Events In History
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10 December 1918Anzac troops kill Arab civilians at Surafend
About 40 male Arab civilians were killed by Anzac troops in revenge for the death of New Zealand Trooper Leslie Lowry. Read more...
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31 October 1917Capture of Beersheba
The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade played a key part in the capture of Beersheba, a turning point in the struggle for the Middle East in the First World War Read more...
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21 August 1915New Zealanders attack Hill 60
Hill 60 was the last offensive action fought by the New Zealanders during the Gallipoli campaign. The ‘abominable little hill’, as it was dubbed by Brigadier-General Andrew Russell, saw bitter fighting between New Zealand and Ottoman troops in late August 1915. Read more...
Articles
Mounted Rifles units
An overview of the formation and units of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles in the First World war
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Page 2 – Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment
The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment (AMR) was one of four mounted rifles regiments raised to serve overseas in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) during the First
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Page 3 – Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment
After training in Egypt the CMR fought in the Gallipoli campaign from May to December 1915. On its return from Gallipoli the regiment spent another four months in Egypt before
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Page 4 – Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment
The Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment never served as part of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade but was maintained as a stand-alone unit.
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Page 5 – Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment
The Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment (WMR) was one of four mounted rifles regiments raised to serve overseas in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) during the First
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Page 6 – Auckland Mounted Rifles timeline 1914-19
Detailed account of the AMR in 1914
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Page 7 – Canterbury Mounted Rifles timeline 1914-19
Formation and first actions of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment
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Page 8 – Wellington Mounted Rifles timeline 1914-19
Timeline for the Wellington Mounted Rifles in 1914
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Page 9 – Further information
Recommendations for further reading about the New Zealand Mounted Rifles during the First World War
Sinai campaign
The Sinai campaign is less well known than other First World War campaigns like Gallipoli and those on the Western Front. But it was here, in the harsh, arid desert, that the Allies took the first major step towards their ultimate victory over the Ottoman Turks in the Middle East.
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Page 2 – Overview
The Sinai campaign arose from a change in British thinking about the defence of the Suez Canal.
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Page 3 – Action at Katia
In March 1916 the commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), General Sir Archibald Murray, ordered his forces to occupy the area around the Katia oasis, 40 km east of
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Page 4 – Battle of Romani
Although the action at Katia boosted Ottoman morale, it soon became clear that it had not deterred the British from continuing their offensive into the Sinai.
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Page 5 – Battle of Magdhaba
By mid-December 1916 the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had advanced across the Sinai to within sight of the original objective of the campaign, the town of El Arish.
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Page 6 – Battle of Rafah
If the British failed to capture Rafah quickly they risked being overwhelmed by large Ottoman forces sent from Gaza.
Palestine campaign
The British invasion of Ottoman-held Palestine in 1917-18 was the third - and last - campaign launched by the Allies against the Ottoman Turks in the Middle East during the First World War.
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Page 3 – First Battle of Gaza
The commander of Eastern Force mistakenly thought that the Egyptian Expeditionary Force could capture Gaza in March 1917 by using essentially the same tactics as those employed
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Page 5 – Third Battle of Gaza
The third, successful attempt by the British to capture Gaza began in late October 1917.
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Page 6 – The Trans-Jordan raids
Two raids east of the Jordan River cost 3000 casualties. They are the first real defeats suffered by the EEF since the Second Battle of Gaza.
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Page 7 – Battle of Megiddo
The final battle of the Palestine campaign in September 1918 resulted in arguably the most decisive British victory of the war.
NZ's First World War horses
Between 1914 and 1916 the New Zealand government acquired more than 10,000 horses to equip the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. They served in German Samoa, Gallipoli, the Middle East and on the Western Front. Of those that survived the war, only four returned home.
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Page 5 – Egypt and Gallipoli
Some draught horses accompanied the divisional artillery and transport and supply units to Gallipoli in April 1915 to assist with their work. But the conditions proved
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Page 6 – Sinai and Palestine
Several thousand of the New Zealand forces’ horses remained in the Middle East when the New Zealand Division sailed to France. These horses served with the New Zealand Mounted
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Page 7 – Western Front
More than 3000 horses and mules went from Egypt to France with the New Zealand Division in April 1916. Most of these horses had probably come from New Zealand originally.
Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment timeline
Timeline for the Wellington Mounted Rifles in 1915
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Page 2 – 1916
Timeline for the Wellington Mounted Rifles in 1916
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Page 3 – 1917
What the Wellington Mounted Rifles did in 1917
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Page 4 – 1918
The Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment (WMR), along with the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR), moves east across Palestine into the Jordan Valley in early
Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment timeline
In May the CMR and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) are thrown – as infantry – into the desperate struggle to seize the commanding heights of the Gallipoli Peninsula. In the next four months the regiment suffers more than half of all its casualties in the war.
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Page 2 – 1916
When most of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force goes to France in April 1916, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) remains in Egypt as part of an Anzac Mounted
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Page 3 – 1917
During 1917 the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment (CMR) and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) take part in three battles for Gaza.
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Page 4 – 1918
The Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment (CMR) and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) move east across Palestine into the Jordan Valley in early 1918 as
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Page 5 – 1919
The voyage home of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) is delayed by a shortage of shipping. The men take classes designed to ease them back onto ‘civvy street’ after
Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment timeline
The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment actions in 1915, from Sinai to Gallipoli
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Page 2 – 1916
When most of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force goes to France in April 1916, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) remains in Egypt as part of an Anzac Mounted
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Page 3 – 1917
During 1917 the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment (AMR) and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) take part in three battles for Gaza.
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Page 4 – 1918
The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment (AMR) and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) move east across Palestine into the Jordan Valley in early 1918 as part
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Page 5 – 1919
The return home of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) is delayed by a shortage of shipping.
The Imperial Camel Corps
The Imperial Camel Corps, which included two New Zealand companies, played a vital role in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns during the First World War. Between 400 and 450 New Zealanders fought in the Corps, and 41 died before the two New Zealand companies were disbanded in mid-1918.
- Page 3 - New Zealand Camel CompaniesIn August 1916 No 15 (New Zealand) Company, Imperial Camel Corps, was formed from men originally intended as reinforcements for the New Zealand Mounted Rifles
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Main image: Moving back from Rafa
The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade moving back from Rafa at the end of the Sinai campaign, January 1917.