack. However, they were unable to bring their anti-tank weapons forward, and more importantly, British armour didn't move forward to support the soldiers. Heavy casualties were suffered by the two New Zealand brigades involved as they were attacking by German tanks, and several thousand men were taken prisoner. Charles Upham earned a bar for his Victoria Cross in this battle. Under the new command of Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, the Eighth Army launched a new offensive on October 23 against the stalled Axis forces, the Second Battle of El Alamein. On the first night, as part of Operation Lightfoot the New Zealand 2nd Division, with other British divisions, moved through the deep Axis minefields while engineers cleared routes for British tanks to follow. The New Zealanders successfully captured their objectives on Miteiriya Ridge. By 2 November, with the attack bogged down, Montgomery launched a new initiative to the south of the battle lines, Operation Supercharge, with the ultimate goal of disintegrating the Axis army. The experienced New Zealand 2nd Division was called to carry out the initial thrust - the same sort of attack they had made in Lightfoot. The under strength Division could not have the required impact and two British brigades assisted. The German line was breached by British armour and on 4 November the Afrika Korps, faced with the prospect of complete defeat, skillfully withdrew.
The New Zealanders continued to advance with the Eighth Army through the Tunisia Campaign, driving the Afrika Korps back into Tunisia, and notably fought at Medenine, the Tebaga Gap and Enfidaville. On 13 May 1943, the North African campaign ended, with the surrender of the last 275,000 Axis troops in Tunisia. On the 15th the Division began the withdrawal back to Egypt and by June 1 the division was back in Maadi and Helwan, on standby for use in Europe. Total New Zealand losses since November 1941, were 2,989 killed, 7,000 wounded and 4,041 taken prisoner.
Italy
- October/November 1943 New Zealand troops assembled in Bari
- November 1943 crossed the Sangro River with a view to breaching the German Gustav Line and advancing to Rome
- 2 December 1943 captured the village Castelfrentano
- 3 December 1943 attacked Orsogna but were repulsed by the strong German defence
- January 1944 withdrew from stalled front line
- 17 February attacked Cassino but it was strongly defended and they withdrew in early April. Cassino was eventually captured on 18 May 1944 by British and Polish troops, with support of NZ artillery
- 16 July 1944 captured Arezzo and reached Florence on 4 August, by the end of October they had reached the Savio River
- 14 December 1944 captured Faenza
- 8 April 1945 crossed the Senio River then began their final push across the Santerno River and Gaiana River and finally the Po River on Anzac Day 1945.
- 28 April 1945 captured Padua
- 1 May 1945 crossed the Izonso River to reach Trieste on 2 May 1945, the day of the German unconditional surrender in Italy
Pacific
When Japan entered the war in December 1941, the New Zealand Government raised another expeditionary force known as the 2nd N.Z.E.F. In the Pacific, or 2nd N.Z.E.F. (I.P.), for service with the Allied Pacific Ocean Areas command. This force supplemented existing garrison troops in the South Pacific. The main fighting formation of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. (I.P.) was the New Zealand 3rd Division. However the 3rd Division never fought as a formation; its component brigades being involved in semi-independent actions as part of the Allied forces in the Solomons, Treasury Islands and Green Island.
The New Zealand army units were eventually replaced by American formations, which released personnel for service with the 2nd Division in Italy, or to cover civilian labour shortages. Air force squadrons and Navy units contributed to the Allied island hopping campaign.
Other theatres
- On the 13 December 1939 HMNZS Achilles took part in The Battle of the River Plate as part of small British force against the German heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee. The action resulted in the German ship retiring to neutral Uruguay and being scuttled a few days later.
- HMNZS Leander
- RAF
J Force 1946-1948
In 1945, troops who had recently returned from Europe with the 2nd Division were drafted to form a contribution (known as J-Force) toward the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in southern Japan. No. 14 Squadron RNZAF, equipped with Corsair fighters, and RNZN ships also joined BCOF. Japan "J" Force was 4,320 strong, and was raised from 9 Brigade of the 2nd New Zealand Division and other supporting elements on February 21 1946. J Force sailed from Naples and arrived in Kure Japan, on March 11.
Bibliography: Subritzky, Mike (1995). The Vietnam Scrapbook The Second ANZAC Adventure. Blenheim: Three Feathers. ISBN 0-9583484-0-5; Major M.R. Wicksteed RNZA NZ Army Public Relations pamphlet.
Berlin Airlift 1948-49
From June 24, 1948 to May 11, 1949 the Soviet Union blocked Western railroad and street access to West Berlin. In response the British, American and French governments enacted the Berlin Airlift, one of the biggest food-drops in history, transferring supplies to 2.2 million inhabitants of West Berlin for 324 successive days. Royal New Zealand Air Force aircrews were seconded to the Royal Air Force and flew in these supply missions - ultimately 278,228 flights were made and 2,326,406 tons of food and supplies were delivered to Berlin. This was the first involvement New Zealand had in what was to become the Cold War.
Compulsory Military Training (CMT) 1949-1959
On August 3, 1949 a national referendum was held in regards to instituting Compulsory Military Training (CMT), and conscription into the Territorial Force of the New Zealand Army. The vote was 553,016 in favour of conscription and 152,443 against. The first intake of 18 year old men to march into camp under the CMT scheme on May 3, 1950 and by the time the CMT scheme was abolished by government in 1958, some 63,661 young Kiwis had completed an 18 week Whole Time Training and three years in the Territorial Force. The last compulsory annual camp was held in March 1959. Many of the young men who completed their CMT commitment went on to enlist into the Regular Force and served in Korea, Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam.
Bibliography: Subritzky, Mike (1995). The Vietnam Scrapbook The Second ANZAC Adventure. Blenheim: Three Feathers. ISBN 0-9583484-0-5; Major M.R. Wicksteed RNZA NZ Army Public Relations pamphlet.
Korean War 1950-1953
When the United Nations Security Council called for combat assistance in the erupting Korean War, New Zealand was one of the first (of sixteen) nations to respond with support. On June 29, just four days after 135,000 North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel in Korea, the New Zealand government ordered two frigates (Loch class) of the Royal New Zealand Navy - HMNZS Tutira and Pukaki to prepare to make for Korean waters. On July 3 they left Devonport Naval Base, Auckland and met up other Commonwealth forces at Sasebo, Japan, on August 2. These vessels served under the command of a British flag officer and formed part of the US Navy screening force during the Battle of Inchon, performing shore raids and inland bombardment. Further RNZN Loch class frigates joined these later - HMNZS Rotoiti, Hawea, Taupo and Kaniere, as well as a number of smaller craft. Only one RNZN sailor was killed during the conflict - during the Inchon bombardments.
After some debate, on July 26 1950, the New Zealand Government announced it would raise a volunteer military force to serve with UN forces in Korea. The idea was notably opposed initially by Chief of the General Staff Major General K. L. Steward, who did not believe the force would be large enough to be self-sufficient. His opposition was ignored and the government raised what was known as KAYFORCE, a total of 1044 men were selected from among volunteers. An artillery regiment and support elements arrived later during the conflict from New Zealand. The force arrived at Pusan on New Year's Eve and on January 21 joined the 27th British Infantry Brigade. The New Zealanders immediately saw combat and spent the next two and a half years taking part in the operations which led the United Nations forces back to and over the 38th Parallel, recapturing Seoul in the process.
