When New Zealand declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939,
the Regular Force had 100 officers and fewer than 500 men and
women. The Artillery was increased to accommodate more men under
training and mobilization camps were set up. In addition to
preparing men for fighting overseas, the Home Establishment had
to defend New Zealand from invasion. It took nearly two years to
build the Divisional Artillery of 2 NZEF, in which time many of
the requirements changed. At the peak of its strength in Feb
1945, there were 35000 New Zealanders serving with 2 NZEF in
Europe. When Japan entered the war in 1942, a Third Division was
raised and 3 Div Arty was created. Of the 104,988 New Zealanders
who went overseas with 2 NZEF, 6839 were killed, 15,325 were
wounded and 8395 were captured.