The Ruahine Regiment was a Territorial Force

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 ...

. It was briefly raised in the 1910s and saw service in 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 ...

as part of the Wellington Infantry Regiment. It was formed for a second time during the Second World War and was deployed overseas as part of the 3rd Division but never saw combat.

History

First World War

In early 1914, the 17th (Ruahine) Regiment was formed by redesignating the 2nd Battalion, 9th (Wellington East Coast) Regiment (the 1st Battalion was retitled as the 9th (Hawke's Bay) Regiment). 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. Men from the 17th (Ruahine) Regiment formed the 17th (Ruahine) Company of the Wellington Battalion, which saw service during the Gallipoli Campaign. Following the evacuation from Gallipoli in 1916, the Battalion became a regiment of two battalions. The Wellington 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 Messines may refer to: * Mesen (in French: Messines), a village in Belgium **Battle of Messines (disambiguation), World War I battles * Messines, Quebec, a municipality in Canada * São Bartolomeu de Messines São Bartolomeu de Messines, also ref ...

Broodseinde The Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in Belgium, at the east end of the Gheluvelt plateau, by the British Second and Fifth armies against the German 4th Army. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of t ...

, 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 eponymous 17th (Ruahine) Company. The Wellington Infantry Regiment was disbanded at the end of the war. Sir Walter Buchanan, a former MP for

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

, was appointed honorary colonel of the Regiment in 1916. In 1921, the 17th (Ruahine) Regiment was amalgamated with the 9th (Hawkes Bay) Regiment and became the 3rd Battalion, Wellington Regiment, which was later redesignated as the Hawke's Bay Regiment in 1923. The Ruahine Regiment received 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 1923 which were immediately laid up in St Matthews Church in

Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...

as the Regiment no longer existed.

Second World War

The Hawke's Bay Regiment remained in New Zealand for home defence 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 ...

and raised a 2nd Battalion in November 1940. The 2nd Battalion was detached in 1941 to form the Ruahine Regiment for a second time. The Ruahine Regiment was initially based in New Zealand as part of the

4th Division In military terms, 4th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *4th (Quetta) Division, British Indian Army * 4th Alpine Division Cuneense, Italy * 4th Blackshirt Division (3 January), Italy *4th Canadian Division *4th Division (Australia) * 4th ...

, but in October 1942 it was decided that the regiment would join the 3rd Division in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. The regiment was deployed to

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in December and initially joined 8th Brigade. The Ruahine Regiment was later transferred to the 15th Brigade in April 1943, however due to manpower shortages, the brigade was disbanded in July 1943 and never saw action. The Ruahine Regiment continued to exist on paper until its formal disbandment in 1948. The Ruahine Regiment was affiliated with the 19th, 22nd and 25th of the

Second 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 ...

and inherited their battle honours.

References

{{New Zealand Great War Infantry Regiments Infantry regiments of New Zealand Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1921 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1948