Following the armistice, Royal New Zealand Navy deployments continued, together with Army support elements until 1957 as Kayforce was gradually reduced in size. The majority of Kayforce had returned to New Zealand by 1955, though it was not until 1957 that the last New Zealand soldiers had left Korea. A single New Zealand military liaison officer on the Commonwealth Liaison Mission, Korea, remained in the country until 1971. A total of 3,794 New Zealand soldiers served in KAYFORCE and 1300 in the RNZN deployment. 33 were killed in action, 79 wounded and 1 soldier was taken prisoner. That prisoner was held in North Korea for eighteen months and repatriated after the armistices. A New Zealander flying with the Royal Air Force was also captured when he was shot down near P'yongyang, and was repatriated at around the same time.
Kashmir 1952-76
In 1952, three New Zealand officers were seconded as military observers for the United Nations Military Observer Group in the Kashmir, to supervise a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Many Kiwi officers, and including Territorial Force officers saw service with the force until 1976.
Bibliography: Subritzky, Mike (1995). The Vietnam Scrapbook The Second ANZAC Adventure. Blenheim: Three Feathers. ISBN 0-9583484-0-5; Major M.R. Wicksteed RNZA NZ Army Public Relations pamphlet.
Operation Deep Freeze, 1955-current
The International Geophysical Year (IGY), 1956/57, was marked by establishment of the US Antarctic programme 'Operation Deep Freeze', coordinated by USN Admiral Richard Byrd.
USN Task Force 43, under the command of Rear Admiral George J. Dufek USN, then established the bases of Little America V and McMurdo Station. As part of New Zealand's involvement, HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS Hawea escorted the Antarctic supply ship HMNZS Endeavour from Bluff, New Zealand to the edge of the pack ice on the HMNZS Endeavour's first voyage south on 12 December 1956.
At McMurdo Sound, members of the ship's company helped construct the New Zealand Antarctic station which was named Scott Base. Able Seaman Ramon Tito, being the youngest member of the ships company of HMNZS Endeavour, was given the honour of raising the New Zealand Ensign at the opening of the base.
The New Zealand Trans-Antarctic Expedition which was led by Sir Edmund Hillary, and included a number of New Zealand military personnel, and using Massey-Ferguson farm tractors, which became the first wheeled vehicles to reach the South Pole. Hillary and his party arrived at the pole (from Scott Base), on the March 1 1957, leading the support leg of the Commonwealth Transantarctic Expedition (TAE). and It was the first overland journey to the pole since the ill-fated expedition of Robert Falcon Scott, and Hillary and his party had only 91 litres of fuel remaining when they arrived.
Hillary's team had set up depots for Vivian Fuchs, leader of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition, who was approaching from the Weddell Sea. Fuchs reached the pole two weeks after Hillary, and then continued to theRoss Sea to complete the first crossing of the continent.
The 18 month period from July 1 1957 - 31 December 1958 marked the historical delineation of modern Antarctic scientific co-operation. It was agreed by all interested nations that the world should co-operate in its endeavours for scientific understanding of the Antarctic continent, and cease all territorial claims. Sixty seven countries participated in ambitious scientific projects all over the continent, and 12 countries set up networks of scientific bases.
The International Geophysical Year (IGY) was responsible for the later Antarctic Treaty System, which is the international governing body of Antarctic science and conservation.
New Zealander Lieutenant Tom Couzens, Royal New Zealand Armored Corps was killed in a Crevasse accident on 1 November 1959, the first New Zealander killed in Antarctica.
On 2 October 1961, HMNZS Rotoiti, was fitted out as a weather picket ship, and sailed from Auckland on her first patrol, to provide weather information and be on emergency standby for the US aircraft flying between Christchurch and McMurdo Station. Based at Dunedin, each patrol was on station for 10 - 12 days, with usually two patrols in October - November, and one or two in January - February, the season ending early in March. Weather and sea conditions were usually bad to severe, with icebergs, snowstorms and icing up, among the natural hazards.
HMNZS Rotoiti carried out three tours of duty as a weather picket ship in the 1961-62 summer season plus two re-supply tours in late 1962 and a further two re-supply tours in November/December 1963.
HMNZS Pukaki was similarly modified and took over in mid January 64 for two tours of duty. 1964-65 was the last season, Pukaki doing five tours of duty including one over Christmas. Her last patrol ended on arrival at Dunedin 23 February 1965. Both ships (Rotoiti and Pukaki) were withdrawn from service within months of there return to the Devonport Naval Dockyard on account of their poor hull condition.
In 1963, HMNZS Endeavour began its Antarctic scientific research and re-supply mission, visiting Bellany, Macquarrie, Auckland and Campbell islands, also in support of Operation Deep Freeze.
In January 1964, HMNZS Pukaki took over picket duty from HMNZS Rotoiti and carried out this valuable work throughout the period 1964-65 in conjunction with USS Mills and USS Hissem.
In 1965, No: 40 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force, was re-equipped with the C130 Hercules and commenced regular flights to and from the Ice.
In 1972, the New Zealand Government increased its Peaceful military commitment to Operation Deep Freeze by providing teams of New Zealand Army Aircraft Cargo Handlers that were attached to VXE6 Squadron USN. So as to avoid any confusion, the first several teams wore American uniforms and rank badges. The first Kiwi teams lived on the Ice in a Jamesway Hut at Williams Field.
These cargo handlers provided valuable assistance in loading and unloading ski-equipped C130 aircraft which haul fuel, supplies, building materials and personnel to the many outlying stations on the Continent of Antarctica. As well, they unloaded American and New Zealand C130 Hercules aircraft, as well as the much larger C141 Starlifters.
Initially, the teams of Kiwi cargo handlers were made up entirely of male soldiers, however this later changed to be a tri-service venture, and in recent years has been made up of male and female members.
On 15 December 1973, Van 50, used during construction of the "new" South Pole Station was loaded by Kiwi Cargo Handlers in to VXE6 Squadron Hercules (JD 9130), and was flown to the South Pole.
In 1978, Air New Zealand commenced DC-10 scenic flights over Antarctica. A year later on 28 November 1979, Air New Zealand Flight TE901 on a scenic flight crashed into the northern slopes of Mount Erebus. killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew. A New Zealand Police body recovery team (Operation Overdue), served on the Ice at Scott Base and on Mount Erebus, uplifting the remains and returning them to New Zealand. On 7 February 2002 the Princess Royal, Princess Anne flew by RNZAF Hercules from Christchurch to the Ross Dependency arriving after a boomerang flight the previous day. Princess Anne, while staying at Scott Base, visited various historic huts in the area as well as the nearby American McMurdo Station and the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay. She attended a special anniversary dinner at Scott Base to celebrate the centenary of the first British Antarctic Expedition of Captain Robert Falcon Scott arriving in the Antarctic, as well as a special church service in the Chapel of the Snows before returning to Christchurch February 10.
In December 2002, the New Zealand Antarctic Veterans Association (NZAVA) was formed, and Sir Edmund Hillary KG, ONZ, KBE very graciously accepted patronage of the association. The objectives of the association is the protection of Antarctica, to foster comradeship with all who have served the New Zealand Government (Military and civilian personnel), south of South 60 degrees. As well, to seek medallic recognition from the New Zealand Government by way of the New Zealand Special Service Medal, with a distinctive ribbon.
