FORMATION OF II. ANZAC

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I. Anzac Corps (General Godley) should consist, as present constituted, of the 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions. and the New Zealand and Australian Division, while the II. Anzac Corps should be composed of the 3rd Division (still in Australia) and of the new 4th and 5th Australian Divisions. General Godley's Corps would continue to hold its sector of the defences, while II. Anzac would be left undisturbed at Tel-el-Kebir to complete its reorganisation. The old Corps Staff was divided between the two Corps. The Staff of Headquarters, Australian and New Zealand Forces (General Birdwood), with that of the II. Anzac Corps, now split off from the I. Anzac Corps and set up offices in separate buildings. Brigadier-General C. B. B. White's appointment of B.G.G.S. on the staff of II. Anzac was temporarily filled by Colonel C. M. Wagstaff, while the former acted as D.A. and Q.M.G. of the Australian and New Zealand Forces. General Godley's Chief Staff Officer was Colonel (now BrigadierGeneral) C. W. Gywnn, C.M.G., D.S.O., R.E.

Meanwhile Generals Birdwood and Godley had been in communication with the New Zealand Government, and the latter formally notified its approval of the proposals contemplated to the War Office, which cabled to Headquarters Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to that effect in the middle of February.

The organisation of the new Division was based in the main on War Establishments, Part VII., as laid down in 1915 for the New Armies. There were some minor modifications. Thus a Cyclist Company1 and a Motor Machine Gun Battery were not raised, nor an Ammunition Sub Park, nor a Divisional Supply Column. A squadron of the former Divisional cavalry, the Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment, now with the Mounted Brigade at Serapeum, was on 23rd February designated Divisional Mounted Troops, and the remainder of the Regiment was drafted into the newly-formed Pioneer Battalion. Their horses were sent to the new artillery infantry and pioneer units. Even then a remount demand for over 1800 horses had to be rendered to complete the Division's establishment. The formation of an Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division, mooted by the War Office as early as 29th December, and now on the point of accomplishment, absorbed the Light Horse Brigades and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade.

1 A Cyclist Company was formed, however, in New Zealand in April 1916, by voluntary transfers from the Mounted Rifles units in training at that time, and arrived in France in July of the same year: see p. 59.

The problems faced in artillery expansion were complicated by the lack of trained personnel. It was even proposed at one time to adhere to the inadequate establishments laid down for British Territorial Divisions operating in Egypt. Eventually, however, it was decided not to be satisfied with half-measures, but to adopt boldly Part VII. Establishments, with the one exception that the Howitzer Brigade should consist of 3 instead of 4 batteries. Eight new 18-pounder batteries were therefore formed,1 the 7th and 8th being added to the old 1st Brigade; the 9th and 10th being added to the old 2nd Brigade, and the 11th 12th 13th and 14th constituting the new 3rd Brigade. An additional Howitzer Battery (the 15th) completed the 4th (Howitzer) Brigade. The artillery therefore now consisted of three 18pounder brigades of four batteries each and one howitzer brigade of three batteries. In the training of the raw artillery material the experience of the C.R.A. (Brigadier-General Napier Johnston) on the Instructional Staff of the British Army was invaluable.

To bring the Engineers up to establishment, the Field Troop New Zealand Engineers was transferred from the Mounted Rifles Brigade and expanded with the addition of skilled tradesmen drawn from the infantry into a third Field Company.

By the middle of January the 2nd Battalion of the New Zealand Rifles Brigade had arrived at Moascar from Alexandria, where it had acted as Lines of Communication troops in the Western Frontier campaign against the Senussi. It was followed towards the end of the month by the 1st Battalion, which had received instructive experience, seen some fighting, and suffered its first casualties at Jebel Medwa in December. The 3rd and 4th Battalions did not arrive from New Zealand till the middle of March.

In the formation of the 2nd New Zealand Infantry Brigade the same principle which governed the raising of the additional artillery batteries was followed, namely, the expansion of each of the 4 original "regiments" into 2 battalions, the 2nd Battalions of the regiments forming the 2nd Brigade. A complete cadre of officers was provided from 1 The 1st Artillery Brigade had consisted of the 1st 3rd and 6th (How.) Batteries; the 2nd of the 2nd 5th and 4th (How.) Batteries.

