The Hawke's Bay Regiment was a

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

New Zealand Military Forces The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

. The regiment traced its origins to the Napier Rifle Volunteer Rifles, a volunteer corps formed in 1863 and which would later amalgamate with other volunteer corps to form the 9th (Hawkes Bay) Regiment in 1911. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the regiment provided a company to each of the battalions of the Wellington Infantry Regiment and saw combat at Galipolli and on the Western Front. After the war the regiment was renamed the Hawke's Bay Regiment and remained in New Zealand for home defense during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Men from the regiment, however, served with the

19th 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13. ...

, 22nd, 25th and 36th Battalions of the

Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

. The regiment had a close relationship with the

Ruahine Regiment The Ruahine Regiment was a Territorial Force Infantry Regiment of the New Zealand Military Forces. It was briefly raised in the 1910s and saw service in the First World War as part of the Wellington Infantry Regiment. It was formed for a second ...

, which was detached and reabsorbed by the Hawke's Bay regiment on two separate occasions. In 1964, the Hawkes Bay regiment was amalgamated with the Wellington Regiment and become the 7th Battalion (Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay), Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment

History

19th Century

The Hawke's Bay Regiment can trace its origins to the Napier Rifle Volunteers, a volunteer corps which was formed on 1 July 1863. The volunteers were involved in the

East Cape War The East Cape War, sometimes also called the East Coast War, was a series of conflicts fought in the North Island of New Zealand from April 1865 to October 1866 between colonial and Māori military forces. At least five separate campaigns were ...

, fighting against the Hauhau in 1865 and 1866, and were also called up in 1869 during

Te Kooti's War Te Kooti's War was among the last of the New Zealand Wars, the series of 19th-century conflicts in New Zealand between the Māori people, Māori and the colonising European settlers. It was fought in the Gisborne District, East Coast region and ...

. The Napier Rifle Volunteers were disbanded in 1874, but were reformed in 1879 when the Napier Engineers, which had been raised the year earlier, were converted into infantry. The Napier Rifles became part of the Wellington Battalion of Infantry volunteers in 1895, but were transferred to the newly formed 3rd Battalion Wellington (East Coast) Rifle Volunteers in 1898, which brought together multiple corps from the Hawke's Bay region. During the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899-1902), the New Zealand Government sent a number of mounted rifles contingents to fight in South Africa. A number of men from the 3rd Battalion served with these contingents In 1910, New Zealand instigated a system of compulsory military training which replaced the Volunteer Force with the Territorial Force. The next year, the 3rd Battalion (Wellington East Coast) amalgamated with the 5th Battalion (Centre or Ruahine) and became an independent regiment titled the 9th Regiment (Wellington East Coast Rifles), although the word "rifles" was dropped from the title in 1913. Initially the regiment consisted of only a single battalion, but a second battalion was soon raised in 1912. The 1st Battalion was based in Napier and the 2nd in

Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...

, effectively the same organisation as the former 3rd and 5th volunteer battalions. The 9th Regiment was the only regiment in the New Zealand Military Forces to have more than one battalion. The 2nd Battalion, however, was detached in March 1914 and became its own regiment, the 17th (Ruahine) Regiment. The recruiting area of the 9th Regiment was shrunk to only include Hawke's Bay and so the regiment was subsequently redesignated as the 9th (Hawke's Bay) Regiment.

First World War

At the outbreak of war in August 1914, the decision was made to form a New Zealand infantry brigade of four battalions from the existing territorial regiments. Men from the 9th (Hawke's Bay) Regiment formed the 9th (Hawke's Bay) Company of the Wellington Battalion, which saw service during the Gallipoli Campaign. Following the evacuation from Gallipoli in 1916, the Battalion became a regiment of two battalions. The Wellington Regiment would see action on the western front, engaging in the battles of the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

Messines Messines may refer to: * Mesen (in French: Messines), a village in Belgium **Battle of Messines (disambiguation), World War I battles * Messines, Quebec, a municipality in Canada * São Bartolomeu de Messines São Bartolomeu de Messines, also ref ...

Broodseinde The Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in Belgium, at the east end of the Gheluvelt plateau, by the British Second and Fifth armies against the German 4th Army. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of t ...

, Passchendaele,

German Spring Offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

and the

Hundred Days' Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

. A third battalion was also raised in 1917, but was disbanded in 1918 due to manpower shortages. Both the 2nd and 3rd battalions were organised along the same lines as the 1st Battalion, each with their own eponymous 9th (Hawke's Bay) Company. The Wellington Regiment was disbanded at the end of the war.

Interbellum

In 1921, the New Zealand territorial infantry regiments were reorganised into larger regiments, similar to those of the First World War. The 9th (Hawke's Bay) Regiment reabsorbed the 17th (Ruahine Regiment) and was redesignated as 3rd Battalion, Wellington Regiment. The reorganisation was short lived and in 1923, the battalion regained its independence and became the Hawke's Bay Regiment.

Second World War

The Hawke's Bay Regiment remained in New Zealand for home defence during the

and raised a 2nd Battalion in November 1940. The 2nd Battalion was detached in 1941 to form the Ruahine Regiment for a second time. Another 2nd Battalion was formed in February 1942 by redesignating the former 12th Battalion of the National Military Reserve. The 2nd Battalion was a stationary unit, intended to defend the east coast of the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

from Japanese attack, while the 1st Battalion was intended to have a mobile reactive role as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade,

4th Division In military terms, 4th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions *4th (Quetta) Division, British Indian Army * 4th Alpine Division Cuneense, Italy * 4th Blackshirt Division (3 January), Italy *4th Canadian Division *4th Division (Australia) * 4th ...

. By June 1943, the war in the pacific was looking favourable for the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

and a general stand-down was ordered in New Zealand. The 2nd Battalion was formally disbanded in April 1944. Men from the Hawke's Bay Regiment saw combat with the battalions associated with the Central Military District. The

, 22nd and 25th battalions each had a company designated as C (Hawke's Bay) Company, which was affiliated with the Hawke's Bay Regiment. These battalions were part of the

2nd New Zealand Division The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the Second World War. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-G ...

and saw action in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The Hawke's Bay Regiment was also affiliated with the 36th Battalion of the 3rd New Zealand Division, which saw combat at the

Treasury Islands Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasurie ...

Post War

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

was appointed as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Hawke's Bay Regiment in 1953. The regiment was granted the freedom of the city of Napier in 1957 and in 1963 the

Napier City Council Napier City Council ( Māori: ''Te Kaunihera o Ahuriri'') is the territorial authority of Napier, a city in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. The council covers the urban and suburban areas of the city, including Central ...

paid for a new stand of colours for the regiment. The new colours were presented to the regiment by the Queen, the first time a New Zealand Military unit had been presented with colours by a reigning monarch. In 1964 the Hawkes Bay regiment was amalgamated with the Wellington Regiment to become the 7th Battalion (Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay), Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.

Alliances

* –

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

(1925-1958) * –

Lancashire Regiment The Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army that had a very short existence. History The regiment was formed, as a consequence of defence cuts instigated by the 1957 Defence White Paper, by ...

(1958-1964) * –

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), by ...

* – 40th Battalion * –

The Lincoln and Welland Regiment The Lincoln and Welland Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army based in St. Catharines, Ontario. The regimental colonel-in-chief is the Duchess of Edinburgh and the regimental motto is , "Not for us but for our count ...

Notes

; Footnotes ; Citations

References

* * * * * * * * {{New Zealand Great War Infantry Regiments Infantry regiments of New Zealand Military units and formations established in 1863 Military units and formations disestablished in 1964