World War One Key Dates

New Zealand Forces Actions in World War 1
Samoa
	29 August 1914: Invasion/Occupation of Samoa Led by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Logan, the 1385-strong Samoa Advance Party of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force landed at Apia on 29 August. There was no resistance from German officials or Samoa’s general population.
Gallipoli
	25 April 1915: ANZAC and Helles landings The New Zealand Expeditionary Force landed on the shores of the Dardanelles at what is now known as Anzac Cove. By the end of the day 147 men were dead. At home the newspapers reported their “splendid gallantry” and talked of them coming through unscathed but by May the casualty lists showed the true story. 28 April 1915: 1st Battle of Krithia (British) 6-8 May 1915: 2nd Battle of Krthia 12 May 1915: Arrival of Mounted Rifles Brigade They came as reinforcements, without their horses. 19 May 1915: NZ Mounted Rifles Defence of Anzac 28‐30 May 1915: NZMR Attack at No.3 Outpost 4 June 1915: 3rd Battle of Krithia 28 June - 5 July 1915: Battle of Gully Ravine (Helles) 6 August 1915: Battle of Sari Bair NZEF 6-7 August 1915: NZMR capture the Sari Bari Foothills 6-13 August 1915: Battle of Krithia Vineyard NZEF 6-12 August 1915: Battle of Lone Pine (ANZAC) 8-10 August 1915: Battle of Chunuk Bair (ANZAC) (includes Hill 971 and Hill Q) This ferocious battle for the heights of the Dardanelles involved the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade , the Maori Contingent, the Auckland Battalion and the Wellington Battalion who successfully captured the summit, led by Lieutenant Colonel William Malone. They were relieved by the Otago Battalion and the Wellington Mounted Rifles who held the summit for two days until relieved by British troops. Chunuk Bair was recaptured by the Turks on the 10th August. Casualties were very high 650 dead including Lt. Col. Malone. 7 August 1915: Battle of the Nek (ANZAC) 7 August 1915: Victoria Cross Corporal Cyril Bassett, NZ Divisional Signals, 1NZEF 10–21 August 1915: Battle of Scimitar Hill (Suvla) 21–29 August 1915: Battle of Hill 60 (ANZAC)
	23 October 1915: Marquette torpedoed The transport *Marquette* was torpedoed in the Aegean Sea. on board were officers and men of the New Zealand Medical Corps, 36 New Zealand Army Nursing Staff, 610 officers and men of 29th Divisional Ammunition Column , 541 mules and some ammunition. Twenty nine crew and 182 troops were lost. Ten of those who died were New Zealand nurses who had been working at No.1 New Zealand Stationary Hospital in Port Said. Learn more about First World War Nurses here. 18–20 December 1915: Evacuation ANZAC and Suvla Of the 2721 men they left behind on the Gallipoli Peninsula only 265 have graves. This 1984 television documentary contains footage of Gallipoli veterans telling their stories - Gallipoli: the New Zealand Story

Sinai & Palestine
The campaigns in Sinai and Palestine are not as well known as the battles of Gallipoli or the Western Front. Units involved in the fighting here included the NZ Camel Corps and the NZ Rarotongan Company. Desert conditions were harsh and unforgiving.	15 March 1916: Formation of ANZAC Mounted Division 4‐5 August 1916: Battle of Romani 23 December 1916: Capture of Magdhabat 9 January 1917: Capture of Rafah 26 March 1917: First attempt to capture Gaza 17‐19 April 1917: Second attempt to capture Gaza 30‐31 October 1917: Gaza‐Beersheba Line broken in Third Battle of Gaza 14 November 1917: Defeat of attack at Ayun Kara 24 November 1917: Loss of bridgehead River Auja 21 February 1918: Capture of Jericho 27‐30 March 1918: First Battle of Amman 1‐6 May 1918: First Battle of Es Salt 25 September 1918: Capture of Amman 31 October 1918: Ottoman Empire signs Armistice March ‐ June 1919: Suppression of Egyptian revolt 30 June 1919: Brigade Disbanded
Battles of the Western Front
	15 - 22 September 1916: Battle of The Somme (Flers ‐ Courcelette, France) This was the New Zealanders first major engagement on the Western Front. They went over the top at 6.30 AM and by the end of the day thay had secured their objectives, taking the village of Flers. It was however an expensive victory with some 1200 casualties - 600 dead. 15 September 1916: Victoria Cross Sergeant Donald Brown, 2nd Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment, 1NZEF 25 - 28 September 1916: Battle of The Somme (Morval, France) 1 - 18 October 1916: Battle of The Somme (Le Transloy, France) 7 - 14 June 1917: Battle of Messines (Belgium) This carefully prepared attack was a striking success. It commenced with the explosion of huge mines under the German lines, reportedly heard in London. The New Zealanders still payed a heavy price - by the time the New Zealand Division was withdrawn on 9 June, it had suffered 3,700 casualties, 700 of them dead. 7 June 1917: Victoria Cross Lance-Corporal Samuel Frickleton, 3rd Battalion, 3rd NZ (Rifle) Brigade, 1NZEF 31 July 1917: Victoria Cross Corporal Leslie Andrew, 2nd Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment, 1NZEF 26 September - 3 October 1917: Battle of Polygon Wood 4 October 1917: Battle of Broodseinde 12 October 1917: Battle of Passchendaele This is New Zealand's darkest day. 846 young New Zealanders were killed in the first four hours of the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium. By the end of the day the total number of casualties, the wounded, the dead and the missing was 2,700. It took two and a half days to clear the battlefield of the dead and injured. 3 December 1917: Victoria Cross Private Henry Nicholas, 1st Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Regiment, INZEF 28 March 1918: Battle of Arras 5 April 1918: Battle of the Ancre 24 July 1918: Victoria Cross Sergeant Richard Travis, 2nd Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment, 1NZEF 21 - 23 August 1918: Battle of Albert 24 August 1918: Victoria Cross Sergeant Samuel Forsyth, NZ Engineers, attached to 2nd Battalion, Auckland Infantry Regiment, 1NZEF 26 August 1918: Victoria Cross Sergeant Reginald Judson, 1st Battalion, Auckland Infantry Regiment, 1NZEF 31 August - 3 September 1918: Battle of Bapaume 1 September 1918: Victoria Cross Sergeant John Gildroy Grant, 1st Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment, 1NZEF 12 September 1918: Battle of Havrincourt 12 September 1918: Victoria Cross Sergeant Henry John Laurent, 2nd Battalion, 3rd NZ (Rifle) Brigade, 1NZEF 27 September 1 October 1918: Battle of Canal du Nord 30 September 1918 Victoria Cross Private James Crichton, 2nd Battalion, Auckland Infantry Regiment, 1NZEF 8 - 9 October 1918: Battle of Cambrai 9 - 12 October 1918: Pursuit to the Selle 25 October 1918: Battle of the Selle 4 November 1918: Battle of the Sambre 7 November 1918: Capture of Le Quesnoy Learn more about New Zealand in the First World War here.

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The Fields of Remembrance Trust was established in 2012 to honour those who served and died for our nation during World War One.

The Trust is made up of the Passchendaele Society, the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, New Zealand (RNZRSA) representIng all local RSAs, and the Auckland RSA. It is a registered charity.

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