Military History |
New Zealand Wars
New Zealand Wars 1845-72
Posted 21 Feb 2001
The Maori called their wars with the British Te Riri Pakeha (The White Man's Anger), rather more poetic than the names that European history has passed down (New Zealand Wars, Colonial Wars, Land Wars, or Maori Wars).
These wars are unusual for the Colonial period, as small native forces were facing a vastly superior European opponent. Even with technological and numerical disadvantages, the Maori managed to beat their British opponents time and again.
The New Zealand Wars were fought during 1845-72 in several phases:
| Year | War or Operation |
|---|---|
| 1845-46 | Hone Heke's War, The First Maori War, The Northern War |
| 1846 | Conflict in the Hutt |
| 1847 | Conflict in Wanganui |
| 1860-61 | 1st Taranaki War |
| 1863 | Waikato War |
| 1864-66 | Hauhau Wars including Bay of Plenty & 2nd Taranaki War |
| 1867-69 | Titokowaru's War, 3rd Taranaki War, South Taranaki Campaign |
| 1867-72 | Tauranga Bush Campaign |
Aside from the admittedly draft Timeline I can also offer some thoughts on the challenges to wargaming the NZ wars, a brief analysis of the aims and objectives of the major players in Hone Heke's War, an analysis of various rules sets and two rule sets of my own (DBA variant and Crossfire Variant), wargaming scenarios for the significant actions (Taipa, Kororareka, Puketutu Pa, Pukenui, Kapotai Pa, Ohaeawai Pa, and Ruapekapeka) using my DBA variant, a painting guide, and a bibliography.