2 The original N.Z. Infantry Brigade was formed of 4 "Regiments" drawn from the 4 military districts, Auckland Canterbury Otago Wellington. In the "Regiment," each company was drawn from and designated by the number and title of the regiment in the N.Z. Military Forces from whose area it was raised. Thus the Canterbury companies were the 1st (Canterbury); the 2nd (South Canterbury); the 12th (Nelson and Marlborough); the 13th (North Canterbury and Westland).

the original infantry brigade, with the addition of a limited number of officers from the Mounted Rifles Brigade. A certain number of non-commissioned officers was transferred from the original brigade, but the rank and file were provided almost entirely from the reinforcements of all branches of the service and by the transfer of a certain number of men surplus in existing units. Brigadier-General W. G. Braithwaite relinquished his command of the as yet incomplete Rifle Brigade to take command of the 2nd Brigade. He was succeeded in command of the Rifle Brigade by Lt.Col. H. T. Fulton (2nd King's Own Gurkha Rifles), commanding the 1st Battalion, who was then granted the temporary rank of Brigadier-General.

A happy solution lay to hand for the formation of a Pioneer Battalion. After the August operations on the Peninsula the remainder of the original Maori contingent, together with reinforcements which had joined them, had been divided up by tribes among the 4 infantry regiments. The same course was adopted with the reinforcements which arrived at this time and were welcomed with ancient Maori ceremonial on the Egyptian desert. These now constituted the nucleus of the Pioneer Battalion, the remainder being drawn, as mentioned above, from the headquarters and the 2 surplus squadrons of the Otago Mounted Rifles. The appointment of battalion commander was given to Major (now Lt.-Col.) G. A. King, N.Z.S.C., who had been Staff Captain of the Mounted Brigade. Further reinforcements arrived on 15th March, consisting of 112 Maoris, 125 Niue Islanders,1 and 45 Rarotongans. In the formation of each company the 2 leading platoons were composed of Maoris or Islanders in tribes, and the other 2 of pakehas.2

A machine gun corps was created by the formation of 3 machine gun companies drawn from the machine gun sections in the battalions; 2 companies from those of the original (now the 1st) Infantry Brigade, and the third from those of the Rifle Brigade. Two new field ambulances were raised by the expansion of the existing organisation and by building upon a No. 2 Field Ambulance section which had arrived from New Zealand in December. A Divi

1 Climatic conditions proved too severe for the Niue Islanders of the tropical Pacific. Some of them were sent home from Egypt, the remainder from France in May. Of the Address despatched by the Chief of Niue to England in 1914 the opening words merit quotation here: "To King George V., all those in authority and the brave men who fight: I am the island of Niue, a small child that stands up to help the Kingdom of King George .

2 Pakeha, Maori for "European."

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"THE LAST OF THE AUSTRALIANS"

sional Sanitary Section was formed on 7th February. The Army Service Corps branch was expanded, and in addition 5 Depot Units of Supply, with Field Bakery and Field Butchery, were formed as Lines of Communication Units, not incorporated in the Division. The 2 Veterinary Sections despatched from New Zealand in December 1914 were disbanded, the personnel being absorbed in 2 Mobile Veterinary Sections, one of which was attached to the Division and the other to the Mounted Rifles Brigade.

The expansion of old and the formation of new units not merely absorbed the excess personnel of the disbanded Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment and all accumulated 7th 8th and 9th Reinforcements, but also drained the Mounted Rifles' surplus reinforcements in New Zealand as well as in Egypt. The natural reluctance of the horseman to leave his particular arm was overcome firstly by the precedent set on Gallipoli, where Mounted Rifles and Light Horse had served in the open as in trenches on foot, and secondly by the reflection, not unreasonable at this stage of the evolution of tactics, that there was a brighter prospect of seeing fighting in other branches of the service. The spirit with which all ranks transferred is given generous recognition by General Godley in an order issued on 3rd June:—

"The G.O.C. wishes to place on record his appreciation and that of the New Zealand Government of the patriotic and public-spirited action of the many officers, n.c.o.s, and men of the Mounted Rifles who have voluntarily transferred, both in Egypt and in New Zealand, to the infantry and other arms when it became known that men were urgently required for these services.

"That so large a number of all ranks should have readily and cheerfully responded to the call to place the interests of the Force before everything else is a most gratifying and convincing proof that the N.Z.E.F. has in it that first essential for efficiency and success the true soldierly spirit."

Towards the end of February, while all these augmentations were in progress, the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade left the Division at Moascar to join their comrades at Tel-elKebir. Their movement had been delayed by a shortage of tents and camp equipment in their new quarters, but now a battalion marched out daily, and by the evening of 28th February the 16th Battalion and the 4th Field Ambulance, the last of the Australians of the old composite Division, had