The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

forces sent from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

to fight alongside other

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

and

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

troops during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(1914–1918) and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

(1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZEF of World War I became known as the ''First New Zealand Expeditionary Force''. The NZEF of World War II was known as the ''Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force'' (2NZEF). The 2NZEF was led by General Bernard Freyberg.

1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force

The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight for Britain during World War I. Upon the outbreak of war, New Zealand immediately offered to provide two

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

s—one of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

and one of mounted troops—with a total of 8,500 men. As was the case with the Australian army the existing New Zealand army was a "territorial" force, designed for the defense of the home islands. It could not be deployed overseas. Hence, it was necessary to form a volunteer " expeditionary" force. The initial contingent of the NZEF, known as the "Main Body," sailed on 16 October 1914 for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and then joined with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in a convoy that sailed for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

on 1 November. The NZEF and AIF convoy was originally bound for Britain but diverted en route to Egypt because of the state of the training camps in England. As a result, the troops were dressed in woolen uniforms for the British climate. On 2 December the convoy reached Alexandria after passing through the Suez Canal. Disembarking the troops traveled by train for Cairo, bivouacking in tent camps within sight of the Pyramids. The NZEF was commanded throughout the war by

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Alexander Godley, a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer who in 1910, on the recommendation of Lord Kitchener, had been appointed as the commander of the New Zealand Military Forces. After Godley departed with the NZEF in October 1914, Major General

Alfred William Robin Major General Sir Alfred William Robin, (12 August 1860 – 2 June 1935) was a New Zealand military leader. Born in Australia, Robin's family moved to New Zealand in 1861. A coachbuilder by trade, he was active in the local militia, before beco ...

commanded the New Zealand Military Forces at home throughout the war as commandant, and was pivotal in ensuring the ongoing provision of reinforcements and support to the NZEF. Major General George Napier Johnston CB CMG DSO (1867–1947) served with New Zealand forces during World War I as director of ordnance and commander of permanent artillery in the New Zealand Defence Force from the outset of World War I during 1914–1918. New Zealand, like Australia, had a pre-war policy of compulsory military training, but, like Australia, New Zealand's Territorial Army could not be deployed overseas. Thus, the NZEF was initially composed solely of volunteers. Conscription was introduced on 1 August 1916 and by the end of the war 124,000 men—nearly half the eligible male population of 250,000—had served with the NZEF. Of these, about 100,000 had been sent overseas. The NZEF was closely tied to the AIF for much of the war. When the Gallipoli campaign began, the New Zealand contingent was insufficient to complete a division of their own, so it was combined with the Australian 4th Infantry Brigade to form the New Zealand and Australian Division under the command of General Godley. This division, along with the Australian 1st Division, formed the famous Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) under the command of General William Birdwood. After the end of the Gallipoli campaign, the NZEF formed its own infantry division, the New Zealand Division, which served on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

for the rest of the war. General Godley was promoted to a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

command and given II ANZAC Corps, which contained the New Zealand Division. From 1916 until the formation of the Australian Corps in 1918 (made up of the five Australian divisions) there were always two "ANZAC" corps— I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps—despite the fact that there was only one New Zealand Division. During early 1916 the New Zealand Government supported the formation of an Australian and New Zealand Army, but this did not occur. The mounted arm of the NZEF was the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade. The brigade remained in Egypt and, combined with the 1st and 2nd

Australian Light Horse Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-t ...

Brigades, made up the ANZAC Mounted Division which served through the Sinai and Palestine campaign. The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (later called the 1st NZEF) was finally disbanded on 31 December 1921.

Structure

Record of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War poster

New Zealand Expeditionary Force Order of Battle - 16 October 1914

* New Zealand Infantry Brigade **

Auckland Battalion The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

: 4 Cos. raised from 3rd (Auckland), 6th (Hauraki), 15th (North Auckland), and 16th (Waikato) Territorial Regiments ** Wellington Battalion: 4 Cos. raised from 7th (Wellington West Coast), 9th (Hawke's Bay), 11th (Taranaki), and 17th (Ruahine) Territorial Regiments ** Canterbury Battalion: 4 Cos. raised from 1st (Canterbury), 2nd (South Canterbury), 12th (Nelson), and 13th (North Canterbury and Westland) Territorial Regiments ** Otago Battalion: 4 Cos. raised from 4th (Otago), 8th (Southland), 10th (North Otago), and 14th (South Otago) Territorial Regiments ** 1st New Zealand Infantry Brigade Signal Co. (3 Sections) ** New Zealand Field Ambulance No. 1 * New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade ** Auckland Mounted Rifles: 3 raised from these territorial regiments: 3rd (Auckland) Mounted Rifles, 4th (Waikato) Mounted Rifles, and 11th (North Auckland) Mounted Rifles ** Canterbury Mounted Rifles: 3 squadrons raised from these territorial regiments:

1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) The 1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) were a mounted rifles regiment raised just before World War I, raised and based in the region of Canterbury. It can trace its history back to 1864 with the formation of the Canterbury Yeomanry Cav ...

8th (South Canterbury) Mounted Rifles The 8th (South Canterbury) Mounted Rifles was formed on March 17, 1911. They were mobilised during World War I as a squadron of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment. They served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I and first saw actio ...

, and

10th (Nelson) Mounted Rifles The 10th (Nelson) Mounted Rifles, previously known as the 1st Regiment, Nelson Mounted Rifles is a military unit based in Nelson, New Zealand. They served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I and first saw action during the Battle of Ga ...

** Wellington Mounted Rifles: 3 squadrons raised from these territorial regiments: 2nd (Wellington West Coast) Mounted Rifles,

6th (Manawatu) Mounted Rifles The 6th (Manawatu) Mounted Rifles was formed on March 17, 1911. They were mobilised during World War I as a squadron of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment. They served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I and first saw action during ...

9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles The 9th (Wellington East Coast) Mounted Rifles was formed on March 17, 1911. They were mobilised during World War I as a squadron of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment. They served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I and first saw a ...

** New Zealand Engineers Field Troop ** New Zealand Mounted Signal Troop ** New Zealand Mounted Rifles Field Ambulance * Divisional cavalry ** Otago Mounted Rifles: 3 squadrons raised from these territorial regiments: 5th (Otago Hussars), 7th (Southland), 12th (Otago) * New Zealand Field Artillery Brigade ** 1st Field Battery ** 2nd Field Battery ** 3rd Field Battery ** 1st Brigade Ammunition Column

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force

Formation

Dominion and Empire Forces in the United Kingdom, 1939-45 H2092

At the outbreak of

in September 1939, the New Zealand Government declared war on Germany. Within a few days, the government pronounced the assembly of what would be an Expeditionary Force, which become known as the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF), for service in the war. After consulting with the British Government, it was decided to raise an infantry division. This, the 2nd New Zealand Division, would be commanded by Major-General Bernard Freyberg, a

officer who had spent his early years in New Zealand and won a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

in the First World War, ending it as a brigadier general, who had offered his services to the New Zealand Government. Freyberg would also be the commander of the 2NZEF.

Service in Africa and Europe

The first echelon of 2NZEF Headquarters and a Brigade Group landed in Egypt in February 1940. The second echelon, also a Brigade Group, was diverted to Britain on Italy's entry into the war and did not reach Egypt until March 1941. The third echelon arrived in Egypt in September 1940 and concentration of the division was completed just before it was deployed to northern Greece in March 1941. This force remained as part of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Force ...

to the end of World War II in 1945 during which it fought in the Battle of Greece (March–April 1941), the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious ope ...

(May),

Operation Crusader Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (Ge ...

(November–December), Minqar Qaim (June 1942), the First (July) and Second Battles of El Alamein (October–November),

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and

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(December–May 1943), the

Sangro The Sangro is a river in eastern central Italy, known in ancient times as Sagrus from the Greek ''Sagros'' or ''Isagros'', ''Ισαγρος''. It rises in the middle of Abruzzo National Park near Pescasseroli in the Apennine Mountains. It flows ...

(October–December), the Battle of Monte Cassino (February–March 1944), the Central Italy (May–December), and the

Adriatic Coast The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...

(April–May 1945). Under the command of Major-General William Stevens, the 2NZEF began demobilising in late 1945, a process that was largely completed by mid-1946. Lt. Gen

John C. H. Lee John Clifford Hodges Lee (1 August 1887 – 30 August 1958) was a career US Army engineer, who rose to the rank of lieutenant general and commanded the Communications Zone (ComZ) in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. A gra ...

, Deputy Theater Commander of the Mediterranean Theater at this time, noted in his diary attending the termination ceremony of the New Zealand Force at Caserta, Italy on 3 September 1946.

Service in the Pacific

The 2NZEF also had a ''Pacific Section'', which was initially responsible for the defence of

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

. The basis for the Pacific Section was initially an infantry brigade—the 8th Infantry Brigade—which arrived on Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji, in November 1940.Gillespie, 1952, p. 26 Following the entry of the Japanese Empire into the war, in early 1942, the 2NZEF contingent in Fiji was expanded to two brigades, and formally designated ''Pacific Section, 2NZEF''.Gillespie, 1952, p. 45 Under the command of Major General Owen Mead, the Pacific Section was withdrawn from Fiji back to New Zealand when the United States 37th Division took over defence responsibility.Gillespie, 1952, pp. 55–56 The Pacific Section later became the 3rd Division, the main unit of the 2NZEF in the Pacific.Gillespie, 1952, p. 56 After of period of training in New Zealand, it fought in the Solomon Islands campaign during 1943–1944, participating in the Battles of Vella Lavella, the Treasury Islands and the

Green Islands The Green Islands is a small archipelago of islands in the Solomon Sea, within the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in northeastern Papua New Guinea. They are located at , about northwest of Bougainville Island, and about east of Raba ...

,Gillespie, 1952, p. 194 although never as a full division. In early 1944, the New Zealand Government faced a manpower crisis caused by the demands of maintaining two divisions overseas while simultaneously maintaining agricultural and industrial production to meet the needs of the Allied countries. In order to cope with this crisis the New Zealand Government saw no option other than to disband one of the country's two infantry divisions. The decision to disband the 3rd Division was made after consulting with the British and United States Governments, who were of the view that the 2nd Division's contribution to the campaign in Italy was of greater importance than the 3rd Division's contribution in the Pacific.Gillespie, 1952, pp. 195–198 The 3rd Division was withdrawn to

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

in June 1944 and returned to New Zealand in August. The Division was rapidly downsized and was formally disbanded on 20 October 1944. About 4,000 veterans of the 3rd NZ Division were dispatched to Italy to reinforce the 2nd Division with the remaining men of the division returning to civilian employment.Gillespie, 1952, pp. 201–203

3rd New Zealand Expeditionary Force

From 1950 onwards a division-sized force, reserves (Territorial Force) maintained by conscription, formed the principal striking force of the New Zealand Army. The division was alternatively known as 3NZEF.Damien Marc Fenton, 'A False Sense of Security,' Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand, 1998, p.12 It disbanded in 1961.

Notes

References

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