The Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment from New Zealand, raised for service during the First World War. It was assigned to the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, and formed part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.
The regiment, with an establishment of twenty-six officers, 523 other ranks and 600 horses, was formed from three squadrons belonging to pre-war Territorial Force regiments: the 1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry), the 8th (South Canterbury) Mounted Rifles and the 10th (Nelson) Mounted Rifles. It also included a small headquarters and, until 1916, a Maxim machine-gun section. The Maxim guns were withdrawn but the regiment's fire-power increased during the war, and by the end of the conflict each squadron had four Hotchkiss machine-guns, one per troop.
Being mounted infantry the regiment rode into battle on their horses, but were expected to dismount and fight on foot. The regiment fought predominantly against the forces of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Their first involvement came in the Gallipoli Campaign between May and December 1915, during which they participated in the largest battle of that theatre at Chunuk Bair and the fighting for Hill 60. Evacuated to Egypt, they then took part in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from 1916 to 1918. The early battles they were involved in included those at Romani, Gaza and Beersheba. Later in the war they were part of the force that occupied the Jordan Valley, and took part in the raids on Amman and Es Salt. Their final wartime operation was in connection with the capture of the Turkish Fourth Army. During the four years of war the regiment lost 334 men dead from all causes, while another 720 were wounded or debilitated. After the war, the regiment played a minor role in the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, before being disbanded in June 1919.
History
Formation Raised on 12 August 1914, at the start of the First World War, the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment came from the Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand. Commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Findlay, it was composed of a headquarters, a machine-gun section and three squadrons, formed from Territorial Force regiments. The New Zealand Territorial Force included a compulsory training system, and the four Military Districts were required to supply a mounted regiment for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. To meet that obligation, the Territorial Force regiments each provided a squadron, which kept their own regimental badges and traditions. The regiment's squadrons came from the 1st Mounted Rifles (Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry) (1st Squadron), the 8th (South Canterbury) Mounted Rifles (8th Squadron) and the 10th (Nelson) Mounted Rifles (10th Squadron). The establishment was fixed at twenty-six officers and 523 other ranks, who used 528 riding horses, seventy-four draught horses and six pack horses. Each squadron, of 158 men, had a field headquarters and four troops. The Machine-Gun Section, with two Maxim Guns, had one officer, twenty-six other ranks, twenty riding horses and sixteen draught horses. Even though the regiment used horses, they were not cavalry but mounted infantry, and expected to ride to the battlefield, dismount and then fight as traditional infantry. Attached to, but not part of, the regiment were medical and veterinary officers, an artificer, three more other ranks and another eighteen horses. The regiment was assigned to the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, serving alongside two other regiments: the Auckland Mounted Rifles and the Wellington Mounted Rifles.
Embarkation On 23 September the regiment left their camp for Lyttelton and embarked on the transport ships HMNZT Tahiti and HMNZT Athenic. Leaving the same day, they arrived at Wellington the next afternoon, and disembarked the troops. On 14 October they boarded the transports again and set sail. With a short stop at Hobart, on 28 October they arrived at Albany, and anchored waiting to be joined by the Australian contingent. The combined convoy sailed on 1 November and reached Colombo on 15 November. Two days later it sailed into the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal. Docking at Port Said on 2 December and Alexandria the next day, the regiment disembarked on 4 December and boarded a train for their camp in the Cairo suburb of Zeitoun where they started a training programme, using the desert for manoeuvres, during both day and night.
Gallipoli
In Egypt the regiment continued its training programme, working from reveille at 05:00 to 17:30 when they stabled their horses at the end of the working day. Every third or fourth night the soldiers performed guard duty or looked after the horses. It was in Egypt that the regiment, and brigade, came under command of the newly formed New Zealand and Australian Division which, along with the 1st Division, made up the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). In April 1915, the division's infantry units left Egypt for an undisclosed destination, and it was not until 1 May that the regiment learned about the Gallipoli landings. Four days later the regiment received news that it would also deploy to Gallipoli, but in a dismounted role without their horses. On 7 May, twenty-six officers and 482 other ranks (some men remaining behind to look after their horses) boarded trains for Alexandria to board their transports. They arrived off the Gallipoli peninsula on 12 May, and started to disembark, landing at Anzac Cove. By now the troops had been re-equipped for their dismounted role, and carried a rifle with two hundred rounds of ammunition, a small pack, a haversack, mess tins, a bayonet, and an entrenching tool. Once ashore, the regiment camped that night behind the front line.
