The history of New Zealand Division
Formed in Egypt in March 1916, the Division was based on the New Zealand and Australian Division. In April 1916 the Division moved to France and remained there. It developed a reputation as being among the best of the formations under British command, fighting in many of the major actions of the war including:
1916
The Battle of Flers-Courcelette*
The Battle of Morval*
The Battle of Le Transloy*
The battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916
1917
The Battle of Messines
The Battle of Polygon Wood**
The Battle of Broodseinde**
The First Battle of Passchendaele**
The battles marked ** are phases of the Third Battle of Ypres
1918
The Division was not affected by the restructuring of the army to having three brigades per Division, that took place in the British Divisions in February 1918.
The First Battle of Arras^
The Battle of the Ancre^
The battles marked ^ are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of Albert+
The Second Battle of Bapaume+
The battles marked + are phases of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of Havrincourt ”
The Battle of the Canal du Nord ”
The Battle of Cambrai ”
The battles marked ” are phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line
The pursuit to the Selle
The Battle of the Selle
The Battle of the Sambre and the capture of Le Quesnoy
The Division was selected to advance into Germany and demobilisation commenced there in late 1918. The Division was disbanded in Germany in March 1919.
The first paragraph of an article that appeared in the “Times” on 29 January 1917.
Order of battle
| 1st New Zealand Brigade | joined from the New Zealand and Australian Division in Egypt in March 1916 |
|---|---|
| 1st Wellington Bn | |
| 1st Canterbury Bn | |
| 1st Auckland Bn | |
| 1st Otago Bn | |
| 1st NZ Machine Gun Company | formed January 1916 left to move into New Zealand MG Bn February 1918 |
| 1st NZ Trench Mortar Battery | formed in France April 1916 |
| 2nd New Zealand Brigade | formed in Egypt February 1916 |
| 2nd Wellington Bn | |
| 2nd Canterbury Bn | |
| 2nd Auckland Bn | |
| 2nd Otago Bn | |
| 2nd NZ Machine Gun Company | formed January 1916 left to move into New Zealand MG Bn February 1918 |
| 2nd NZ Trench Mortar Battery | formed in France April 1916 |
| 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Bde | formation completed in Egypt March 1916 |
| 1st New Zealand Rifle Brigade | |
| 2nd New Zealand Rifle Brigade | |
| 3rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade | |
| 4th New Zealand Rifle Brigade | |
| 3rd NZ Machine Gun Company | formed January 1916 left to move into New Zealand MG Bn February 1918 |
| 3rd NZ Trench Mortar Battery | formed in France April 1916 |
| 4th New Zealand Brigade | joined May 1917, broken up February 1918 |
| 3rd Wellington Bn | |
| 3rd Canterbury Bn | |
| 3rd Auckland Bn | |
| 3rd Otago Bn | |
| 5th NZ Machine Gun Company | left to move into New Zealand MG Battalion February 1918 |
| 4th NZ Trench Mortar Battery | |
| Divisional Troops | under direct command of Divisional HQ |
| New Zealand Pioneer Battalion | formed February 1916 from Maori Bn, Otago Mounted Rifles and 2nd Maori Contingent |
| 4th NZ Machine Gun Company | joined February 1917 left to move into New Zealand MG Battalion March 1918 |
| NZ Machine Gun Battalion | formed February 1918 |
| NZ Divisional Train ASC | later titled 749, 750, 751, 752 and 1048 Companies |
| NZ Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| NZ Divisional Employment Company | joined February 1917 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | under direct command of Divisional HQ |
| Otago Mounted Rifles | joined Pioneer Bn in February 1916, one Sqn remaining until March 1916 when it left to become II ANZAC Corps Cavalry Regiment |
| Divisional Artillery | |
| 1st NZ Brigade, RFA | |
| 2nd NZ Brigade, RFA | left December 1916 |
| 3rd NZ Brigade, RFA | |
| 4th NZ (Howitzer) Bde, RFA | broken up January 1917 |
| NZ Divisional Ammunition Column | |
| V.NZ Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA | formed June 1916, left February 1918 |
| X.NZ, Y.NZ and Z.NZ Medium Mortar Batteries RFA | formed April 1916; in February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 1st NZ Field Company | |
| 2nd NZ Field Company | |
| 3rd NZ Field Company | |
| 4th NZ Field Company | formed March 1917, broken up February 1918 |
| NZ Divisional Signals Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 1st NZ Field Ambulance | |
| 2nd NZ Field Ambulance | |
| 3rd NZ Field Ambulance | |
| 4th NZ Field Ambulance | joined June 1917, broken up February 1918 |
Divisional histories
“The New Zealand Division 1916-1919” by Col. H. Stewart DSO MC
“Western Front: The New Zealand Division in the First World War 1916-1918” by Matthew Wright
“From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth: The New Zealand Division on the Western Front 1916-1918” by John H. Gray
Divisional memorials
The are four principal memorials to the New Zealand Division: at Passchendaele and Messines in Belgium, and Le Quesnoy and near Longueval, Somme, in France.