5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars)

Last updated
5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars)
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 5th Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars) 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.

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 They saw service during the Battle of Gallipoli, with the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and was later withdrawn to Egypt.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.

France Republic in Europe with several non-European regions

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.02 million. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

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

The unit amalgamated with 7th (Southland) Mounted Rifles and the 12th (Otago) Mounted Rifles to become the 5th New Zealand Mounted Rifles. They were redesignated the 5th New Zealand Mounted Rifles (Otago Hussars) 0n 4 August 1923 and in 1927 they became the Otago Mounted Rifles. 29 March 1944 saw them absorbed into the 3rd Armoured Regiment. [1] [2]

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.

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.

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References

  1. "firstaif". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24.
  2. "diggerhistory". Archived from the original on 2010-04-27.

Further reading

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