On January 16 2006, a RNZAF P3-K Orion with a crew of 13 landed on the ice runways of Antarctica for the first time. From No 5 Squadron, the Orion was conducting a trial flight to determine the feasibility of conducting patrols from Antarctica in support of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
On the September 4, 2006, Prime Minister Helen Clark announced the introduction of the New Zealand Antarctic Medal (NZAM) into the New Zealand Royal Honours System. It replaced the British Polar Medal for New Zealanders and continues the tradition begun in 1904 of recognising the significant contribution New Zealanders have made and continue to make to the protection and knowledge of Antarctica. "The new medal will be made of sterling silver, and retains the famous octagonal shape and white ribbon of the polar medal. The reverse design shows a group of four Emperor Penguins on an Antarctic landscape with Mt Erebus in the background. The obverse bears an effigy of the Queen and the inscription Elizabeth II Queen of New Zealand. The medal was designed by Phillip O’Shea, CNZM, LVO, New Zealand Herald of Arms," Helen Clark said.
Bibliography: VXE-6 Squadron USN; Scott Base; Royal New Zealand Navy; Royal New Zealand Air Force; New Zealand Army; Log of HMNZS Endeavour; Log of HMNZS Pukaki; Log of HMNZS Rotoiti; Log of HMNZS Hawea; NZ Army Cargo Handlers/Ice Cargo/Hill Cargo and Willy Field; Archives of the New Zealand Antarctic Veterans Association; Old Antarctic Explorers - The OAE's; Mike Subritzky's VXE6 Sqn Dairy 1973; NASU Christchurch, USN Decommissioning Ceremony Brochure 1998; McMurdo Library; VXE-6 Cruise Book, 1975; and the outstanding archives of "Billy-Ace" Penguin Baker USN (ret), OAE.
Malayan Emergency 1950-1960
The Malayan Emergency was declared by the British government on June 18 1948 after guerillas of the Malayan Races Liberation Army, the militant arm of the Malayan Communist Party killed three British rubber planters. New Zealand's first contribution came in 1949, when the C-47s Dakotas of No. 41 Squadron were attached to the Royal Air Force's Far East Air Force. The Dakotas were used to drop supplies to British and Malay forces engaging the MRLA, and one aircraft was stationed permanently in Kuala Lumpur to carry out this role, away from No. 41 Squadron's usual station in Hong Kong. By the time the New Zealand planes were withdrawn in December 1951, they had carried out 211 sorties, dropping 284,000 kilograms of supplies. From 1949 there were also several New Zealand Army officers serving on secondment to British units in Malaya. A further ten officers, along with fourteen non-commissioned officers arrived in January 1951 leading the 1st Battalion of the Fiji Infantry Regiment. Commanded initially by Lieutenant-Colonel R. A. Tinker the unit gained a high reputation for effectiveness in operations against the guerrillas. By the time it was withdrawn in 1956 about forty New Zealanders had served with it, and two had been accidentally killed. In 1954 a Royal New Zealand Navy frigate, HMNZS Pukaki, carried out a bombardment of a suspected guerrilla camp, while operating with the Royal Navy's Far East Fleet - the first of a number of bombardments by RNZN ships over the next five years.
New Zealand became more directly involved in the Emergency in 1955, following its decision to contribute forces to the British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve, the primary role of which was to deter communist aggression in South-East Asia, and to provide a capacity for the immediate implementation of defence plans in the event that deterrence failed. As a secondary role, the forces committed to the Reserve were permitted to take part in actions against the guerrillas. The initial New Zealand contribution to this Reserve was a Special Air Service squadron which, commanded by Major Frank Rennie, served with the British Special Air Service's 22nd Regiment. It numbered six officers and 127 men. Their operations consisted of seeking out the guerrillas in their jungle sanctuary. From April 1956 this squadron was deployed to the Fort Brooke area, bordering the states of Perak and Kelantan, and during 1957 it operated in Negri Sembilan, between the towns of Seremban, Kuala Pilah, and Tampin. In both locations the squadron was involved in successful operations eliminating the local MRLA groups. In all, this squadron spent two years on service in Malaya, and the soldiers spent an average of 17 months on jungle operations.
On 1 May 1955, the Royal New Zealand Air Force carried out its first operational strike mission since the Second World War and its first with jet aircraft, de Havilland Vampires of No. 14 Squadron. Between April 1955 and March 1958 the squadron was re-equipped with de Havilland Venoms and mounted 115 strike missions, which fell into two categories - 'Firedogs' (pre-planned bombing, strafing, and rocket attacks against suspected guerrilla targets) and 'Smash Hits' (immediate on-call strikes against opportunity targets in response to a guerrilla raid or 'hot' information). The squadron was replaced in 1958 by No. 75 Squadron flying English Electric Canberras from its station in Tengah. The effectiveness of the air strikes against targets in the jungle was inevitably limited but they provided much valuable training experience to the New Zealand pilots. In July 1955 No. 41 Squadron returned to Malaya and resumed supply dropping operations in support of anti-guerrilla forces, this time using the highly effective Bristol Freighter aircraft.
From March 1958 the 1st Battalion of the New Zealand Regiment replaced the New Zealand SAS Squadron and as part of the 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade Group took part in operations designed to clear Perak of insurgents. It mounted a series of deep jungle patrols from Ipoh and Grik, it mounted a series of deep jungle patrols, in which it achieved great success. By the time the 2nd Battalion of the New Zealand Regiment arrived in late 1959, to replace the 1st Battalion, most of the Communist guerrillas had retreated across the border into southern Thailand and the Malayan government saw the security situation to be stable enough to declare the Emergency on 31 July 1960. New Zealand soldiers would be periodically deployed to Border Security Area as part of counter-insurgency measures over the next four years.
Of the 1300 New Zealanders to serve in the Malayan Emergency between 1948 and 1964, fifteen lost their lives - including only three killed as a result of enemy action and the crew of a Bristol Freighter which flew into a mountain in 1956. For a New Zealand Army with little experience of jungle warfare, the Emergency marked a new departure and an important stage in the development of the New Zealand armed forces from a non-regular to a regular framework of organisation. Experience gained in Malaya helped the New Zealand armed forces when they returned to South-East Asia's jungles during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and the Vietnam War.
Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation 1962-66
As a part of its withdrawal from its Southeast Asian colonies, the United Kingdom moved to combine its colonies on Borneo, Sarawak and British North Borneo, with those on peninsular Malaya, to form the Federation of Malaysia. This move was opposed by the government of Indonesia; President Sukarno argued that Malaysia was a puppet of the British, and that the consolidation of Malaysia would increase British control over the region, threatening Indonesia's independence. The Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation began on January 20 1963 when Indonesian Foreign Minister Subandrio announced that Indonesia would pursue a policy of Konfrontasi (Confrontation) with the Malaysia.
British forces conducted a successful counter-insurgency campaign against Indonesian guerillas (often regular Indonesian Army soldiers) but it was a strain on the resources and by early 1965 60,000 British and Malaysian servicemen were deployed in the region, together with a Royal Navy surface fleet of more than eighty warships, including two aircraft-carriers. Repeated requests had been made since December 1963 to New Zealand and Australia to provide combat forces for Borneo. Prime Minister Keith Holyoake's National Party government initially refused - while it was felt that Malaysia should definitely be supported against an enemy that had clearly acted as an aggressor, the government did not wish to see New Zealand embroiled in a major war with Indonesia. Indonesia is New Zealand's closest Asian neighbour and there was a fear of spoiling future relations. In refusing, the government argued that present British and Malaysian forces were sufficient to contain the insurgency. In 1964 Sukarno decided to intensify the Confrontation by extending military operations to the Malay Peninsula. When 98 Indonesian paratroopers landed in Johore in September, the 1st Battalion of Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment was one of the only Commonwealth units in the region and with the New Zealand government's permission hunted down the infiltrators. The following month, 52 soldiers landed in Pontian on the Johore-Malacca border and were also captured by New Zealand soldiers.
