17th Field Regiment (New Zealand)
The 17th Field Regiment was an artillery regiment of the New Zealand Military Forces raised during the Second World War. The regiment was formed on 2 September 1942 at Papakura Military Camp and consisted of 35 and 37 Batteries, which had formerly operated as independent batteries based in Fiji. In October they were joined by 12 Battery from the Territorial Force and the regiment departed for New Caledonia at the end of December. In September and October 1943, 17th Field Regiment took part in the Land Battle of Vella Lavella as part of the 14th Brigade Group and in February 1944 also took part in the Battle of the Green Islands. Due to manpower shortages, 17th Field Regiment was effectively disbanded in October 1944 along with the rest of the 3rd Division, although a small accounting party continued to exist until April 1945 to complete regimental records. Many of the men were sent with the 14th and 15th reinforcements to the 2nd New Zealand Division The 2nd New Zealand Divis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cap Badge
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Scouting, Boy Scouts, civil defence organisations, ambulance services (e.g. the St. John Ambulance Brigade), customs services, fire services etc. Cap badges are a modern form of Heraldic badge, heraldry and their design generally incorporates highly symbolic devices. Some badges that contain images of lions or other cats are sometimes informally referred to as cat badges. Instances in military forces British armed forces The British Armed Forces utilise a variety of metal and cloth cap badges on their headdress, generally on caps and berets. They are also worn on Uniforms_of_the_British_Armed_Forces#Turbans, Sikh turbans. British Army In the British Army (as well as other Commonwealth o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fiji
Fiji, 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 consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about . The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi (where tourism is the major local industry) or Lautoka (where the Sugarcane, sugar-cane industry is dominant). The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain. The majority of Fiji's islands were formed by Volcano, volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Some geothermal activity still occurs today on the islands of Vanua Levu and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Artillery Regiments Of New Zealand
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons were developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower. Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. Since the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannon, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to shell-firing guns, howitzers, and mortars (collectively called ''barrel artillery'', ''cannon artillery'' or ''gun artillery'') and rocket artillery. In common ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Official History Of New Zealand In The Second World War 1939–45
The ''Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45'' is a 48-volume series published by the War History Branch (and its successors) of the Department of Internal Affairs which covered New Zealand involvement in the Second World War. The series was published during the period 1949 to 1986. A collection of booklets entitled ''Episodes and Studies'' were also published between 1948 and 1954. The ''Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45'' was the largest publication project undertaken in New Zealand. Background It had long been felt in New Zealand that the four-volume 'popular' history of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the '' Official History of New Zealand's Effort in the Great War'' which had been published a few years after the First World War ended, had not matched the standard set by the '' Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918'', edited by Charles Bean. In 1940, with a view to the production of an offici ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2nd New Zealand Division
The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the Second World War. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-General Bernard C. Freyberg. It fought in Greece, Crete, the Western Desert and Italy. In the Western Desert Campaign, the division played a prominent role in the defeat of German and Italian forces in the Second Battle of El Alamein and the British Eighth Army's advance to Tunisia. In late 1943, the division was moved to Italy, taking part in the Eighth Army's campaign on Italy's Adriatic coast, which ground to a halt at the end of the year. In early 1944, the division formed the nucleus of the New Zealand Corps, fighting two battles attempting unsuccessfully to penetrate the Gustav Line at Monte Cassino. The division saw further action on the Gothic Line in 1944 and took part in the Allied 1945 Spring offensive, which led to the sur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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14th Brigade (New Zealand)
