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lery and gunboats without waiting for leslie s division which was delayed by adverse conditions on the river he began his frontal attack storming the māori positions across a 600m gap under heavy fire and immediately suffering casualties members of the 12th and 14th regiments who tried to climb the earthworks near the centre of the line with the aid of ladders were shot down and within a short time 40 of the british were dead or wounded members of the 65th regiment however were more successful in reaching the trenches at the river side of the fortification bridging them with planks and penetrating the māori line they killed about 30 māori with the surviving defenders fleeing south or towards the main redoubt but when cameron ordered an attack on the redoubt from the river side his men began to come under heavy fire cameron ordered two more unsuccessful assaults on the central redoubt which lifted british casualties to about 110 8 as night fell the british dispirited by the scale of losses slept on the wet ground ready to renew the combat in the morning but about 5am the rangiriri garrison still with arms and ammunition and with an escape route open to the east raised a white flag expecting to talk terms with cameron 8 32 british soldiers advanced on the redoubt and entered shook hands with their combatants then surprised the māori by demanding they surrender all their arms and taking them prisoner belich wrote the capture of rangiriri was not the result of assault or encirclement but of the british misuse of a flag of truce the māoris might conceivably have eventually decided to surrender unconditionally anyway but they might also have repelled further assaults and escaped across the lake he said they might have also been gaining time waiting for reinforcements who were almost on the scene about 35 of the māori force were killed along with six women and children probably an equal number of injured were evacuated by canoe across lake waikare with the capture of more than 180 warriors the battle became the most costly māori defeat in the waikato wars 8 the 183 prisoners were held without trial on an old coal hulk in waitematā harbour before being moved to kawau island north of auckland but in september 1864 they escaped and eventually made their way back to the waikato 31 cameron attracted both praise for his skilful measures in the capture of rangiriri and severe criticism over the high number of british losses yet the battle had highlighted the rapidly growing disparity between british and māori forces and the inability of waikato māori to maintain their manpower continuously 7 8 several waikato chiefs including te wharepu expressed a willingness to negotiate and on 8 december the kingite capital at ngāruawāhia was abandoned and then taken by cameron s troops but māori were still opposed to the british demands of submitting to the queen and surrendering all arms and lands and began building further defences south of ngāruawāhia 33 pāterangi and rangiaowhia edit operations at rangiaowhia and hairini showing positions captured by the british on 21 22 february 1864 construction of a new and even more formidable defence line began 25 km south of ngāruawāhia soon after the fall of rangiriri the line included fortifications at pikopiko and rangiatea and was centred on paterangi its largest pā and was designed to block the main approaches to the agriculturally rich rangiaowhia district east of te awamutu a major economic base trading with auckland san francisco and melbourne 34 and a supply centre of the kingite tribes by the end of january 1864 the line had become the largest system of māori fortifications of the land wars consisting of at least four large pā spaced about 8 km apart each of which included complex sets of entrenchments and parapets the defence system which included two cannons was manned by a force of between 1200 and 2000 men from a dozen major waikato iwi 35 36 two weeks after capturing ngāruawāhia cameron s 3000 strong striking force protected by another 4000 men began slowly and cautiously advancing south in late january cameron moved his army headquarters to te rore about 5 km from paterangi with an advance camp for 600 men positioned just 1 2 km from the pā from where they judged the defences were immensely strong 36 cameron whose men continued to be targeted daily by sniper fire and attacks on short reconnaissance missions decided that rather than a frontal attack the more prudent approach would be to outflank the paterangi line he gained the help of two māori guides himi manuao james edwards and john gage who had previously lived in the area who revealed a route that bypassed it to the west and south to reach te awamutu 37 a new supply line was established from auckland using boats to raglan and packhorses across the ranges to meet steamers on the waipā river 38 but a further advance into the heart of kingitanga territory was delayed when the avon one of