A change in New Zealand policy came as Sukarno increased the flow of Indonesian insurgents into Borneo and British military resources were stretched to almost breaking point. The New Zealand government could no longer deny the genuine appeals for assistance and the first New Zealand deployment was made to fight the insurgency - a Special Air Service detachment and the 1st Battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, along with former Royal Navy minesweepers HMNZS Hickleton and Santon and the frigate HMNZS Taranaki. The SAS detachment, and its later replacement, took part in Operation Claret alongside British and Australian SAS soldiers. The 1st Battalion did not see action until May 1965, when it relieved a Gurkha battalion in Sarawak, where it was involved in series of skirmishes. The battalion was relieved in October 1965 and was not to see further combat - when it returned to Borneo in May 1966, Confrontation was essentially over. Towards the end of 1965, General Suharto came to power in Indonesia, following a coup d'état. Due to this domestic conflict, Indonesian interest in pursuing the war with Malaysia declined, and combat eased. On May 28 1966 at a conference in Bangkok, the Malaysian and Indonesian governments declared the conflict was over. Violence ended in June, and a peace treaty was signed on August 11 and ratified two days later.
National Service 1962-1972
On May 10, 1962 the first intake of the newly established National Service Training scheme marched into camp. This scheme was a revised version of the earlier CMT scheme, and involved (initially), a fourteen week Whole Time Training at NSTU (National Service Training Unit), and then a three year commitment in the Territorial Force of the New Zealand Army. Members of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve who were balloted were required to complete the National Service Commitment in the Regular Navy. About 3,000 young 18 year olds were selected annually by a ballot using the marbles from the national art union raffle. The scheme was abolished by Prime Minister Norman Kirks Labour Government on December 31, 1972. Since that date, all service in the New Zealand Armed Forces has been voluntary. Many of the young men who completed their National Service Training went on to serve in the Vietnam War, and later Peacekeeping Operations.
Bibliography: Subritzky, Mike (1995). The Vietnam Scrapbook The Second ANZAC Adventure. Blenheim: Three Feathers. ISBN 0-9583484-0-5; Major M.R. Wicksteed RNZA NZ Army Public Relations pamphlet.
Vietnam War 1964-75
The Vietnam War would prove to be a highly controversial conflict for New Zealand, sparking wide-spread protest at home organised by anti-Vietnam War movements modelled on their American counterparts. This conflict was also the first in which New Zealand did not fight alongside the United Kingdom, instead following the loyalties of the ANZUS Pact.
Initial contributions
New Zealand's initial response was carefully considered and characterised by Prime Minister Keith Holyoake's cautiousness towards the entire Vietnam question. While it was recognised that New Zealand should support Vietnam, as Holyoake simply put it;
- "Whose will is to prevail in South Vietnam the imposed will of the North Vietnamese communists and their agents, or the freely expressed will of the people of South Vietnam?"[3]
the government preferred minimal involvement, with other South East Asian deployments already having a strain on the New Zealand armed forces. From 1961, New Zealand came under pressure from the United States of America to contribute military and economic assistance to South Vietnam, but refused. In 1962, Australia sent advisors, as the United States had, but again New Zealand refused to make a similar contribution. Instead, a detachment of Royal New Zealand Engineers and a surgical team was sent to Vietnam, the former consisting of two officers and 20 other ranks. The Engineers were sent to the Southern Republic in a non-combatant capacity to undertake reconstruction tasks in and around the town of Thu Do Mot. At the same time a small administrative headquarters was established in Saigon. These engineers would be withdrawn in 1965. The surgical team was made up of seven men and would eventually grow to sixteen, and remained in the country until 1975. The team worked for civilians at the Binh Dinh Province Hospital, in Dong Song, an overcrowded, and dirty facility almost completely lacking equipment and bedding. This contingent was despatched in June 1964.
New Zealand non-military economic assistance would continue from 1966 onwards and averaged at US$347,500 annually. This funding went to several mobile health teams to support refugee camps, the training of village vocational experts, to medical and teaching equipment for Hue University, equipment for a technical high school and a contribution toward the construction of a science building at the University of Saigon. Private civilian funding was also donated for 80 Vietnamese students to take scholarships in New Zealand.
Military assistance
American pressure continued for New Zealand to contribute military assistance, as the United States would be deploying combat units (as opposed to merely advisors) itself soon, as would Australia. Holyoake justified New Zealand's lack of assistance by pointing to its military contribution to the Indonesia-Malaysian Confrontation, but eventually the government decided to contribute. It was seen as in the nation's best interests to do so - failure to contribute even a token force to the effort in Vietnam would have undermined New Zealand's position in ANZUS and could have had an adverse effect on the alliance itself. New Zealand had also established its post-Second World War security agenda around countering communism in South-East Asia and of sustaining a strategy of forward defence, and so needed to be seen to be acting upon these principles. On 27 May 1965 Holyoake, announced the government's decision to send 161 Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery to South Vietnam in a combat role. The Engineers were replaced by the Battery in July 1965, which comprised of nine officers and 101 other ranks and four 105mm L5 pack howitzers (later increased to six, and in 1967 replaced with 105mm M2A2 howitzers). 161 Battery was initially under command of the United States Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade based at Bien Hoa near Saigon, but would later serve with Royal Australian Artillery field regiments when it was reassigned to the 1st Australian Task Force at Nui Dat, in Phuoc Tuy Province east of Saigon in June 1966. The gunners were noted for their key role in assisting the Australian 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, during the important action at Xa Long Tan, in which 18 Australians were killed holding off a regimental sized enemy force in August 1966. The Battery left Vietnam in May 1971 after providing virtually continuous fire support usually in support of Australian and New Zealand infantry units for six years, with 750 men having served with the Battery since its deployment.
In 1966, when Confrontation came to an end and Australia decided to expand the 1st Australian Task Force, New Zealand came under pressure to increase its commitment and did so. In May 1967, a 182-strong rifle company, (Victor One Company) was deployed to Vietnam from the 1st Battalion of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment in Malaysia. In December Victor One was joined by Whisky One Company, also from the 1st Battalion, and they were placed under the 1st Australian Task Force's command, as part of the Royal Australian Regiment's 2nd Battalion. In March 1968 they were integrated - forming the 2RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion, with New Zealand personnel assuming various positions in the battalion, including that of second in command. The rifle companies were deployed on infantry operations in Phuoc Tuy Province and were replaced several times, usually after a 12-month tour of duty. Whiskey Three Company was withdrawn without replacement in November 1970 and Victor Six Company was withdrawn without replacement in December 1971.
New Zealand's military presence in South Vietnam was also increased in April 1967 with the arrival of the The 1st New Zealand Services Medical Team was, a 19-strong tri-service detachment with the role of providing medical and surgical assistance to South Vietnamese civilians and developing local knowledge in this field. The New Zealanders relieved a United States Army medical team at Bong Son in Binh Dinh province. They also treated military casualties who were brought to the Bong Son Dispensary, including Army of the Republic of Vietnam personnel and Viet Cong prisoners. In June 1969 the team moved to the new 100-bed Bong Son Impact Hospital. The average bed-state was 92 and approximately 46,000 outpatients (mostly civilians) were treated annually before the team's withdrawal in December 1971. In 1967 also, a Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot was seconded to the Royal Australian Air Force's No. 9 Squadron, which was flying UH-1 Iroquois helicopters as troop transports. Two more RNZAF pilots joined No. 9 Squadron in 1968 and from December 1968 two forward air controllers served with the Seventh Air Force, United States Air Force.
