New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Encyclopedia
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force
(NZEF) was the title of the military
forces sent from New Zealand
to fight for Britain
during World War I
and World War II
. Ultimately, the NZEF of World War I was known as the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The NZEF of World War II was known as the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force.
s — one of infantry
and one of mounted troops — a total of 8,500 men.
This contingent sailed for Australia
within two months of the start of the war and then joined with the Australian Imperial Force in a convoy sailing for Egypt
.
The NZEF was commanded throughout the war by General Alexander Godley
, a British officer who in 1910, on the recommendation of Lord Kitchener, had been appointed as the commander of the New Zealand Defence Forces.
Major General
George Napier Johnston
CB CMG, DSO
(1867 – 1947) served with New Zealand
forces during World War I
as director of ordinance and commander of permanent artillery in the New Zealand Defence Force from the outset of World War I 1914-18.
New Zealand, like Australia, had a pre-war policy of compulsory military training but the NZEF was initially reinforced by volunteers only. Conscription was introduced on 1 August 1916 and by the end of the war 124,000 men — nearly half the eligible male population of 250,000 — had served with the NZEF. Of these, about 100,000 had been sent overseas.
The NZEF was closely tied to the AIF for much of the war. When the Gallipoli
campaign began, the New Zealand contingent was insufficient to complete a division
of their own so was combined with the Australian 4th Infantry Brigade to form the New Zealand and Australian Division
, General Godley commanding.
This division, along with the Australian 1st Division, formed the famous Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) under the command of General William Birdwood.
After the end of the Gallipoli campaign, the NZEF formed its own infantry division; the New Zealand Division
which served on the Western Front
for the rest of the war. General Godley was promoted to a corps
command and given II Anzac Corps
, which contained the New Zealand Division. From 1916 until the formation of the Australian Corps
in 1918 (made up of the five Australian divisions) there were always two "Anzac" corps — I Anzac Corps
and II Anzac Corps — despite the fact that there was only one New Zealand Division to go around.
The mounted arm of the NZEF was the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade
, the brigade remained in Egypt and, combined with the 1st and 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigades, made up the Anzac Mounted Division
which served through the Sinai
and Palestine
campaign.
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (later called the 1st NZEF) was finally disbanded on 31 December 1921.
The 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force - at the outbreak of war in 1939 it was decided that New Zealand should provide an Expeditionary Force of one division, under then Major General Bernard Freyberg. This force became known as 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and the division as 2nd New Zealand Division
. The first echelon of 2NZEF Headquarters and a Brigade Group landed in Egypt in February 1940. The second echelon, also a Brigade Group, was diverted to Britain on Italy's entry into the War and did not reach Egypt until March 1941. The third echelon arrived in Egypt in September 1940 and concentration of the division was completed just before it was deployed to northern Greece in March 1941.
This force remained as part of the British Eighth Army to the end of World War II in 1945 during which it fought in the Battle of Greece
(March–April 1941), Battle of Crete
(May), Operation Crusader
(November–December), Minqar Qaim (June 1942) Battle of El Alamein
(July–November), Libya and Tunisia
(December–May 1943), The Sangro (October–December), Battle of Monte Cassino
(February–March 1944), Central Italy
(May–December), Adriatic Coast
(April–May 1945)
.
was the main New Zealand Army unit of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Pacific and it fought in the Pacific Ocean Areas
during World War II
. The Division saw action in the Solomon Islands campaign
during 1943-44.
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 New Zealand Government saw no option other than to disband one the country's two infantry divisions. The decision to disband the 3rd Division was made after consulting with the British and United States Governments, who were of the view that 2nd Division's contribution to the campaign in Italy was of greater importance than 3rd Division's contribution in the Pacific.
3rd 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 Division with the remaining men of the division returning to civilian employment.
Expeditionary warfare
Expeditionary warfare is used to describe the organization of a state's military to fight abroad, especially when deployed to fight away from its established bases at home or abroad. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of Rapid Deployment Forces...
(NZEF) was the title of the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
forces sent from 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...
to fight for Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Ultimately, the NZEF of World War I was known as the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The NZEF of World War II was known as the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force.
1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight for Britain during World War I. Upon the outbreak of war, New Zealand immediately offered to provide two brigadeBrigade
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 — one of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and one of mounted troops — a total of 8,500 men.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
within two months of the start of the war and then joined with the Australian Imperial Force in a convoy sailing for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
The NZEF was commanded throughout the war by General Alexander Godley
Alexander Godley
General Sir Alexander John Godley GCB, KCMG was a First World War general, best known for his role as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force...
, a British officer who in 1910, on the recommendation of Lord Kitchener, had been appointed as the commander of the New Zealand Defence Forces.
Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
George Napier Johnston
George Napier Johnston
Major General George Napier Johnston, CB, CMG, DSO served with New Zealand forces during World War I. He served at Gallipoli on 18 May 1915.- Early life :He was born 2 August 1867 in Quebec, Canada...