the most important components of the transport and supply system accidentally sank in the waipa on 8 february a significant engagement took place on 11 february when an assault party from paterangi ambushed a group of soldiers bathing in a loop of the mangapiki stream at waiari near the british forward position two hundred of cameron s troops with the forest rangers became involved in a running battle with the attackers and killed an estimated 41 māori losing six of their own men 36 38 bishop george selwyn as garrison chaplain had been told on 12 february that women children and elderly would be taking refuge at unfortified and undefended rangiaowhia and had been asked to communicate that with cameron kingitanga leaders understood they would be unharmed 39 there were about 200 ngati apakura and ngati hinetu people at rangiaowhia supplying food to the garrisons at paterangi pā 40 cameron meanwhile was attracting sharp criticism from both the colonist press and grey himself 35 38 about the lack of progress in the eight weeks since ngāruawāhia s capture on the night of 20 february he set out on the narrow bush track to bypass paterangi with 1230 men led by one of his guides and the forest rangers leaving a large masking force in front of paterangi the force marched through rough bush in silence and complete darkness passing within 1500 metres of the paterangi pā without detection and arriving in te awamutu at dawn they advanced to the village of rangiaowhia where they attacked about 100 mostly elderly men and about 100 women and children 37 most terrified villagers fled a few shot at the troops some sheltered in the churches at least seven were burnt to death in their houses 41 and at least one attempted to surrender but was murdered by troops ignoring their orders 42 women were raped and killed in front of children 43 about a dozen houses were burned down the british claimed they killed 12 māori including two chiefs and took 30 prisoners their own losses totaled five including several officers 37 41 some unofficial estimates suggest there were more than 100 māori deaths 39 as the village was largely occupied by women children and older men the deaths have been regarded as murder rather than an act of war 44 when cameron s forces returned to te awamutu the men of rangiaowhia abandoned paterangi pikopiko and rangiatea pā to defend their families and began rapidly digging a new trench on the crest of a ridge at hairini cutting the route between te awamutu and rangiaowhia 37 39 the trench fortified with a parapet and stakes ended in swamp at one end and thick bush at the other a thousand of cameron s men supported by three armstrong guns advanced on an estimated 100 māori manning the frontline on the morning of 22 february with the armstrong guns firing over their heads the infantry cavalry and forest rangers moved towards the defensive line before finally charging with bayonets revolvers and sabres driving out the māori the british forces pursued the kingites to rangiaowhia where they looted the village and later built a redoubt 37 belich claims the so called battle of hairini was simply a delaying tactic by the māori allowing them to move as many supplies as they could from rangiaowhia and the paterangi line he says the kingites by abandoning the paterangi line managed to save their army which otherwise would have been destroyed in an all out pitched battle cameron s decision to outflank the paterangi line meanwhile was described as a brilliant strategy that forced his enemy out of one of its richest economic centres with minimal british losses becoming the greatest british victory of the waikato invasion 35 for kingitanga supporters who after the rangiriri battle had been urged to fight in a civilised manner by the british and had moved their families away from their fortifications to an undefended open village the assault on rangiaowhia was an almost incomprehensible act of savagery 39 the role of bishop selwyn in the rangiaowhia attack is unclear he came with the invading forces 44 but also helped with māori burials 45 the wife and two daughters of kereopa te rau were killed in the attack and his sister was killed in defence of the hairini line a few days later colonel marmaduke nixon who had led the rangiaowhia cavalry charge was mortally wounded his remains are buried at the nixon memorial in ōtāhuhu auckland there were no memorials to the victims of rangiaowhia until the 150th anniversary was commemorated in 2014 with the unveiling of a plaque 39 41 historian vincent o malley has noted that cameron would later become disillusioned with the war suggesting that his role in ordering the attack on non combatants may have been the beginnings of his first pangs of remorse 46 ōrākau edit ōrākau 1864 plan of the ōrākau pā and fortifications following the fall of the paterangi line wiremu tamihana leading one of the two major kingite divisions retreated east to maungatautari to block a british advance up the waikato river into ngāti