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What happened that day?
The First World War took more than 100,000 New Zealanders overseas, many for the first time. A total of 18,500 New Zealanders died in or because of the war, and nearly 50,000 more were wounded. Our forces were involved from the Capture of Samoa in 1914 to Armistice Day in 1918, including as part of the allied campaigns at Gallipoli, Palestine, the Somme and Passchendaele.
First World War - overview
In 1914 the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated in Sarajevo. How did this event spark 'the war to end all wars', which claimed the lives of 18,500 New Zealanders? more...
The Gallipoli campaign
The Gallipoli campaign of 1915 was a grievous failure. The campaign, though, helped foster an emerging New Zealand identity. more...
Battle of the Somme
They entered a place of bloody nightmare. Of the 15,000 New Zealand troops who came to the Somme in 1916, 2000 died and close to 6000 were wounded. more...
Passchendaele: fighting for Belgium
The capture of the insignificant village of Passchendaele in Belgium became an objective that cost thousands of New Zealand lives and impacted on thousands more at home. more...
Capture of German Samoa
When war broke out in Europe in August 1914, Britain asked New Zealand to seize German Samoa as a ‘great and urgent Imperial service’. more...
Maori and the First World War
Some Maori supported the First World War and joined up. Others, remembering the pain of the 19th-century land wars, opposed the war effort. more...
New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
A week before the First World War ended, New Zealand troops captured Le Quesnoy in their last major action. The French town continues to mark the event. more...
The Arras tunnels
The men of the New Zealand Tunnelling Company, many of them hardbitten gold miners and quarrymen, helped create a vast network of military tunnels under the French town of Arras. more...
Armistice Day
On 11 November 1918 the First World War officially ended, though celebrations in New Zealand were muted as people and authorities tried to cope with a devastating influenza pandemic more...
The Imperial Camel Corps
The Imperial Camel Corps included two New Zealand companies which fought in Sinai and Palestine during the First World War more...
Conscientious objection
Conscientious objectors paid a heavy price for their stance during the First World War. Everyone was expected to do their bit for 'King and Country'. more...
