vietnam war

Vietnam War

• 

  The Vietnam War was New Zealand's longest and most controversial overseas military experience. Although this country's troop commitment and casualties were modest, the conflict aroused widespread protest and condemnation. And for those who fought in Vietnam, it was a tough homecoming.

  Read the full article

• Page 1 - The Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was New Zealand's longest and most controversial overseas military experience. Although this country's troop commitment and casualties were modest, the conflict

The Cold War

• 

  Although the origins of the so-called Cold War can be traced back to the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, this intense ideological struggle between the Western powers and the Soviet Union really began after the Second World War.

  Read the full article

• Page 4 – Treaties and alliances

  During the 1940s and 1950s New Zealand signed a series of collective treaties with Britain and the United States aimed at countering the threats of Japanese military resurgence

• Page 5 – South-East Asia

  During the 1950s the focus of New Zealand’s defence strategy shifted from the Middle East to Asia.

• Page 6 – Protest and dissent

  The end of the Vietnam War shifted the focus of the Cold War away from Asia and New Zealand's need for ‘forward defence’ diminished. These changes, together with the anti-

Links - military history

• 

  Links to military resources  including personnel records, medal winners and war graves.

   

  Read the full article

• Page 5 - Post Second World WarLinks to further information about New Zealand's military participation since the Second World

The 1960s

• 

  Five decades ago most Kiwis enjoyed a standard of living that was the envy of other nations. During the 1960s the arrival of TV and jet airliners shrank our world, and New Zealanders began to express themselves on a range of international issues, including opposition to the Vietnam War.

  Read the full article

• Page 9 – 1966 - key events

  A selection of the key events in New Zealand history from 1966

Military mascots

• 

  New Zealanders have one of the highest pet-ownership rates in the world. Wartime was no different. Take a tour through this menagerie of military mascots: dogs, cats, donkeys, monkeys, pigs, goats and birds. There's the famous bull terrier Major Major, along with the less well-known, but very cute, slow loris adopted by 1 RNZIR in Borneo.

  Read the full article

• Page 4 - Other military mascotsMascots we would like more information about, mainly from post-Second World War

The Royal New Zealand Navy

• 

  Seventy years old in October 2011, the Royal New Zealand Navy is today an integral part of the New Zealand Defence Force. But its 1941 establishment was the result of a long process of naval development.

  Read the full article

• Page 6 - Post-war operationsLike all the services the RNZN faced difficulties of readjustment to peacetime conditions, not only in drastically reducing numbers but also in determining the shape of the