raukawa territory and matamata beyond cameron remained at rangiaowhia preparing to pursue him rewi maniapoto with the other main division moved south into the hangitiki valley to defend ngati maniapoto bases 35 ngati maniapoto fighters and their allies remained determined to continue the war but were divided over their strategy whether to guard the hinterland with large defensive systems on the fringes or to challenge the nearby occupying forces with a new pā rewi deferred a decision until he could consult with tamihana the kingmaker and set out with a small group to tamihana s stronghold near present day cambridge on the upper waikato on the way he encountered a group of about 140 of the dispersed paterangi army mainly warriors from distant tūhoe and ngāti raukawa iwi the tūhoe chiefs urged rewi to build a pā at the agricultural village of ōrākau near kihikihi to challenge the troops explaining that their guns and ammunition had been carried a long distance and were too heavy to carry all this way for nothing 47 although he strongly opposed the plan convinced it would result in their defeat rewi relented possibly in return for the loyalty they had shown in crossing the north island to join the fight for his territory 9 and accompanied them back to ōrākau arriving about 28 march for rewi a skilled strategist and warrior the major concerns about ōrākau were that it had no immediate water supply and sited on a low hill overlooked by the nearby california ridge 850m to the southwest could also be easily encircled the land immediately to the south of the pa was a series of low undulating hillocks leading to swamp 48 for two days the villagers as well as rewi s forces and the new reinforcements labored in shifts to strengthen the defences of the pā located on a slight rise of land in the midst of peach groves measuring about 30 metres by 12 metres the pā was enclosed within a rectangular redoubt and contained interior bunkers trenches firing apertures the main parapet was just 1 2 metres high the outer trench a metre deep and the entire system was surrounded by a post and three rail fence the pā was defended by between 200 and 250 warriors mainly tūhoe and ngāti raukawa drawn from at least nine tribes as well as about 50 women and children 9 early on 30 march two surveyors working at kihikihi observed through a telescope construction of entrenchments at the ōrākau pā and immediately passed the information to brigadier general g j carey who had been left in charge of the british forces carey keen to surprise the kingites immediately began organising an expedition and at midnight the first of three separate columns comprising members of the 40th 65th and 18th royal irish regiments as well as forest rangers and waikato militia set out for ōrākau with two armstrong six pounders arriving before daybreak 47 the total force for the mission was 1120 men the two cannons were set up on a small plateau 350m to the west and about the same height above the pā they were shooting across the front of the 40th regiment who were situated 250 m south of the pā behind a small hill 49 31 march 1 april days one and two edit early on 31 march the first attack was made on ōrākau whose parapets and exterior fence was still incomplete the ōrākau garrison spotted the attacking force to their west just minutes before the bugle was sounded to charge and warriors were ordered by rewi into the outer trenches the kingites held their fire until the attackers were within 50 metres then fired in two volleys halting the advance two more waves of attack were similarly repulsed with several casualties including officers citation needed realising the strength of ōrākau carey decided to encircle the pā and began shelling it from about 350 metres though the design and construction methods of the bunkers neutralised the force of the bombardment he then ordered a start on a shallow sap that zig zagged towards its western face from a distance of about 120 metres a party of māori reinforcements appeared about 2 km to the east but retreated unable to break through the british lines sporadic shooting continued through the night with the besieged occupants of ōrākau chanting and singing 47 by dawn the second day with fog so thick the combatants could not see one another the ōrākau garrison realised they had exhausted their water supplies and most of their ammunition ngāti maniapoto chief winitana tupotahi suggested at a runanga or council of chiefs that they abandon the pā but rewi rejected the proposal at midday many attempted to break out of the pā through the cordon at the east but were driven back twice suffering the loss of one of their chiefs one kingite told cowan we were in better spirits after our fight in the open nevertheless we realized that our position was hopeless short of food and water short of lead and surrounded by soldiers many times outnumbering our garrison and with big guns throwing shells into our defences further british reinforcements arrived inclu...