CB CMG, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(1867 – 1947) served with 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...
forces during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as director of ordinance and commander of permanent artillery in the New Zealand Defence Force from the outset of World War I 1914-18.
New Zealand, like Australia, had a pre-war policy of compulsory military training but the NZEF was initially reinforced by volunteers only. Conscription was introduced on 1 August 1916 and by the end of the war 124,000 men — nearly half the eligible male population of 250,000 — had served with the NZEF. Of these, about 100,000 had been sent overseas.
The NZEF was closely tied to the AIF for much of the war. When the Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
campaign began, the New Zealand contingent was insufficient to complete a division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of their own so was combined with the Australian 4th Infantry Brigade to form the New Zealand and Australian Division
New Zealand and Australian Division
The New Zealand and Australian Division was formed at the start of the Battle of Gallipoli as a composite division under the command of New Zealand general Alexander Godley. At the start of World War I New Zealand had mustered insufficient infantry battalions to form their own division while...
, General Godley commanding.
After the end of the Gallipoli campaign, the NZEF formed its own infantry division; the New Zealand Division
New Zealand Division
The New Zealand Division was a World War I infantry division formed in Egypt in January 1916 following the evacuation of Gallipoli. At the outbreak of war the New Zealand Expeditionary Force contained a single infantry brigade which was combined with the unattached Australian 4th Infantry Brigade...
which served on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
for the rest of the war. General Godley was promoted to a corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
command and given II Anzac Corps
II Anzac Corps
The II ANZAC Corps was an Australian and New Zealand First World War army corps formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganization of the Australian Imperial Force following the evacuation of Gallipoli in November 1915, under the command of William Birdwood...
, which contained the New Zealand Division. From 1916 until the formation of the Australian Corps
Australian Corps
The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire army in France...
in 1918 (made up of the five Australian divisions) there were always two "Anzac" corps — I Anzac Corps
I Anzac Corps
The I ANZAC Corps was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I.It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force following the evacuation of Gallipoli...
and II Anzac Corps — despite the fact that there was only one New Zealand Division to go around.
The mounted arm of the NZEF was the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade
New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade
The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, consisting usually of four units of mounted infantry, fought in World War I and World War II. Initially a milita, under the instruction of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Henry Banks they formed the core of the New Zealand Army following successful service in the...
, the brigade remained in Egypt and, combined with the 1st and 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigades, made up the Anzac Mounted Division
Anzac Mounted Division
The ANZAC Mounted Division was a mounted infantry and mounted rifles division formed in March 1916 in Egypt during World War I following the Battle of Gallipoli when the Australian and New Zealand regiments returned from fighting dismounted as infantry...
which served through the Sinai
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
campaign.
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (later called the 1st NZEF) was finally disbanded on 31 December 1921.
2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force
New 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...
. The first echelon of 2NZEF Headquarters and a Brigade Group landed in Egypt in February 1940. The second echelon, also a Brigade Group, was diverted to Britain on Italy's entry into the War and did not reach Egypt until March 1941. The third echelon arrived in Egypt in September 1940 and concentration of the division was completed just before it was deployed to northern Greece in March 1941.
This force remained as part of the British Eighth Army to the end of World War II in 1945 during which it fought in the Battle of Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
(March–April 1941), Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
(May), Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader was a military operation by the British Eighth Army between 18 November–30 December 1941. The operation successfully relieved the 1941 Siege of Tobruk....
(November–December), Minqar Qaim (June 1942) Battle of El Alamein
Battle of El Alamein
There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in Egypt in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein at .* First Battle of El Alamein – 1–27 July 1942...
(July–November), Libya and Tunisia
Tunisia Campaign
The Tunisia Campaign was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African Campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including Polish and Greek contingents, with American and French corps...
(December–May 1943), The Sangro (October–December), Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
(February–March 1944), Central Italy
Gothic Line
The Gothic Line formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence in the final stages of World War II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.Adolf Hitler...
(May–December), Adriatic Coast
Spring 1945 offensive in Italy
The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the Allied attack by Fifth United States Army and British 8th Army into the Lombardy Plain which started on 6 April 1945 and ended on 2 May with the surrender of German forces in Italy....
(April–May 1945)
.
2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Pacific
The New Zealand 3rd DivisionNew Zealand 3rd Division
The 3rd New Zealand Division was a division of the New Zealand Army. Formed in 1942, it saw action against the Japanese 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...
was the main New Zealand Army unit of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Pacific and it fought 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 World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. 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.
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 New Zealand Government saw no option other than to disband one the country's two infantry divisions. The decision to disband the 3rd Division was made after consulting with the British and United States Governments, who were of the view that 2nd Division's contribution to the campaign in Italy was of greater importance than 3rd Division's contribution in the Pacific.
3rd 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 Division with the remaining men of the division returning to civilian employment.
3rd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1950-1961
From 1950 onwards, a division sized force, reserves (Territorial Force) maintained by conscription, formed the principal striking force of the New Zealand Army. The division was alternatively known as '3NZEF.' It was disbanded in 1961.See also
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