The Waikato Regiment was a territorial

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment of the

New Zealand Military Forces 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 Mil ...

. The Regiment was formed in 1911 as the 16th (Waikato) Regiment and provided service companies to the

Auckland Infantry Regiment The Auckland Infantry Regiment was a military unit of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) raised for service in the First World War. It saw service in the Gallipoli Campaign (1915) and on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front (191 ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Men from the Regiment also served with the 18th, 21st, 24th and 29th battalions of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The regiment was absorbed by the 1st Armoured Regiment (Waikato) of the

Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps The Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (RNZAC) is the overall umbrella grouping of Regular Force and Territorial Force units equipped with armoured vehicles in the New Zealand Army. The corps was formed in 1942 as the New Zealand Armoured Corp ...

in 1950

History

The 16th (Waikato) Regiment was formed on 17 March 1911 as part of a reorganisation which saw the old

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...

converted into a Territorial Force based on compulsory military training. The new regiment was completely new (i.e. had no lineage to units of the Volunteer Force) and was presented with a stand of

colours Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

in May 1914 by the

Governor of New Zealand A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, the

Earl of Liverpool Earl of Liverpool is a title that has been created twice in British history. The first time was in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1796 for Charles Jenkinson, 1st Baron Hawkesbury, a favourite of King George III (see Jenkinson baronets for e ...

. At the outbreak of the

in August 1914, the decision was made to form a New Zealand infantry brigade of four battalions from the existing territorial regiments. The 16th (Waikato) Regiment provided the 16th (Waikato) Company to the Auckland Battalion, which saw service in the Gallipoli Campaign. Following the evacuation from Gallipoli in 1916, the Auckland Battalion was expanded to a regiment of two battalions. The Auckland Infantry Regiment would see action on the western front, engaging in the battles of the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

, Messines, Passchendaele,

German Spring Offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

and the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

. A third battalion was also raised in 1917, but was disbanded in 1918 due to manpower shortages. Both the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were organised along the same lines as the 1st Battalion, each with their own 16th (Waikato) Company. The Auckland Infantry Regiment was disbanded at the end of the war. In 1921, the New Zealand territorial regiments were reorganised into larger regiments, similar to those of the First World War, with the 16th (Waikato) Regiment becoming the 4th Battalion, Auckland Regiment. The amalgamations were short lived and in 1923, the previous organisation was reverted to, although the ordinals were dropped and the 4th Battalion was redesignated as the Waikato Regiment. Another organisation occurred in 1937 when the Waikato Regiment was reduced to a depot and supplied a single rifle company to the 1st Composite Battalion. The battalion also had rifle companies from the Hauraki and North Auckland Regiments. The composite system was abandoned in May 1939, just prior to the outbreak of the

and the territorial regiments were brought up to full battalion strength. During the

, the Waikato Regiment remained in New Zealand for home defence. A 2nd Battalion was formed in 1942 by redesignating the 9th Battalion of the National Military Reserve. The 1st Battalion became part of 1st Infantry Brigade of the 1st New Zealand Division and was expected to provide a mobile response to any invasion throughout the country. The 2nd Battalion remained stationed in the

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

. The territorial forces were stood down in June 1943 and the 2nd Battalion was formally disbanded in April 1944. Men from the regiment saw active service overseas with the 18th, 21st, 24th and 29th battalions of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The 18th, 21st and 24th battalions formed part of the

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-G ...

and saw action in

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Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The 29th Battalion, was deployed to the Pacific with the 3rd New Zealand Division and saw combat at the Treasury Islands. The Waikato Regiment was absorbed by the 1st Armoured Regiment (Waikato) of the

in 1950.

Battle Honours

The Waikato Regiment was authorised to emblazoned the following battle honours earnt during the First World War on their colours: The regiment also inherited the battle honours of the 18th (till 5 October 1942), 21st, 24th and 29th Battalions. The following battle honours were authorised to be emblazoned on the colours:

Alliances

The Waikato Regiment was allied with the following regiments: * –

West Yorkshire Regiment The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was ...

* –

The Royal Montreal Regiment The Royal Montreal Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army based in Westmount, Quebec. It is part of the 2nd Canadian Division's 34 Canadian Brigade Group. Lineage File:RMR Colour.jpg, Regimental colour File:RMR Cam ...

* – 14th Battalion (Australia)

References

{{New Zealand Great War Infantry Regiments Infantry regiments of New Zealand Military units and formations established in 1911 Military units and formations disestablished in 1950