The 14th Brigade was a formation of the New Zealand Military Forces, which served during the Second World War as part of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Eventually forming part of the 3rd Division, the brigade served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of the war. Raised in December 1941, the brigade undertook garrison duties in Fiji before being relieved by US troops in mid-1942. After this, it took part in two combat actions against Japanese forces in 1943–1944: the Land Battle of Vella Lavella and the Battle of the Green Islands. In mid-1944, the brigade was broken up to return manpower to New Zealand industry and to meet the reinforcement needs of the 2nd Division in Italy. History The brigade's headquarters was raised in December 1941 at Trentham Military Camp, and initially the brigade was employed on garrison duties on Fiji. Its first and only commander was Brigadier Leslie Potter. Raised after the 8th Brigade, the 14th was the second of the division's three bri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of the French Republic, a legal status unique in overseas France, and is enshrined in a dedicated chapter of the French Constitution. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre (New Caledonia), Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines (New Caledonia), Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. French people, especially locals, call Grande Terre , a nickname also used more generally for the entire New Caledonia. Kanak people#Agitation for independence, Pro-independence Kanak parties use the name (''pron.'' ) to refer to New Caledonia, a term coined in the 1980s from the ethnic name of the indi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Territorial Force (New Zealand)
The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Military Forces, the Army traces its history from settler militia raised in that same year. The current name was adopted by the New Zealand Army Act 1950. During its history, the New Zealand Army has fought in a number of major wars, including the Second Boer War#New Zealand, Second Boer War, the First World War, First and Second World Wars, New Zealand in the Korean War, Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, New Zealand in the Vietnam War, Vietnam War, and more recently in Iraq War, Iraq and War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), Afghanistan. Since the 1970s, deployments have tended to be assistance to multilateral peacekeeping efforts. Considering the small size of the force, operational commitments have remaine ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Papakura Military Camp
Papakura Military Camp is a New Zealand Army military camp located in the Auckland suburb of Papakura North, in northern New Zealand. It is the home of the New Zealand Special Air Service. Geography The camp was established on the outskirts of the Papakura Town Centre in 1939. Fletcher Construction was awarded a contract to build one complete battalion block and work on a second battalion block was divided between Fletcher Construction, N Cole and A J Good. Other works built by the Stevenson family. and remains an important army base for New Zealand. It incorporates the New Zealand SAS training area and a local suburban area of army homes for personnel on Arimu Road and Russell Avenue in the same vicinity. Until recently, the majority of the homes have now been sold for private use, but the area still remains restricted as a Defence Area. In the early 2000s some land surrounding the camp was set aside for new housing developments by the Papakura District Council. See also * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Regiment Of New Zealand Artillery
The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery is the artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. It is effectively a military administrative corps, and can comprise multiple component regiments. This nomenclature stems from its heritage as an offshoot of the British Army's Royal Artillery. In its current form it was founded in 1947 with the amalgamation of the regular and volunteer corps of artillery in New Zealand. In 1958 in recognition of services rendered it was given the title the ''Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery''. History Predecessors and formation The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery's predecessor units in the Volunteer Force (New Zealand), Volunteer Force date from February 1866, when the first field artillery battery and naval artillery corps were formed. From 1878 the various field batteries were administratively grouped together as the New Zealand Regiment of Artillery Volunteers, and were designated alphabetically. The naval artillery batteries were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons were developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower. Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. Since the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannon, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to Shell (projectile), shell-firing Field gun, guns, howitzers, and Mortar (weapon), mortars (collectively called ''barrel artillery'', ''cannon artil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of The Green Islands
The Battle of the Green Islands or Operation Squarepeg was fought from 15 to 20 February 1944, between Imperial Japan and Allied forces from the New Zealand 3rd Division and the United States. Undertaken after landings to secure lodgments on New Britain and Bougainville, the main focus of the operation was the capture of Nissan Island, which was secured by New Zealand forces after only a short ground campaign. At only very limited cost in terms of casualties, the Allied operation resulted in the capture of several small atolls in the island chain, which were subsequently used to support air and naval operations focused on reducing the main Japanese base on Rabaul. Background The Green Islands, consisting of several small coral atolls, are located between Bougainville and New Ireland, about from Rabaul, which was the location of the main Japanese base in the area. At the time of the battle, they were part of the Australian Territory of New Guinea and were populated by arou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |