The Great War for New Zealand


Book Description

Spanning nearly two centuries from first contact through to settlement and apology, ​this major work focuses on the human impact of the war in the Waikato, its origins and aftermath.




New Zealand's Great War


Book Description

This book is a collection of essays arising out of the OCyZealandiaOCOs Great WarOCO conference organised by the New Zealand Military History Committee in November 2003. In 32 essays by distinguished military historians from New Zealand and around the world, various aspects of New ZealandOCOs involvement in World War One are discussed. Subjects include the Pioneer Maori Battalion, women who opposed the war, the early years of the RSA, Gallipoli, the infantry on the Somme, New ZealandOCOs involvement in the naval war, prostitution and the New Zealand soldier, the Home Defence, religion in the First World War, and the Armistice. New ZealandOCOs Great War is a fascinating miscellany of informed comment on and insight into the event that did most to shape New Zealand as a nation. Contributors include New ZealandOCOs own Chris Pugsley, Glyn Harper, Terry Kinloch, Monty Soutar, Megan Hutching, Vincent Orange and Bronwyn Dalley, as well as Peter Dennis, Jeffrey Grey, Jennifer Keene, Jenny McLeod, Pierre Purseigle, Peter Stanley and Gary Sheffield from overseas."




Good-bye Maoriland


Book Description

They left their Southern Lands, They sailed across the sea; They fought the Hun, they fought the Turk For truth and liberty. Now Anzac Day has come to stay, And bring us sacred joy; Though wooden crosses be swept away – We'll never forget our boys. – Jane Morison, ‘We'll never forget our boys', 1917 Be it ‘Tipperary' or ‘Pokarekare', the morning reveille or the bugle's last post, concert parties at the front or patriotic songs at home, music was central to New Zealand's experience of the First World War. In Good-Bye Maoriland, the acclaimed author of Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music introduces us the songs and sounds of World War I in order to take us deep inside the human experience of war.




The New Zealand Wars | Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa


Book Description

The New Zealand Wars were a series of conflicts that profoundly shaped the course and direction of our nation’s history. Fought between the Crown and various groups of Māori between 1845 and 1872, the wars touched many aspects of life in nineteenth century New Zealand, even in those regions spared actual fighting. Physical remnants or reminders from these conflicts and their aftermath can be found all over the country, whether in central Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, or in more rural locations such as Te Pōrere or Te Awamutu. The wars are an integral part of the New Zealand story but we have not always cared to remember or acknowledge them. Today, however, interest in the wars is resurgent. Public figures are calling for the wars to be taught in all schools and a national day of commemoration was recently established. Following on from the best-selling The Great War for New Zealand, Vincent O'Malley's new book provides a highly accessible introduction to the causes, events and consequences of the New Zealand Wars. The text is supported by extensive full-colour illustrations as well as timelines, graphs and summary tables.




The New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War II


Book Description

In 1939 more than 140,000 New Zealanders enlisted to fight overseas during World War II. Of these, 104,000 served in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Initially thrown into the doomed campaign to halt the German blitzkrieg on Greece and Crete (1941), the division was rebuilt under the leadership of MajGen Sir Bernard Freyberg, and became the elite corps within Montgomery's Eighth Army in the desert. After playing a vital role in the victory at El Alamein (1942) the 'Kiwis' were the vanguard of the pursuit to Tunisia. In 1943–45 the division was heavily engaged in the Italian mountains, especially at Cassino (1944); it ended the war in Trieste. Meanwhile, a smaller NZ force supported US forces against the Japanese in the Solomons and New Guinea (1942–44). Fully illustrated with specially commissioned colour plates, this is the story of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force's vital contribution to Allied victory in World War II.




The Great Wrong War


Book Description

An entirely new look at the shocking impact of the First World War on New Zealand. For New Zealand, World War One was wholly avoidable, wholly unnecessary — and almost wholly disastrous. Stevan Eldred-Grigg believes that the enormous cost of the war to our people was way too high — and that we still feel its effects, both socially and culturally, today. This is excellent narrative non-fiction, analysing our history in a novel way. It's very accessible but is backed up by meticulous research. Stevan goes against the accepted line and gives us a fascinating look at our social history before, during and just after WW1. Why did we go to the war in Europe? Was the country united in its desire for war? What were the economic and social consequences? What has been the impact on the psyches of New Zeland men? These and many other questions are answered in this fascinating book. In 2007 Harvey McQueen wrote in a review of New Zealand's Great War (an anthology of essays) that '[there is] a need for a general, popular history of 'our' Great War... we need a skilled writer in the mould of Sinclair, Oliver or King to give an overview and link the various elements into a coherent whole.' This is that book.




Fighting the Great War


Book Description

Michael Neiberg offers a concise history based on the latest research and insights into the soldiers, commanders, battles, and legacies of the Great War.




Niue and the Great War


Book Description

'I am the island of Niue, a small child that stands up to help the Kingdom of King George.' Niue Island Council. The story of tiny Niues involvement in the Great War has captivated people since an account was first published by Margaret Pointer in 2000. In 1915, 160 Niuean men joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force as part of the Maori Reinforcements and set sail to Auckland and then Egypt and France. Most had never left the island before, or worn shoes before. Most spoke no English. Most significantly, they had no immunity to European disease. Within three months of leaving New Zealand, over 80 per cent of them had been hospitalised and the army authorities withdrew them. Margaret Pointer became involved in research to trace the lost story of Niues involvement in World War I while living on the island in the 1990s. The resulting book, Tagi Tote e Loto Haaku: My Heart is Crying a Little, was published in 2000. Her research has continued since, and Niue and the Great War contains much new material together with new photographs. This moving story has now been set in a wider Pacific context and also considers the contribution made by colonial troops, especially coloured ones, to the Allied effort.




The Laws of Yesterday’s Wars


Book Description

This book offers an exploration of unique laws and customs placed around warfare throughout history, from Indigenous Australians to the American Civil War.




New Zealand and the Vietnam War


Book Description

Starting with the first Indochina War in the 1950s, this historical analysis covers the story of New Zealand's relations with Vietnam up to the end of the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Exploring the diplomatic history of the engagement, which is not well known or understood, and showing that New Zealand officials and politicians in fact entered the war with extreme reluctance, this describes how the dispatch of troops to Vietnam divided the country, enraged a generation, and forced the government to publicly defend its policy. Readers quickly discover that the fallout from the Vietnam conflict still affects New Zealand's position today—from its well-known antinuclear stance to its position over the recent Iraq conflict.