An extraordinary account of two brothers Gordon and Robin Harper who fought side-by-side at Gallipoli and then in the Sinai Desert as machine gunners with the Canterbury Mounted Rifles
Canterbury Mounted Rifles
Articles
The Gallipoli campaign
Each year on Anzac Day, New Zealanders (and Australians) mark the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings of 25 April 1915. On that day, thousands of young men, far from their homes, stormed the beaches on the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is now Türkiye. Read the full article
Page 6 - Evacuation
Hill 60 was the last major Allied attack at Gallipoli. The failure of the August offensive raised more questions about the future of the campaign, especially in light of the
Sinai campaign
The Sinai campaign is less well known than other First World War campaigns like Gallipoli and those on the Western Front. But it was here, in the harsh, arid desert, that the Allies took the first major step towards their ultimate victory over the Ottoman Turks in the Middle East. Read the full article
Page 5 - Battle of Magdhaba
By mid-December 1916 the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had advanced across the Sinai to within sight of the original objective of the campaign, the town of El
Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment timeline
In May the CMR and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) are thrown – as infantry – into the desperate struggle to seize the commanding heights of the Gallipoli Peninsula. In the next four months the regiment suffers more than half of all its casualties in the war. Read the full article
Page 1 - 1915
In May the CMR and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) are thrown – as infantry – into the desperate struggle to seize the commanding heights of the
Page 2 - 1916
When most of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force goes to France in April 1916, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) remains in Egypt as part of an Anzac Mounted
Page 3 - 1917
During 1917 the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment (CMR) and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) take part in three battles for
Page 4 - 1918
The Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment (CMR) and the rest of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) move east across Palestine into the Jordan Valley in early 1918 as part
Page 5 - 1919
The voyage home of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade (NZMR) is delayed by a shortage of shipping. The men take classes designed to ease them back onto ‘civvy street’ after up
Page 6 - Further information
Further reading about the Canterbury Mounted Rifles
NZ's First World War horses
Between 1914 and 1916 the New Zealand government acquired more than 10,000 horses to equip the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. They served in German Samoa, Gallipoli, the Middle East and on the Western Front. Of those that survived the war, only four returned home. Read the full article
Page 8 - The end of the war
Of the 10,000 horses the government acquired between 1914 and 1916 very few died in New Zealand, or whilst being transported. Many died from disease or injury once overseas. Of
Mounted Rifles units
An overview of the formation and units of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles in the First World war Read the full article
Page 3 - Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment
After training in Egypt the CMR fought in the Gallipoli campaign from May to December 1915. On its return from Gallipoli the regiment spent another four months in Egypt before
Page 7 - Canterbury Mounted Rifles timeline 1914-19
Formation and first actions of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles
