The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces during the Second World War. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-General Bernard C. Freyberg. It fought in Greece, Crete, the Western Desert and Italy. In the Western Desert Campaign, the division played a prominent role in the defeat of German and Italian forces in the Second Battle of El Alamein and the British Eighth Army's advance to Tunisia.
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser HMS Philomel, which by 1921 had been moored in Auckland as a training ship. A slow buildup occurred during the interwar period, and then in December 1939 HMS Achilles fought alongside two other Royal Navy cruisers at the Battle of the River Plate against the German ship, Graf Spee.
The New Zealand Army is the principal land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.
Compulsory military training (CMT), a form of conscription, was practised for males in New Zealand between 1909 and 1972. Military training in New Zealand has been voluntary before then and ever since.
The Yokusan Sonendan was an elite paramilitary youth branch of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association political party of wartime Empire of Japan established in January 1942, and based on the model of the German Sturmabteilung.
The Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) was an Australian part-time volunteer military force of World War II modelled on the British Home Guard.
British anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War entailed a large-scale division of military and civilian mobilisation in response to the threat of invasion by German armed forces in 1940 and 1941. The British Army needed to recover from the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force in France, and 1.5 million men were enrolled as part-time soldiers in the Home Guard. The rapid construction of field fortifications transformed much of the United Kingdom, especially southern England, into a prepared battlefield. Sea Lion was never taken beyond the preliminary assembly of forces. Today, little remains of Britain's anti-invasion preparations, although reinforced concrete structures such as pillboxes and anti-tank cubes can still be commonly found, particularly in the coastal counties.
The Defence Medal is a campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945, to be awarded to citizens of the British Commonwealth for both non-operational military and certain types of civilian war service during the Second World War.
The Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps was a regiment of the Ceylon Defence Force, which existed between 1900 and 1949. It was a volunteer (reserve) regiment based in Kandy, made up of only Europeans that were tea and rubber planters of the hills of Sri Lanka. The regiment deployed personnel to fight in the Second Boer War, the First, and Second World Wars.
Coastal fortifications were constructed in New Zealand in two main waves: around 1885 as a response to fears of an attack by Russia, and in World War II due to fears of invasion by the Japanese.
The Defence of Canada Regulations were a set of emergency measures implemented under the War Measures Act on 3 September 1939, a week before Canada's entry into World War II.
Coastal defenceand coastal fortification are measures taken to provide protection against military attack at or near a coastline, for example, fortifications and coastal artillery. Because an invading enemy normally requires a port or harbour to sustain operations, such defences are usually concentrated around such facilities, or places where such facilities could be constructed. Coastal artillery fortifications generally followed the development of land fortifications, usually incorporating land defences; sometimes separate land defence forts were built to protect coastal forts. Through the middle 19th century, coastal forts could be bastion forts, star forts, polygonal forts, or sea forts, the first three types often with detached gun batteries called "water batteries". Coastal defence weapons throughout history were heavy naval guns or weapons based on them, often supplemented by lighter weapons. In the late 19th century separate batteries of coastal artillery replaced forts in some countries; in some areas these became widely separated geographically through the mid-20th century as weapon ranges increased. The amount of landward defence provided began to vary by country from the late 19th century; by 1900 new US forts almost totally neglected these defences. Booms were also usually part of a protected harbor's defences. In the middle 19th century underwater minefields and later controlled mines were often used, or stored in peacetime to be available in wartime. With the rise of the submarine threat at the beginning of the 20th century, anti-submarine nets were used extensively, usually added to boom defences, with major warships often being equipped with them through early World War I. In World War I railway artillery emerged and soon became part of coastal artillery in some countries; with railway artillery in coast defence some type of revolving mount had to be provided to allow tracking of fast-moving targets.
The Corps of Royal New Zealand Military Police (RNZMP) provides military police services to the New Zealand Army, performing a variety of roles including criminal investigations. It consists of one major unit, the 1st Military Police Company, although members of the corps can also be posted to other units within the New Zealand Army. The corps is a combat support element responsible for the policing, investigation, custodial, security and battlefield circulation control support to New Zealand Defence Force land elements. Personnel within the corps include commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers of both the Regular Force and Territorial Force.
A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, often camouflaged, normally equipped with loopholes through which defenders can fire weapons. It is in effect a trench firing step, hardened to protect against small-arms fire and grenades, and raised to improve the field of fire.
Tamaki Drive is the coastal road which follows the contours of the Waitematā Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand. The road links the suburbs Ōrākei, Mission Bay, and Kohimarama ending in Saint Heliers providing easy access to the local beaches. Tamaki Drive was completed in 1932 and incorporates The Strand, Bice Esplanade and, what was once part of the old Kohimarama Road. It is also referred to as the Waterfront Road. Tamaki Drive is a flat road around 8 km long and popular with walkers, runners and roller skaters, and includes a dedicated cycle lane. Those travelling along Tamaki Drive can find scenic highlights and peaceful views across the harbour to the volcanic island Rangitoto. The cliffs backing onto Tamaki Drive are made of Waitematā Sandstone strata clothed in places with pōhutukawa. These trees seem to flower out of season, because these are actually Kermadec pōhutukawa with small distinctive roundish leaves.
Cairns Control Room is a heritage-listed military building at Grafton Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1942 by the Queensland Department of Public Works. It is also known as World War II Volunteer Defence Corps, Cairns Scout Hut, and Cairns Scout Shop. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 16 April 2010.
The New Zealand Women's Land Army or Women's Land Corps was formed to supply New Zealand's agriculture during the Second World War, with a function similar to its British namesake. The organisation in New Zealand began in an ad hoc manner with volunteer groups set up in various regions as it became apparent that there was an acute labour shortage due to the mobilisation of male farm workers. A group of paid workers was set up in Matamata in November 1940. In November 1941 the Government announced that it would establish a national Women's Land Corps. City girls from the age of 18 and up were "sent to assist on sheep, cattle, dairy, orchard and poultry properties". Recruitment of members was originally undertaken by the Women's War Service Auxiliary, but the scheme was reorganised in September 1942 and redeveloped as the Women's Land Service. With the reorganisation the basic wages were increased, the uniform and working clothes were liberalised, farmers could employ their relatives, and district Man-Power Officers became responsible for recruitment. These changes made the Service more attractive to both women and farmers and membership increased during the following two years. Membership peaked in September 1944, when 2088 women were employed on farms, and declined after that due to the return of servicemen from overseas, women leaving to marry ex-servicemen and women resigning to take up better jobs. Recruitment stopped with the end of the war on 15th August 1945. A total of 2711 women were employed as members of the Service from the time it was reorganised in September 1942, making it the largest of the women's services raised by New Zealand during the war. The Service was disbanded in 1946.
The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was a female auxiliary of the New Zealand Military Forces. Raised during the Second World War under the command of Vida Jowett, most of its personnel served on the Home Front, with several manning coastal and anti-aircraft defences. Many WAACs were sent overseas to serve in Europe and the Middle East, mainly providing medical and welfare services to the troops of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force. At its peak, it had a strength of nearly 4,600 serving personnel. After the war, some WAACs served with Jayforce, providing welfare services for the New Zealand troops doing occupation duties in Japan.
The United States Navy maintained a number of naval installations in New Zealand during the Pacific War of World War II.