In November 1968, New Zealand's contribution to the 1st Australian Task Force was increased by the deployment of 4 Troop, New Zealand Special Air Service, comprising an officer and 25 other ranks. The arrival of this Troop raised New Zealand's deployment to Vietnam to its peak - 543 men. The Troop was attached to the Australian SAS Squadron at Nui Dat and carried out long-range reconnaissance and the ambushing of enemy supply routes until being withdrawn in February 1971, having mounted 155 patrols during its deployment. As American focus shifted to President Richard Nixon's 'Vietnamization' - a policy of slow disengagement from the war, by gradually building up the Army of the Republic of Vietnam so that it could fight the war on its own, New Zealand dispatched the 2nd New Zealand Army Training Team Vietnam in January 1971. Numbering 25 men, it assisted the United States Army Training Team in Chi Lang. In February 1972 a second training team, 18 strong (including two Royal New Zealand Navy personnel), was deployed to Vietnam and was based at Dong Ba Thin, near Cam Ranh Bay. It assisted with the training of Cambodian infantry battalions. This team also provided first aid instruction and specialist medical instruction at Dong Ba Thin's 50-bed hospital.
Withdrawal
In line with reductions in American and Australian strength in Vietnam, New Zealand began the gradual withdrawal of its combat forces as the training teams were arriving. Prime Minister Holyoake said in 1971 that New Zealand's combat forces would be withdrawn by "about the end of this year," and they were - Whiskey Three Company went in November 1970, the SAS Troop and 161 Battery followed in February and May 1971 respectively, and Victor Six Company and the tri-service medical team left with the 1st Australian Task Force in December 1971, ending New Zealand's combat involvement in the Vietnam War. One of the first acts of Prime Minister Norman Kirk's Labour Paty government (elected in December 1972) was to withdraw both training teams and and the New Zealand headquarters in Saigon. By then, a total of 3890 New Zealand military personnel (volunteers) had served in Vietnam, between June 1964 and December 1972. Thirty-seven of them (36 Army and 1 RNZAF) were killed and 187 wounded.
Protest
Although New Zealand's involvement in the war was very limited compared to the contributions of some its allies, it still triggered a large anti-Vietnam War movement at home. New Zealand protests were similar to those in the United States - criticising the policies of the United States government and challenging seriously for the first time New Zealand's alliance-based security, calling for a more 'independent' foreign policy which was not submissive to that of the United States and denying that communism posed any real threat to New Zealand. Campaigns were also waged on moral grounds ranging from pacifist convictions to objections to the weapons being used to fight the war. In the earl 1970s, anti-Vietnam war groups organised 'mobilisations', when thousands marched in protest against the war in all the country's major centres. While Prime Minister Holyoake and his government had their own misgivings about the viability of the war, they were consistent in their public belief that they were maintaining both New Zealand's foreign policy principles and treaty-bound obligations. Despite popular sentiment apparently against the conflict, especially in its final years, Holyoake's National Party was reelected into government twice during the course of the war.
Protesting statistics:
- 1967: 21 arrests during an Auckland protest against the visit of South Vietnam’s Premier, Air Vice-Marshal Ky.
- 1967: A big fight between police and protesters outside the home of the American consul at Paritai Drive in Auckland
- 1969: Flour bombs, paint and eggs thrown in protest over a visit of a high ranking United States politician
- 1969: Fire crackers thrown at an election meeting addressed by the Prime Minister with 30 arrests.
- 1970: 200 police control a riot outside the hotel of the United States Vice president.
Agent Orange
Like veterans from many of the other allied nations, as well as Vietnamese civilians, New Zealand veterans of the Vietnam War claimed that they (as well as their children and grandchildren) had suffered serious harm as a result of exposure to Agent Orange - the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the conflict. In 1984, Agent Orange manufacturers paid New Zealand, Australian and Canadian veterans in an out-of-court settlement [4], and in 2004 Prime Minister Helen Clark's government apologised to Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or other toxic defoliants[5], following a health select committee's inquiry into the use of Agent Orange on New Zealand servicemen and its effects[6]. In 2005, the New Zealand government confirmed that it supplied Agent Orange chemicals to the United States military during the conflict. Since the early 1960s, and up until 1987, it manufactured the 2,4,5T herbicide at a plant in New Plymouth which was then shipped to U.S. military bases in South East Asia.[7][8][9]
New Zealand Force South East Asia 1974-1990
On January 31, 1974, the New Zealand military elements stationed in Singapore were renamed as above due to the withdrawal from the region of the Commonwealth 28 ANZUK Brigade. A Battalion sized force (1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment), and supporting units remained in South East Asia for a further 15 years. The Battalion was based at Dieppe Barracks, and as well "The Fern Leaf Club" was also used as an R&R stop-over for Kiwis on UN Missions.
Bibliography: Subritzky, Mike (1995). The Vietnam Scrapbook The Second ANZAC Adventure. Blenheim: Three Feathers. ISBN 0-9583484-0-5; Major M.R. Wicksteed RNZA NZ Army Public Relations pamphlet.
Operation Overdue 1979
In 1977, Air New Zealand commenced tourist flights from Auckland to the Antarctic. These flights were very popular and usually heavily booked. In the summer of 1979 four flights were made available, and the last of these scheduled flights for the season was Air New Zealand Flight TE901. This flight took off from Auckland at 0820 on November 28 1979, on what was supposed to be an 11-hour scenic flight. However the aircraft crashed into the Northern slopes of Mount Erebus, and all 237 passengers and 20 crew on the flight were killed.
Immediately a team of New Zealand Police Officers and a Mountain Rescue Team were despatched to the Antarctic aboard a No 40 Squadron C130 Hercules aircraft.
The horrendous job of individual identification took many weeks and was largely done by teams of pathologists, dentists and police. The mortuary team, including a number of women, was led by Inspector Jim Morgan, who subsequently collated and edited a report on the recovery operation. Much of the task of dealing with relatives fell to police women. Record keeping had to be meticulous because of the number, and the fragmented state, of the human remains that had to be identified to the satisfaction of the coroner. From a purely technical point of view the exercise was both innovative and highly successful with 83 percent of the deceased eventually being identified, sometimes from pitifully small evidence such as a finger, capable of yielding a print, or keys in a pocket.
The fact that we all spent about a week camped in polar tents amid the wreckage and dead bodies, maintaining a 24 hour work schedule says it all. We recovered with great effort all the human remains at the site. Many bodies were trapped under tons of fuselage and wings and much physical effort was required to dig them out and extract them. ''"Initially, there was very little water at the site and we had only one bowl between all of us to wash our hands in before eating. The water was black. In the first days on site we did not wash plates and utensils after eating but handed them on to the next shift because we were unable to wash them. I could not eat my first meal on site because it was a meat stew. Our polar clothing became covered in black human grease (a result of burns on the bodies).
We felt relieved when the first resupply of woolen gloves arrived because ours had become saturated in human grease, however, we needed the finger movement that wool gloves afforded, i.e writing down the details of what we saw and assigning body and grid numbers to all body parts and labeling them. All bodies and and body parts were photographed in setu by US Navy servicemen who worked with us. Also, US Navy personnel helped us to lift and pack bodies into body bags which was very exhausting work.
