New Zealand 3rd Division
Encyclopedia
The 3rd New Zealand Division was a division of the New Zealand Army
. Formed in 1942, it saw action against the Japan
ese in the Pacific Ocean Areas
during the Second World War. The division saw action in the Solomon Islands campaign
during 1943–44, but was later disbanded in October 1944. The majority of its manpower was returned to civilian employment, although around 4,000 men were sent to Italy
to reinforce the 2nd Division.
units in Fiji
in May 1942 and moved to New Zealand
in the middle of the year. Major-General Harold Barrowclough
was appointed to command the division on 12 August. In October 1942, 34 Battalion and 36 Battalion
were detached from the Division to garrison Tonga
and Norfolk Island
respectively. 36 Battalion was accompanied by detachments from the division's engineer, artillery and service units and was designated N Force
.
After completing its initial training in New Zealand the 3rd NZ Division moved to New Caledonia
for garrison duty and further training in December 1942 and January 1943. Initially it only consisted of three brigade
s with only two battalion
s each, however, in March 1943 the New Zealand government approved the expansion of the division to 17,637 men all ranks and decided that the two battalions on Norfolk Island and Tonga would be assigned to the division. Almost immediately, however, manpower was an issue and during the early months of 1943 it became clear that the division would not be raised to full strength. Indeed, for a while it seemed that the division might be disbanded before it saw active service, however, its commander, Barrowclough urged the government to allow the division to see active service before any decision was made.
This request was accepted, however, the government announced that the division's third brigade—15 Brigade—would be disbanded along with its heavy artillery and anti-aircraft regiments. Due to Barrowclough's requests, the division retained all three of its engineer companies, however.
in August 1943. From this base, the division provided the ground component for three campaigns against small island groups in the Northern Solomons (in all operations the United States Navy
provided the naval forces while squadrons from the Royal New Zealand Air Force
formed only a small part of the US dominated air forces). While the islands were only lightly held by the Japanese and New Zealand casualties were relatively light, the Kiwi ground troops had to overcome challenging terrain and climatic conditions in these operations.
ran from 21 September to 9 October 1943. The Americans had landed on the island in August, establishing a beachhead
in the south. The division's 14th Brigade Group, under Brigadier Leslie Potter, landed at the US base a month later as a follow-on force. Upon arrival, they were given the task of clearing the remaining Japanese forces from the north of the island so that it could be used to establish a radar station and a motor torpedo boat base. The New Zealanders were outnumbered by the defenders, nevertheless, they had been well trained and this training ultimately led to their success. 35 and 37 Battalions were dispatched along with supporting elements on two axes of advance: one up the east coast, the other up the west. The tactic proved successful and by early October the Japanese defenders were caught in a small pocket by the two New Zealand forces, having killed between 200 to 300 Japanese. Potter, however, failed to capitalise on the situation and due to overcaution the remaining 589 Japanese were able to escape the island on the night of 6/7 October aboard ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Total New Zealand casualties in this operation were 32 killed and 32 wounded.
The main units involved were:
ran from 25 October to 26 November 1943. The 8th Brigade Group, under the command of Brigadier Robert Row, landed on the islands on 27 October in New Zealand's first opposed amphibious operation since Gallipoli in 1915. The initial landing took place on Mono Island, the largest in the group, and after the landing the New Zealanders encountered only scattered opposition from the Japanese defenders, who withdrew to the northern coast of the island. On the night of 1/2 November the Japanese attempted a counterattack, launching a determined attack on the Allied line at Soanotalu. The attack was unsuccessful, however, as reinforcements had just arrived and the Japanese assault was beaten back. The last organised Japanese units were defeated on the night of 2/3 November. New Zealand casualties were 40 killed and 145 wounded.
The main units involved were:
The main units involved were:
's contribution to the campaign in Italy was of greater importance than 3rd NZ Division's contribution in the Pacific.
3rd NZ Division was withdrawn to New Caledonia
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 3rd NZ Division were dispatched to Italy to reinforce 2nd NZ Division with the remaining men of the division returning to civilian employment.
This organisation was altered for the campaign in the Solomon Islands. Most notably, an armoured regiment was added to the division in December 1942 (this unit was reduced to a squadron in June 1943) and the heavy coast artillery regiment was replaced by a field artillery regiment.
, Wellington. The number is on the first page before title page (in a numbering error, there were two of No 4 and no No 6). They are all online at the New Zealand Electronic Texts website.
New Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
. Formed in 1942, it saw action against the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese in the Pacific Ocean Areas
Pacific Ocean Areas
Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War, and one of two United States commands in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz of the U.S...
during the Second World War. The division saw action in the Solomon Islands campaign
Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942...
during 1943–44, but was later disbanded in October 1944. The majority of its manpower was returned to civilian employment, although around 4,000 men were sent to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to reinforce the 2nd Division.
