The tradition of using units recruited from the representatives of the indigenous population of the colonies to conduct hostilities was inherent in almost all European powers that had overseas territories. Colonial units were recruited along ethnic lines, but, as a rule, they preferred to put European officers in command. At least that was the case in the military of the British Empire. The experience of the metropolis was also borrowed by the English-speaking states - the so-called "dominions".
So, in New Zealand, a military unit was created, fully staffed by the Maori - the indigenous inhabitants of the islands. The 28th battalion of the New Zealand Army, which went down in history as the "Maori Battalion", was noted for the high combat capability and courage of its servicemen (German General Erwin Rommel is credited with the phrase "Give me a Maori battalion, and I will conquer the world."), But most importantly, he gave the opportunity to use the Maori military traditions in the interests of not only New Zealand, but also the British Empire, whose dominion was this Pacific state.
Maori Wars
The indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori linguistically belong to the Polynesian group of the Austronesian language family. In Polynesia, the Maori were considered one of the most developed and powerful peoples. Today their number is about 700,000 people, which is quite significant for the small Oceanian ethnic groups. Having settled the islands of New Zealand between about the 9th and 14th centuries, the Maori created a unique culture, with their own political and military traditions. They strenuously resisted any attempts by European seafarers to settle on the islands that had the Maori name "Ao Tea Roa" ("Long White Cloud").
After the proliferation of firearms on the islands, tribal clashes, which were already quite frequent on the land of the Long White Cloud, took on a more bloody and fierce character. They went down in history as "musket wars" and became one of the formal reasons for the increased presence of the British on the islands. In the musket wars of the first half of the 19th century, a total of 18, 5 thousand people died.
With regard to the 100-thousandth population of all Maori at that time, this is a very significant figure. As a matter of fact, the colossal human sacrifices for the British were an excuse, as they would say now, for the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent on the New Zealand Islands. Of course, in reality, the British set themselves the task of political and economic subordination of the New Zealand lands, but formally declared that their presence on the islands was caused by the desire to "bring peace" to the Maori tribes, who are so fiercely fighting each other.
However, the Maori, naturally, did not want to obey the colonialists. The Maori resistance to British colonization of the islands intensified most when numerous European settlers began to arrive there, from the middle of the 19th century. The natives of New Zealand did not like the fact that newcomers were seizing their lands, building farms and villages. An armed resistance to colonization began, which went down in history as the "Maori Wars".
The Anglo-Maori wars were fought from 1845 to 1872.and were characterized by years of heroic resistance to the superior forces of the colonialists. There are certain similarities between the wars of the North American Indians against the colonial settlers and the Maori wars in New Zealand. So, the Maori not only fought with the British military units, but also attacked the settlers, destroying their farms. Maori cruelty towards white settlers did take place, but we should not forget that they showed it, first of all, fighting for their living space, which was occupied by the British colonialists.
The introduction of the post of king of the Maori in 1850 did not lead, as the British hoped, to the liberalization of the positions of the aboriginal tribes on the issue of the lands on which the white colonists settled. Most of the Maori tribes were reluctant to sacrifice their lands in the interests of whites, even if the latter were willing to grant Maori a certain degree of autonomy in internal affairs.
Since by the middle of the 19th century, firearms brought by settlers appeared in New Zealand, the Maori gradually began to acquire them for themselves and master the tactics of fighting with firearms. This greatly complicated the task of conquering New Zealand lands. In 1863-1864. The British sent General Duncan Cameron to the island, who was a veteran of the Crimean War and had a lot of combat experience. Despite this, the Maori put up stubborn resistance and the army of colonialists and settlers, which outnumbered 15 thousand, did not manage to finally defeat the 5 thousand detachments of New Zealand aborigines.
Only by the end of 1870 did British troops leave New Zealand, and instead of them, the first military units of the dominion were formed, staffed by European settlers. They were also assisted in the fight against the Maori rebels by the Australian armed forces. Of course, in the end, the settlers managed to break the resistance of the Maori, however, a certain negative in the relations between the New Zealand authorities and the Maori is still observed. Many Maori are suing the island's authorities, demanding the return of lands seized from their ancestors by settlers at the end of the 19th century.
