The 1st Brigade is currently the largest unit of the New Zealand Army, and contains most of the army's deployable units. The brigade was formed on 13 December 2011 by amalgamating the 2nd Land Force Group and 3rd Land Force Group. Its establishment formed part of the 'Army 2015' package of reforms. Previous 1st Brigades in the New Zealand Army have included a brigade in the Middle East and France, 1916–19, a home defence formation active during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

(part of the North Island home defence 1st Division), and a 1 Brigade / Integrated Expansion Force formed to direct three Territorial Force-formed battalions in the 1970s and 1980s.

History

First World War

The 1st Brigade came into being in Egypt in early 1916, when the

New Zealand and Australian Division The New Zealand and Australian Division was a composite army division raised for service in the First World War under the command of Major General Alexander Godley. Consisting of several mounted and standard infantry brigades from both New Zea ...

was re-organised in the wake of the Gallipoli Campaign, and the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

was formed. Under the command of Brigadier General

Harry Fulton Brigadier General Harry Townsend Fulton, (15 August 1869 – 29 March 1918) was a British Army officer who served with the New Zealand Military Forces during the Second Boer War and First World War. Born in Dalhousie, India, Fulton move ...

, the brigade initially consisted of four infantry battalions, being the 1st Battalions of the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, Otago and Wellington Regiments. In this configuration, the brigade was transferred to the Western Front in Europe, and fought through the Battle of the Somme before the New Zealand Division was restructured. This saw the brigade reconfigured, swapping its two South Island battalions (the 1st Canterbury and 1st Otago) with the two North Island battalions (2nd Auckland and 2nd Wellington) of the 2nd Brigade. This placed all the North Island battalions in the 1st Brigade while all the South Island formations were in the 2nd Brigade. Following this, the brigade fought in the Battle of Messines and the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

during 1917, before helping to turn back the German spring offensive in early 1918, and then taking part in the Allied Hundred Days Offensive in the final months of the war. After the armistice, the brigade was committed briefly to post war occupation duties until the New Zealand Division disbanded in early 1919.

Second World War

The 1st Infantry Brigade was re-established prior to the Second World War as a Territorial Force formation manned by part-time reservists. At the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939, it formed part of the field force for the Northern District. At this time it commanded the 1st Hauraki Regiment (headquartered at

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 k ...

), 1st North Auckland Regiment ( Whangarei) and 1st Waikato Regiment (

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

). On 1 November 1941, the 1st Brigade became part of the newly formed Northern Division in the Northern Military District. The division's two brigades were the 1st and 12th Brigade Groups. Later the Northern Division became the 1st Division. The 12th Brigade Group was one of the new headquarters, and both these units continued to be manned by reservists. During early 1942, camps were constructed for the 1st Brigade Group in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though n ...

and the 12th Brigade Group at

Kaikohe Kaikohe is the seat of the Far North District of New Zealand, situated on State Highway 12 about 260 km from Auckland. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region. With a population of ove ...

. The 1st Brigade subsequently moved to a camp near Warkworth. After the threat of invasion passed, the 1st Brigade and the other home defence formations were reduced in size during 1943. By the end of the year the seven brigade (including 1st Brigade) and three divisional headquarters comprised a total of 44 personnel, with the soldiers assigned to the Territorial Force units they once commanded having been demobilised. All of these headquarters were disbanded on 1 April 1944.

Post war

In 1950, Northern Military District directed four subordinate Area Headquarters, being Area 1 (HQ Auckland), Area 2 (HQ Tauranga), Area 3 (HQ Whangarei), and Area 4 (HQ Hamilton). In 1963, the Combat Brigade Group (1st Brigade) was established, based on the Northern Military District headquarters at Auckland. Headquarters Northern Military District was disestablished in 1970 and the headquarters became home to Field Force Command.

Reformation

Multinational forces tackle Exercise Kiwi Koru challenges 141114-F-AD344-258

In 2011 the 1st Brigade was reformed from the headquarters of the 2nd Land Force Group at Linton Camp. Its role upon formation was to command all of the New Zealand Army's operational units, other than the

1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment The 1st New Zealand Special Air Service Regiment, abbreviated as 1 NZSAS Regt, was formed on 7 July 1955 and is the Special forces unit of the New Zealand Army, closely modelled on the British Special Air Service (SAS). It traces its origins to ...