The next day, they moved to the left flank in the north to relieve the Royal Naval Brigade. Their trenches stretched from the sea to Walkers Ridge and included two outposts, No.1 Post and No.2 Post. The regiment took over on the extreme right, with one squadron in the front line, one squadron in the support trench and the third squadron as the reserve. Next in line to their right, was the Auckland Mounted Rifles, and then the Wellington Mounted Rifles on the left. However, the regiment had to wait until it got dark before sending men forward to man the two outposts.
First combat The regiment's first experience of combat started at midnight on 18/19 May when their Turkish opponents opened fire on their trenches. The main assault, in the brigade's sector, was against the Auckland Mounted Rifles; to support them the regiment sent two troops from the 1st and 10th Squadrons and one troop from the 8th Squadron to form their reserve. At daylight, the men manning No.1 Post could see a group of Turks concentrating around "The Nek" and opened fire on them with a machine-gun, forcing them to withdraw. The Turkish attack continued until that afternoon, when it gradually petered out. It was later estimated that 42,000 Turkish troops had been involved in the attack on the ANZAC beach-head, and by the end of the day 10,000 of them had become casualties. Later that day white flags were observed over the Turkish trenches, and some of their men wandered into no man's land. This was considered a ruse to retrieve arms and ammunition off the dead and to bring forward reinforcements, so the Turks were warned to return to their trenches as the New Zealanders were going to open fire again. A real armistice was arranged for 24 May, between 07:30 and 16:30, when the wounded were brought to safety and the dead buried. Squadrons settled into a routine with twenty-four hours in No.1 and No.2 Posts, twenty-four hours in the main trenches and twenty-four hours in support, then back to the outposts. Their first offensive action came on 28 May, when it was still dark. The Turks had built an outpost only from No.2 Post, so the 1st Squadron charged and captured the position. Once it was secured, the 6th Squadron from the Wellington Mounted Rifles provided the garrison for what was now called No.3 Post. They had some difficulties defending it, as the Turks launched a counter-attack to recapture it. After a battle lasting until the next day the 10th Squadron and two troops from the 8th Squadron managed to relieve the Wellington Regiment's survivors and take over the defence of the post. Shortly after the relief, it was decided that the position was untenable and it was abandoned. Casualties gradually mounted and the regiment's first replacements, three officers and forty-four other ranks, arrived at the end of June.
Chunuk Bair
The objective of the British August offensive was to seize Chunuk Bair, a high point in the Sari Bair mountain range. The New Zealand and Australian Division would provide the attacking force. The initial attack was to clear the Turks from the foothills; this task was given to the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, reinforced by the Maori Pioneer Battalion. The regiment, together with the Otago Mounted Rifles, was to clear Chailak Dere valley, then advance to Aghyl Dere in the north. They also had to capture Taylor's Hollow and Walden's Point, then turn east to capture Beauchop Hill. To reduce noise and maintain stealth, they were ordered to use only their bayonets. At 20:00 on 5 August, the 296 men of the regiment moved forward to No.2 Post in preparation for the attack, which was due to start at 21:00 the next night. Their assault started on time, with the 1st and 10th Squadrons forward, followed by the 8th Squadron and Machine-Gun Section in reserve. The leading men met and killed four Turks in an observation post. Then with still around to go, a destroyer's searchlight beam lit up the advancing men, and a Turkish machine-gun opened fire on them. The 10th Squadron charged straight into the Turkish trench, while the 1st Squadron managed to manoeuvre around and attack the machine-gun from the rear. They achieved this without firing a shot or making a sound, and then advanced towards their last objective, Beauchop Hill. The hill was also captured, and the survivors started to dig in. Although it had taken all its objectives, the regiment had around forty per cent casualties, including the commanding officer, who was wounded, and the second in command, Major Overton, who had been killed. While digging in they were able to observe the rest of the battle, which did not seem to be going well. By the next day, 7 August, Turkish reinforcements were arriving at Chunuk Bair and the attack had failed. Since the start of the battle they had lost twenty-four men dead and sixty men wounded. Now commanded by Major Hutton, from the 10th Squadron, the regiment remained on Bauchop Hill in defence until 15 August, when they moved back to the entrance of Aghyl Dere, then later moved forward and occupied an old Turkish trench.
Hill 60
At 15:30 on 21 August the Battle for Hill 60 began. Charging straight at the hill, the regiment suffered sixty per cent casualties, among them Hutton in command. He was replaced by Major Hurst, from the 1st Squadron, and they succeeded in capturing the Turkish trench within fifteen minutes of going over the top. But on either side of them the rest of the attack had failed, leaving the regiment and the Otago Mounted Rifles isolated from the rest of the force. Not having the manpower to continue the assault, they were ordered to dig in and hold the position. They held on until 23 August when they were relieved by the Auckland and Wellington Mounted Rifles.