Ultimately, Maori currently, despite the favored policies of New Zealand governments, live in poorer social and economic conditions than whites. This is due, first of all, to the fact that a significant part of the Maori were not able to fully adapt to modern living conditions, although they lost a significant part of the unique national culture (today only 14% of the Maori constantly use the national language in everyday communication). In general, the indigenous people of New Zealand experience many of the problems typical of post-colonial societies, and even significant preferences in the form of social protection and support from the authorities cannot offset the negative consequences of the destruction of national culture in the overall process of “catch-up modernization” of New Zealand society.
It is noted that the Maori have a higher level of crime, alcoholism and drug addiction, which is also attributed by New Zealand sociologists to the phenomenon of the “warrior gene”, which is present in most Maori men and makes them behave aggressively in everyday life and often antisocial and antisocial. In this situation, one cannot but recall that in the hostilities the aggressive behavior of the Maori played a great service to the New Zealand command and the British who used the New Zealand armed forces.
Maori Pioneer Battalion
The integration of Maori into New Zealand society, created by immigrants from Europe, primarily the British, was relatively slow. And one of the important roles for her was played by the attraction of Maori to military service in the New Zealand army. Since New Zealand was a British dominion, its armed forces were used in the interests of the British crown and were involved in protecting the interests of Great Britain in both world wars, as well as numerous conflicts in the countries of Southeast Asia and Oceania. The formation of the New Zealand army began in the 19th century on the basis of paramilitary self-defense units created by white settlers and who were running in clashes with the Maori rebels. A little later, when the armed forces of New Zealand were finally formed, the British Empire as a metropolis began to actively use them in the overseas territories as an expeditionary force. Thus, New Zealanders fought in the Anglo-Boer Wars, the First and Second World Wars and many post-war conflicts - the Korean War, hostilities in the Malacca Peninsula, the Vietnam War, East Timor, Afghanistan, and so on.
Naturally, the use of the New Zealand army in hostilities in overseas territories sooner or later raised the question of whether to call up Maori for military service, since otherwise there would be open injustice - the tasks of armed protection of New Zealand interests (read - the interests of the mother country, British Empire) would be carried out exclusively by whites. So in the government and parliamentary circles of the dominion, which at the beginning of the twentieth century was New Zealand, the idea of forming a Maori unit began to be discussed.
Initially, white New Zealanders, remembering the relatively recent Maori wars, did not intend to turn Maori units into regular and combatant ones. It was assumed that the Maori could be used in auxiliary work, as military construction and engineering units, which minimizes the risks of possible problems in the event of unrest in the Maori units, since military builders or engineers in weapons and combat training would not be able to compare, as New Zealand officers thought. with combat units.
In 1915, the Maori Pioneer Battalion was created, which included immigrants from New Zealand and some other Pacific islands. As the name suggests, the battalion was dedicated to engineering and sapper work at the front. It consisted of four companies, each of which included two platoons manned by Maori and two platoons manned by Europeans. It was incorporated into ANZAC, the Australian-New Zealand Army Corps, composed of divisions manned in the British dominions of Australia and New Zealand and deployed to fight in the Middle East and Southern Europe.
The combat path of the battalion of pioneers began with being sent to a training center in Egypt, from where part was transferred to Malta and then used in hostilities in Gallipoli, where the battalion arrived on July 3, 1915. Initially, the British command planned to use Maori units to strengthen the New Zealand armed forces fighting on the Western Front, but then it was decided not to split the battalion and use it as a separate unit.
During the First World War, 2,227 Maori and 458 representatives of other Pacific peoples served in the battalion. The pioneers performed tasks for the construction of earthen defensive structures, were used in the construction of railway lines and the installation of wire fences, participated in agricultural work, that is, as intended, they were more of a "labor" unit. After the end of World War I, the battalion returned to New Zealand, where it was disbanded, and the Maori who served in it were demobilized.
On the eve of World War II, Maori representatives in the New Zealand Labor Party began to actively lobby for the idea of creating a new purely Maori military unit, which would allow the Aboriginal people of New Zealand to revive their fighting traditions and worthy of note in military service. Moreover, the intensification of hostilities in southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa demanded that the British, whenever possible, use military units in these regions, manned by people from countries with a similar climate. As in the First World War, colonial troops from British India plus the armed forces of the British dominions - Australia and New Zealand - were considered the most suitable for fighting in the Mediterranean.
