Ever since 1917, Passchendaele has been a byword for the horror of the Great War. In terms of lives lost in a single day, the failed attack on Bellevue Spur on 12 October was probably the greatest disaster in New Zealand’s history.
Western Front
Events In History
Articles
New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
It was the New Zealand Division's final action of the First World War. On 4 November 1918, just a week before the Armistice was signed, New Zealand troops stormed the walled French town of Le Quesnoy. The 90 men killed were among the last of the 12,483 who fell on the Western Front. Read the full article
Page 1 - New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
It was the New Zealand Division's final action of the First World War. On 4 November 1918, just a week before the Armistice was signed, New Zealand troops stormed the walled
Page 2 - The liberation of Le Quesnoy
The capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy by the New Zealand Division on 4 November 1918 has special significance in New Zealand's military
Page 3 - Visiting Le Quesnoy
Just 4 kilometres east of Beaudignies in northern France is Le Quesnoy. This town was in German hands for almost all of the First World War, from August 1914, until the New
Page 4 - Battle accounts, Lieutenant Averill
Leslie Cecil Lloyd Averill is best remembered for his exploits during the liberation of Le Quesnoy on 4 November
Page 5 - Battle accounts, Private Nimmo
Captain James Matheson Nimmo joined 3rd Battalion, 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade on 27 September
First World War - overview
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife Sophie were assassinated in the Bosnian city of Sarajevo. This was a key event in sparking the Great War of 1914–18. Read the full article
Page 4 - New Zealand goes to war
Before the outbreak of war, Prime Minister W.F. Massey had made it clear that New Zealand’s main contribution would be supplying troops to the major theatre of conflict. But
1916: Armentières and the Battle of the Somme
Following the Gallipoli withdrawal, the newly formed New Zealand Division left for France in early April 1916. Sent to the Flanders region to gain front-line experience, they spent the next three months guarding a ‘quiet’ or ‘nursery’ sector of the line at Armentières before moving south to the Somme battlefields and their first large-scale action on the Western Front. Read the full article
Passchendaele: fighting for Belgium
Ever since 1917 Passchendaele has been a byword for the horror of the First World War. The assault on this tiny Belgian village cost the lives of thousands of New Zealand soldiers. But its impact reached far beyond the battlefield, leaving deep scars on many New Zealand communities and families. Read the full article
Page 2 - The battle for Messines
The assault on Passchendaele was part of a vast Allied offensive launched in mid-1917, which, for New Zealanders, started with the Battle for
Page 3 - The Passchendaele offensive
The failed attempt to capture the town of Passchendaele saw more New Zealanders killed in one day than in any other military campaign since
Page 4 - After Passchendaele
Military events in Belgium after the Passchendaele offensive of October 1917, including the failed attack at
British Empire
Key information and statistics about countries who fought as part of the British Empire during the First World War Read the full article
Page 2 - Dominion of New Zealand
Facts and statistics about New Zealand during the First World
Page 3 - Commonwealth of Australia
Key information and statistics about the Commonwealth of Australia during the First World
Page 4 - Dominion of Canada
Key information and statistics about Canada during the First World
Page 5 - British India
Facts and statistics about India during the First World
Page 6 - Dominion of Newfoundland
Key information and statistics about the Dominion of Newfoundland during the First World
Pacific Islanders in the NZEF
Cook Islanders, Niueans, Fijians and Gilbert Islanders all took their place in the ranks of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the First World War. As well as the dangers of war, Pacific soldiers faced language difficulties, an unfamiliar army diet and European diseases. Read the full article
Page 2 - Niueans and Cook Islanders
Information about Niuean and Cook Island soldiers who were part of the 3rd Maori Contingent in
Māori in the NZEF
More than 2000 Maori served in the Māori Contingent and Pioneer Battalion during the First World War Read the full article
Page 4 - On the Western Front
The New Zealand Pioneer Battalion arrived in France in April 1916. It was the first unit of the New Zealand Division to move onto the bloody battlefield of the
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. Read the full article
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
1918: Spring Offensive and Advance to Victory
In 1918, a series of major German and Allied offensives broke the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front, resulting in the collapse of the German Army and the end of the war within the year. New Zealand units played an important part in the Allies' final push for victory. Read the full article
The Post and Telegraph Department at war
The Post and Telegraph Department (the government agency from which New Zealand Post, Telecom and Kiwibank are descended) was crucial to this country’s participation in the First World War. Read the full article
Page 6 - Communications on the Western Front
In April 1916, the recently formed New Zealand Division was transported by troopship across the Mediterranean from the Egyptian port of Alexandria to Marseille in the south of
NZ Railways at war
The railway system and its workforce was one of the most valuable assets available to the New Zealand state to support the national effort during the First World War Read the full article
Page 2 - Railways in the First World War
The steam railway was a driving force of the industrial revolution and European imperialist
Page 4 - Railwaymen in the NZEF
More than 5000 permanent NZR employees served overseas during the war, about 40% of the 1914
Main image: Poppy field, village of Pas, Somme 1918
This painting of the village of Pas, the Somme, 1918, is by N.H. Welch. Note the poppies in the field. See the NZ History and Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association websites for information on the significance of the poppy.