Later, the Skua gulls were eating the bodies in front of us, causing us much mental anguish as well as destroying the chances of identifying the corpses. We tried to shoo them away but to no avail, we then threw flares, also to no avail. Because of this we had to pick up all the bodies/parts that had been bagged and create 11 large piles of human remains around the crash site in order to bury them under snow to keep the birds off. To do this we had to scoop up the top layer of snow over the crash site and bury them, only later to uncover them when the weather cleared and the helos were able to get back on the site. It was immensely exhausting work.
After we had almost completed the mission,we were trapped by bad weather and isolated. At that point, Greg and I allowed the liquor that had survived the crash to be given out and we had a party (macabre, but we had to let off steam).
We ran out of cigarettes, a catastrophe that caused all persons, civilians and Police on site, to hand in their personal supplies so we could dish them out equally and spin out the supply we had. As the weather cleared, the helos were able to get back and we then were able to hook the piles of bodies in cargo nets under the helos and they were taken to McMurdo. This was doubly exhausting because we also had to wind down the personnel numbers with each helo load and that left the remaining people with more work to do. It was exhausting uncovering the bodies and loading them and dangerous too as debris from the crash site was whipped up by the helo rotors. Risks were taken by all those involved in this work. The civilians from McDonnell Douglas, MOT and US Navy personnel were first to leave and then the Police and DSIR followed. I am proud of my service and those of my collegues on Mount Erebus.'' - NZPO2
The last two Policemen off the mountain was Sergeant Mark Penn and Constable Al Windleburn along with with several DSIR personnel after a final 36 hours non stop shift. When this group got back to "Mac Town McMurdo Station, they were met by the US Navy Fire Crew. When the Firefighters saw the state they were in covered head to toe in black grease they directed the Kiwi's to the Firehouse where they told them to strip naked and jump into the firehouse water tank. It was heaven.
In 1979 recognition was given, of the personal distress suffered by the recovery and identification teams, some of whom broke down under their grim duty. Counselling was offered to all who wished for it, and the debriefing report specifically noted the need for officers in command of such operations to know how to recognise and deal with the signs of stress in staff. It took several years more for psychological support to become standard practice in the New Zealand Police.
There was no official group recognition for the efforts of the police involved on this occasion, but Inspector R. S. Mitchell, leader of the body recovery team, and Inspector Morgan, leader of the DVI team were both awarded the OBE specifically for their services in relation to this disaster.
NOMINAL ROLL OF THOSE GALLANT MEN WHO SERVED ON MOUNT EREBUS
New Zealand Police OPERATION OVERDUE members at the Mount Erebus crash site:
On Site Co-ordinators(O/Cs)
Sergeant Mark PENN NZ POLICE Sergeant Gregory GILPIN NZ POLICE
On site Police Recovery Team Members:
Sergeant Trevor HORNE NZ POLICE; Sergeant Peter RODGER NZ POLICE; Constable Peter YOUNGER NZ POLICE; Constable Stuart LEIGHTON NZ POLICE; Constable Brett JONES NZ POLICE; Constable Russell BLACKLER NZ POLICE; Constable Al WINDLEBURN NZ POLICE; Constable B. THOMPSON NZ POLICE;
Face Rescue Team Members:
John STANTON O/C of this team and the DSIR Team. Colin MONTEITH; John BARNETT; Eric SAGGERS; Harry KEYS;
DSIR Team:
Roy ARBON; Ray GOLDRING; Hugh LOGAN; D. THOMSON; K. WOODFORD;
Bibliography:
- NZAVA Operation Deep Freeze - The New Zealand Story, 2002.
- Operation Overdue - NZAVA Archives 2002.
- C.H.N. L'Estrange, The Erebus enquiry: a tragic miscarriage of justice, Auckland, Air Safety League of New Zealand, 1995
- Stuart Macfarlane, The Erebus papers: edited extracts from the Erebus proceedings with commentary, Auckland, Avon Press, 1991
- Report of the Royal Commission to Inquire into the Crash on Mount Erebus, Antarctica of a DC10 Aircraft Operated by Air New Zealand Limited, Wellington, Govt. Printer, 1981
Rhodesia - Operation Agila 1979-80
In 1979 New Zealand contributed a force of 75 officers and men to the Commonwealth Monitoring Force which was established to oversee the implementation of the agreement which had ended the Rhodesian War. This force was assembled and began training in New Zealand in April 1979 and deployed to Rhodesia December 22-24. The monitoring force was made up of about 1,500 soldiers from Australia, Britain, Fiji, Kenya and New Zealand. New Zealand's contribution to this operation was code-named Operation Midford
After several days of briefings and logistical preparations the peace monitoring teams deployed across Rhodesia from 28 December. The New Zealanders were deployed in small groups throughout the country, however two Assembly Place teams were deployed to Operational Area Tangent in Southern Matebeleland. Assembly Place LIMA was located on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, at a place called Mhudlambudzi, while Assembly Place MIKE was located at an old mission station. There were a total of 16 Commonwealth Assembly Places, and both AP LIMA and AP MIKE were New Zealand entities.
The Assembly Place teams supervised the concentration of the guerrilla forces into the 16 [Assembly Places] during the period in which the cease fire was implemented and national elections held. Following the election the Commonwealth Monitoring Force began withdrawing from the newly independent and renamed Zimbabwe on March 2, 1980 with the final members of the force leaving on March 16.
Multi-National Force and Observers 1982-current
On ANZAC Day 1982, a small group of six New Zealand soldiers arrived in the Sinai as New Zealand's commitment to the Multi-National Force and Observers (MFO). This was to be the beginning of an ongoing commitment of New Zealand Peacekeepers to the Sinai region. The task of the MFO was initially to supervise the withdrawal of Israeli military units from Egyptian territory. A rotary wing of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, also served Incountry, however this was withdrawn in 1986. New Zealand increased it's commitment to this Mission, which is now tri-service in nature with a group of about two platoons of specialist servicemen and women serving a six month Tour of Duty with the MFO.
Bibliography: Subritzky, Mike (1995). The Vietnam Scrapbook The Second ANZAC Adventure. Blenheim: Three Feathers. ISBN 0-9583484-0-5; Major M.R. Wicksteed RNZA NZ Army Public Relations pamphlet.
Armilla patrol 1982-83
The Royal New Zealand Navy's HMNZS Canterbury and Waikato joined the Armilla Patrol - the Royal Navy's permanent presence in the Persian Gulf in 1982. They spent two years in the Gulf, monitoring merchant shipping belligerent activities during the Iran-Iraq War.
The Officer Cadet School of New Zealand 1985-current
The Officer Cadet School of New Zealand was established at Waiouru, and took over those functions previously carried out by the Officer Cadet Training Unit, and the Officer Cadet Training Company. For the first time, two overlapping classes were being trained in New Zealand. The Australian Army's Officer Cadet School at Portsea later closed in December of 1985.
Bibliography: Subritzky, Mike (1995). The Vietnam Scrapbook The Second ANZAC Adventure. Blenheim: Three Feathers. ISBN 0-9583484-0-5; Major M.R. Wicksteed RNZA NZ Army Public Relations pamphlet.
