12th (Otago) Mounted Rifles

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12th (Otago) Mounted Rifles
Active1911 - 1921
Country New Zealand
Allegiance New Zealand Crown
Branch New Zealand Army
RoleMounted
SizeRegiment
Part of New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade
Engagements World War I

The 12th (Otago) Mounted Rifles was formed 17 March 1911. During World War I they formed part of the Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment and saw service during the Battle of Gallipoli, afterwards they were withdrawn to Egypt and later were the only New Zealand Mounted troops to serve in France with the New Zealand Division.

World War I 1914–1918 global war starting in Europe

World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the resulting 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.

Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment

The Otago Mounted Rifle Regiment was a New Zealand Mounted Regiment formed for service during the Great War. It was formed from units of the Territorial Force consisting of the 5th Mounted Rifles, the 7th (Southland) Mounted Rifles and the 12th (Otago) Mounted Rifles. They saw service during the Battle of Gallipoli, with the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and was later withdrawn to Egypt. They later left the brigade and served in France with the New Zealand Division becoming the only New Zealand Mounted troops to serve in France.

Egypt Country spanning North Africa and Southwest Asia

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in the northeast corner of Africa, whose territory in the Sinai Peninsula extends beyond the continental boundary with Asia, as traditionally defined. Egypt is bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, Libya to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, across the Red Sea lies Saudi Arabia, and across the Mediterranean lie Greece, Turkey and Cyprus, although none share a land border with Egypt.

Contents

Great War Battles

Battle of Morval

The Battle of Morval, 25–28 September 1916, was an attack during the Battle of the Somme by the British Fourth Army on the villages of Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesbœufs held by the German 1st Army, which had been the final objectives of the Battle of Flers–Courcelette. The main British attack was postponed, to combine with attacks by the French Sixth Army on the village of Combles south of Morval, to close up to the German defences between Moislains and Le Transloy, near the Péronne–Bapaume road. The combined attack from the Somme river northwards to Martinpuich on the Albert–Bapaume road, was also intended to deprive the German defenders further west near Thiepval of reinforcements, before an attack by the Reserve Army, due on 26 September. The postponement was extended from 21–25 September because of rain, which affected operations more frequently during September.

Battle of Le Transloy A battle during the First World War

The Battle of Le Transloy was the last big attack by the Fourth Army of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in France, during the First World War. The battle was fought in conjunction with attacks by the French Tenth and Sixth armies on the southern flank and the Reserve/5th Army on the northern flank, against Heeresgruppe Rupprecht created on 28 August, from the 1st and 2nd armies of the dissolved armeegruppe Gallwitz-Somme and the 6th and 7th armies. General Ferdinand Foch, commander of groupe des armées du nord and co-ordinator of the armies on the Somme, was unable to continue the sequential attacks by the Anglo-French armies achieved in September, because persistent rain, mist and fog grounded aircraft, turned the battlefield into a swamp and greatly increased the difficulty of transporting supplies to the front over the few roads in the area and the land that had been devastated since 1 July.

Battle of Messines (1917) offensive conducted by the British Second Army

The Battle of Messines(7–14 June 1917) was conducted by the British Second Army, on the Western Front near the village of Messines in West Flanders, Belgium, during the First World War. The Nivelle Offensive in April and May had failed to achieve its more ambitious aims, had led to the demoralisation of French troops and dislocated the Anglo-French strategy for 1917. The offensive at Messines forced the Germans to move reserves to Flanders from the Arras and Aisne fronts, which relieved pressure on the French. The tactical objective of the attack at Messines was to capture the German defences on the ridge, which ran from Ploegsteert Wood in the south, through Messines and Wytschaete to Mt. Sorrel, to deprive the German 4th Army of the high ground south of Ypres. The ridge gave commanding views of the British defences and back areas further north, from which the British intended to conduct the Northern Operation, an advance to Passchendaele Ridge and then capture the Belgian coast up to the Dutch frontier.

Between the wars

They amalgamated with the 5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars) and the 7th (Southland) Mounted Rifles to become the 5th New Zealand Mounted Rifles in 1921. [1] [2]

The 5th Mounted Rifles was formed on 17 March 1911. It formed part of the Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment so they saw service during the Battle of Gallipoli, Egypt. They later served in France with the New Zealand Division and were the only New Zealand Mounted troops to serve in France.

The 7th (Southland) Mounted Rifles was raised on 17 March 1911. During World War I they formed part of the Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment and served in the Battle of Gallipoli and was then withdrawn to Egypt. They would later serve in France, with the New Zealand Division.

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4th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)

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The II ANZAC Corps Mounted Regiment was a combined mounted unit made up of Australian and New Zealand troops during the First World War. The regiment served on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. For the most part, the regiment undertook rear area duties, although it undertook more mobile operations in early 1917 during the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. In November 1917, the regiment was redesignated as the XXII Corps Mounted Regiment when II ANZAC Corps was converted into XXII Corps. During early 1918, the regiment played a defensive role during the German Spring Offensive and then supported French operations during the Second Battle of the Marne. The regiment continued operations throughout the remainder of 1918, supporting the Allied Hundred Days Offensive until the end of the war.

References

  1. "firstaif". Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
  2. "diggerhistory". Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2008.

Further reading

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