4th Division (New Zealand)

The 4th Division was one of three divisions of the New Zealand Army that were set up during World War II for the purpose of home defense. It was founded on November 1, 1941. Its task was to defend the southern coast of New Zealand's North Island against possible enemy invasions. In the course of 1943, the division was greatly reduced in size and finally disbanded on April 1, 1944 without being involved in combat operations.

history

As part of preparations for a possible outbreak of war in the Pacific, the expansion of the defense forces stationed in New Zealand began in late 1941. On November 1st of that year three new brigades were formed - as well as three divisional headquarters to coordinate and lead the troops in the northern, central and southern military district of the country. When it was set up, the division was under the central military district and had two brigade groups, a term used in Commonwealth armies for newly formed troops that did not yet have a final structure.

After the outbreak of the Pacific War , the New Zealand troop strength was increased. The Territorial Force , consisting of reservists , was fully mobilized on January 10, 1942 and reinforced by an additional 7,000 men who had originally enrolled in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force for operations overseas. The Territorial Force's task was to fend off possible Japanese landings in New Zealand. For this purpose, both mobile and fortress units were formed. The Home Guard should provide additional support to the Territorial Force in the event of an invasion.

In the course of 1942, the three divisions stationed in New Zealand were regrouped into mobile formations and the unit previously called the Central Division was renamed the 4th Division. The North and South Divisions became 1st and 5th Divisions . First in command of the 4th Division was Major General (Major General) Norman Weir . In mid-1942 the division consisted mainly of the 2nd Infantry Brigade ( 2nd Infantry Brigade ) near Palmerston North and the 7th Brigade Group ( 7th Brigade Group ) near Masterton . In addition, it had a number of reconnaissance, artillery, engineer and supply units that were directly subordinate to the division headquarters. All army units in New Zealand were initially kept in high readiness, as a Japanese landing in 1942 seemed quite likely. Due to the course of the war, the beach defenses were no longer permanently manned from August of that year. Masterton was also hit by an earthquake on June 24th, which is why parts of the troops stationed there subsequently helped out. At a point in time that is no longer known in 1942, Brigadier Geoffrey Peren took over command of the division and held it until 1943. Peren had previously commanded the 2nd Infantry Brigade. Weir went to the theater of war overseas following his replacement and commanded the New Zealand troops in Egypt.

As the estimated risk of invasion decreased, the number of troops in New Zealand decreased. At the beginning of 1943, the troop strength of the three home defense divisions was reduced from a total of 22,358 men to 11,530 soldiers. The non-divisional units were reduced in size even more. On June 28, the New Zealand government ordered the general lifting of the readiness of the defense forces, which further reduced the number of troops. By the end of the year, almost all of the Territorial Force's personnel had been demobilized, although they initially retained their uniforms and equipment. The seven brigade and three divisional headquarters in New Zealand had a total of 44 soldiers after the demobilization. The continued positive course of the war ultimately led to the three divisions being dissolved together with almost all remaining units of the Territorial Force on April 1, 1944.

literature

• Peter Cooke, John Crawford : The Territorials. The History of the Territorial and Volunteer Forces of New Zealand . Random House , Auckland 2011, ISBN 978-1-86979-446-0 (English).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 262.
2. ↑ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, pp. 265-266.
3. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 268.
4. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 272.
5. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 274.
6. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 276.
7. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 267.
8. ^ Norman William McDonald Weir . In: Auckland Museum . Auckland Council , December 20, 2016, accessed September 15, 2018 .  
9. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 279.
10. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 280.
11. ^ Cooke, Crawford: The Territorials , 2001, p. 281.