The New Zealand Machine Gun Corps was an

administrative 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 formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It was formed in early 1916, following the Gallipoli campaign in response to a need for more effective machine gun support. The corps initially comprised independent machine gun companies and a mounted machine gun squadron, although in 1918 the machine gun companies were brought together into a machine gun battalion. The New Zealand Machine Gun Corps was disbanded at the end of the war.

History

At the beginning of the First World War, each infantry battalion and mounted rifles regiment contained a single section equipped with two Maxim machine guns. The piecemeal distribution of guns and a lack of specialist training was detrimental to the effective utilization of machine gun fire. After the evacuation from

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

, the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

was reorganised. As part of the reorganisation the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps was formed. The infantry machine gun sections were detached from their battalions in March 1916 and formed into larger independent companies. Each company was equipped with sixteen

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...

s, which were lighter and more reliable than the old Maxim guns, and each company was assigned to an infantry brigade. In July the machine gun sections of the mounted rifle regiments were also detached and formed into a machine gun squadron to support the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade. The machine gun squadron utilized pack horses to carry their machine guns and were more mobile than the machine gun companies which supported the infantry brigades. Initially three machine gun companies served with the

New Zealand Division 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 ...

on the Western Front. Following the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in 1916, the decision was made to form a divisional level machine gun company, which joined the New Zealand Division in February 1917. Another machine gun company was also formed in May 1917 to support the new 4th Infantry Brigade. The 4th Infantry Brigade and its associated machine gun company were disbanded in early 1918 due to manpower shortages and the remaining four machine gun companies were grouped together into a battalion in February 1918. The machine gun companies were also redesignated at this point with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th companies becoming the

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Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

companies respectively. Immediately following the end of the war the machine gun battalion took up occupation duties with the rest of the New Zealand Division in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and was disbanded in early 1919. The 1st Machine Gun Squadron served with the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade in

Sinai and Palestine Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

as part of the

Desert Mounted Corps The Desert Mounted Corps was an army corps of the British Army during the First World War, of three mounted divisions renamed in August 1917 by General Edmund Allenby, from Desert Column. These divisions which served in the Sinai and Palestine ...

. In June 1918 the

Imperial Camel Corps Brigade The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (ICCB) was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East. From a small beginning the unit eventually grew to a brigad ...

was disbanded and the New Zealand cameliers of the 15th and 16th companies were converted into the 2nd Machine Gun Squadron. The 2nd Machine Gun Squadron served with the newly formed

5th Light Horse Brigade The 5th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that served during World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time Australian Army Reserve, militia formation in the early 1900s ...

, which had been formed from former Australian cameliers and an attached French mounted regiment. At the end of the war the New Zealand mounted units moved to Egypt and helped to suppress the Egyptian Revolt. Both Machine gun squadrons were disbanded in March 1919.

List of units

Notes

References {{Reflist Military units and formations established in 1916 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Administrative corps of New Zealand

History

List of units

See also

Notes