New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
The ceremony - Anzac Day
The Anzac Day ceremony of 25 April is rich in tradition and ritual. It is a form of military funeral and follows a particular pattern. The day's ceremonies have two major parts: one at dawn and another, more public event, later in the morning.
The dawn service
A typical commemoration begins with a march by returned service personnel before dawn to the local war memorial. Military personnel and returned servicemen and women form up about the memorial, joined by other members of the community. Pride of place goes to war veterans.
Background - the Gallipoli campaign
Within a few months of the outbreak of war (August 1914) a line of trenches stretched from Switzerland to the Belgian coast. The Germans and their Austro-Hungarian allies were on one side of the line, and on the other there were the French and British forces and their allies. Things had reached a stalemate.
Search for a strategy
The British were keen to find ways to break the German lines. Superior sea power seemed to be the answer. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, suggested several ways to use British naval resources. One of these was an assault on the Dardanelles. This 50-kilometre-long strait, which separates the Aegean Sea from the Sea of Marmara, was, at its narrowest point (the Narrows), less than 2 kilometres wide. The aim was to pass a force into the Sea of Marmara and threaten Constantinople, which was the capital of Germany's ally, the Ottoman Empire (modern Turkey). The city guarded the Bosphorus, which is a narrow waterway that leads into the Black Sea, so the city was open to attack from the ocean.
The Anzacs
The liberation of Le Quesnoy
The New Zealand Division's most successful day
The capture of the French town of Le Quesnoy by the New Zealand Division on 4 November 1918 has special significance in New Zealand's military history. This is not merely because it was the last major action by the New Zealanders in the Great War – the armistice followed a week later – but also because of the particular way it was captured.
Native Contingent at Gallipoli
Te Hokowhitu a Tu
The first Native Contingent sailed from Wellington aboard the SS Warrimoo in February 1915. Its motto was 'Te Hokowhitu a Tu' (the seventy twice-told warriors of the war god), signifying the 140 warriors of the war god, Tu-mata-uenga. This name was given by Wi Pere, an East Coast rangatira. The crest of the contingent bore two traditional Maori weapons, the taiaha and tewhatewha, crossed through a crown.
Visiting Le Quesnoy - New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
New Zealand history in Le Quesnoy
Just 4 kilometres east of Beaudignies in northern France is Le Quesnoy. This town was in German hands for almost all of the First World War, from August 1914 until the New Zealanders liberated it on 4 November 1918.
The town grew around a strategically located 12th-century castle. Interestingly, in light of the events of 1918, the Count of Zealand was one of the castle's residents. The fortifications were periodically improved or extended until late into the 19th century when developments in artillery rendered them obsolete. They were not subsequently destroyed, though the town suffered damage in both world wars; the belfry, for example, was destroyed in 1918, rebuilt, then destroyed again in 1940.
The ANZAC Battalion - NZ and the Vietnam War
Combat involvement 1965-66
Landing plans - the Gallipoli campaign
The grand plan
General Sir Ian Hamilton, in charge of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, had about a month to finalise plans for the landing of troops on the rough coastline of the Gallipoli Peninsula. There was much improvisation in the weeks preceding the landings and little time to practise.
Battle accounts, Lieutenant Averill - New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
Leslie Averill remembers the Le Quesnoy attack
Leslie Cecil Lloyd Averill was born on 25 March 1897. He volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1916 and left New Zealand with the 34th Reinforcements two years later. He was posted as a second lieutenant in the 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade at Brocton camp. Averill was awarded a Military Cross for exceptional gallantry and fine leadership during the assault on Bapaume in August 1918. The exploit for which he is best remembered took place during the liberation of Le Quesnoy on 4 November 1918, which he describes below.
