Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
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| The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment |
|
| Active | 9 January 1947- |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Role | Mechanised Infantry (one battalion) Light Role Infantry (one battalion); |
| Size | Three battalions |
| Garrison/HQ | 1st Battalion - Linton 2/1st Battalion - Burnham |
| Motto | Onward |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel in Chief | HM The Queen |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
Major General K.M. Gordon, CBE (Rtd) |
| Insignia | |
| Tac Sign |  |
The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the main unit in the regular army of New Zealand. It was formed January 9, 1947 as the New Zealand Regiment with a single infantry battalion as part of the newly created infantry corps.
By August 1, 1947 the regiment was augmented by the reorganisation of the Jayforce (the occupation force of Japan:
- 1st Battalion - redesignation of original regiment
- 2nd Battalion - redesignation of 22nd Battalion, NZEF
- 3rd Battalion - redesignation of 27th Battalion, NZEF
The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were disbanded in 1948 following their return to New Zealand. The honours and traditions of the 22nd Battalion, NZEF were then perpetuated through the Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) Regiment, the Hawke's Bay Regiment and the Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Regiment. The 2nd Battalion was raised again in 1959 and saw service in Malaya before converting to a depot for the 1st Battalion in 1963. The regiment received its present name on April 1, 1964, when all of the Territorial Force battalions were absorbed into its structure, receiving battalion numbers:
- 1st Battalion - regulars
- 2nd Battalion - Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment
- 3rd Battalion - Auckland (Countess of Ranfurly's Own) and Northland Regiment
- 4th Battalion - Otago and Southland Regiment
- 5th Battalion - Wellington West Coast and Taranaki Regiment
- 6th Battalion - Hauraki Regiment
- 7th Battalion - Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment
This structure was in place until 1999, when the TF regiments resumed their separate identities following the re-organisation of the army structure. Today, the RNZIR has three battalions:
- 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (motorised infantry) - the original battalion formed in 1947.
- 2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (light infantry) - originally the 2nd Battalion, this was given its current name in 1973.
- 3/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment - formed as a cadre in 1999 to be mobilised using Territorial Force infantry units as needed.
Upon mobilisation of TF infantry units from the six battalion groups, each of the regular battalions would be augmented by a company, while the remaining four would be used to form 3/1st Battalion.
In addition, the RNZIR contributed two companies to the ANZAC Battalion in Vietnam between 1968 and 1971. It is this that has provided the RNZIR with its only battle honour thus far, which is the only battle honour awarded by New Zealand since World War II.
[edit] Battle honours
Because it is recruited on a nation wide basis, and has no specific regional links, the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment claims descent from, as well as the old New Zealand Regiment and all previous Territorial Infantry Regiments of the New Zealand Army. As a consequence, it is permitted to display a selection of 105 battle honours awarded to ten separate regiments:
- New Zealand, South Africa 1900-02
- The Great War: Somme 1916 '18, Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, Arras 1918, Hindenburg Line, France and Flanders 1916-18, Anzac, Gallipoli 1915
- The Second World War: Greece 1941, Crete, Minqar Qaim, El Alamein, Takrouna, North Africa 1940-43, Cassino I, The Senio, Italy 1943-44, South Pacific 1942-44
- South Vietnam 1967-701
- Note 1: only battle honour awarded by New Zealand since 1945.
[edit] Current deployments
Two companies from the 2/1st Battalion are currently deployed on overseas operations in conjunction with Australian forces - one is stationed in the Solomon Islands and the other is in Timor-Leste.
