1st Brigade (New Zealand)

July 2019 November 2024 1st Brigade 1 (New Zealand) Brigade Insignia.svg 1916–1919 1939–19441946–1980s2011–current 20px New Zealand Army Land Component Commander Linton Military Camp Headquarters 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.Army Plan Takes Shape http://www.army.mil.nz/at-a-glance/news/media-releases/media-release.htm@guid=%7B8989b3e3-b855-4400-b21c-fe1515c25093%7D.htm Media releases New Zealand Army 26 December 2011 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120106090225/http://www.army.mil.nz/at-a-glance/news/media-releases/media-release.htm%40guid%3D%7B8989b3e3-b855-4400-b21c-fe1515c25093%7D.htm 6 January 2012 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 (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 was re-organised in the wake of the Gallipoli Campaign, and the New Zealand Division was formed. Under the command of Brigadier General Harry Fulton, the brigade initially consisted of four infantry battalions, being the 1st Battalions of the Auckland, Canterbury, Otago and Wellington Regiments.Stewart 1921 15–16 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.Stack 2011 9 Following this, the brigade fought in the Battle of MessinesStewart 1921 179–181 and the Third Battle of Ypres during 1917,Harper 2007 41–44 before helping to turn back the German spring offensive in early 1918,Wright 2005 127–129 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.Gray 2010 377–278Wright 2005 159–160 Second World War The 1st Infantry Brigade was re-established prior to the Second World War as a Territorial Force formation composed of part-time reservists.Cooke 2000 262 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), 1st North Auckland Regiment (Whangarei) and 1st Waikato Regiment (Hamilton).The New Zealand Army September 1939 – March 1941 http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/CGSC/CARL/nafziger/939BIBF.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20161031212252/http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/CGSC/CARL/nafziger/939BIBF.pdf dead 31 October 2016 The Nafziger Collection of Orders of Battle Combined Arms Research Library 31 October 2016 On 1 November 1941, the 1st Brigade became part of the newly formed Northern Division in the Northern Military District.Barrowclough, Harold Eric http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5b12/1 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga 14 July 2012 The division's two brigades were the 1st and 12th Brigade Groups.Cooke 2000 262, 274 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 composed of reservists.Cooke 2000 262 During early 1942, camps were constructed for the 1st Brigade Group in South Auckland and the 12th Brigade Group at Kaikohe. The 1st Brigade subsequently moved to a camp near Warkworth.September 2015 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.Cooke Crawford 2011 279–281 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).September 2015 In 1963, the Combat Brigade Group (1st Brigade) was established, based on the Northern Military District headquarters at Auckland.Fenton 1998 113–117 Headquarters Northern Military District was disestablished in 1970 and the headquarters became home to Field Force Command.National Archives http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullAgencyHistory.do https://web.archive.org/web/20130504153152/http://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullAgencyHistory.do 4 May 2013 dead Agency Full Description 20 September 2015 Reformation thumb|Soldiers and a NZLAV from the 1st Brigade during a training exercise in 2014 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.Army 2015 – Our Future in Focus http://www.army.mil.nz/downloads/pdf/army-news/armynews425.pdf 18 June 2012 Army News October 2011 14–15March 2026 Order of Battle Correct as at 1 Dec 2025:NZ Army Organisation Map https://www.nzdf.mil.nz/assets/Uploads/DocumentLibrary/OIA-2026-5632_ORBAT.pdf New Zealand Army 30 July 2026 1st (New Zealand) Brigade Headquarters, 1st Brigade (Linton Military Camp) 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Linton Military Camp) Queen Alexandra's Company Victor Company Whiskey Company Support Company Combat Service Support Company Waikato Mounted Rifles (Hamilton) (Reserves) G A Motley Stanley Bannerman New Zealand Army Organisation Map 16 January 2026 https://fyi.org.nz/request/33442/response/137372/attach/4/OIA%202026%205632%20Response%20signed.pdf 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Burnham Camp) Alpha Company Bravo Company Delta Company Support Company Depot Company Combat Service Support Company 2/4 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Burnham Camp) (Reserves) Canterbury Company (Christchurch) Otago and Southland Company (Dunedin) Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast Company (Invercargill and Nelson) 3/6 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Papakura Military Camp) (Reserves) Auckland Company (Auckland) Hauraki Company (Tauranga) Northland Company (Whangarei) 5/7 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Trentham Military Camp) (Reserves) East Coast Company (Napier) Wellington Company (Wellington) West Coast Company (Whanganui) 16th Field Regiment, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery (Linton Military Camp) 161 Battery 163 Battery 11/4 Battery (Reserves) Combat Service Support Troop 1st Command Support Regiment (Linton Military Camp) 1st (New Zealand) Military Intelligence Company 2nd (New Zealand) Military Intelligence Company 1st Signal Squadron (Reserves) 2nd Signal Squadron 5th Signal Squadron Military Network Operations and Security Centre 2nd Engineer Regiment, Royal New Zealand Engineers (Linton Military Camp) 2nd Field Squadron 3rd Field and Emergency Response Squadron 25 Engineer Support Squadron 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion, Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (Linton Military Camp) 2nd Workshop Company 5th Movements Company 10th Transport Company 21 Supply Company Combat Service Support Company (North) 38 Combat Service Support Company (Reserves) 3rd Combat Service Support Battalion, Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (Burnham Camp) 3rd Workshop Company 3rd Transport Company 3rd Catering & Supply Company 3rd Active Reserve Company (Reserves) See also Structure of the New Zealand Army Notes References Cooke Peter Defending New Zealand: Ramparts on the Sea, 1840–1950s Wellington Defence of New Zealand Study Group 2000 Cooke Peter Crawford John The Territorials: The History of the Territorial and Volunteer Forces of New Zealand 2011 Random House Auckland 978-1-8697-9446-0 Fenton Damien Marc A False Sense of Security Centre for Strategic Studies New Zealand 1998 Gray John H. From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth: The New Zealand Division on the Western Front 1916–1918 2010 Wilson Scott Christchurch, New Zealand 9781877427305 Harper Glyn Dark Journey: Three Key New Zealand Battles of the Western Front 2007 HarperCollins Publisher Auckland, New Zealand 978-1-86950-579-0 Stack Wayne The New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War I Men-at-Arms 2011 Osprey Oxford, United Kingdom 978-1-84908-539-7 Stewart H. The New Zealand Division 1916–1919 1921 Whitcombe & Tombs Auckland, New Zealand http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1-Fran.html 2276057 Wright Matthew Western Front: The New Zealand Division in the First World War 1916–18 2005 Reed Books Auckland, New Zealand 0-7900-0990-0 External links New Zealand Army, 1 Brigade Factsheet, 2018 collapsed Category:Infantry brigades of New Zealand Category:Infantry brigades of New Zealand in World War II Category:Military units and formations established in 1916 Category:1916 establishments in New Zealand Category:Brigades of New Zealand in World War I Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Category:Military units and formations established in 1939 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Category:Military units and formations established in 1946 Category:Military units and formations established in 2011