Formation
The 3rd New Zealand Division began forming from New Zealand ArmyNew Zealand Army
The New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
units in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
in May 1942 and moved to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the middle of the year. Major-General Harold Barrowclough
Harold Eric Barrowclough
Major-General Sir Harold Eric Barrowclough, KCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, MC was a New Zealand military leader, lawyer, and Chief Justice....
was appointed to command the division on 12 August. In October 1942, 34 Battalion and 36 Battalion
36th Battalion (New Zealand)
The 36th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Military Forces, which served during the Second World War. Attached to the 8th Brigade, New Zealand 3rd Division, the battalion was formed in late 1941 and saw service in the Pacific against the Japanese...
were detached from the Division to garrison Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
respectively. 36 Battalion was accompanied by detachments from the division's engineer, artillery and service units and was designated N Force
N Force
N Force was a small New Zealand Army unit which garrisoned Norfolk Island between October 1942 and February 1944. N Force was formed by detaching units from the 3rd New Zealand Division. As Norfolk Island never came under attack N Force did not see action....
.
After completing its initial training in New Zealand the 3rd NZ Division moved to New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
for garrison duty and further training in December 1942 and January 1943. Initially it only consisted of three brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s with only two battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s each, however, in March 1943 the New Zealand government approved the expansion of the division to 17,637 men all ranks and decided that the two battalions on Norfolk Island and Tonga would be assigned to the division. Almost immediately, however, manpower was an issue and during the early months of 1943 it became clear that the division would not be raised to full strength. Indeed, for a while it seemed that the division might be disbanded before it saw active service, however, its commander, Barrowclough urged the government to allow the division to see active service before any decision was made.
This request was accepted, however, the government announced that the division's third brigade—15 Brigade—would be disbanded along with its heavy artillery and anti-aircraft regiments. Due to Barrowclough's requests, the division retained all three of its engineer companies, however.
Campaign in the Solomon Islands
The 3rd NZ Division moved to GuadalcanalGuadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
in August 1943. From this base, the division provided the ground component for three campaigns against small island groups in the Northern Solomons (in all operations the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
provided the naval forces while squadrons from the Royal New Zealand Air Force
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
formed only a small part of the US dominated air forces). While the islands were only lightly held by the Japanese and New Zealand casualties were relatively light, the Kiwi ground troops had to overcome challenging terrain and climatic conditions in these operations.
Vella Lavella
3rd NZ Division's operations on Vella LavellaVella Lavella
Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Group...
ran from 21 September to 9 October 1943. The Americans had landed on the island in August, establishing a beachhead
Beachhead
Beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. It is sometimes used interchangeably with Bridgehead and Lodgement...
in the south. The division's 14th Brigade Group, under Brigadier Leslie Potter, landed at the US base a month later as a follow-on force. Upon arrival, they were given the task of clearing the remaining Japanese forces from the north of the island so that it could be used to establish a radar station and a motor torpedo boat base. The New Zealanders were outnumbered by the defenders, nevertheless, they had been well trained and this training ultimately led to their success. 35 and 37 Battalions were dispatched along with supporting elements on two axes of advance: one up the east coast, the other up the west. The tactic proved successful and by early October the Japanese defenders were caught in a small pocket by the two New Zealand forces, having killed between 200 to 300 Japanese. Potter, however, failed to capitalise on the situation and due to overcaution the remaining 589 Japanese were able to escape the island on the night of 6/7 October aboard ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Total New Zealand casualties in this operation were 32 killed and 32 wounded.
The main units involved were:
- 3rd NZ Division Headquarters
- 14th Brigade Group
- 30 Battalion
- 35 Battalion
- 37 Battalion
- 17 Field Regiment
- 207 Light AA Battery
- 53 Anti-Tank Battery
- 20 Field Company
Treasury Islands
3rd NZ Division's operations in the Treasury IslandsTreasury Islands
Treasury Islands are a small group of islands a few kilometers to the south of Bougainville and 24 kilometers from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries are Mono Island and the smaller Stirling Island...
ran from 25 October to 26 November 1943. The 8th Brigade Group, under the command of Brigadier Robert Row, landed on the islands on 27 October in New Zealand's first opposed amphibious operation since Gallipoli in 1915. The initial landing took place on Mono Island, the largest in the group, and after the landing the New Zealanders encountered only scattered opposition from the Japanese defenders, who withdrew to the northern coast of the island. On the night of 1/2 November the Japanese attempted a counterattack, launching a determined attack on the Allied line at Soanotalu. The attack was unsuccessful, however, as reinforcements had just arrived and the Japanese assault was beaten back. The last organised Japanese units were defeated on the night of 2/3 November. New Zealand casualties were 40 killed and 145 wounded.