28th Maori Battalion
In 1940, the Maori unit was created as the 28th Battalion as part of the 2nd New Zealand Division. Initially, the battalion was manned by Maori, but New Zealand officers of European descent preferred to be assigned to officer positions. Obviously, by this the command of the New Zealand army sought to minimize the risks of possible unrest in the battalion. However, it turned out exactly the opposite - the Maori soldiers also demanded Maori officers. However, the first battalion commander was Major George Dittmer, and his deputy was Major George Bertrand, a half Maori ethnicity. Both officers were experienced World War I military personnel. As the battalion participated in hostilities, the number of Maori officers in the unit increased, and in the second half of the war, Maori appeared among the battalion commanders.
The recruitment of servicemen to the battalion was carried out in consultation with the leaders of the Maori tribes, from among men aged 21-35 years. Initially, only single men who did not have children were recruited, but the growing need for human resources led to the fact that during the war period Maori, who had no more than two children, began to be admitted to the battalion. Initially, 900 people were recruited for the rank of rank and file. As for the officers, the volunteers were trained at the officers' school in Trentham. 146 volunteers were recruited who wanted to try themselves as officers of the Maori battalion. Officers who were called up for military service from the reserve also had to undergo retraining at a military school in order to recall old combat skills and learn new knowledge, including a military-technical nature.
The structure of the battalion consisted of five companies, designated by letters of the Latin alphabet. The first company was headquarters, four companies were rifle companies. The companies were recruited on a tribal basis, so Company A recruited Maori from North Auckland, Company B - Maori from Rotorua, Plenty Bay and the Thames-Coromandel area, Company C - from Gisborne and East Cape, to D Company - from Wakaito, Wellington, South Island, Chatham Archipelago and Sikaiana Atoll.
The training of the battalion's servicemen was delayed, since the unit being formed experienced a tangible shortage of technical specialists. Military professions such as "driver" or "signalman" could not be staffed with already trained personnel, since Maori arriving from rural areas did not have similar civilian specialties. Nevertheless, on March 13, 1940, the battalion was armed, and after rest and exercises, on May 1, 1940, it was sent to Scotland. By the time of dispatch, the battalion had 39 officers and 642 privates.
The battalion transferred to Scotland was tasked with carrying out the defense of Great Britain, so the military unit was inspected by King George himself, who remained extremely satisfied with the combat and physical training of the New Zealand troops. However, later the British command changed plans for the battalion, as it became obvious that the Germans would not yet be able to land on the coast of the British Isles. Therefore, in December and January 1941, in two batches, the battalion's servicemen were transferred to Egypt, from where they arrived in Greece. Greece at this time was besieged by Italian and German troops, seeking to capture the strategic points of the Mediterranean region. The British military command was entrusted with the defense of Greece, including New Zealand and Australian units. From 12 to 17 April 1941, the battalion took part in positional battles with German troops. On April 25, the unit was evacuated from Greece, having lost 10 people killed, six wounded and 94 prisoners during their stay here.
Further, the battalion continued to serve in Crete, where it participated in the defense of the island and conducted several successful operations. The parachute units of the Wehrmacht began to land on Crete, which was defended, among other things, by the Maori. The latter showed miracles of courage in defending the island from German soldiers. So, only in one of the battles - "for 42nd Street" - 280 German soldiers were killed, but the Maori also lost a hundred people killed. From Crete, a part was transferred to North Africa. At first, the battalion was in Egypt for exercises, took part in road construction, and then was sent to Libya.
From Libya to Istria
In Libya, the Maori battalion had to fight one of the most efficient formations of the Wehrmacht - the Afrika Korps, commanded by the famous commander Erwin Rommel. In addition to the Rommels, Italian troops were stationed in Libya, since in 1912 the Libyan lands were colonized by Italy.