Operation Wells and Operation Fargo 1987
In May 1987, Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka led a group of Fijian military officers which used arms to overthrow the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra who although native a Fijian, was heavily supported by the Indo/Fijian community. This Coup, later referred to as "Coup1" sent shock waves to all nations of the Pacific Rim; including New Zealand.
Operation Wells involved the New Zealand Special Air Service and two ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy, whilst Operation Fargo impacted on members of 161 Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery based in Papakura Military Camp, the NZSAS and No 40 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Those New Zealanders involved in Operation Wells were later given "Returned" status by the Royal New Zealand Returned Services Association.
Bibliography: Mike Subritzky's Operational Diary 1987
Gulf War 1990-91
When the Gulf War broke out, as a result of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, New Zealand joined the 34-nation United States-led coalition. When military action was taken against Iraq in 1991, New Zealand contributed three Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and a tri-service medical team to assist the coalition forces. The war ended with a peace deal after a decisive victory for the coalition forces, which drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait with minimal coalition deaths.
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-2004
New Zealand’s committed military observers to the Balkans in 1992, and joined the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in 1994 with the first of two Company Groups being deployed. When this commitment was withdrawn New Zealand continued to commit three Staff Officers to the NATO Stabilisation Force (SFOR) until it was replaced by the European Union Force (EUFOR) in 2004.
Somalian Civil War 1992-94
In 1991, the northern portion of Somalia declared its independence as Somaliland. UN Security Council Resolution 794 was unanimously passed on December 3, 1992, which approved a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, tasked with ensuring humanitarian aid being distributed and peace being established in Somalia. The UN humanitarian troops landed in 1993 and started a two-year effort (primarily in the south) to alleviate famine conditions. New Zealand was part of this coalition and provided an army supply detachment, Royal New Zealand Air Force transport aircraft and staff officers. The UN withdrew on March 3 1995, having suffered significant casualties - order in Somalia still has not been restored.
Haiti 1994-95
New Zealand provided military observers for service in Haiti during the United Nation mission.
Kuwait 1998
In 1998, the Iraqi disarmament situation escalated dramatically. A Special Air Service detachment was deployed to Kuwait joined by a Australian Special Air Service Regiment squadron, as part of the US-led Operation Desert Thunder. While this crisis was resolved peacefully, if military action had been taken the NZSAS role would have been that of rescuing the crews of aircraft shot down by Iraqi air defences.
Kosovo 1999-current
In 1999, New Zealand deployed Lieutenant Colonel Blackwell to Kosovo as the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) military information officer. With three assistants, he worked with UNMIK’s military liaison component, which was responsible for various tasks, including liaising with military forces throughout Kosovo. The 38 officers from 27 countries provided military advice to the UNMIK executive and other international organisations operating in Kosovo, and helped assess threats to the security of international civilian personnel. Blackwell's role was in an information unit to ensure a constant information flow between all the military liaison teams operating in the country. Of the 38 officers only three spoke fluent English, so the responsibility for drafting and coordinating all reports fell to him. Blackwell is due to be replaced in Kosovo by an RNZAF officer.
East Timor 1999-2003
During the 1990s, Indonesia came under increasing international pressure to grant independence to East Timor, which grew to such levels that in March 1999 the Indonesian government decided to hold a referendum about the future of East Timor. In April violence started - pro-Indonesia militia, numbering up to 30,000 people total, armed themselves with machetes and rifles and used violence to intimidate Timorese voters to oppose independence. The United Nations dispatched 280 police officers and 50 military liaison officers to oversee voter registration and the ballot itself in June, and violence continued right up until the polling itself on August 30. The result was announced on September 3 - a clear majority 78.5% of voters voted in favour of independence from Indonesia. Directly after this, Indonesian-backed paramilitaries as well as Indonesian soldiers carried out a campaign of violence and terrorism in retaliation. Activists in Portugal, Australia, the United States, and elsewhere pressured their governments to take action, with United States President Bill Clinton eventually threatening Indonesia, in dire economic straits already, with the withdrawal of IMF loans. The Indonesian government consented to withdraw its troops and allow a multinational force into Timor to stabilize the area - with Security Council Resolution 1264 the United Nations created INTERFET (International Force for East Timor) led by Major-General Peter Cosgrove of the Australian Army. INTERFET was comprised of contributions from 17 nations, about 9,900 in total. At it's peak, the New Zealand Defence Force had 1,100 personnel in East Timor - New Zealand's largest overseas military deployment since the Korean War.
On September 13 New Zealand dispatched its first contribution to the UN effort - the Royal New Zealand Navy's HMNZS Endeavour, a tanker loaded with helicopter fuels and supplies. A day later the Anzac class frigate HMNZS Te Kaha joined vessels from other UN countries patrolling off the coast of Dili, and supported the landings of INTERFER troops. HMNZS Canterbury joined Te Kaha later, and two private vessels (MV Edisongracht and MV Edamgracht) were chartered to transport New Zealand Defence Force equipment. On September 17 Prime Minister Shipley announced New Zealand's further initial contribution of a Company Group of 420 soldiers, as well as 265 navy and air personnel, whose primary role would be to keep the East Timorese people safe from the militia. The Army contribution soon grew to a Battalion Group of 830 personnel - six Battalion Groups were deployed, one at a time on 6 month rotations, and a total of 3,200 New Zealand Regular and Territorial Force soldiers served in East Timor with these. The New Zealand personnel were based at the town of Suai, from where the Battalion Group, New Zealand Special Air Service personnel and six UH-1 Iroquois helicopters of No. 3 Squadron carried out patrols, observing and following the militia. Two Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft and a chartered Boeing 747 flew supplies to Suai from New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand Defence Force personnel were responsible for a 1,700 square kilometre south-western area of operations, a rugged area with poor infrastructure. This included portion of the border with West Timor and from Indonesia there were sporadic cross-border raids against INTERFET/UNTAET troops. In addition to their operations against militia, the New Zealand troops were also involved in construction of roads and schools, water supplies and other infrastructural assistance. English lessons and medical aid were also provided.
On February 28, 2000, INTERFET handed over command of military operations to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. Elections were held in late 2001 for a constituent assembly to draft a constitution, a task finished in February 2002. East Timor became formally independent on May 20, 2002 when Xanana Gusmão was sworn in as the country's President and the UN handed control over to the East Timorese government, now a recognised sovereign state and the peacekeepers were transferred to the United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor. New Zealand Defence Force personnel were completely withdrawn by November 2002, though some officers remained behind and four are still present training the East Timorese military. Four New Zealand peacekeepers were killed on operations in East Timor.
Solomon Islands 2000-current
In early 1999 long-simmering tensions between the Solomon Islands' local Gwale people on Guadalcanal and more recent migrants from the neighbouring island of Malaita, erupted into a civil war. The Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM), began terrorising Malaitans in the rural areas of the island, to make them leave their homes and the Malaita Eagle Force (MEF) was formed in response to uphold Malaitan interests. The MEF seized the parliament by force on June 5 and Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa’alu was forced to step down. Parliament elected Manasseh Sogavare in his place by a narrow margin on the 30th, whose corrupt government only worsened the economic situation and saw the further deterioration of law and order. He was replaced in December 2001 by Allan Kemakeza.
