New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own)

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The New Zealand Rifle Brigade
NZRB cap badge
Active	1 May 1915 - 4 Feb 1919
Country	New Zealand
Type	Infantry
Size	Four Battalions
Nickname	"The Dinks"
Motto	Soyes Ferme
Engagements	First World War
Commanders
Ceremonial chief	Earl of Liverpool

The New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own), affectionately known as The Dinks, was formed on 1 May 1915 as the 3rd Brigade of the New Zealand Division, part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. During the first World War it fought in Egypt, against the Senussi, and then on the Western Front. It was disbanded on 4 February 1919.

1 Formation
2 Campaigns
3 The End
4 Battle Honours
5 References

[edit] Formation

From the beginning of the war New Zealand had been recruiting reinforcements to fill the ranks of soldiers killed and wounded. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire Suez Offensive with minimal losses, it became clear that additional units could be formed. Initially the unit was known as the Trentham Infantry Regiment, after the camp where it was formed, but later became known as the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.

[edit] Campaigns

Two battalions left Wellington on 8 October 1915 eventually arriving in Cairo on 14 November. They were joined on 13 and 15 March 1916 by the third and fourth battalions. After a period of reorganisation the full brigade left Alexandria on 7 April for France.

After a period of training the brigade entered the line on 13 May east of Armentieres. It participated in the vast majority of the battles of 1916, 1917 and 1918. Notable examples include:

The brigade first major offensive was during the the battle of the Somme when it attacked on 15 September as part of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette.
The Battle of Messines, possibly the most complete Allied victory of the war until late 1918.
Third Ypres, normally described these days as Passchendaele.
It was thrown into a gap in the line caused by the German attack, called Operation Michael, on 26 April 1918.
Finally it fully participated in the Hundred Days Offensive that ultimately culminated inside Germany

[edit] The End

The first elements of the Brigade were returned to New Zealand from 26 December 1918, with up to 1000 per week leaving. By the end of January 1919, the four battalions had been reduced to two with the final units being disbanded on 4 February 1919.