“Billy galloped Tui neck and neck alongside the squadron of horses, the noise of a hundred horses’ hooves thundering in his ears … All along the lineup of horses, the other troopers were doing the same, leaping, crouching and firing. The noise was deafening … machine-gun fire cracked overhead and shells thudded into the ground.” Billy may have been fresh off the farm, but he was a good rider and an even better shot. When the world went to war in 1914, Kiwis rushed to enlist. For Billy and his best mate, Jack, joining the Mounted Rifles Regiment held the promise of adventure –– little did they know that half the battle would lie in keeping their horses alive aboard the troopship as they journeyed halfway around the world.

Itll be over by Christmas... Young Billy Bowman and his mate Jack get caught up in the excitement when war is declared in August 1914 and leave their jobs on the farm to rush off and enlist in the Mounted Riflesbecause the war would 'probably be over by Christmas'. We follow their journey from the Awapuni training camp to more training in the sands of Egypt before they finally get shipped outwithout their horsesto fight at Gallipoli. And there they discover that war isnt the big adventure they thought it would be.

Four Christmases have passed since the world went to war in 1914. Struggling to survive in the trenches, close to enemy lines, amid the terror of gunfire and the whine of warplanes, Kiwi soldier Henry Hunt rescues a shaken little dog. He has no idea he'll soon be facing a disciplinary hearing. To Henry's relief, the Major allows the little foxie to live this time. Henry finds the dog is not only a comfort to his fellow soldiers on the battlefields of France, but a great ratter, too. Together, can they survive the Great War?

One hundred thousand New Zealanders sailed to war between 1914 and 1918, and at the end of four years of conflict the country had suffered 60,000 casualties, including 18,000 dead. Dr Chris Pugsley's account of the First World War (first published as a section in Scars on the Heart: 200 Years of NZ at War, Bateman, 1996), is a tale of learning about war the hard way, by bitter and costly experience, drawing on photographs, letters and diaries to examine the impact of war through the eyes of those involved. This lively mix of text, photographs and soldiers' own accounts covers all aspects of the war: from NZ's seizing German Samoa five days after war was declared, ANZAC Cove and Gallipoli, patriotism at home, Mounted Rifles in Sinai and Palestine, the role of our nurses, the Western Front, and 'Sea Dogs and Flying Aces' - how our sailors and airmen fought the war.

Mel and her cousin Harriet couldn't bear the thought of brave Kiwi boys being cared for by some bumbling, poorly trained person while the Great War raged on, half a world away. When these nurses joined the NZ Army Nursing Service and boarded ships headed for Egypt, Anzac Cove and beyond, they had little idea of the horrors they would face, the wounds they would tend to and hearts they would help heal.

'The fighting has been and is very stern and hard here, but New Zealand's lads and men have proven themselves the equal of the best soldiers of the world.' - Colonel William Malone, commander of the Wellington Battalion, Quinn's Post, Gallipoli, 15 July 1915 The first of its kind for New Zealand - a lavish, landmark production - New Zealand and the First World War dynamically illustrates 50 key episodes of our wartime life. Featuring over 500 images, many previously unpublished, the book comes with a host of memorabilia: fold-out maps posters booklets letters postcards The complete story of New Zealand's war is brought to life in dramatic detail - our front-line experiences overseas as well as those on the home front, from the outbreak in 1914 to demobilisation in 1919. This terrible conflict was not restricted to faraway battlefields like Gallipoli and Passchendaele - it had an unparalleled impact on New Zealand society, touching nearly every family, every street and every community. Until now, no single history has explored New Zealand's role in the First World War with such breadth and colour. A defining history for a new generation. 'This is the trailblazing history for the war's centenary. It is a brilliant achievement and one every family should have in its home . . . It answers the obvious and not so obvious questions and will delight every age. It is a triumph.' --Christopher Pugsley, New Zealand Listener

The New Zealand soldiers who left these shores to fight in the First World War represented one of the greatest collective endeavours in the nation’s history. Over 100,000 men and women would embark for overseas service and almost 60,000 of them became casualties. For a small nation like New Zealand this was a tragedy on an unimagined scale. Using their personal testimony, this book reveals what these men experienced – the truth of their lives in battle, at rest, at their best and their worst. Through a comprehensive and sympathetic scrutiny of New Zealand soldiers’ correspondence, diaries and memoirs, a compelling picture of the New Zealand soldier’s war from general to private is revealed. This is not a campaign history of dry facts and detail. Rather, it examines minutely the everyday experience of trench life in all its shapes and forms. Diverse topics such as barbed wire, the use of the bayonet, gas attacks, rats, horses, food, communal singing, infectious diseases and much more feature in this riveting account of the New Zealand soldier in the First World War. It is the story of ordinary men thrust into the most extraordinary circumstances imaginable. Written in an accessible style aimed at the interested general reader, the book is the product of a substantial amount of research. The text is complemented by a range of maps, illustrations, graphs and diagrams.

The First World War is widely conceived as a pointless conflict that destroyed a generation. Petty squabbles between emperors pushed na&ïve young men into a nightmare of mud and blood that killed millions and left scarred and embittered survivors. However, the ongoing reinterpretation of the First World War reveals that matters were rather more nuanced and complex. Hardship and death were all too common, but there were positive experiences, too. Vast numbers of people, for example, travelled to new parts of the world and encountered new cultures, inspiring a sense of wonder and respect. Military tactics were improved, and great military commanders of the inter-war and Second World War periods came to prominence during the First World War. The conflict also had a formative influence on politicians, writers, artists, union leaders, businessmen and some ethnic minorities, who used their participation to press for equal rights and full citizenship. This book's 16 chapters, written by a range of leading New Zealand and international historians, explains how.