In July, 2003 the Governor-General of the Solomon Islands John Lapli issued an official request for international help, which was subsequently endorsed by a unanimous vote of the parliament - the latter to provide the international force with greater powers and resolve some legal ambiguities. On July 6, in response a proposal was made to send 300 police and 2,000 troops from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Tonga and Papua New Guinea and later that month parliament voted unanimously in favour of the proposed intervention. The international force gathered at Townsville, Australia, and entered the Solomon Islands in August as the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, led by the Australian Federal Police. RAMSI, at its peak, consisted of over 2000 police, military and civilian personnel from New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Tonga and Papua New Guinea and 20 other Pacific nations. RAMSI acted as an interim police force and has been successful in improving the country's overall security conditions, including brokering the surrender of a notorious warlord, Harold Keke.
The New Zealand Defence Forces’ initial contribution was a detachment of four UH-1 Iroquois helicopters and 65 personnel to support them, 12 engineers and 28 support and medical staff. On August 25, a platoon the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment joined the mission bringing the number of New Zealand personnel to about 230. The platoon was on a three-month rotation and four rotations were made before RAMSI was scaled down in July, 2004, as stability had gradually been restored to the country.
The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands is now primarily a police force - New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga are rotating responsibility for a small military contribution and it is currently New Zealand's turn, with a platoon of 33 personnel in the Solomon Islands, which will leave on July 31 2006. 35 New Zealand Police officers are also there with counterparts from other RAMSI contributors as part of the 246-strong Participating Police Force who work with and provide training for the Royal Solomon Islands Police.
Afghanistan 2001-current
In September, 2001, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States of America threatened Afghanistan's Taliban government with retributive attacks for harbouring al-Qaeda leaders and fighters and demanded the handover of all al-Qaeda leaders (including Osama bin Laden) and the closure and inspection of all "terrorist training camp[s]". The demands were not met and shortly afterward, the United States, aided by the United Kingdom and supported by a coalition of other countries including the NATO alliance, initiated military action against the Taliban. The stated intent was to remove the Taliban from power because of their refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden for his involvement in the September 11 attacks, and in retaliation for the Taliban's aid to him. In December, 2001 New Zealand took contributed 50 Special Air Service personnel to the United States invasion of Afghanistan. In March 2002 the New Zealand SAS took part in Operation Anaconda against about 500 to 1000 al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains southeast of Zorma, Afghanistan.
In the aftermath of the invasion, New Zealand Defence Force staff officers have been attached to the Coalition Joint Task Force Headquarters since 2002 and two Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft and New Zealand Army personnel (including SAS troops) are currently in Afghanistan working as part of the International Security Assistance Force. A 122-strong triservice Provincial Reconstruction Team of 122 personnel has been located in Bamyan Province since 2003. Their role focuses on "creating a secure environment for the provision of development assistance and assists security sector reform, local government, disarmament and demobilisation processes."[10] This includes reconstruction work on roads and bridges, construction of district police stations and provision of police vehicles, de-mining, destructing of ammunition and arms caches and seizing and destroying illegal drugs, among other things. Two New Zealand Army non-commissioned officers are currently part of the United Kingdom Afghan National Army Training Team, training the Afghan National Army, and two New Zealand Police officers are doing likewise with the Afghan police in Bamyan.
Iraq 2003-current
The New Zealand government opposed and officially condemned the 2003 Invasion of Iraq by the United States-led "Coalition of the Willing" and did not contribute any combat forces. In October, 2003 61 New Zealand Defence Force personnel were deployed (consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483) to Iraq as a Light Engineer Group to assist in post-war reconstruction and provision of humanitarian aid. The four staff officers, 40 engineers and 16 logistical support staff came from the New Zealand Army and Royal New Zealand Navy and were deployed to Basra in Southeast Iraq where they worked alongside (and were under the command of) of British engineers. Their tasks included work on hospitals, health clinics, schools, police stations, law courts, municipal and government buildings, restoring electricity, the rebuilding of bridges and water pipelines. The engineers returned home in October, 2004 and New Zealand is still represented in Iraq by liaison and staff officers working with coalition forces.
Timor Leste 2006
New Zealand deployed 42 troops to Timor Leste on 26 May 2006 following widespread fighting between factions in the Timorese capital Dili. A second contingent of 120 troops drawn from 2/1 RNZIR left Christchurch on 27 May. These soldiers underwent several days of training in Townsville, Queensland Australia before being deployed to Timor Leste on 31 May. The New Zealand force has been responsible for providing security in the Dili alongside soldiers and police from Australia, Malaysia and Portugal.
See also
- Military of New Zealand
- Participants in World War II
- List of New Zealander Victoria Cross recipients
- List of New Zealand divisions in World War II
References
- "War and Society". New Zealand's history online.
- "A History of the New Zealand Army, 1840 to 1990s". A History of the New Zealand Army, 1840 to 1990s.
- "Australian & New Zealand Military History from 1788". Australian & New Zealand Military History from 1788.
- John Crawford (1999). "New Zealand and the Boer War". New Zealand Defence Quarterly.
- Wright, Matthew (2005). Western Front : the New Zealand Division in the First World War 1916-18. Auckland: Reed. ISBN 0-7900-0990-0.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - "WARS – FIRST WORLD WAR, 1914–18". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock.
- "New Zealand in the First World War". New Zealand and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
- "NZ Forces". The AIF & NZEF in the Great War.
- "ROYAL NEW ZEALAND FORCES". The Korean War.
- ^ Larsen, Lieutenant General Stanley Robert (1985). Allied Participation in Vietnam. Washington D.C.: Department of the Army. LCC 74-28217.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Subritzky, Michael (1995). The Vietnam Scrapbook The Second ANZAC Adventure. Blenheim: Three Feathers. ISBN 0-9583484-0-5.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Korea orders Agent Orange payments". Mercury News. January 26 2006.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Government apology for Vietnam War veterans". New Zealand Herald. December 15 2004.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Health Committee (2004). "Inquiry into the exposure of New Zealand defence personnel to Agent Orange and other defoliant chemicals during the Vietnam War and any health effects of that exposure, and transcripts of evidence" (PDF).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
- Kaye, C.M.S. Mission Extraordinary Zimbabwe - Rhodesia, British Army Review, 1980. Lock, Peter. & Cooke Peter, Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia, P&P Publishing, Wellington, 1995. Lovett, John. Contact, Galaxie Press, Salisbury, 1979. Moorcroft, Paul. Contact II, Sygma Press, Johannesburg, 1981. Subritzky, Mike. Rhodesia - Operational Diary, unpublished, 1979 - 1980. Subritzky, Mike. Letters from Comrade Lt. Thomas Sabanda ZIPRA 1980.
- "East Timor". New Zealand Army Overseas.
- "East Timor". New Zealand Defence Force: Deployments.
- "East Timor". Riots, Rebellion, Gunboats and Peace Keepers.
- "Timor Leste". New Zealand Defence Force: Deployments.
- Controller and Auditor-General (2001). "New Zealand Defence Force: Deployment to East Timor" (PDF).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "NZ Commitment To Timor To Become Battalion". Scoop. September 30 1999.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Solomon Islands". New Zealand Army Overseas.
- "Solomon Islands". New Zealand Police: Overseas Assistance.
- "NZ contribution to Solomon Islands to continue" (Press release). New Zealand Defence Force. July 6 2004.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Ongoing assistance to Solomon Islands" (Press release). New Zealand Defence Force. August 5 2004.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Afghanistan". New Zealand Defence Force: Deployments.
- ^ "Goff positive about Afghanistan contribution" (Press release). New Zealand Defence Force. February 1 2006.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Iraq - UNMOVIC". New Zealand Army Overseas.
- RNZ (May 27 2006). "More troops as Dili violence escalates". Television New Zealand.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)</ref>