The main units involved were:
- 8th Brigade Group8th Brigade (New Zealand)The 8th 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...
- 29 Battalion
- 34 Battalion
- 36 Battalion
- 38 Field Regiment
- 29 Light AA Regiment
- 54 Anti-Tank Battery
- 23 Field Company
Green Islands
3rd NZ Division's operations in the Green Islands ran from 15 February to 27 February 1944. Like the operation in the Treasury Islands, the heavily reinforced 14th Brigade made an opposed landing on Nissan Island against light Japanese resistance on 15 February. The small Japanese garrison resisted the invasion strongly but was overwhelmed by the much larger New Zealand force, with organised resistance coming to an end on 23 February. New Zealand casualties were 10 killed and 21 wounded.The main units involved were:
- 3rd NZ Division Headquarters
- Divisional Signals Regiment
- 3rd NZ Division Tank Squadron (Valentine tankValentine tankThe Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in 11 different marks plus various purpose-built variants, accounting for approximately a quarter of wartime British tank production...
s) - Divisional Artillery
- 17 Field Regiment
- 29 Light AA Regiment
- 144 Independent Battery
- 53 Anti-Tank Battery
- Divisional Engineers
- 20 Field Company
- 26 Field Company
- 14th Infantry Brigade
- 30 Battalion
- 35 Battalion
- 37 Battalion
Disbandment
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 NZ Government saw no option other than to disband one the country's two infantry divisions. The decision to disband the 3rd NZ Division was made after consulting with the British and United States governments, who were of the view that 2nd NZ DivisionNew Zealand 2nd Division
The 2nd New Zealand Division was a formation of the New Zealand Military Forces during World War II. It was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg, and fought in Greece, Crete, the Western Desert and Italy...
's contribution to the campaign in Italy was of greater importance than 3rd NZ Division's contribution in the Pacific.
3rd NZ Division was withdrawn to New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
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 3rd NZ Division were dispatched to Italy to reinforce 2nd NZ Division with the remaining men of the division returning to civilian employment.
Order of battle
In October 1942 the main elements of the 3rd NZ Division were:- Divisional Headquarters
- 8 Infantry Brigade
- 29 Battalion
- 34 Battalion
- 36 Battalion
- 14 Infantry Brigade
- 30 Battalion
- 35 Battalion
- 37 Battalion
- Divisional Artillery
- 17 Field Regiment
- 33 Heavy Coast Regiment
- 28 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment
- 144 Independent Battery
- 53 Anti-Tank Battery
- 54 Anti-Tank Battery
- Divisional Engineers
- 20 Field Company
- 23 Field Company
- 37 Field Park
- No. 1 Signals Company
- Army Service Corps
- 4 ASC Company
- 16 ASC Company
- 10 Reserve Mechanical Transport Company
- Medical
- 7 Field Ambulance
- 22 Field Ambulance
- 4 General Hospital
This organisation was altered for the campaign in the Solomon Islands. Most notably, an armoured regiment was added to the division in December 1942 (this unit was reduced to a squadron in June 1943) and the heavy coast artillery regiment was replaced by a field artillery regiment.
Histories
Thirteen unofficial Third Division histories of New Zealand in the Pacific were produced by the Third Division Histories Committee and published by A.H. & A.W. ReedReed Publishing
Reed Publishing Ltd. is one of New Zealand's oldest publishers based in Auckland, New Zealand, founded in 1907 by A H Reed. It is a New Zealand literature specialist and also general titles, publishing over 100 titles a year and including a number of significant New Zealand authors such as Barry...
, Wellington. The number is on the first page before title page (in a numbering error, there were two of No 4 and no No 6). They are all online at the New Zealand Electronic Texts website.
- 1 Shovel, Sword and Scalpel: a record of service of medical units of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Pacific (1945)
- 2 Pacific Pioneers
- 3 Base Wallahs
- 4 Headquarters and Communications
- 4 Stepping Stones to the Solomons: The unofficial history of the 29th Battalion with the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Pacific (1947)
- 5 The 35th Battalion
- 7 Story of the 34th: the unofficial history of a New Zealand infantry battalion with the Third Division in the Pacific (1947)
- 8 Pacific Service
- 9 Pacific Kiwis
- 10 Pacific Saga
- 11 The Gunners: an intimate record of units of the 3rd New Zealand Divisional artillery in the Pacific from 1940 until 1945 (1948)
- 12 Tanks, MMGs and Ordnance
- 13 The 36th Battalion; a record of service of the 36th Battalion with the Third Division in the Pacific (1946)