. As of December 2011, the brigade comprised: *Headquarters, 1st Brigade (

Linton Military Camp Linton Military Camp is the largest New Zealand Army base and is home to the Headquarters 1(NZ) Brigade. It is located just south of Palmerston North. History The land that the present Linton Military Camp stands on was purchased by the Governme ...

) *1st Battalion,

Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the parent administrative regiment and corps of regular and reserve infantry battalions in the New Zealand Army. It was originally formed in 1947 with a singular Regular regiment and multiple reserve r ...

(Linton Military Camp) *2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (

Burnham Military Camp Burnham, also known as Burnham Camp, is the largest army base in New Zealand's South Island. It is located 28 kilometres south of Christchurch on the Canterbury Plains in the Selwyn District, close to the town of Dunsandel. Burnham was named aft ...

) * Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (

) *16th Field Regiment,

Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery is the artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. It is effectively a military administrative corps, and can comprise multiple component regiments. This nomenclature stems from its heritage as an off ...

(Linton Military Camp) *2nd Engineer Regiment (Linton Military Camp) *1st Signals Regiment (Linton Military Camp) *2nd Combat Service Support Battalion (Linton Military Camp) *3rd Combat Service Support Battalion (Burnham Military Camp) *2nd Health Services Battalion (Linton Military Camp) *1st Military Police Company (

Trentham Military Camp Trentham Military Camp is a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) facility located in Trentham, Upper Hutt, near Wellington. Originally a New Zealand Army installation, it is now run by Defence and accommodates all three services. It also hosts Jo ...

)

Order of Battle 2020

Correct as at 28 February 2020: * 1st (New Zealand) Brigade ** Headquarters, 1st Brigade (Linton Military Camp) ** 1st Command Support Regiment (Linton Military Camp) *** 1st (New Zealand) Military Intelligence Company *** 1st Signal Squadron *** 2nd Signal Squadron *** 3rd Signal Squadron (Electronic Warfare) (Burnham Camp) *** 4th Signal Squadron (Burnham Camp) *** 25 Cypher Section ** Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (Linton Military Camp) *** Wellington East Coast Squadron *** Scots Squadron *** Waikato Mounted Rifles Squadron (Hamilton) *** Support Squadron *** Delta Squadron (inactive) ** 1st Battalion,

(Linton Military Camp) *** Alpha Company (inactive) *** Victor Company *** Whiskey Company *** Support Company *** Combat Service Support Company ** 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (

Burnham Camp Burnham, also known as Burnham Camp, is the largest army base in New Zealand's South Island. It is located 28 kilometres south of Christchurch on the Canterbury Plains in the Selwyn District, close to the town of Dunsandel. Burnham was named a ...

) *** Alpha Company *** Bravo Company *** Delta Company *** Support Company *** Depot Company *** Combat Service Support Company ** 2/4 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Burnham Camp) *** Alpha Company (Christchurch) *** Bravo Company (Dunedin) *** Charlie Company (Invercargill and Nelson) ** 3/6 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Papakura Military Camp) *** Northland Company (Whangarei) *** Auckland Company (Auckland) *** Hauraki Company (

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

) ** 5/7 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Trentham Military Camp) *** East Coast Company (Napier) *** Wellington Company (Wellington) *** West Coast Company (Whanganui) ** 16th Field Regiment,

(Linton Military Camp) *** 161 Battery *** 163 Battery *** 11/4 Battery (Papakura Military Camp) ** 2nd Engineer Regiment, Royal New Zealand Engineers (Linton Military Camp) *** 1st Field Squadron *** 2nd Field Squadron *** 3rd Field Squadron (Burnham Camp) *** 25 Engineer Support Squadron *** Emergency Response Squadron ** 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion,

Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment The Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (The Duke of York's Own), is the New Zealand Army's main military Logistics and combat service support (CSS) element. It is the largest regiment in the NZ Army. History Prior to 1996, the logistic su ...

(Linton Military Camp) *** 10th Transport Company *** 21st Supply Company *** 2nd Workshop Company *** 5th Movements Company *** Combat Service Support Company (North) *** 38th Combat Service Support Company (Army Reserves) ** 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion, Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (Burnham Camp) *** 3rd Transport Company *** 3rd Catering & Supply Company *** 3rd Workshop Company *** 3 Reserve Company

Notes

References

* * * * * * * *

External links

* New Zealand Army
1 Brigade Factsheet, 2018
{{Anzac, state=collapsed Infantry brigades of New Zealand Infantry brigades of New Zealand in World War II Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in New Zealand