The
15th (North Auckland) Regiment was formed on 17 March 1911 as part of a reorganisation of New Zealand's military which saw the old
Volunteer Force converted into a Territorial Force based on compulsory military training. The regiment was completely new and had no lineage to units of the Volunteer Force. At the outbreak of the
First World War in August 1914, the decision was made to form a New Zealand infantry brigade of four battalions from the existing territorial regiments. The 15th (North Auckland) Regiment provided the 15th (North Auckland) Company to the
Auckland Battalion, which saw service in the
Gallipoli Campaign. Following the evacuation from Gallipoli in 1916, the Auckland Battalion was expanded to a regiment of two battalions. The Auckland Infantry Regiment would see action on the
western front, engaging in the battles of the
Somme,
Messines,
Passchendaele,
German Spring Offensive and the
Hundred Days Offensive. A third battalion was also raised in 1917, but was disbanded in 1918 due to manpower shortages. Both the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were organised along the same lines as the 1st Battalion, each with their own 15th (North Auckland) Company. The Auckland Infantry Regiment was disbanded at the end of the war. In 1921, the New Zealand territorial regiments were reorganised into larger regiments, similar to those of the First World War, with the 15th (North Auckland) Regiment becoming the 3rd Battalion, Auckland Regiment. The amalgamations were short lived and in 1923, the previous organisation was reverted to, although the ordinals were dropped and the 3rd Battalion was redesignated as the
North Auckland Regiment. Another reorganisation occurred in 1937 when the North Auckland Regiment was reduced to a depot and supplied a single rifle company to the 1st Composite Battalion. The battalion also had rifle companies from the
Hauraki and
Waikato Regiments. The composite system was abandoned in May 1939, just prior to the outbreak of the
Second World War and the territorial regiments were brought up to full battalion strength. During the
Second World War, the North Auckland Regiment remained in New Zealand for home defence. A 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalion were formed in February 1942 by redesignating the 6th, 7th and 8th Battalions of the
National Military Reserve respectively. The 3rd Battalion was redesignated as the
2nd Māori Battalion in June 1942. The 1st and 3rd Battalions (later 2nd Maori Battalion) became part of 12th Infantry Brigade of the
1st New Zealand Division and were expected to provide a mobile response to any invasion throughout the country. The 2nd and 4th Battalions remained stationed in
Northland as stationary "fortress troops". The territorial forces were stood down in June 1943 and the 2nd and 4th Battalions were formally disbanded in April 1944. Men from the regiment saw active service overseas with the
18th,
21st,
24th and
29th battalions of the
2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The
29th Battalion was deployed to the Pacific with the
3rd New Zealand Division and saw combat at the
Treasury Islands. The North Auckland Regiment was redesignated as the
Northland Regiment in 1951 to better reflect its recruiting area and in 1955
Princess Margaret was appointed
Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment. In 1964 all of the territorial infantry regiments were merged into the
Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. The Northland Regiment was amalgamated with the Auckland Regiment (Countess of Ranfurly's Own) in 1964, becoming
3rd Battalion (Auckland (Countess of Ranfurly's Own) and Northland). ==Battle Honours==