The battalion participated in the capture of the city of Sollum, the area of El Burdi, fighting with Italian troops. In a battle near the villages of Ain al-Ghazala and Sidi Magreb, the battalion's servicemen managed to capture a thousand Italian soldiers. After a short flight to Syria, in June 1942, the battalion was taken to Egypt, at the same time the appointment of the battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Eruera Love - the first Maori officer appointed to this position (at the time of the end of the war, out of 10 commanders of battalion 5 were Maori). Another Maori, second lieutenant Moana-Nui-a-Kira Ngarimu posthumously received the Victoria Cross, showing courage in the battle at Medenine, where in November 1942 the Maori battalion managed to destroy an entire motorized battalion of the Wehrmacht.
Since the period of the battalion's participation in the battles in North Africa, the performance of the famous military dance "Haka" by the Maori military personnel has become widely known. Military dances before the battle, as contemporaries testify, horrified Italian and German soldiers and officers. By the way, today this dance is traditionally performed by New Zealand athletes before rugby competitions.
Hand-to-hand fighting has always been the "trump card" of the Maori. Unlike European units, the Maori were not afraid to go hand-to-hand even under enemy bullets, which explains the numerous losses of the battalion. The Maori culture is characterized by the desire to converge with the enemy face to face, so for a long time Maori preferred not to use shooting and throwing weapons in their wars, and only the colonization of New Zealand lands by Europeans contributed to the spread of firearms among Maori. However, from the traditions of hand-to-hand combat, as we can see, the Maori did not retreat even after they were sent to the western front.
In May 1943, the battalion was in Egypt, from where it was transferred to Italy, where it participated in numerous battles with the Wehrmacht. Fierce battles on Italian soil brought the Maori not only a large number of brave soldiers and officers who died in death, but also military glory and a certain respect even in the eyes of the enemy. In the list of the battalion's Italian battles, one cannot fail to note the battles on the Moro River, the assault on Orsoni, the battles at Monteassino. The Maori took part in the capture of Florence - it was their unit that first entered the city on August 4, 1944. During this period, the battalion was commanded by Major Arapeta Awatere, who temporarily took the place of the ill battalion commander Yang.
The battalion met the end of the war at the front in the area of Granarolo dell Emilia, participating in the pushing back of the remnants of the Wehrmacht to the Trieste area. During the Italian campaign, the battalion lost 230 killed and 887 wounded. After the surrender of Germany, the battalion remained on alert for another month, since there were disagreements over the future future of the disputed territories in Istria. In July 1945, the battalion was deployed to Trieste, and then 270 servicemen of the battalion under the command of Major J. Baker were sent to continue serving with the occupation forces in Japan. The battalion was officially disbanded on January 23, 1946, after arriving in New Zealand. The Second World War cost the 28th battalion 649 lives and 1712 people were injured. In total, 3,600 New Zealand soldiers served in the battalion during the war.
Since the Maori had a reputation for being brave and skillful warriors, they were almost always put in the vanguard of the offensive. They were the first to attack and meet the enemy, which undoubtedly explains the high losses among the battalion's servicemen. It is known that the soldiers of the battalion received more awards in the fighting units of the New Zealand army. Second Lieutenant Moana-Nu-a-Kiva Ngarimu was awarded the Victoria Cross, the soldiers of the battalion also received 7 Orders of Impeccable Service, 1 Order of the British Empire, 21 Military Cross with three buckles, 51 Military Medal, 1 Medal of Honor and 1 British Medal empire, 13 medals "For impeccable service." Lieutenant General Bernard Freiberg, who commanded the Second New Zealand Division, which included the 28th Maori Battalion, noted that no other infantry unit fought as bravely as the Maori warriors and suffered so many losses in hostilities.
In 2010, when the 65th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany was celebrated, no more than 50 people remained alive who served in the legendary 28th Maori battalion. Ceremonial celebrations in New Zealand were able to attend only 39 of them. Nevertheless, the memory of the participation of brave Polynesian warriors in World War II remains and Maori social organizations strive to convey it to the younger generation of Maori.
History has developed in such a way that representatives of the people who have resisted the attempts of the British to colonize the islands of the "Long White Cloud" for more than thirty years, then died heroically on the fronts of the First and Second World Wars, experienced all the deprivations of military service in a foreign land in the interests of those very British. While fighting for New Zealand, the Maori gave many of the military traditions of the New Zealand army, right down to the names that are currently being assigned to the units of the country's armed forces. Many Maori serve in the New Zealand military and police, including on combat missions around the world.
