23 Battalion

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Spine

Back Cover

General Freyberg inspects 23 Battalion, July 1941. Lt-Col Leckie is on the General's left black and white photograph of soldiers in parade

23 Battalion

The authors of the volumes in this series of histories prepared under the supervision of the War History Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs have been given full access to official documents. They and the Editor-in-Chief are responsible for the statements made and the views expressed by them.

Title page Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–45 23 Battalion ANGUS ROSS WAR HISTORY BRANCH DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND 1959

Foreword

windsor castle black and white photograph of coat of arm

By Lieutenant-General the Lord Freyberg, vc, gcmg, kcb, kbe, dso

I am proud to write this foreword to the war history of this infantry battalion, partly because of the family link—my son Paul served in it as a full private—and because no unit in the 2 NZEF had a more distinguished record.

The 23rd Battalion came overseas with the Second Echelon, under command of Colonel Falconer. It went with the other units of the 5th Brigade to the United Kingdom, where it took an active part in the preparations that were made to repel the German invasion, which was thought to be imminent. When the threat of invasion had passed, the 5th Brigade was shipped back to the Middle East, where it joined the Division in Greece. The battalion's first action was in the defence of the Olympus Pass. In Crete the battalion fought with great distinction at Maleme and in the brilliant counter-attacks at Galatas and 42nd Street. These counter-attacks, by tired troops, were the highlight of the Battle of Crete. The battalion fought in the Libyan campaign of 1941 at Capuzzo, Musaid, and Gazala. During these engagements Colonel Leckie had succeeded Colonel Falconer, who had been promoted to a higher command.

After the Libyan campaign the Division was moved to Syria. When Tobruk fell on 20 June 1942, the Division was moved back to the Western Desert and fought in the battles to defend Egypt. It fought with great distinction at Minqar Qaim, at Ruweisat and Alam Halfa, first under Colonel Watson and then under Colonel Reg Romans.

In the final campaigns in North Africa the 23rd Battalion fought with great dash and success from Alamein to Tunis, especially in the battles at Tebaga Gap and the brilliant assault at Takrouna.

In Italy it fought with distinction on the Sangro, where the link between the battalion and Reg Romans was severed when Romans died of wounds. He was followed by worthy successors, in Connolly at Cassino, McPhail at Rimini, and Sandy Thomas at Florence, Faenza, and from the Senio to Trieste.

This is a wonderful story and should have a great appeal, and I hope it will be widely read.

black and white photograph signature

Deputy Constable and Lieutenant Governor,

Windsor Castle

7 November 1957

Preface

In writing this book, I have had a twofold purpose. In the first place, I have attempted to place on permanent record, primarily for the benefit of the members of the 23rd Battalion itself, their friends and relations, including, I trust, their descendants to the second and third generations, the part played by this unit in the Second World War. Secondly, I have tried to make this history something more than a chronicle of the life and battles of the 23rd Battalion by making it a study in morale. The writing of a unit history, especially of a faithful and true unit, needs no justification: in an age when wars are fought, not by professional soldiers but by virtually the whole nation, it sets down a segment of our national history; it records the achievements of New Zealand citizens turned soldiers; it contributes to the growth of regimental traditions; it commemorates the sacrifice of those who fell, and it may help to inspire infantry soldiers of the future.

My interest in morale is the product both of my own experience in the fighting in North Africa before and after the battle of El Alamein and of my reading of military history. Morale is still the most important factor in fighting (the degree to which it may depend on the quality of machines and weapons being understood), just as man remains the first weapon of battle. War is not just a matter of logistics, of plans, of operation orders and generals' decisions; it is a flesh-and-blood business. In the last analysis, it is fought—or, at any rate, prior to the atomic age, was fought—by men, organised in battalions such as the 23rd Battalion.

In his last report on active operations, General Freyberg paid tribute to the qualities of the men of 2 New Zealand Division. ‘In the New Zealander you have qualities of heart and mind that place him high among men. It is to resolute courage in our junior officers and men that this Division owes its fighting record. No men could have done more than they have done.’ The campaign histories do not neglect the morale of the fighting men but, by necessity, they cannot mention many individuals. Since they treat periods of a few weeks or months, they cannot treat the rise and fall of units' fortunes and the reactions of individuals over longer periods. A unit history therefore seems to be the best place where morale can be studied at the level where it is probably most important—that of the fighting infantry, the men who, in both defence and attack, were normally in the front line.

I have tried throughout to remind myself and my readers that the battalion was made up of individual New Zealanders and not simply the ‘personnel’ of certain Army orders and memoranda. Unfortunately, the official records credit certain companies or platoons with various achievements and only rarely mention individuals by name. In addition, the unit war diary was sometimes very limited in its treatment of hard-fought battles or periods for which the fullest details were required. This was often so because those responsible for keeping the diary were killed or wounded. To remedy these deficiencies, I collected as many private diaries as possible. Although the keeping of these diaries was forbidden on security grounds, they have been most valuable in giving me contemporary evidence of the state of morale. But they, too, were brief and only rarely mentioned individual efforts of note.

Where official and private records were sketchy, I secured, by correspondence and interviews with leading actors in the scenes I was trying to reconstruct, some of the essential details, including the names of individuals who would not otherwise have been mentioned. Again, when chapters were completed in their first draft, I circulated them among those members of the unit most likely to make constructive criticisms and to remedy omissions. Nevertheless, I am only too conscious of my failure to mention many many members of the battalion who rendered splendid service. I trust such men will appreciate the difficulty of doing justice to each and every individual and accept my sincere apologies for not having honoured them as they deserve.

Particularly in dealing with individual reactions to danger or events involving fear or excitement, I have preferred to quote directly from the contemporary statements to making my own summary. To those who might criticise this use of quotations as a ‘scissors and paste’ method of writing history, I would say that, in dealing with the emotional side of military history, the author should intervene as little as possible between the reader and the fighting men who have spoken for themselves. Furthermore, some of the quotations from private diaries are so good and so picturesque in themselves that it would have been a grave mistake to tamper with them. John Ruskin exaggerated when he wrote: ‘the only history worth reading is that written at the time of which it treats; the history of what is done and seen out of the mouths of the men who did and saw it’, but his statement applies particularly to the feelings of men in or about to enter battle.

After reading some of my chapters, readers may ask, ‘How trustworthy as witnesses were the men who kept these diaries? Were they typical? Were they not, like some writers, more emotional and more inclined to embroider than the normal down-to-earth South Islander who never put pen to paper concerning his experiences, still less his emotions or feelings?’ My answer is that I have known personally most of the men whose diaries I have used. In the main, they were reliable soldiers, men of steady eye and no lack of courage, men I would and do trust. In addition, it should be remembered that their diaries were not written for publication but as a record for the writers and their more intimate relations. My debt to most of these diarists is acknowledged in the text or in footnotes.

I am also indebted to Mr John Clark, who, before the war ended and for some time thereafter, assembled source material and copied official records.

In addition to thanking those members of the unit who have supplied me with information or have corrected drafts for me, I should like to thank the late General Sir Howard Kippenberger and his staff at the War History Branch for their unfailing courtesy and co-operation. Without the records and campaign narratives they placed at my disposal, this book could not have been written. Without the maps and sketches they have supplied, it might have been unintelligible.

Angus Ross

dunedin

15 December 1957

Contents Page FOREWORD v PREFACE vii 1 ‘WHAT'S IN A NAME?’ 1 2 BATTLE OF BRITAIN MEN 9 3 TO GREECE VIA EGYPT 20 4 CAMPAIGNING IN GREECE 27 5 BATTLE OF CRETE 55 6 LIBYA 1941 97 7 THREE INTERLUDES: KABRIT, EL ADEM, SYRIA 132 8 BATTLE FOR EGYPT 142 9 THE BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN 193 10 ON TO TRIPOLI 217 11 THE TUNISIAN CAMPAIGN 232 12 MAADI TO ORSOGNA 276 13 CASSINO 316 14 TERELLE, ATINA, ROME 343 15 ON TO FLORENCE 356 16 IESI TO GAMBETTOLA 384 17 TO THE SENIO 406 18 THE LAST CAMPAIGN 434 19 MARCHING ON! 469 ROLL OF HONOUR 479 SUMMARY OF CASUALTIES 490 HONOURS AND AWARDS 491 COMMANDING OFFICERS 493 INDEX 494

List of Illustrations Frontispiece General Freyberg inspects 23 Battalion, July 1941 D. F. Leckie collection Following page 150 Second Echelon units at Burnham Camp give the General Salute Green and Hahn, Christchurch Entraining at Burnham for overseas, 1 May 1940 T. Graham collection On the wharf at Lyttelton Green and Hahn Boxing match on the Andes T. Graham collection The Andes at Gourock, June 1940 N. M. Gleeson King George VI visits 23 Battalion at Mytchett, 6 July 1940 T. Graham collection Mr Churchill inspects the Second Echelon, 4 September 1940 NZ Army The Cameronia arrives at Piraeus, March 1941 D. F. Leckie collection 23 Battalion men march past the Acropolis to entrain for Katerini D. F. Leckie collection Warrant officers and sergeants travel first class R. D. Minson collection Bren carriers and crews on ‘flatties’ D. F. Leckie collection The oldest and youngest members of the battalion—Les Wilson and Jim Lydiate—at Katerini A. Ross collection View from A Company headquarters tent in the Olympus Pass D. F. Leckie collection German paratroops drop over Maleme, 20 May 1941 E. K. S. Rowe Galatas, a photograph taken before the battle D. F. Leckie collection Following page 216 Sgt A. C. Hulme, VC NZ Army Pte A. Freeman and L-Sgt C. McIntosh, who escaped from Crete by barge NZ Army D Company lunch queue, Kaponga Box, September 1941 R. W. S. Stone collection The battalion in desert formation on the move into Libya, 14 November 1941 R. W. S. Stone collection A Company bayonet charge at Capuzzo, 27 November 1941 D. P. McGovern Fort Capuzzo, looking towards Musaid and Sollum R. W. S. Stone collection Captains Ted Richards and Dick Connolly A. J. H. Jeavons collection ‘The parcels which saved our bacon.’ At Fort Capuzzo, 8 December 1941 R. W. S. Stone collection At Gazala: some 11 Platoon men play cards before the battle R. W. S. Stone collection After the battle: B Company plays HQ Company at rugby R. W. S. Stone collection Christmas dinner at El Adem R. W. S. Stone collection Peter Norris and Herbie Black at El Adem, March 1942 D. F. Leckie collection 23 Battalion officers at Maadi, April 1942 D. F. Leckie collection Sergeants' mess, Maadi, April 1942 D. F. Leckie collection C Company men and Turkish guards meet on the Turkish-Syrian border R. Wilson collection In the Alamein Line, August 1942 H. K. Kippenberger collection Following page 282 10 Platoon men wait for transport behind the front line, September 1942 R. W. S. Stone collection 5 Brigade begins the long journey westwards after the breakthrough at Alamein, 4 November 1942 H. K. Kippenberger collection C Company cooks serve Christmas dinner at Nofilia, December 1942 R. Wilson collection Another C Company meal as men wait to enter Tripoli R. Wilson collection Takrouna from the start line J. C. White 5 Brigade sector, Takrouna 8 Platoon before Takrouna R. D. Minson collection L-Cpl P. M. Kerr, Pte B. O'Hagan and Sgt C. F. Rose, Bren-carrier platoon, at Takrouna P. M. Kerr collection The battalion's cricket team, Maadi, 1943 D. Milne collection Fred Marett leads the field in the mile at the battalion sports, August 1943 NZ Army (G. F. Kaye) C and D Company men on the wharf at Alexandria prior to embarking for Italy J. C. Rogers collection Looking west from Castelfrentano towards Orsogna NZ Army (G. F. Kaye) The approach to Cassino F. H. Williams collection 14 Platoon after Cassino R. Wilson collection 12 Platoon comes out of the line at Terelle, May 1944 D. M. Leckie collection Following page 414 General McCreery decorates Pte W. E. Green with the BEM D. M. Leckie collection Outside the battalion RAP, San Donato, July 1944 NZ Army (G. F. Kaye) 16 Platoon, on a 19 Regiment tank, enters Florence W. H. Stirling collection Mr Churchill drives past 23 Battalion D. M. Leckie collection Platoon casa, Faenza NZ Army (G. F. Kaye) ‘Brewing up’, Faenza NZ Army (G. F. Kaye) Looking towards the Senio D. M. Leckie collection ‘Chinese attack’ NZ Army Bren-gun post, January 1945 NZ Army (G. F. Kaye) Spring on the Senio, 8 April 1945 NZ Army (G. F. Kaye) By ferry across the Po D. M. Leckie collection By pontoon bridge over the Adige D. M. Leckie collection B Company baby show, Trieste A. Revie collection 23 Battalion convoy halts in the Fabriano Gorge A. Revie collection Lt-Col A. S. Falconer NZ Army Lt-Col D. F. Leckie D. F. Leckie collection Lt-Col C. N. Watson NZ Army Lt-Col R. E. Romans NZ Army Lt-Col E. A. McPhail NZ Army (G. F. Kaye) Lt-Col W. B. Thomas NZ Army (G. F. Kaye)

List of Maps Greece 17 Crete 51 Egypt and Cyrenaica 85 El Alamein 151 Central and Eastern Mediterranean 217 Southern Italy 283 Northern Italy 349

In text

Page Olympus Pass positions, 5 Brigade, April 1941 28 23 Battalion positions, 13 April 1941 34 Fifth Brigade, Maleme, 20 May 1941 58 Galatas, 7 p.m., 25 May 1941 75 42nd Street positions, 27 May 1941 87 5 Brigade positions around Bardia, November 1941 101 Fort Capuzzo, 27 November 1941 116 The Attack on Gazala, 11–17 December 1941 124 Eastern Mediterranean 136 21 Panzer Division encircles Minqar Qaim, 27 June 1942 146 4 and 5 Brigades' actions, 3–7 July 1942 152 Ruweisat Ridge, dawn 15 July 1942 167 5 and 6 Brigade positions, dawn 24 October 1942 198 Left Hook at El Agheila 219 Allied positions at Medenine 234 Left Hook at Mareth 236 Tebaga Gap, 26–27 March 1943 239 The Capture of Takrouna, 19–20 April 1943 255 Sangro River-Orsogna area, November 1943-January 1944 284 Advance to Castelfrentano, 28 November-2 December 1943 287 5 and 6 Brigades' attack, 7 December 1943 295 5 Brigade's attack, 15 December 1943 303 Cassino 323 23 Battalion's advance from Belmonte, 27 May-1 June 1944 351 23 Battalion's advance from San Donato, 22–24 July 1944 359 The advance to Florence 370 The advance to the Savio, October 1944 393 The Battle for Celle and advance to the Senio, 14–17 December 1944 414 From the Senio to the Adige, 9–27 April 1945 442 From Padua to San Dona di Piave 467

The occupations given in the biographical footnotes are those on enlistment. The ranks are those held on discharge or at the date of death.

CHAPTER 1 ‘What's in a Name?’

‘WHERE Britain goes, we go! Where she stands, we stand!’ said Michael Joseph Savage, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, at the outbreak of the Second World War. He spoke for the whole country. Many factors, including traditional loyalty to the British Crown for nearly one hundred years, sentiment born of ties of kinship and a common heritage, and material interests relating to markets, loans and security, made New Zealand's decision to enter the war the only possible decision at that time. New Zealand declared war against Germany as from 9.30 p.m., New Zealand standard time, on the 3rd day of September, 1939, a time coinciding to the minute with the declaration of war by the United Kingdom.

Almost immediately, the Dominion Government resolved to send a Special Force to fight in the European theatre of war. Somewhat later it decided that this force should be an infantry division under the command of Major-General B. C. Freyberg, VC. The Special Force was to be despatched in three echelons, each made up of an infantry brigade with appropriate supporting units of artillery, engineers, machine-gunners and Army Service Corps. Since the Territorial Army, or 1st Division, with its three infantry brigades was nominally required for home defence, the 2nd Division, as the new force later came to be known, was divided into the 4th, 5th and 6th Brigades. To avoid duplicating numbers borne by any earlier or existing units, the numbering of the infantry battalions began at 18, that is, immediately after the 17th (Ruahine) Regiment of the 1st Division. Thus, the units of the First Echelon or 4th Brigade were the 18th (Auckland), the 19th (Wellington) and the 20th (Canterbury-Otago) Battalions. Similarly, the 5th Brigade had units drawn from the Northern, Central and Southern Military Districts of New Zealand in its 21st (Auckland), 22nd (Wellington) and 23rd (Canterbury-Otago) Battalions. Sixth Brigade was organised in the same way. A tenth infantry unit, the 28th (Maori) Battalion, sailed with the 5th Brigade and served for the greater part of the war in that brigade.

Twenty-third Battalion, therefore, was a wartime creation, constituted for the one purpose, namely, to fight in the Second World War. But, despite its complete lack of a regimental history or any glorious record of service on earlier battlefields, this unit was to distinguish itself by its active participation in all the campaigns in which 2 New Zealand Division was engaged. Actually, it inherited more from the past than is immediately apparent. The insertion of the geographical names in the official nomenclature of units represented a compromise between simple numerical titles and the older Territorial Army regimental names as well as an attempt to evoke some of the local or provincial pride typical of many parts of New Zealand. The first commanding officer used the title ‘to impress upon all ranks the responsibility of 23rd Bn to uphold the high tradition established in 1914–18 by units of 1 NZEF, particularly the Canterbury and Otago Regiments, which included representative companies from all the existing Territorial Regiments in the South Island.’

So far as New Zealand Army Headquarters in Wellington was concerned, the name 23rd (Canterbury-Otago) Battalion was retained throughout the war. A list of authorised abbreviations, issued by that headquarters on 8 April 1940, stated that the 23rd (Canterbury-Otago) Battalion was to be known as ‘23 Canto’. Another abbreviation, ‘Cant-Otago’, officially authorised on 30 April 1940, was much more popular and was used until a 2 NZEF Order of 29 August 1941 stated that the words ‘New Zealand’ or the abbreviation ‘NZ’ must thereafter form part of the designation of all units of the force. From that date, therefore, the 23rd New Zealand Battalion was the name by which this unit was officially known. To most of its members, however, it was known as ‘23 Battalion’ or ‘The Twenty-third’. Naturally, the omission of the ‘Canterbury-Otago’ part of the name was strongly favoured by the men who came from Southland, Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast. Possibly the Southland origins of the acting commanding officer were responsible for the premature dropping of the ‘Canterbury-Otago’ portion of the title and the adoption of a further but unofficial name. After embarkation and during the voyage overseas, unit routine orders appeared as issued ‘By Major D. F. Leckie,

Col D. F. Leckie, OBE, ED, m.i.d.; Invercargill; born Dunedin, 9 Jun 1897; school-teacher; Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regt, Anzac Mounted Division, 1916–19; CO 23 Bn Aug 1940-Mar 1941, May 1941-Jun 1942; comd 75 Sub-Area, Middle East, Aug 1942-Mar 1944; wounded 25 May 1941.

commanding 23rd Rifle Battalion’. These orders were signed by the first adjutant, ‘R. B. Dawson,

Col R. B. Dawson, DSO, m.i.d.; Bangkok; born Rotorua, 21 Jul 1916; Regular soldier; BM 5 Bde May-Sep 1941, Jan-Jun 1942; BM 6 Bde 1942-43; CO 3 Bn, 2 NZEF (Japan), 1947–48; Director of Staff Duties, Army HQ, 1949–52; Director of Plans, 1955–57; Planning Staff, SEATO, 1957-.

Capt. N.Z.S.C., Adjutant 23rd Rifle Battalion’, although he had previously issued orders from ‘HQ 23 Canto’. But, as Shakespeare said, ‘What's in a name?… a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ This South Island battalion, with only a number to distinguish it from other units, was to win fame in battle which would have done credit to historic regiments with long lists of battle honours.

Foundation days are not easily selected when no official ruling has been given. When 23 Battalion came into existence is a question of no great significance, but it is of some interest to recall certain dates in the period of the unit's formation. On 8 November 1939 a group of officers from the South Island Territorial regiments entered Burnham Camp, about 20 miles south of Christchurch, to prepare for the training of the men who were to join them two months later. So far as they were concerned, 8 November was the foundation day or birthday of the 23rd and in later years they celebrated it as such. Several prospective NCOs entered camp in early December and the main body of volunteer recruits entered Burnham on 12 January 1940 as the men of 23 Battalion. On 13 March, as if to mark the close of a brief introductory chapter in its history, 23 Battalion was placed on active service. On 1 May it left New Zealand for the great adventure overseas.

The period of training in Burnham differed only very slightly from similar periods in the history of all infantry units preparing to go to war. Nevertheless, habits and traditions of some importance began to grow. While, on the surface, the time was spent in fitting each individual into his company, platoon and section, in supplying him with the roughly manufactured denims, peaked felt hat and boots which made up the working dress of the private soldier of early 1940, and the serge jacket with brass buttons which, together with the narrowly cut serge trousers, constituted the ‘walking out’ uniform, and in teaching him to look more like a soldier both on and off the parade ground, changes were taking place in the men and the unit. Whereas, at first, the volunteers had merely entered ‘the Army’ or ‘the Special Force’, soon they were talking and thinking in terms of ‘the 23rd Battalion’ and of its quality compared with other units. The senior officers of the 23rd insisted that the fine record established by New Zealand soldiers in the past must be maintained and that the traditions of 1 NZEF and of the Territorial regiments must be upheld. Such talk meant little or nothing to some recruits, but from commanding officer and company commanders to subalterns, sergeants and section leaders, and thence to the men, there slowly percolated a genuine consciousness of responsibility in this matter. Even more important was the steady growth of a determination to make the 23rd ‘second to none’.

Questioned in post-war years about the origins of the esprit de corps for which the 23rd was justly famous, most officers and men agreed in giving the principal credit to their first CO, Lieutenant-Colonel A. S. (‘Acky’) Falconer.

Brig A. S. Falconer, CBE, DSO, MC, ED, m.i.d.; Dunedin; born Mosgiel, 4 Nov 1892; tobacconist and secretary; Otago Regt 1914–19 (BM 2 Inf Bde); CO 23 Bn Jan-Aug 1940, Mar-May 1941; comd 7 and 5 Inf Bdes in UK, 1940–41; NZ Maadi Camp, Jun 1941-Oct 1942; 5 Div (in NZ) Dec 1942-Aug 1943; Overseas Commissioner, NZ Patriotic Fund Board, Nov 1943-Feb 1945.

The comments of J. R. J. Connolly,

Lt-Col J. R. J. Connolly, m.i.d.; Ashburton; born NZ 13 Aug 1910; petrol serviceman; CO 23 Bn Apr-May 1943, Dec 1943-May 1944; twice wounded.

a subaltern in Burnham and later CO himself, are worth recording: ‘I am sure the foundation of our “esprit de corps” was laid among the original officers of the battalion in Burnham school. Acky must take a lot of credit as he always treated us as full grown men. We were together for long enough to straighten out points among ourselves before the men arrived and I can think of few better weeks in all my life. Either one was in the swim voluntarily or one was thrown in. Absolutely no resisting them and our minds were 23rd right from the start! … I remember Brian Bassett

Maj B. I. Bassett, m.i.d.; born NZ 12 Sep 1911; barrister and solicitor; BM 10 Bde May 1941; BM 4 Bde Aug 1941-Jan 1942, Jun-Jul 1942; killed in action 5 Jul 1942.

giving talks on the subject of morale, esprit de corps, etc., to the companies in Burnham and I never heard a better job made of any subject than he made of it. Brian was intensely Irish and didn't realize it. I saw men—strong men—surreptitiously wiping their eyes that day. Fair Dinkum! It was a great job and many men today will remember it. He skimmed the cream from the regimental histories of World War I South Island units and put it over to each company. I repeat—a really fine job he made of it.’

Without good officers, a battalion cannot readily become a good fighting unit. The 23rd was fortunate in its original officers, who were men of character and personality with natural qualities of leadership. The first commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Falconer, already possessed a long and distinguished record of service. A Territorial NCO before 1914, he had wide regimental and staff experience as an officer in 1914–18 and, for some years after 1929, he was commanding officer of 1 Battalion of the Otago Regiment. His men took pride both in his Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross and in his record from Gallipoli to Flanders. The second-in-command, Major Leckie, had served for over three years in the earlier war as a trooper in the Canterbury Mounted Rifles and for some fifteen years as an officer in the Southland Regiment. Similarly, Major Fyfe,

Maj T. Fyfe, ED; born Pakanui, 3 Oct 1892; school-teacher; killed in action 20 May 1941.

commanding HQ Company, had served as a sergeant in the Otago Regiment in the First World War and as an officer in the Southland Regiment in the inter-war years. Major Thomason,

Maj H. H. Thomason, MM, ED; Motueka; born Ngatimoti, Nelson, 9 Oct 1896; estate manager and orchardist; Wgtn Regt 1914–19 (2 Lt); wounded 29 May 1941.

commanding C Company, had won an MM in the earlier war and had served as a Territorial officer in Nelson for many years. Both Captain Kelly,

Lt-Col S. J. Kelly, ED; Invercargill; born Winton, 7 Feb 1895; schoolteacher; OC NZ Reception Depot, Maadi, Oct 1941-Apr 1942; CO 1 NMWC Regt (in NZ) 1942–43.

B Company's commander, and Captain Patterson,

Capt I. Patterson, MSM, ED; Dunedin; born Wellington, 5 Dec 1895; company representative; CQMS, NZASC, 1914–18 War; wounded 22 May 1941.

the Quartermaster, were First World War men and serving Territorial officers. Twenty of the officers had been commissioned before the war in their respective Territorial regiments. The remainder were selected from the original ranks of 20 Battalion for commissioning in New Zealand after a special course of training at Trentham. The general result was that the battalion was officered by a team of men who combined age and experience with youth and enthusiasm, war and regimental training with the latest in courses of instruction.

But good officers alone do not make a good unit. The men who joined the 23rd in January 1940 represented a fair crossection of the male civilian population of the South Island. Nearly all walks of life were represented, and if miners predominated in C Company and farmers and farmhands in B, this factor accounted for the physical prowess displayed by these two companies on rugby as well as battle fields. There were a few rogues and military ‘undesirables’, some of whom had been inherited from the First Echelon. A greater number were freedom-loving New Zealanders who believed that they themselves were the best judges of what they should do and how and when they should do it. ‘There was a good percentage of ratbags who kept going Absent Without Leave,’ wrote one 23rd officer about his first platoon. ‘But every second New Zealander will make at least an N.C.O.,’ General Kippenberger has said, and the two statements are not irreconcilable. Men of initiative, accustomed to complete liberty of action, do not submit immediately to a life of discipline. But, when trained and brought to understand the value of organisation and discipline, these same men can often prove to be able and popular leaders. Only a very few proved to be unworthy of a place in the 23rd. The camaraderie, the mutual feeling of confidence between leaders and led, and the generally excellent relations between officers, NCOs and men had their beginnings in the training period in Burnham. Most of the NCOs and many of the men had undergone some military training in High School cadets or in Territorial regiments, and what the others lacked in experience they made up for by keenness to learn.

A Southern Military District recommendation to adopt 20 Battalion's nomenclature for companies was followed and thus A Company drew its men from Canterbury, B Company from Southland, C from Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast, and D from Otago. In the main, this practice was followed throughout the war and reinforcements normally went to the company connected with the province from which they came.

All the training was done under the unit's own officers and NCOs. The senior officers already mentioned, together with Captain Campbell,

Capt A. le G. Campbell; Stoke, Nelson; born Wellington, 3 Dec 1896; Regular soldier.

formerly Highland Light Infantry and Indian Army, and Captain Pugh,

Maj T. J. G. Pugh, ED; Mosgiel; born Highcliff, 17 Jul 1904; farmer; wounded 27 Nov 1941.

commanding A and D Companies respectively, kept the training as realistic as possible. General Freyberg had insisted that training for war was to be the keynote of all instruction given and this suited both officers and men. Nevertheless, the senior NCOs, especially the Regimental Sergeant-Major, WO I Johnson,

Lt A. Johnson; born England, 3 Jul 1900; Regular soldier; wounded May 1941.

and the Company Sergeants-Major, A. M. Buckley,

Lt A. M. Buckley; born Christchurch, 24 May 1911; Regular soldier; died of wounds 3 Sep 1942.

A. E. M. Lawrence,

Maj A. E. M. Lawrence, MBE; Christchurch; born Hokitika, 30 Dec 1913; Regular soldier.

A. W. Moodie

2 Lt A. W. Moodie; born Dunedin, 9 Jun 1913; Regular soldier; killed in action 29 Apr 1941.

(these four from the New Zealand Permanent Staff), L. M. Kidd

WO II L. M. Kidd; Amberley; born Amberley, 22 Jul 1922; farmhand; wounded 15 Jan 1944.

and J. D. Conning,

WO II J. D. Conning; born Wanganui, 15 Sep 1916; carpenter; killed in action 24 May 1941.

saw that the time spent on the parade ground produced a general smartening. But more time was spent on musketry, elementary tactics and fieldcraft. The CO demanded a high standard of marksmanship and, despite the poor range facilities at Redcliffs, this was attained by the great majority. Route marches and night exercises along lines familiar to most infantry units completed the pattern of training. Potential NCOs and specialists in HQ Company were amazingly keen: Major Leckie later reported that ‘the few Bren guns, Bren carriers, 3? mortars and A/Tk rifles were always in use for training purposes by the many enthusiasts long after parade and training hours were completed for the day.’ The same officer also reported that ‘all problems in training that arose were met and overcome with the usual 23 Bn resource and initiative’. A Highland pipe band, formed from pipers in the unit, produced a marked improvement in the marching. Most of the light-machine-gun training was done on the Lewis. The men were introduced to the Bren but too few of this new weapon were available for full training to be done on it. The Thompson sub-machine gun was not issued in New Zealand and anti-tank weapons were in short supply. Otherwise, the battalion trained under good conditions with suitable equipment for basic and individual training.

To assist the recruiting rallies which were a feature of the appeals for volunteers until conscription was introduced, the whole battalion paraded and gave special demonstrations in Christchurch. A party of 250 from the 23rd also paraded in Dunedin, Gore and Invercargill. On various occasions, the unit was inspected by the commander of 5 Brigade, Brigadier James Hargest,

Brig J. Hargest, CBE, DSO and bar, MC, m.i.d.; born Gore, 4 Sep 1891; farmer; MP, 1931–44; Otago Mounted Rifles, 1914–20 (CO 2 Bn Otago Regt); comd 5 Bde May 1940-Nov 1941; p.w. 27 Nov 1941; escaped Italy, Mar 1943; killed in action, France, 12 Aug 1944.

whose record in the 1914–18 war inspired complete confidence in his ability and whose Southland associations made the battalion feel that it had a special claim upon his interest. Two special parades came in late February and early March: the first was for Lord Willingdon, the official representative of the British Government at the New Zealand centennial, and the second was for the Governor-General, Viscount Galway. In mid-April Major-General J. E. Duigan, Chief of the General Staff in New Zealand, inspected the unit. That meant the day of departure from New Zealand was not far distant.

Final inoculations, final leave, the fighting of the last round of ‘the paper war’ in New Zealand, official and private farewells were soon completed. The 23rd was now trained as well as time and equipment available would permit: the men were physically fit, the administration had reached a reasonable standard of efficiency, and the unit, while not yet ready for action, was fitted to proceed to final training overseas. Its nearest neighbours in Burnham were the men of the Railway Construction and Maintenance Unit, who looked on themselves as skilled technicians rather than as men-at-arms. By way of contrast, the men of the 23rd felt that they were fighting soldiers. In common with most of the early units of volunteers, they had a superb confidence in their ability to live up to the record of New Zealanders in earlier wars. A new unit had come into being. Its members were already proud to belong to the 23rd.

CHAPTER 2 Battle of Britain Men

ATROOPSHIP berthed in Lyttelton on 12 April 1940. Rumours as to the date of embarkation flew thick and fast round Burnham Camp. On 27 April a special parade and civic farewell function was held in Christchurch. On 30 April the order to pack for departure the next morning was given. That night was spent in last-minute packing and letter-writing, and in drinking toasts of good luck and celebration with the one hand and drowning sorrows with the other. At dawn the straw from the palliasses on which the men had slept was burned: in a curiously dramatic way, this detail in the tidying of the camp symbolised the end of a chapter.

At this time of departure from New Zealand, the officers of 23 Battalion were:

Battalion Headquarters

CO: Lt-Col A. S. Falconer, DSO, MC

2 i/c: Maj D. F. Leckie

Adjt: Capt R. B. Dawson

IO: Lt B. I. Bassett

MO: Capt R. S. Stewart

Padre: Rev. R. J. Griffiths

A Company

OC: Capt C. N. Watson

2 Lt H. C. Black

Lt B. Y. W. Baxter

2 Lt P. T. Norris

B Company

OC: Capt S. J. Kelly

2 i/c: Capt I. O. Manson

2 Lt E. A. McPhail

Lt R. E. Romans

2 Lt A. F. G. McGregor

Headquarters Company

OC: Maj T. Fyfe

Lt J. B. Gray (AA Platoon)

Lt E. E. Richards (Mortars)

Lt M. J. Coop (Bren carriers)

Lt J. R. J. Connolly (Pioneers)

Lt N. Jones (Signals)

Capt I. Patterson (QM)

Lt T. B. Morten (Transport)

C Company

OC: Maj H. H. Thomason, MM

2 i/c: Capt E. Caldwell

2 Lt R. M. S. Orbell

2 Lt F. S. R. Thomson

2 Lt W. B. Thomas

D Company

OC: Capt T. J. G. Pugh

2 i/c: Capt H. M. Smith

Lt R. L. Bond

2 Lt J. C. Scoular

2 Lt G. H. Cunningham

Officers who embarked with the 23rd and were treated to all intents and purposes as members of the unit included Captain M. D. Harvey, Lieutenants D. J. Bell, E. R. Ferguson, M. D. Grant, R. G. McKinlay, and K. Simmonds, Second-Lieutenants T. F. Begg, J. H. Ensor, R. G. Deans and R. K. King.

On the morning of 1 May the troop train from Burnham ran alongside the Andes. The men carried large and small packs as well as rifles and sea kits but they were quickly accommodated in a most satisfactory way. By noon the embarkation of 23 Battalion, the Forestry Company, the Railway Construction and Maintenance Group and some nurses was completed. Ten minutes before the departure time, the wharf gates were opened and friends and relations rushed to the ship's side to take a last farewell. Streamers were thrown from the wharf to the soldiers leaning over the rails of the Andes. They broke as the ship moved out into the stream. That was the signal for the exchange of round after round of cheering between the thousands on the wharf and the departing soldiers. Every whistle and siren joined in sounding a farewell; pipers played their pipes and some soldiers sang the inevitable ‘Roll out the Barrel’; Lyttelton harbour rang with the noise. But there were some who could neither cheer nor sing—they felt a tightening of the throat as well-loved faces faded from view.

Since no structural alterations had been made to their luxury liner, the men were well pleased with conditions on board the Andes. On this voyage 76 officers and 1323 other ranks were carried. With the exception of 214 men for whom hammocks were supplied, all soldiers found themselves in cabins with private bathrooms.

Swimming baths, excellent dining-rooms, wide deck space for training and recreation, wet and dry canteens where cigarettes, beer and spirits sold for approximately half the usual New Zealand prices, and friendly sailors—all these made for happy voyaging and good morale. Comparing conditions with those experienced by soldiers in the First World War, Brigadier Hargest said: ‘This time we all travel in great comfort in the finest super-ships the British Merchant Navy has ever gathered in one convoy. And the comfort is not limited to officers. The most poorly-placed man of this echelon is infinitely better off for accommodation, food and attention than the most favoured of his predecessors in 1914–18.’

By way of comparison, it may be stated that the Andes was a Royal Mail Line ship of 25,800 tons while the Hawke's Bay, which sailed from Port Chalmers in September 1914, was a cargo ship of 7207 tons with practically no passenger accommodation, yet she carried 970 all ranks and 569 horses to Egypt.

On 2 May the Andes joined the other ships in the convoy in Cook Strait. They were the Aquitania, the Empress of Britain and the Empress of Japan. Escorted by the Canberra, Australia and Leander, the convoy made a good crossing of the Tasman. The Queen Mary, the Mauretania and the Empress of Canada in turn joined the convoy, which made a wonderful picture of both speed and majesty. A few weeks later, in London, The Times described it as ‘the grandest convoy in all history’.

Life at sea for the 23rd passed very much as it did for other New Zealand army units proceeding overseas. Boat drill, the manning of sixty-nine sentry posts, physical training, lectures and a variety of athletic competitions filled the days and weeks. A welcome break came at Fremantle on 10 May. The residents of Perth more than lived up to their reputation for generous West Australian hospitality. The day passed all too quickly with visits to shops, places of amusement, hotels and private homes. The men returned to ship at or after midnight, some more than a little elated and others with souvenirs as varied as toy koalas, a live kangaroo and ‘Aussie’ hat-badges. The CO's orderly room was busy dealing with offences committed on shore, but only one member of the 23rd was left behind at Fremantle. Perth was soon little more than a pleasant memory, and the men were thinking about the news that the Germans had invaded Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

As the BBC announced further German advances almost daily, the interest in the news grew keener. A bulletin was produced and posted on notice boards. The latest news was read out at evening lectures or concerts. Thus, on 18 May, it was announced that Brussels had fallen and that the British Army's lines of communication were threatened. ‘After a moment's hushed silence,’ wrote Lieutenant Brian Bassett to his wife that night, ‘one of the boys jumped up and suggested an item to the band, and a thousand voices sang “There'll Always be an England”. Then they rose and sang “God Save the King”.’

By that date all were aware that their destination had been altered. When they left New Zealand, no official announcement had been made on this subject but everyone took it for granted they were going to join the First Echelon in Egypt. ‘Berlin, via Cairo’ was chalked on one railway carriage on that last morning in New Zealand. Late on 15 May, when the convoy was south-west of Cocos Island, it received orders to steam towards South Africa. The arrival of HMS Shropshire and the departure of HMAS Canberra and HMS Leander indicated that the voyage was to be continued in the Atlantic.

On 26 May the Andes reached Capetown. Again the hospitality was superb. But the excesses of some, coupled with a large amount of absence without leave, led to a reduction of shore leave until the stragglers had been rounded up from different parts of the Union. Some men had tried to reach Johannesburg, so eager were they to take the fullest advantage of their opportunity to see the world. The Capetown Chief of Police made his own comment on the horseplay of the Australians and New Zealanders who had commandeered donkey carts, fire-engines and buses. ‘He told me,’ Brigadier Hargest reported later, ‘we have loved having both you and the Australians, but, pray God, you never both come back together again.’

When they left Capetown on 31 May, the troops were confident that Britain must now be their destination. As the convoy steamed north up the Atlantic coast of Africa, training continued so far as conditions permitted. Lieutenant-Colonel Falconer, as OC Troops, and Major Leckie, as acting CO of the battalion, worked out a detailed scheme for anti-aircraft protection of the Andes: four Vickers guns, carried by 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion reinforcements, were mounted on improvised mountings and four rifle platoons at a time were given anti-aircraft duties. Crossing the line was celebrated in time-honoured fashion for a representative number of troops and boxing contests stimulated interest when enthusiasm for ordinary PT flagged. The tropical heat was stifling during the call at Freetown (Sierra Leone), where no leave was granted on account of the risk of contracting malaria and other diseases.

On and after 10 June, ‘Action Stations’ was regularly called. This included the manning of additional anti-aircraft and submarine defence posts as dangerous waters were now being entered. Live ammunition was used in practice shoots. Those who had been inclined to complain about the heat and other conditions forgot to complain. On 10 June, too, it was announced that Italy had entered the war. Colonel Falconer told the troops that this deterioration in the military situation meant that they must expect no leave on disembarkation but rather a short period of intensive training preparatory to entering the firing line. The men responded by cheering him loudly. On 15 June the Andes passed the wreckage of two ships which had been torpedoed the previous night. Later that day an oil tanker sticking straight up out of the water and belching forth flames and smoke was seen. These were certainly dangerous waters but, with the aid of the Royal Navy and the RAF, the convoy reached Gourock in the Firth of Clyde without untoward incident on 16 June. The 17,000 miles of ocean had been safely crossed.

By this time France had signed an armistice with the Germans and therefore the British Commonwealth had to fight on alone. This meant that the Australians and New Zealanders were made doubly welcome. The GOC Scottish Command came on board to deliver an inspiring message from the King. Other messages from Mr Jordan, New Zealand's High Commissioner in London, General Freyberg and the Under-Secretary of State for the Dominions heightened the feeling that the troops had arrived at the right place at the right time. When the troops disembarked at Gourock on 19 June and travelled by train to Aldershot, they found that the formal welcomes were reinforced a thousand times by the people who greeted them at nearly every station.

Arriving at Aldershot North Camp station on the morning of 20 June, the battalion marched behind its own pipe band to its tented camp at Mytchett. Brigadier Hargest spoke for all when he said: ‘We are glad to be here. We would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. We enter this fight boots and all.’ Gratitude to the Navy for its successful escort during a long voyage and pleasure at their stirring welcome from the British people mingled with their original New Zealand spirit to make the men of the 23rd determined to give of their best in the ‘Battle for Britain’.

Already, on 4 June 1940, Mr Churchill had declared, ‘We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills: we shall never surrender.’ Invasion was definitely expected. Consequently, the spirit in which the men entered upon their training could not have been more serious nor more willing.

Conditions in the Mytchett camp were not as luxurious as in Burnham, but they were much more in keeping with the idea of being on active service. The tents were well dispersed or concealed among the pine trees instead of being, as in the Aldershot tented camps of the previous world war, regularly pitched in the open. At first, the men worked on camp improvements and in digging slit trenches in case of bombing. Issues of steel helmets, groundsheets and anti-gas equipment were made and the elementary training undergone in New Zealand was revised. Before the end of June, Bren guns and anti-tank rifles had been issued, and intensive training on them begun. Commenting on these issues, Major Leckie wrote in his diary on 29 June: ‘We get down to hard training for all we are worth—German attack expected soon’.

War Office orders placed the New Zealanders, with the role of a mobile reserve, on eight hours' notice to move. Anxious to be present to command the New Zealanders most likely to enter battle first, General Freyberg arrived on 27 June by air from Egypt. In addition to 5 Brigade, he had another brigade under his command. This brigade, eventually christened the 7th, was composed of 28 (Maori) Battalion, a Composite Battalion, later known as the 29th, formed from the reinforcements for both 4 and 5 Brigades, and 4 Anti-Tank Company. Under the arrangements made for this New Zealand Division (UK), the senior officers of the 23rd carried out an extensive reconnaissance of south-eastern England while the troops continued with their intensive training. Their route ‘recce’ in Surrey, Hampshire and Kent in spring, when the hopfields were at their greenest and the countryside looked its best, made their journey a sheer delight. They were more than ever convinced that England was a country worth fighting for. They returned to the unit determined to push ahead with training with renewed vigour, only to find that the War Office had unexpectedly ordered the New Zealanders to go on leave. Apparently, the value to public morale of the appearance of Canadian, Australian and New Zealand troops in London and other cities at this time was held to justify a short postponement of training. Certainly, the distinctive ‘Kiwi’ felt hat and the reputation earned by the New Zealanders in 1914–18 opened many doors for the men of 1940 and there was scarcely a man who did not have some story of unexpected hospitality when the main leave party returned to camp on 3 July.

Various important people visited and inspected the unit in those early days in England. In turn, Mr Jordan and General Freyberg, accompanied by Mr Anthony Eden, then Secretary for War, visited the battalion. Mr Eden later said of the New Zealanders: ‘They are a magnificent body of men and are looking exceedingly fit. We are delighted to have them here.’ On 6 July His Majesty the King paid an informal visit to the 23rd who, at his request, continued with normal training. Of course, the opportunity to put on something of a show was too good to miss and Private ‘Joe’ Murphy,

Pte J. R. Murphy; Dunedin; born Dunedin, 13 Jul 1918; labourer.

a man with the torso of an Olympic shot-putter, appeared, shirt open to the waist, and ‘instructed’ the NCOs in bayonet fighting to such good effect that War Office visitors accompanying the King marked the New Zealanders down for a front-line role if it became necessary to repel the Germans. General Sir Alexander Godley (GOC 1 NZEF) was also present that day, and he spoke in glowing terms of the training being carried out.

The issue of battle dress to the men improved the appearance of many, but still more important was the arrival of more weapons. By 8 July the battalion had 10 Bren guns, 8 Boys anti-tank rifles, 3 two-inch mortars and 1 three-inch mortar. The Quartermaster, Captain Patterson, the RQMS, Harry Dalton,

Capt W. H. Dalton, m.i.d.; Ashburton; born Ashburton, 21 Mar 1913; company secretary.

and their staff were very busy in those days. Cooks as well as men had to be trained to manage with British rations which were in many items only half as generous as those issued in New Zealand. Clothing and ordnance stores also gave the Q staff plenty of problems, especially as so many issues were in short supply. The scrupulously exact accounting required even in the face of invasion, the filling of the correct forms demanded by Equipment Regulations (a 1000-page volume), and the attempt to secure the scale authorised in the G1098 tables provided the administrative staff with practical training which later proved most valuable. Further useful experience both in administration in the field and in the siting of defensive positions was gained during the first full-scale tactical exercise which was undertaken in the Ashdown Forest area in Sussex between 18 and 22 July.

Defence, a relief in the line, and a withdrawal were practised during this first exercise. On 28 July another training scheme saw the 23rd acting as the advanced guard for 5 Brigade in an attack on 7 Brigade. Later the battalion passed into reserve before being called upon to ‘leapfrog’ through the forward units and pursue the retiring ‘enemy’. July passed without invasion. In August General Freyberg decided to toughen his force with a route march of 100 miles. For some it was a real test of stamina; for others it proved the last straw so far as their boots were concerned. General Freyberg took the salute as, on the fourth day of the march, the 23rd was marching out of Partridge Green. This was the occasion celebrated thereafter in story in the 23rd: who has not heard Dick Orbell

Maj R. M. S. Orbell; Greymouth; born Oamaru, 17 Feb 1915; shipping clerk; wounded 17 Aug 1942.

give his best rendering of the General's saying ‘Best platoon so far!’ to each platoon as it marched past, well separated from the others as a passive air defence measure?

From early July onwards, selected officers, NCOs and men of the 23rd, as of other New Zealand units, attended courses of instruction in a variety of military subjects—gas warfare, tank hunting, cooking, Bren-carrier driving and maintenance, and other forms of mechanical training. At several of these courses, and also at a special school set up at Headquarters NZ Division (UK), the instructors were officers and NCOs with experience of the fighting in Europe prior to Dunkirk. Some of these instructors were attached for a period to the 23rd: an officer of the Coldstream Guards dealt with infantry experiences, while Tom Wintringham demonstrated how very simple it was to deal with tanks. A unit tank-hunting platoon under Second-Lieutenant ‘Ted’ Thomson

Maj F. S. R. Thomson, MC, m.i.d.; born NZ 25 Aug 1912; draper; twice wounded; died of wounds 28 Mar 1943.

was organised right away. Its members were among the first to be issued with tommy guns, which were still in short supply. Otherwise, by mid-August, ammunition and equipment were up to establishment. More and more unit and brigade tactical schemes gave the battalion practice in moving rapidly to occupy defensive positions or to oust the ‘enemy’ from strongpoints. Still the threat of invasion failed to materialise. The apparent passing of the crisis enabled the battalion to send 10 per cent of its number at a time on a week's leave. Again the hospitality offered by private individuals and a host of organisations was most generous.

August passed into September. On 31 August General Sir Alan Brooke, CIGS, inspected the battalion. In a message which he later sent to all New Zealand units, he said: ‘New Zealand troops are not strangers to Great Britain. The New Zealand felt hat is remembered here by all of us and it gives me the greatest pleasure and pride to have New Zealanders serving under my command at this critical moment. My inspection today … shows that you have reached a high standard of training and it reflects credit upon all ranks…. I am sure that the 2 NZEF will worthily uphold the high traditions of the New Zealand forces.’

colour map of greece

A few days later, on 4 September, Mr Winston Churchill inspected the New Zealanders and told them: ‘I am sure you will crown the name of New Zealand with new honours, with a lustre which will not fade as the years pass by. May fortune rest upon your arms. May you return home with victory to your credit, having written pages into the annals of the Imperial Army which will be turned over by future generations whenever they wish to find a model for military conduct.’

All ranks of the 23rd considered that these important inspections and messages presaged highly important events on the South Coast. Indeed, Major Leckie, then commanding the unit, wrote in his private diary about Mr Churchill's visit: ‘He addresses us “on the eve of battle” as he did the New Zealanders as Minister of Munitions, when in France with Lloyd George in 1917.’ Actually, the war in the air had been very much intensified of late, invasion was expected more confidently than ever before, and on 5 September the 23rd moved, along with other New Zealand units, to take up defensive positions in East Kent, a vital sector if the Germans did attack.

The New Zealanders were now front-line troops required to deal with enemy airborne or parachute troops in the area Maidstone-Chatham-Faversham and also to counter-attack the enemy should he land at Deal, Dover or Folkestone. The Luftwaffe intensified its raids on London at this time and the Battle of Britain was on. The 23rd had seen a few bombing raids in London and in the vicinity of Mytchett. Now swarms of enemy raiders were seen crossing the south coast daily, ‘like a run of whitebait’, as one soldier wrote at the time. Regular ‘stand-to’ periods at 4.45 a.m. and 7.30 p.m. were observed and route-marching, physical training and reconnaissance work in the surrounding country occupied most of the time when the troops were not watching ‘dogfights’ in the air, crashing aircraft or parachuting airmen. Several ‘near misses’ from bombs were recorded but no casualties were suffered from direct hits. The first losses arose from accidents in which men were struck by motor vehicles in the blackout.

The Battle of Britain was fought and won in the air. Britain was not invaded and, although the danger remained, and therefore the NZ Division (UK) was retained in Britain for a few months longer, General Freyberg evidently concluded that the invasion season was over because on 22 September he returned to the Middle East. The improvement of the military situation and the onset of colder weather meant two things—that the men were moved from their bivouacs under the trees into houses or barns and that rugby football became the principal means of maintaining the interest of men who had been keyed up to expect action of a more violent nature. Inter-company and inter-battalion games were played and, although beaten by the Maoris and by the Artillery, the battalion won its remaining five games. From the 23rd, Lieutenants F. S. R. Thomson and King,

Capt R. K. King, MC; England; born NZ 20 Feb 1909; school-teacher; wounded and p.w. 1 Jun 1941.

Lance-Corporal Graham

L-Cpl T. Graham; born Scotland, 20 Jul 1913; upholsterer.

and Neighbours

Pte F. J. Neighbours; Waimangaroa; born Waimangaroa, 4 Apr 1918; miner; wounded 3 Jul 1942.

played for the NZEF (UK) XV which contested eight games in England. Hockey and soccer enthusiasts played their own games. The playing fields for all sports were on these occasions usually ringed with Bren and other machine guns, and frequently air battles were being fought while the game was played. But no game was ever stopped on account of the danger. Thus was launched the tradition that during the appropriate season football matches must go on, unless active operations dictated otherwise.

Although tactical exercises and training schedules continued to keep the unit employed in the Maidstone area till early November, the nearest the 23rd came to battle was on 25 October, when at 3 a.m. ‘stand-to’ was called, with the word passed down that this time it was the real thing. It proved, however, to be nothing more than a test of the time it would take the brigade to move. The continuance of an operational role without real operations was growing somewhat irksome. No useful purpose was served by staying in Kent and, on 4 November, the battalion was transferred to vacated civilian houses in Camberley. So attached had most of the men become to the Maidstone-Bearsted district that ‘the gloomy business of departure’ was, as Brian Bassett wrote home, ‘almost like our departure from New Zealand, the girls really looked heartbroken and the older women actually had tears in their eyes. Our men's faces were pretty grim … they look on Maidstone now as their English home.’

During the remaining few weeks in England training continued steadily. There were range and battle practices with all weapons, exercises with the wireless equipment, which was good without being perfect, and route marches. Leave schemes were operated with up to 50 per cent of the battalion away at a time for four days. On 29 November all the unit transport was sent under Lieutenant Coop

Maj M. J. Coop; England; born Christchurch, 21 Jul 1911; shepherd; three times wounded.

to Liverpool, the embarkation port. That was the beginning of the move to the Middle East. The men had to remain in England till 4 January 1941. They thus had their first Christmas overseas in their quarters in Camberley: mess huts were decorated with holly and streamers in provincial colours, the fare included roast pork and plum pudding and made what one private soldier recorded in his diary ‘a damned good dinner and well cooked’. After dinner most men visited the homes of friends or the local public houses such as the Brown Jug, the Cambridge and the Camberley Court, where they made the rafters ring with their songs.

Visits from Air Marshal Sir Cyril Newall, Governor-General designate for New Zealand, and from the Duke of Gloucester were occasions for extra effort. On 28 December Brigadier Hargest conducted his last inspection of the unit in England.

The period the 23rd spent in Britain was of great importance in its moulding. The sharing of so many experiences—travel on ship and train, visits to the same places, training under the same stirring conditions before the Battle of Britain and literally under the air-war, living together alternately in bivouacs and mansions—gave the men a common background and a fuller understanding of one another. Since they constituted the only South Island battalion to serve in England, they developed a spirit of exclusiveness which was partly pride in the 23rd and its record and partly the result of being nicknamed ‘Cook's Tourists’ and ‘the Glamour Boys’ by those units which had gone straight to Egypt. The tactical training in the fields and hedgerows of Surrey, Sussex and Kent, as well as the experience of seeing the battles in the sky above them, helped to prepare the men for fighting in the close country of Greece where the enemy was to have air superiority. They felt they had been privileged to have been front-line troops manning the southern ramparts of England at a time when invasion was expected daily. If it had been somewhat frustrating to be inactive when the Air Force and Navy were doing so much and when civilians were being mercilessly bombed, their experiences in Kent toughened the 23rd both physically and mentally for the conflict that was to come. When the unit left England, senior officers said that the men were as ready for war as it was possible for them to be without actual battle experience.

CHAPTER 3 To Greece via Egypt

FOR the voyage to Egypt the battalion embarked on the Athlone Castle, a Union Castle luxury liner and the convoy flagship, which proved to be nearly as spacious and as comfortable as the Andes. The massing of the convoy took time and practically a week was spent at Liverpool and another two days in Belfast Lough, off Bangor, before the ships headed north and west for the North Atlantic. At first the twenty-one ships were escorted by one battleship, four cruisers, twelve destroyers and by bombers of the RAF.

The men of the 23rd showed little enthusiasm for this voyage. Many were genuinely sorry to leave England; the majority had found the thrill of sea travelling under war conditions wearing thin during the voyage to England. But soldiers adapt themselves to all kinds of conditions and, to combat the malaise produced by idleness, a full programme of training and entertainment was organised. Some twenty Bren guns were mounted in an anti-aircraft role and all the routine of ‘Action Stations’ was learned afresh. The deck space permitted route marches and plenty of PT as well as revision of weapon training. Advantage was taken of the specialised knowledge acquired on courses in England by getting the officers and NCOs concerned to lecture to the troops. Concerts, debates and sporting contests of all kinds were held. Nevertheless, the days stretched into weeks before the destination was reached.

The troops had to remain on board when Freetown was visited, but leave was given at Capetown. The convoy divided off Capetown and half went on to Durban. This half included the Australians, a circumstance which was later held to explain the very orderly conduct of the New Zealanders on this particular visit. On five days, while the ships were refuelling and securing supplies, the troops had shore leave. A six-mile route march preceded leave, but even route-marching on land was a pleasure after weeks at sea. Once again the hospitality of this sister Dominion was lavish and much appreciated. On 11 February the GOC Cape Command took the salute during a march past by 5 Brigade, and later complimented the men on their bearing. The Mayor of Capetown also commended the troops for their exemplary behaviour during their five-day stay. Their experiences in England and their extra months of training had done much to make the 23rd a disciplined body of men, able and willing to conduct themselves in a fitting manner. But, if none of the excesses of the visit of the previous May were repeated, the unit's record was spoilt in another direction—thirteen men were left behind when the convoy sailed. For security reasons, no sailing date had been announced. Most of the absentees would have been on board had they known when the convoy was departing from Capetown.

Sharing the Athlone Castle with the 23rd on the voyage to Egypt were the Maori Battalion, B Company 5 Field Ambulance and 5 Field Company, New Zealand Engineers. The specialists of the Field Ambulance and the sappers instructed the infantry in the mysteries of their respective crafts. But, from the point of view of the subsequent history of the 23rd, the association with their brother infantrymen in the 28th was of considerable importance and between them a remarkably strong feeling of friendship and mutual regard sprang up. In the tug-of-war and other tests of strength, the Maoris usually emerged victorious but the 23rd won most of the boxing contests. Suitable celebrations followed in bars and officers' messes: foundations were laid for the remarkable 23–28 co-operation which was a feature of the history of 5 Brigade. In subsequent years the men of the two battalions fought alongside each other on a number of occasions, and always with the greatest of confidence in each other. ‘The White Horis’, as the 23rd were known to many Maoris, was a title of which the South Islanders were justly proud.

By the time the Somaliland coast was sighted on the voyage up the east coast of Africa, the battalion had been on board the Athlone Castle as long as it had been on the Andes on the voyage from New Zealand to England—such was the effect of using the Cape route to Egypt during the war. On 4 March, however, the troops went ashore by lighter at Port Tewfik, whence the journey was continued by train to Helwan Camp, where the area vacated by 20 Battalion was taken over. All members of the 23rd did not arrive in Egypt at this time. Apart from the small group absent without leave in Capetown, others had been detached for manning anti-aircraft guns in ships which did not arrive simultaneously with the Athlone Castle. For example, one detachment under Corporal McEwen

WO II G. H. McEwen; Masterton; born Cheltenham, England, 23 Jan 1918; civil servant.

embarked at Glasgow on 18 December 1940 but did not reach Egypt till the end of April 1941. The exciting experiences of their ship, which was left behind by the rest of the convoy and had to return to port, may here receive only the briefest mention as one of the incidental features of the move from England to Egypt.

The 23rd did not stay more than a few days in Helwan Camp but, for some, the contrast between the Egyptian sands and the countryside of Kent and Surrey was too stark to warrant any display of enthusiasm over their new surroundings. Typical entries in diaries and letters at this time by soldiers of different ranks are ‘nothing but sand and stones here’, ‘sand, sand, and more sand’, and ‘sun, sand, and flies and smell and bareness’. In one respect, and that an important one, there was an improvement: rations were more plentiful than in England. As one private soldier wrote: ‘meals very good—plenty butter and sugar’. Under the tutelage of the 26th, their sister South Island battalion in 6 Brigade, the 23rd soon settled down to training and hardening up after two months at sea.

On 7 March Lieutenant-Colonel Falconer returned to the battalion as its commanding officer. Those officers who had to revert to a lower rank did so cheerfully because of the respect and regard in which they held the Colonel. Reinforcements from 29 Battalion made up for ‘wastages’ suffered since the departure from Burnham. Route marches and minor tactical schemes occupied most of the training hours. The hardening process continued slowly. Despite the attractions of Cairo, the original opinions of Egypt were more than confirmed when khamsin dust-storms blew up and filled ears and nostrils as well as tents and mess buildings with a fine dust which seemed to penetrate everywhere. The battalion was not sorry to learn that its stay at Helwan was to be less than a fortnight.

In consequence of decisions taken at a higher level, 4 NZ Brigade was leaving Egypt for Greece just when 5 Brigade was arriving from England. Sixth Brigade moved out of Helwan on 6 March and, eight days later, Headquarters 5 Brigade issued a warning order to all its units telling them to be ready to move as from Sunday, 16 March. Equipment was checked and, where necessary, brought up to scale or replaced by the latest available. The issue of Thompson sub-machine guns was in- creasedincreased to forty for the battalion and the officers exchanged their Webley revolvers for Smith and Weston pistols which fired the ‘tommy-gun’ ammunition. Base kits were packed and sent into store at the New Zealand Base Camp at Maadi, a few miles north of Helwan. On 16 March all tents were struck and packed; the camp site was made as tidy as time permitted; surplus items were sent to the salvage parks. The battalion was ready to move off. The unit transport left early next morning and took the desert road through Mena and past Halfway House to Amiriya. The troops followed later in the day by train.

Of considerable importance as a transit and staging camp for troops moving from the Cairo area either to the Western Desert or to the European theatre of war, Amiriya was probably the most unpopular camp in the Middle East. Invariably there was a sandstorm blowing there and frequently the ‘flight’ before one's own had been summoned forward on short notice and had left the bare, dismal camp area in an untidy and filthy state. When the 23rd arrived for the first time at Amiriya at 10.30 p.m. on 17 March 1941, this camp was no better than usual. Only one tent for every twenty men was available and cooking arrangements could scarcely have been more primitive in the field. The seven days spent there awaiting orders to embark must count amongst the most boring in the history of the unit. The NAAFIs had been cleaned out of stock by earlier ‘flights’ of troops; no one was expected to stay long and therefore no amenities and no entertainments were provided. Perhaps the battalion had been spoilt in England, but life seemed to have suddenly become unnecessarily grim. All were glad to leave Amiriya and proceed by train on 25 March to the Alexandria wharves to embark.

The 23rd went on board the Cameronia, an Anchor Line ship which had been a member of the convoy in which it had come from England. The troops soon found themselves at sea for the third time, and whether or not there was anything in the theory that the third time was lucky, they were confident that this voyage would bring them into touch with the enemy and enable them to strike the blow they had imagined striking when they first entered camp fifteen months earlier. A special order of the day, issued by General Freyberg, was read to all troops on board the Cameronia. In it the General said: ‘In the course of the next few days you may be fighting in defence of Greece, the birthplace of culture and learning. We shall be meeting our real enemy, the Germans, who have set out with the avowed object of smashing the British Empire. It is clear therefore that wherever we fight them we shall be fighting not only for Greece, but also in defence of our own homes.’ After praising the fitness of the troops and warning them against being caught unprepared or being upset by the conditions of modern warfare, the General concluded: ‘You will be fighting in a foreign land and the eyes of many nations will be upon you. The honour of the New Zealand Division is in your keeping. It could not be in better hands.’

The General's message confirmed the view that battle would be entered within a matter of weeks if not days. Its effect no doubt varied from man to man, but the battalion's Intelligence Officer made a sound estimate of reactions when he wrote home on 26 March: ‘I have in front of me General Freyberg's Special Order…. It is to be hoped that once more we may be given a responsible place in the line as in Britain, but this time action should be a certainty. I have been struck with the changed attitude of our fellows—from a happy-go-lucky rabble they have suddenly become a compact force to be reckoned with, and perfectly confident of the issue. Everybody is pleased with the prospect of coming to grips at last—New Zealand troops tend to rot with inactivity, and spirit and camaraderie plus our long training make up for what I once imagined was a weakness in the original recruits.’ In keeping with the more serious spirit abroad, the Padre, the Rev. Bob Griffiths,

Rev. R. J. Griffiths, MBE; Waimate; born Gisborne, 26 Jul 1905; Presbyterian minister; p.w. 23 May 1941.

held an evening church service. Although it was Wednesday, the service was well attended.

On 27 March the 23rd landed at Piraeus, the port of Athens and the chief port of Greece, to the accompaniment of every conceivable demonstration of pleasure on the part of the Greeks. Lieutenant McGregor,

Lt-Col A. F. G. McGregor, MC (Gk); Christchurch; born Invercargill, 2 Nov 1918; butcher; p.w. Nov 1941; CO 2 Royal NZ Regt (Japan) 1948.

the battalion transport officer, and some of his drivers, who had gone to Greece as an advance party, were at Piraeus to ferry the heavier stores and equipment to the transit camp. The troops marched in battle order through the crowded streets of Piraeus and Athens to this camp, Hymettus No. 3, a camp as different from the sandy desert waste of Amiriya as day from night, since it was situated among cypresses and pines on the slopes of Mount Hymettus. The Greek people gave the battalion a most enthusiastic welcome: they applauded their arrival, they entertained the men with the wines of the country, and presented them with flowers. This grand welcome made everyone feel that the Greeks were, as one man put it, ‘well worth fighting for and alongside’.

Next day, at 4 p.m., the battalion began its move north in a train composed mainly of sheep and cattle trucks. The trucks were crowded with forty or more men in each. But, if there was insufficient room in which to stretch out and sleep comfortably, most men had secured a bottle of the local cognac or other warming drink for the long journey. If the night was somewhat trying, daybreak on the 29th revealed scenery of real grandeur. Early spring had clothed the trees and fertile plains with green, but the rocky hills stood out, silhouetted against snowclad mountains. Picturesque villages, perched high on precipitous slopes, looked like pictures from Grimm's fairy tales. The peasants appeared to be sturdy, thrifty, hard-working people capable of producing good fighters.

The 23rd reached Katerini, its destination on the train journey, about 4 p.m. on 29 March. The battalion was but one of many units recently arrived in Greece and now ready to put their long months of training to the test. British, Australian and New Zealand troops, numbering 58,364, had crossed to help the Greeks defend their land.

Their arrival at Katerini brought the men of the 23rd into touch with 4 Brigade for the first time since the First Echelon left New Zealand in January 1940. Interchanges of visits, particularly with their sister South Island battalion, the 20th, were frequent. The welcome given by Lieutenant-Colonel Kippen-berger

Maj-Gen Sir Howard Kippenberger, KBE, CB, DSO and bar, ED, m.i.d.; Legion of Merit (US); born Ladbrooks, 28 Jan 1897; barrister and solicitor; 1 NZEF 1916–17; CO 20 Bn Sep 1939–Apr 1941, Jun-Dec 1941; comd 10 Bde (Crete) May 1941; 5 Bde Jan 1942–Jun 1943, Nov 1943-Feb 1944; GOC 2 NZ Div 30 Apr-14 May 1943 and 9 Feb-2 Mar 1944; 2 NZEF Prisoner-of-War Reception Group in UK 1944–45; twice wounded; Editor-in-Chief, NZ War Histories, 1946–57; died Wellington, 5 May 1957.

and Major Burrows,

Brig J. T. Burrows, DSO and bar, ED, m.i.d., Order of Valour (Gk); Christchurch; born Christchurch, 14 Jul 1904; schoolmaster; CO 20 Bn Dec 1941-Jun 1942; 20 Bn and Armd Regt Aug 1942-Jul 1943; comd 4 Bde 27–29 Jun 1942, 5 Jul-15 Aug 1942; 5 Bde Mar 1944, Aug-Nov 1944; 6 Bde Jul-Aug 1944; Commander, Southern Military District, Nov 1951-Oct 1953; Commander K Force, Nov 1953-Nov 1954; Commander SMD, Jan 1955-.

CO and second-in-command of the 20th, was much appreciated, especially by those who had originally entered camp with the 20th. ‘Kip came over with Jim Burrows to welcome us. It was good to see him again—so quiet, efficient and confident, just like our own C.O. I travelled up with Falconer and relished his imperturbable good humour,’ wrote Bassett. Men began to realise the potential strength and solidarity of the New Zealand Division, the concentration of which was now practically complete in the country where its first battles were to be fought.

The main officer appointments of 23 Battalion on its arrival in Greece were:—CO: Lt-Col A. S. Falconer, DSO, MC; 2 i/c: Maj D. F. Leckie; Adjt: Lt R. M. S. Orbell; IO: Lt B. I. Bassett; QM: Capt I. Patterson; MO: Capt R. S. Stewart; Padre: Rev. R. J. Griffiths; HQ Coy OC: Maj T. Fyfe; A Coy OC: Capt C. N. Watson; B Coy OC: Maj S. J. Kelly; C Coy OC: Maj H. H. Thomason; D Coy OC: Capt I. O. Manson.

CHAPTER 4 Campaigning in Greece

WHEN the 23rd arrived in Katerini, the stage was practically set and the curtain was about to rise on a modern Greek tragedy: the German Twelfth Army was massed in Bulgaria and Field Marshal List had reported to Hitler that he would be ready to invade Greece on 1 April. A coup d'état in Belgrade overthrew the pro-Axis Government. Hitler decided to attack Yugoslavia and Greece simultaneously and orders were given for invasion to begin on or soon after 5 April. To meet this threat from twenty German divisions, Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Wilson, GOC British Troops in Greece, had a pitifully small force. In addition to the various Greek divisions which had already been fully committed against the Italians, there were 1 British Armoured Brigade Group, the New Zealand Division, 6 Australian Division and some corps and line-of-communication troops.

The New Zealand Division went into position on the right of what was called the Aliakmon position, 4 and 6 Brigades forward, 5 Brigade (less 21 Battalion) in the Olympus Pass (strictly the Petras Pass). On 9 April 21 Battalion took up an isolated position at Platamon, barring the coastal road east of Mount Olympus.

The 23rd spent two nights in Katerini before moving out on 31 March to prepare and occupy its first battle positions. While waiting to move, the men cleaned their weapons and sharpened their bayonets. A church parade was held and was watched with interest by the local Greeks, with whom the men mingled freely in the evenings. After their somewhat upsetting experiences with the cognac bought in Athens, most men now preferred to sample lighter Greek wines such as mavrodaphne. An entry in the diary of Private Charles S. Pankhurst

Pte C. S. Pankhurst; Riverton; born Gummies Bush, Riverton, 18 Sep 1914; farmer; wounded 25 Oct 1942.

recalls the pleasure of those and similar nights: ‘Scottie and I drank considerable red wine (several bottles at 60 drachmae each) but we did not get drunk, only happy and lovable’.

More serious business lay ahead. Brigadier Hargest and the senior officers of the battalion had already reconnoitred the battalion's sector of the Olympus-Aliakmon River line, and on the morning of 31 March the companies moved by truck southwest to the Petras Sanatorium and then on foot up towards the mountain. As they marched up the newly formed road, the men of the 23rd met the 26th coming down to move forward in the transport to the Aliakmon line. Greetings were exchanged in passing, but this time feelings were very different from what they had been at the two units' last meeting in Helwan. This time the men were conscious of entering upon their first real operational role. Hearts beat a little faster as their owners realised they would almost certainly face the enemy in the positions they were about to occupy. In 5 Brigade's sector in the Olympus line the 23rd was on the right, the 22nd in the centre astride the Olympus Pass road and the 28th on the left.

olympus pass positions, 5 brigade, april 1941 black and white map of olympus pass

The 23rd companies soon found themselves on the ground chosen for them: a spur from the snowline on Mount Olympus stretched down to and along a ridge which ran north-west towards the Itamos stream and the Olympus Pass. Partly because this was their first battle line and partly because of the natural beauty of the surroundings, those who were there will always remember their Olympus positions. To the south-east was Mount Olympus, the highest and most important mountain in Greece. Rising from pine-filled valleys through belts of oak and beech till its snow-capped peak was caught up in the clouds, this mountain had from ancient times been known as ‘the home of the gods’. It reminded the South Islanders of some of their own Southern Alps. To the north-east the plain around Katerini lay between the blue Aegean on the east and the low Macedonian hills and the low-lying areas around Salonika farther north. On the immediate front, the downs were covered with scrub and undergrowth which would afford cover to attacking infantry. Bushes of daphne and clumps of red-flowered Judas trees added a touch of colour while wild flowers grew plentifully under the trees.

The narrowness of the ridge and the length of the battalion front—nearly four miles—made defence in depth impossible. All four rifle companies had to be placed in the front line and, at first, no company had a platoon in reserve. On the right flank, D Company, under Captain Manson,

Maj I. O. Manson; Invercargill; born Otautau, 9 Jul 1905; clerk; CO 20 Bn 5–21 Jul 1942.

was stretched to the utmost from where 17 Platoon, under Lieutenant Dick Connolly, covered the junction of tracks from Strapokameni and Vrondou to where 18 Platoon was dispersed on the west of Ravani. ‘Right of the line for the whole Div!’ was the proud boast of 17 Platoon on this occasion. Next to D came C Company, under Major Thomason, overlooking the village of Lokova, and B Company, under Major Kelly. On the left, A Company, under Captain Carl Watson, had its left flank on the western end of the ridge more or less in touch with 22 Battalion across a steep-sided gully.

Practically every man in the battalion was soon hard at work preparing and later perfecting the defensive positions. Some dug and wired the section posts, some improved fields of fire by clearing scrub on the immediate front, some made more or less covered approaches from company headquarters to the forward posts, while, in the rear, others worked hard on the roads which would enable trucks to supply each company area. The 26th had already constructed a dry-weather road which gave access to the battalion area from the Sanatorium on the left front. Men worked on extending this road along the ridge behind the main company positions, where it was known as the ‘Back Road’.

On 2 April General Freyberg and Brigadier Hargest visited the sector. They were impressed by the work already done but were worried about supplying the unit when the main entry to the area was from the front. In addition, should the necessity to withdraw arise, the 23rd would be unable to reach the Olympus Pass road in the face of enemy pressure. The construction of a road to the south along the steep track which was understood to lead to the village of Kokkinoplos was therefore decided upon. Consequently, Lieutenant Bassett, the IO, with Sergeants Jim Bevin

Capt J. A. Bevin; Dunedin; born Dunedin, 31 Jul 1911; clerk.

and ‘Mick’ Bowie,

2 Lt A. R. M. Bowie; Hermitage, Mount Cook; born Timaru, 28 Oct 1901; alpine guide; wounded 27 Mar 1943.

well-known Mount Cook guide, and Private Mannering,

Pte I. P. Mannering; Christchurch; born NZ 11 Feb 1906; bushman; wounded and p.w. 1 Jun 1941.

a former surveyor, went on a special road reconnaissance. Next, in this effort to provide the 23rd with its own supply and exit route, the pioneer platoon, under Second-Lieutenant Jim Ensor,

Capt J. H. Ensor, m.i.d.; Cheviot; born NZ 29 Jan 1908; farm manager.

made strenuous efforts to make the road capable of taking vehicular traffic. Later, for two or three days, it was assisted by two companies of 22 Battalion, while 7 Field Company of the New Zealand Engineers began working towards the 23rd positions from the Kokkinoplos end. But, even with this team of workers, the going was so difficult and the weather so wet that a short but vitally important stretch of this road was incomplete at the critical time.

As the men worked from dawn to dark on their positions in the keen mountain air, they grew harder and fitter and more expectant of playing a worthy part in the approaching battle. Perhaps they were excited at the prospect of meeting the enemy or pleased with their spring-beflowered surroundings, where banks of primroses and anemones, violets and crocuses, contrasted strikingly with the sandy wastes of Helwan and Amiriya, but, in any case, most men thoroughly enjoyed their soldiering in early April 1941. Even the misty rains, common at that season, did not damp their spirits at first. ‘Worked on excavation for signal office and had pretty good day,’ wrote Private Johnston

Pte J. R. Johnston; born NZ 30 Nov 1918; carpenter.

in his diary on 5 April. ‘Gee! I am happy and in the best of health’.

The battalion's defences were steadily improved. The front was too long, however, and the danger of enemy infiltration was so serious that on 9 April two companies of the 22nd took over the whole of A Company's position and nearly half of B Company's. This enabled the 23rd to thicken up its positions and strengthen the whole front. The order of the companies from right to left now became D, C, A and B. Headquarters Company provided a reserve force which was the smaller because the Bren-carrier platoon under Lieutenant Max Coop was on duty in an anti-paratroop role around the landing ground between Katerini and Kalokhori.

Rarely, if ever again, did the battalion take such pains over a defensive position. Everything was done that the experience of the First World War officers and the training courses of the subalterns could suggest. The section posts could scarcely have been made stronger or been better camouflaged in the time available. Minor causes of annoyance arose and hindered progress. The anti-personnel mines, on which the companies were depending to deal with the remaining covered approaches on their front, arrived without fuses. ‘Just another army mix-up!’ was the laconic comment of one soldier in his diary. The weather deteriorated rather badly: rain fell, the roads in the area became quagmires, much time had to be spent on their maintenance, work was held up on the Kokkinoplos road, and the troops slopped about in the mud trying to improve their section posts under most discouraging conditions.

By this time, events on the wider front to the north were bringing the war closer to the Olympus positions. At 5.45 a.m. on 6 April, Germany declared war on both Yugoslavia and Greece. Attacks were made on the frontier posts of both countries and the Luftwaffe struck as far south as the port of Piraeus that night. The speedy defeat of the southern Yugoslav army opened the way to Greece through Monastir. In addition, the Germans simultaneously made good progress through northeastern Greece. On 8 April the 23rd could see the fires started in Salonika by enemy action. The advance through Monastir threatened to outflank the Aliakmon line, occupation of which in any case had not been completed. On 8 April, therefore, 4 NZ Brigade was ordered back to Servia. The withdrawal of 6 Brigade to a supporting position south of Elasson followed. For two days and nights a steady stream of traffic flowed back through Olympus Pass as the two forward brigades withdrew through 5 Brigade. Apart from the armoured cars of the Divisional Cavalry and their supporting artillery, all New Zealand units affected had withdrawn through the pass soon after nightfall on 10 April.

The war was definitely coming closer. On 9 April the refugees from Salonika and the bombed villages to the north created a fresh problem: the Germans were believed to be making use of both real and bogus refugees, and consequently these people had to be ruthlessly turned back and directed to follow the coastal road to the south. The inhabitants of the small village of Lokova in the centre front of C Company's area also had to be evacuated. At 11 p.m. on 9 April the 23rd was ordered to man all section posts and the troops stood-to throughout that night while the traffic could be heard rumbling through the pass. ‘Standing to’, frequently in the rain and once in a late snowfall, became the accepted routine while the battalion remained in its Olympus positions.

On 10 April the supporting arms necessary to complete the defences of the area went into position. Fifth Field Regiment placed its guns in the pass area behind 22 Battalion and 27 Battery of this regiment established two observation posts in the 23rd's area. No. 10 Platoon of 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion set up its Vickers guns in A Company's front to the left rear of Lokova, while 32 Battery of 7 Anti-Tank Regiment sited its two-pounder guns to cover the road leading to the Sanatorium and the tracks which came in from the right flank in D Company's area.

Now it was obvious that a stand would be made on the Olympus-Aliakmon River line. More barbed wire arrived and, despite the pouring rain, the men worked long hours erecting more obstacles and strengthening the defences. To give warning of enemy patrols at night, rattles of tins with stones and bells ‘borrowed’ from mountain goat-herds were hung on the wire. With increased activity in the air and evidence of enemy successes in front, the atmosphere grew more electric: rumours passed from section to section of disasters in Yugoslavia or, more encouraging, of the arrival of fresh squadrons of RAF fighters. The ‘old hands’ put these rumours down to a mixture of fear and wishful thinking and concentrated further on the defences. But, as Brian Bassett wrote home on 11 April, ‘War provides fluctuating moods—during the day one feels thoroughly confident and ready and anxious to tackle the aggressor. Then at night, when the rain pelts down and we wade ankle-deep in mud, noises are heard and one cannot help feeling that somehow he has slipped through somewhere and is on us.’ Once again, with tension mounting and most men anxious to get the first shock of action over, the untried soldiers of the 23rd were glad to have a few veterans of the 1914–18 war present to give them a lead.

Twenty-six years earlier, in April 1915, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps had earned a grand reputation for the soldiers of these two Dominions of the South Pacific in the landing at Gallipoli. Appropriately enough, since the New Zealand Division had passed under the command of 1 Australian Corps on 5 April, General Blamey announced on 12 April that his corps would be designated the ANZAC Corps. Perhaps it was with thoughts of what Anzac meant, or perhaps it was the mountain scene or the Easter season, but more probably it was the imminence of battle that made one soldier refer to the Easter Sunday church service, held on the early morning of 13 April, as ‘one of the most impressive church services ever attended’.

On the following day, 14 April, it was obvious that the Divisional Cavalry could not continue its delaying action much longer. That night Colonel Falconer recorded in his diary: ‘Enemy advanced troops entered Katerini late afternoon. All possible preparations made here to meet him.’ All vehicles such as the 30-cwt and office trucks that were not needed during battle were sent back to the unit B Echelon area at Pithion, about three miles south of Kokkinoplos. As the direct road to Kokkinoplos was not completed, these trucks went via the Sanatorium and Olympus Pass roads. Late on the afternoon of 14 April, only a short time before demolitions cut the battalion off from the pass road, ten Bren carriers rejoined the unit, making a welcome addition to its fire power. Throughout the afternoon the officers watched through their binoculars the approach of enemy transport. As evening drew on, an enemy ‘recce’ party approached the pass but their motor-cycles were quickly knocked out by 22 Battalion. Contact had been made by 5 Brigade. Fourth Brigade also reported first contact with the enemy in the Servia area.

23 battalion positions, 13 april 1941 black and white map of battalion position

At 8 a.m. next day Colonel Falconer attended a conference at 5 Brigade Headquarters, where he was told that the Yugoslav-Greek line to the west had broken and that 5 Brigade was to withdraw at nine o'clock that night. For the officers and men who had put days and nights of hard work into perfecting their positions and who were confident that they could beat off any ordinary infantry attacks, these orders to withdraw were most depressing. The additional news that the road to Kokkinoplos was still incomplete and that the ten carriers and nineteen trucks still in the area would have to be destroyed was scarcely cheering. Major Leckie went back to see if the tracked Bren carriers could negotiate the unformed portion of the new road. He found that the steepness of the gradient and the greasy nature of the track made the passage of any transport impossible. A Greek detachment of thirty mules arrived to assist with the evacuation of ammunition, heavy stores and, if necessary, the wounded. Sergeant Norman Trewby

2 Lt N. Trewby, DCM; Dunedin; born NZ 18 Sep 1901; insurance manager.

was placed in charge of the muleteers and their animals. With 40-pound packs on the sides of each mule, the animals had very great difficulty in climbing the steepest part of the track, but although some of the muleteers disappeared, five return trips were made by this mule train. In the meantime, the men had been told to destroy everything they could not carry on their persons during the withdrawal. Each man cut two of his three blankets to ribbons, destroyed spare clothing and holed petrol and ration tins. The officers hid their valises and other valuables in trees or in holes. After this had been done, orders arrived that the Olympus position was to be held another day. Thus the message sent out by Major Thomason to his platoons read: ‘Hold everything for 24 hours. Troops will hold their present positions at all costs’. The news that they were to hold on for at least another day was welcome, although the language used about the premature destruction of blankets and clothes showed how annoyed some were with what was a very natural action under the circumstances.

The food and clothing thus destroyed would have been of little use to the well equipped Germans and might well have been left for the Greeks.

Captain Max Smith

Capt H. M. Smith, ED, MC (Gk); Dunedin; born Dunedin, 26 Apr 1906; journalist.

was sent back with 8 Platoon to start work on a new position at Kokkinoplos.

The day passed without anything in the nature of a battle being fought on the 23rd's front. The enemy could be seen bringing up trucks and tanks on the plains below and the New Zealand artillery shelled some light forces on the Katerini road. Despite the rain, German reconnaissance planes came over, doubtless reconnoitring the occupied positions.

On 16 April German infantry began to infiltrate across the battalion's front, searching for gaps and weaknesses or for an exposed flank. C and D Companies on the right saw the most action as most of the enemy patrols concentrated on their sector. Possibly their air reconnaissance had told them how the 5 Brigade positions grew weaker, with fewer men holding more ground, the farther away they were from the pass road. In any case, A and B Companies, whose fronts were shorter, received less attention than the two more fully extended companies.

In C Company's area, Second-Lieutenant Dan Davin

Maj D. M. Davin, MBE, m.i.d.; England; born Invercargill, 1 Sep 1913; student; wounded 20 May 1941.

with 13 Platoon held a forward outpost position with the role of breaking up any attack before it reached the main positions of 14 and 15 Platoons. On the platoon's right flank was a wooded and unoccupied spur. Davin called for a volunteer to patrol this spur and to create the illusion of its being defended, and selected Corporal Campbell

Cpl P. V. Campbell; Timaru; born NZ 23 Feb 1914; salesman; p.w. 16 Apr 1941.

for this difficult and dangerous task. Once this spur was seized by the enemy, the sections were unlikely to be able to move, so overlooked would they be from the higher ground. No. 3 Section, under Corporal Quinn,

L-Cpl A. H. Quinn; born NZ 14 Feb 1915; dredge worker; died of wounds 17 Apr 1941.

had orders to face the spur if trouble threatened from that quarter.

Higher up the slopes of Olympus, D Company was even more widely dispersed: 18 Platoon under Second-Lieutenant Cunningham,

Maj G. H. Cunningham, m.i.d.; Auckland; born Dunedin, 5 May 1910; stock agent; twice wounded.

next to C Company, and 16 Platoon, under Lieutenant Bond,

Capt R. L. Bond; Adelaide; born Aust., 19 Feb 1908; brewer; enlisted in AIF 1942.

farther up, held positions on either side of the Ravani feature, while 17 Platoon, on the extreme right, was attempting to cover a front much wider than that covered by both A and B Companies together.

From an early hour, well before daybreak, the 23rd stood-to and consequently was not taken by surprise when the German patrols made their first appearance. Action began when Private Todd,

WO II A. H. Todd, MM; Otautau; born Scotland, 6 Aug 1910; labourer; three times wounded.

of No. 3 Section, 13 Platoon, opened fire with his Bren on three or four Germans he had seen making across open ground for the wooded spur on the right. He hit two but, apparently, in the earlier darkness, some enemy had reached the spur. Shortly after dawn, firing broke out on this spur and Corporal Campbell's tommy gun was heard firing short bursts. But one man had no hope of holding that feature alone and Campbell was taken prisoner.

From time to time, thereafter, firing broke out to the right rear of No. 3 Section. Assuming that his platoon was too completely under observation from the spur for men to move, Davin called Company Headquarters for assistance. Two patrols, one under Sergeant Templeton

L-Sgt J. Templeton; born Kaiapoi, 27 Dec 1905; electrician; died of wounds while p.w. 5 Jun 1941.

from 15 Platoon and one under the company commander himself, quickly restored the position. As Major Thomason led his small patrol down the face towards 13's area, he almost ran into a party of four Germans resting in a hollow. A grenade, tossed into the hollow, proved, to quote Major Thomason, ‘very effective’.

Davin next reported that a large party of Germans, estimated at a company strong, was massing in the scrub near the cemetery about 500 yards in front of 13 Platoon. The 5 Field Regiment OP officer quickly brought fire on the area and the appearance of German stretcher-bearers soon testified to its effectiveness. The infantry were delighted with this evidence of the value of artillery support.

Although C Company and 13 Platoon received further attention later in the day and the wooded spur had to be cleared once more, D Company was most frequently engaged. Early in the afternoon, under cover of the fog which rolled down Mount Olympus, the enemy approached 16 Platoon's area, east of Ravani. Probably they had no idea they were so close to occupied positions as they came up to the wire in an extraordinarily close formation for a patrol. A sudden break in the fog let the 16 Platoon Bren and tommy gunners do their work. The Germans who did not fall to these first bursts of fire quickly withdrew, and although they attempted to infiltrate through the gaps, the line held until it was time to withdraw. One or two Germans succeeded in penetrating between 16 and 18 Platoons and caused some consternation by firing bursts of sub-machine-gun bullets in all directions without actually coming into touch with the D Company men.

Later in the afternoon, the enemy evidently found where the right flank of the whole New Zealand position was and No. 17 Platoon, under Lieutenant Dick Connolly, could not prevent its position being outflanked. It was impossible for the platoon, in fact, both to hold its position and prevent infiltration and at the same time keep the enemy from moving round the right flank. Connolly has described the first contact. ‘We could hear the enemy coming closer. They had a dog with them and we all agreed later that this dog did a lot of recce work for them. That could be so, too, as it never barked, came up the gullies and then went back down again. When they finally got to us, it was very misty and wet. I was following them along at my left section when I had my first coloured tracer exhibition. They opened up along our skyline but all the section posts were down the slope. Under cover of this, two Jerries jumped up and bounded into our straggling wire. Fortunately, one of Bond's Bren gunners saw them and gave them a good squirt. They were his first shots in anger and they were good shots, too. The leading Jerry rolled over and said something which sounded like “I'm hit, Bill!” The 16 Pl bloke gave him another burst and said “Too bloody right you are!”’

On the extreme right flank, Corporal Bob Buick's

2 Lt R. E. Buick, MM; Alford Forest, Ashburton; born NZ 17 May 1918; tractor driver; wounded 6 Jul 1942.

section held an outpost very near the snowline. Private Souquet,

L-Cpl J. Souquet; born Dunedin, 14 Jul 1904; labourer; wounded and p.w. 1 Jun 1941; died 6 May 1949.

the sniper whose slit trench was farthest up the mountain, later reported that although he shot at them he could not prevent the enemy outflanking him at the snowline. Either the Alpine soldiers seen by Souquet or the individual or two who penetrated between 16 and 18 Platoons got within range of D Company headquarters and the stray shots flying around proved rather disconcerting. Captain Manson telephoned an SOS to Battalion Headquarters. The CO sent Major Leckie, Captain Patterson and some members of the signals and transport platoons to assist D Company. Major Leckie found the situation by no means as bad as had been feared; true, cooks and clerks at the cookhouse were ready to deal with the ‘tommy-gunners’ who had disturbed them—Private Alex Agnew

Pte A. Agnew; Greymouth; born NZ 20 Sep 1904; painter; wounded 4 Jul 1942.

was stirring the stew with one hand and holding his rifle with the other—but the second-in-command and his party found no enemy when they made a vigorous sweep through the scrub.

Thus the day of 16 April passed, with alarums and excursions, with the enemy probing along the front no doubt as a preliminary to a full-scale assault the next day, and with the artillery, the Vickers guns and the unit 3-inch mortars, under Lieutenant Richards,

Lt-Col E. E. Richards, DSO, m.i.d.; Nelson; born Kumara, 6 Dec 1915; civil servant; CO 26 Bn Dec 1943-Apr 1944.

engaging any targets which presented themselves. B Company did a small amount of shooting and reported one enemy soldier killed and others driven off with casualties. In the excitement of getting their first bomb away, one of the mortar crew forgot to remove the nose cap from the bomb: it did no damage but the successful ranging on the target prepared the way for some effective shooting, while the experience of that first shot at the enemy taught in one lesson what training had failed to teach in a hundred.

During the day preparations for the withdrawal that night continued: trucks took all the equipment that could be sent back as far as possible and the mule train attempted to do the rest. Captain Ron Stewart

Capt R. S. Stewart; Gore; born NZ 17 Mar 1906; medical practitioner; RMO 23 Bn May 1940-May 1941; p.w. 23 May 1941.

also evacuated the sick and wounded—there were only four or five at this stage—by the mule train. Only half the task of transporting the heavy stores and equipment was done before nightfall. The falling-off in the numbers of the muleteers had something to do with this, but time did not permit of completion of the task.

The actual withdrawal was rendered more difficult by the pressure exerted by the enemy on C and D Companies. According to brigade orders, while 22 and 28 Battalions withdrew by the main pass road, the 23rd was to withdraw up the unfinished road to Kokkinoplos and there occupy a position with one company in front of the village and with three companies in reserve behind it. The order for withdrawal and for the march back was HQ Company, B, A, C and D Companies. Headquarters Company began its march back at 8 p.m.; B and A Companies withdrew without incident. In the middle of C Company's front, Davin had arranged for his three sections to rendezvous at 8.30 p.m. Five minutes before the appointed time, Private Inglis,

Cpl R. W. Inglis; Greymouth; born Greymouth, 13 May 1919; yardman.

one of Corporal Quinn's No. 3 Section, arrived in a state of great excitement to report that ‘the rest of the section was scuppered.’ He informed Davin that ‘Todd had gone off with the Bren to see what he could do and had told this chap to report to me that the Jerries were pouring in’. It was too late to commit the platoon to action which might have made disengagement impossible. Davin therefore decided to get the rest of his platoon out as quickly as possible.

‘I and the sergeant drove and scolded the men until they were through 15 Platoon perimeter. Once they were through, I handed them over to Sergeant Dutton

Sgt C. H. Dutton; Motueka; born England, 24 Jan 1913; butcher and farmer; wounded and p.w. 1 Jun 1941.

and went back (followed against orders by Congo Smith,

Cpl H. A. Smith; Christchurch; born Chayley, England, 1917; seaman; twice wounded.

a fine, bold ruffian) to see if I could find any of the others. We hadn't gone far when we heard cries. Eventually we found Todd—almost exhausted, but still with his Bren. With him were three or four others, but missing were Quinn, Campbell, Martin,

L-Cpl J. B. Martin; born Greymouth, 15 Nov 1914; bushman; killed in action 15 Apr 1941.

Fisher

Pte T. J. Fisher; born NZ 2 Nov 1902; surfaceman; p.w. Apr 1941; deceased.

and Weir.

Pte R. McL. Weir; Lower Hutt; born NZ 23 Mar 1910; labourer; p.w. Apr 1941.

The fortunes of 13 Platoon on Mount Olympus, as seen through the eyes of a novelist who was himself the platoon commander, are fully described in Chapters 2 and 3 of Davin's novel For the Rest of Our Lives. Practically all the characters are easily recognised, although names are changed, for example, ‘Congo’ Smith becomes ‘Jungle Jones’.

‘Sandy’ Thomas

Lt-Col W. B. Thomas, DSO, MC and bar, m.i.d., Silver Star (US); London; born Nelson, 29 Jun 1918; bank officer; CO 23 Bn Jun-Aug 1944, Oct 1944-May 1945; 22 Bn (Japan) Oct 1945-Nov 1946; wounded and p.w. 25 May 1941; escaped Nov 1941; returned to unit May 1942; twice wounded; Hampshire Regt, 1947-.

and his men in 15 Platoon opened fire on the Germans who were following Todd and the remnant of Quinn's section. The disengagement of C Company was delayed an hour by this minor flare-up on its front. Farther along, D Company's 17 Platoon also had trouble, having to fight back vigorously to prevent the enemy from penetrating to the line of withdrawal, which was being guarded by some Bren-carrier men and other HQ Company men under Major Fyfe. As it was feared that some of the enemy might have succeeded in outflanking Fyfe's party, Second-Lieutenant Fergus Begg

Capt T. F. Begg; born NZ 17 Jul 1912; stock agent; killed in action 15 Jul 1942.

was sent with his platoon, 10 Platoon, to act as a battalion vanguard and clear the route.

At and around Battalion Headquarters, Private ‘Buster Bill’ Beynon

Pte W. Beynon; born NZ 24 Aug 1908; builder; wounded May 1941; deceased.

of the unit pioneers successfully blew six road demolitions. The Colonel and Beynon were the last to leave the old headquarters, where everything that had to be left was destroyed. Some items were hurled into the ravine behind the ‘Back Road’; rations were contaminated with petrol. Private Pank-hurst's diary gives the picture: ‘What a wreck we left behind! Cookhouse utensils, clothing, tents, bicycles, food, wireless sets and equipment of all kinds we smashed and rendered useless.’

At the junction of the track from Strapokameni with the ‘Back Road’, the Colonel and Bassett waited till midnight for 17 Platoon to disengage. But Connolly brought his men out in good order and without suffering any losses. No wonder Major Leckie gave Connolly special mention in his private diary: ‘This officer has done great work throughout the operation on our extreme right flank.’ The detachments under Major Fyfe and Second-Lieutenant Begg, responsible for keeping the line of withdrawal free from enemy interference, were collected, and the withdrawal continued with D Company acting as rearguard.

The march to Kokkinoplos will always be remembered by those who took part in it as the toughest they ever endured. The troops were tired before they started—tired with standing-to on three consecutive nights and with slopping about in the mud and rain; they were heavily laden with their arms and ammunition, their greatcoats and large packs, many of which were to be discarded during the withdrawal; the gradients were steep and the road, as far as it went, had been churned into a sea of mud; the night was so dark that it was nearly impossible to see the man in front; the only consolation was that there was no enemy interference during the march. The distance was approximately eight miles but the going made it appear more like twenty-eight to the dog-tired troops.

Those present can speak best of their own experiences. ‘What with the steepness, rain and mud we had to fight for every inch of progress but as we knew that to lag behind meant capture by the Huns we did our best,’ wrote Pankhurst. ‘We were mud from — to breakfast & soaking right to the skin. The hardest march we have done yet,’ Private Johnston recorded.

Dick Connolly's account has its amusing side. ‘We collected in the gully where the road branched. The Bren Carrier Pl. were there armed to the teeth but no carriers. Ted Richards awaited me—had stayed there to see if I would get away whole from the noise aforementioned. The C.O. was there, full of that confidence I always felt when near him. He was a grand chap, our “Acky”. One, Stanger,

Pte P. J. Stanger; born Dunedin, 27 Jul 1918; farm labourer; wounded and p.w. 1 Jun 1941; died 20 May 1949.

of my Pl complained about the weight of his Boyes A/Tk rifle so I took it and he was to take my rifle. I had a raincoat on with full webbing and a good full pack on my back, 3 bandoliers of .303 and the Boyes rifle. I'm sure you're miles out in the distance we had to go. Nearer 100 miles, I think. We set off, Ted and I together behind my Pl. We were the last on the track. The time was spent in kicking and swearing at the men who would sit down and fall asleep in the rain from fatigue. Any fellow missed that night must have crawled off the track a bit and we missed them. It was just break of day when we neared A Coy's sentries and I managed to get the Boyes off my shoulder to talk to Carl Watson when I noticed the bolt was missing. I asked Stanger and he said, “I threw it away and didn't like to tell you.” The aid of temper gave me the strength to throw the Boyes about 200 yards. Was I mad!’

A Company took up a rearguard position across the north of Kokkinoplos while the rest of the battalion got some rest in the village. In an attempt to get their clothes dry, the troops lit fires in the school and the houses into which they crowded. Their pleasure at arriving at the village and at the prospect of the first rest in dry conditions for some days was cut short when firing broke out about 7 a.m. and A Company engaged the first of the enemy to arrive.

The armoured division of the German corps which had attacked up the Olympus Pass road without success sent its infantry battalion round via Vrondou and Kokkinoplos to open up the pass road by a threat from the south-east. These German companies under a Captain Baacke

Gebirgsjager in Griechenland und auf Kreta gives a brief account of this effort from the German standpoint.

were prevented by the 23rd's stand, in what the Germans described as their ‘well situated and fortified hill positions’, at Olympus and again at Kokkinoplos, from interfering with 5 Brigade's withdrawal programme. Nevertheless, these Germans were able to approach the A Company positions under cover of the mists and open fire without giving any warning of their approach.

The prevailing conviction that the Germans were using all kinds of tricks of deception is reflected in the 23rd's official unit war diary for 17 April: ‘Enemy party … presumably Alpine troops … wearing battledress and some N.Z. patches, some shouting in English…. When Sgt. Mulhern killed by S.M.G. by enemy in N.Z. battledress’. Actually Mulhern was not killed and he had every opportunity for observing the enemy. He subsequently wrote to the author: ‘The enemy were not wearing battledress…. They were Austrian Gebirgsjager and wore the usual German uniform, with the edelweiss flower on their side-caps when they were not wearing helmets.’

They attempted first to shoot up the company headquarters, which was placed alongside the track with a platoon on either flank. Captain Carl Watson found himself under fire from two directions at once and escaped only by wriggling out of his unbuttoned greatcoat and web gear and rolling downhill out of range.

Some of the A Company forward posts were forced to withdraw before reinforcements from other companies arrived. Of these, 10 Platoon under Fergus Begg was the first on the scene and rendered effective aid by driving off the enemy on the flank, where they had threatened to cut off A Company from the village. Part of D Company also assisted.

The exchanges of fire at Kokkinoplos went in favour of the defenders. Sergeant Brian Walsh

Sgt B. J. Walsh; born NZ 25 Jun 1917; clerk; killed in action 17 Apr 1941.

of No. 9 Platoon was killed by one of the first bursts of machine-gun fire. Others were wounded then or later but the Germans suffered the greater casualties. When Sergeant ‘Mick’ Mulhern

Sgt M. E. Mulhern; Christchurch; born Geraldine, 6 Jun 1904; railway fireman; wounded and p.w. 17 Apr 1941.

and Private ‘Shorty’ Brook

Pte J. E. Brook, MM; born NZ 12 Mar 1918; labourer; accidentally killed 24 Jun 1942.

of 7 Platoon called at Company Headquarters, they were surprised to find it occupied by Germans. Mulhern promptly shot two German machine-gunners before returning to his own platoon. Here he found that his men, with the exception of Corporal Roy Cherry,

Sgt H. R. Cherry; Christchurch; born Kaiapoi, 11 Apr 1909; NZR employee; wounded 26 Nov 1941.

Private McGoverne

Pte L. C. J. McGoverne; Trentham; born Dunedin, 16 Sep 1922; freezing worker; p.w. 1 Jun 1941.

and a man from B Company, had pulled back under the enemy fire and the threat of being outflanked. A grenade thrown into the bushes, where the lifting of the mist revealed movement, temporarily halted the Germans but they soon returned to the attack. Hit in the chest by a rifle bullet, Mulhern was left for dead, but he was able to observe the enemy burying their dead. When captured, he was told by an English-speaking German officer that the defending company ‘had accounted for many of his men’ and ‘that besides having many wounded, he had buried 25 men’.

German reports now with War History Branch state that the German losses were 5 killed and 5 wounded. Possibly the statement made to Mulhern referred to the combined Olympus-Kokkinoplos affair

The individual is only occasionally typical. Usually, he can speak only for himself, but in his description of his reactions to his first contact with the enemy, as he wrote it up soon after this Kokkinoplos engagement, Private Minson

Sgt R. D. Minson; Motukaraka; born Christchurch, 24 Sep 1918; dairy worker; twice wounded.

of 8 Platoon, A Company, described the reasonably common experience of discovering that shooting at a human target was simply a degree or so more exciting than shooting at any other target:

‘We had been ordered many times to lie down in our positions and stay there, but we were too wet and hungry to sit still, and had to walk round to keep warm. Suddenly at 9.30 a.m. there was a terrific roar of machine guns, tommy guns and rifles; bullets whistled in all directions. Fortunately, I was near a slit trench, talking to a couple of other chaps, and I swear that the bullets went in between us. We made one dive and landed in the mud and slush of the slit trench. The bullets were still hitting the parapet, but luckily it was a good one. I could not understand why they kept firing at our trench because I thought it was well hidden until suddenly it dawned on me that it might be my pipe: I was sucking so hard on it that it was sending up enough smoke for a chimney. It was here I shot my first Jerry. I shall never forget the feeling. I watched him come over a rise and walk straight at me. I could not believe my eyes, so I asked my cobber what I should do. All he could say was “Shoot the bastard! Shoot the bastard!”, and shoot the bastard I did. And to tell you the truth I was as excited as a boy rabbiting.’

While this engagement was being fought, Colonel Falconer was at Brigade Headquarters reporting on his unit's withdrawal. General Freyberg arrived at 5 Brigade Headquarters and, on hearing that the 23rd rearguard was in contact with the enemy, ordered an immediate withdrawal from Kokkinoplos to the plain below, where transport was waiting to convey the troops farther south. He explained that the small number of Imperial troops in Greece and the serious danger of the Anzac Corps's being outflanked on the west necessitated further withdrawal and the taking up of a much shorter line in southern Greece.

The 5 Brigade operation order issued later in the day also mentioned that 21 Battalion had been forced back in the Platamon tunnel area: the threat to the rear was likely to come from both east and west. This order stated: ‘The N.Z. Div is disengaging and withdrawing to the area Volos as a preliminary to the subsequent withdrawal to the Thermopylai line. 5 Inf Bde is carrying out a preliminary withdrawal to the Volestinon-Almiros area near Volos’. The 23rd was to be the leading unit in the convoy, which was directed to follow the route Elasson-Dhomenikon-Larisa.

Under cover of the heavy mist, Colonel Falconer successfully withdrew the 23rd from Kokkinoplos. C Company acted as a rearguard and 14 and 15 Platoons beat back a last-minute sortie by the more daring of the enemy. At Pithion, before embussing on RMT trucks, the men enjoyed their first proper meal for over twenty-four hours. Food and hot tea gave new life to the troops, but no sooner were they crowded on the trucks than most of them dropped off to sleep. Fortunately, no enemy aircraft disturbed them, because although the enemy had undisputed superiority in the air, the mists and low cloud provided welcome cover on the journey south on 17 April. Something of the spirit of the private soldier at this time is seen in J. R. Johnston's diary entry for that day: ‘We are all in a hell of a mess. Wet through to the skin and covered in mud, but we are as happy as Larry. Travelled all night in transport, each truck holding 32.’

The journey south was slow and tiring but not without incident. Moving off soon after 1.30 p.m., the convoy halted at 3 p.m. with the 23rd's trucks conveniently near a ration dump. Here, tinned black currants and other delicacies were quickly seized and, as one soldier put it, ‘we made gluttons of ourselves with tinned fruit and loaded some on to the trucks’. After this halt, word arrived that the Larisa-Volos road was impassable and that the convoy was to proceed on the Larisa-Pharsala-Lamia road until directed to turn off. Following the main road, the 23rd passed through the covering positions held by 6 Brigade south of Elasson in the late afternoon, and later still through Larisa. This town had been damaged, first by earthquake, and then by enemy bombers. Dead Greeks, dead Australians, dead mules and other animals lay where they had fallen. Overturned and burnt-out trucks were seen on the roadside near Pharsala. Although orders arrived to proceed due east to Almiros from Pharsala, this route proved impassable and Colonel Falconer ordered the unit convoy to proceed direct south over the pass from Pharsala. As he himself recorded that night: ‘On this pass route the utmost confusion prevailed. Orders and counter orders were given by various Staff officers, and vehicles were turned about and turned about again on the two way road.’

By dawn on 18 April the battalion halted near Dhomokos while the CO sought definite information or orders as to the route. He found none and the convoy moved on towards Lamia. As the coastal route towards Almiros and Volos looked in a bad state, he ordered another halt while he went back up the road towards Pharsala in the hope of finding 5 Brigade Headquarters. He met Brigadier Hargest and together they decided to proceed via the Lamia-Stilis road towards the original destination near Volos, but to go into hiding from enemy air attacks if the road did not permit of a speedy move. The wreckage on the side of the road indicated how successful earlier Stuka and other bombing raids had been.

The 23rd now passed through Lamia, where rations were drawn, and then turned east towards Stilis. While it was halted for lunch very shortly afterwards, Lamia was heavily bombed and columns of smoke arose from the town and adjacent roads. The unit had just escaped being in the bombing area. Soon afterwards the move was recommenced, and when near Stilis Major Heal,

Maj G. H. Heal, MBE; Auckland; born NZ 29 Dec 1906; Regular soldier.

Brigade Major of 5 Brigade, met Colonel Falconer and told him that the move to Almiros had been cancelled and that the 23rd now was to move to the area of Molos, south-east of Lamia. Some members of the battalion thought that careless transposition of the initial letters of Volos and Molos had led to their being given the wrong destination in the first place, but the brigade order quoted above makes the original intention clear and the resemblance in names was only coincidental. In any case, after skirting Lamia by a dusty side-road and being held up in a huge traffic jam at the bridge about six miles south of Lamia, the 23rd eventually reached its dispersal area in a riverbed near Molos. Here, after nearly thirty hours in the crowded trucks, the men were quickly settled into company bivouac areas for the night.

On the following day, 19 April, orders were received to take up defensive positions east and west of the coast road through Molos. Before the officers had completely reconnoitred these positions, fresh orders were received to move to the foothills south of the eastern bridge over the Sperkhios River, the bridge about six miles south of Lamia. There the battalion was to take its place in the Thermopylae line, a name which recalled the gallant efforts of Leonidas and his Spartans when they were overwhelmed in that same sector by the Persians in 480 BC. In the 1941 Thermopylae positions the New Zealand Division, on the right, covered the coast road between the sea and the hills and 6 Australian Division, on the left, was responsible for the Brallos Pass and the main road to Athens which runs through that pass. In the New Zealand sector 6 Brigade was on the right watching the actual coast, 4 Brigade was in reserve in the rear, while 5 Brigade was forward and slightly to the left of 6 Brigade, with the role of covering the most likely crossings of the Sperkhios. In 5 Brigade, the 22nd was on the right, the 28th in the centre and the 23rd on the left, and therefore responsible for making contact with the Australians.

On 20 April the 23rd companies were disposed as follows: B Company was forward covering the bridge, A Company occupied a spur overlooking the bridge, while C and D Companies were disposed across the coast road and south-east of B Company. During the afternoon General Freyberg, Brigadier Hargest and Colonel Falconer examined the front and the disposition of the companies was improved. D Company was therefore moved to the high ground in left rear of B Company, while C Company was also ordered from its position on the flat up on to the higher ground while the Maoris took over their positions on the coast road. D Company moved in trucks in time to reach its new sector at dusk. The Colonel heard that the blowing of the bridges would sever D Company's road communications and therefore rushed a truckload of barbed wire and tools to this company.

C Company, most of HQ Company and Battalion Headquarters all had to move to their new positions on foot. Many men of these companies found the manhandling of their arms, equipment and general stores up the high steep slopes very exhausting—they were no longer as fit and fresh as they had been on the slopes of Olympus.

Lieutenant Dick Connolly from D Company and Second-Lieutenant Sandy Thomas from C Company made contact with the Australians of ? Battalion on their left. Thomas found that the Australians had no clear idea of the whereabouts of the New Zealanders and, indeed, had a 3-inch mortar trained on the gully where 23 Battalion's headquarters was situated. Connolly's description of being taken to the Australian brigade headquarters is typically entertaining: ‘It was up near the top of the high pass and we swapped pass words. Ours was “Oamaru-Timaru-Waipukurau” with reply “Hi Ha Blowflies”. This annoyed the Aussies as they had difficulty with the challenge part. Their Brigadier said “Our challenge is ‘Sydney’.” I said “Reply ‘Harbour Bridge’.” In horror they asked me how I knew it.’

Next day the Australians took over a large portion of D Company's position. This made the 23rd's sector more compact and enabled it to have a company in reserve for the first and only time in the Greek campaign. During the afternoon the Bren-carrier patrol, under Lieutenant Max Coop, shot up a German motor-cyclist and side-car reconnoitring the bridge and ground to the east of it: one German was killed and another taken prisoner. The latter said that the German air reconnaissance had reported the forward British area free of troops—an unexpected tribute to the battalion camouflage.

The activity in the air was more marked at this time than at any other during the battalion's stay in Greece. Enemy planes were over the area at various times: with machine-gun fire, the fighters and fighter-bombers would search out likely scrub and other cover and, on spotting sufficient movement to warrant it, would call up the two-engined bombers. On 20 April six Hurricanes unexpectedly arrived and shot down a bomber. ‘The hillside was a sea of tin hats thrown in the air and it echoed to loud cheering,’ reported Connolly. For the most part, however, the enemy planes were free to bomb and machine-gun as they pleased and the battalion's rear areas came in for marked attention.

Artillery duels went on for most of 21 April, mainly between German and Australian guns. D Company had a grandstand view of the enemy guns sited in trees and scrub in front of Lamia. The arrival of a section of Vickers guns meant that B Company men had to work till 1.30 a.m. carrying ammunition, wire and supplies up a steep cliff-like face to their positions. Some extremely hard work went into improving the defences generally as it was understood that a ‘last man, last round’ stand was to be made on this line.

At noon on 22 April, however, the Colonel was informed that the Greeks were about to capitulate, that continued resistance might simply increase the devastation of the country, and that the Imperial troops were again threatened with being outflanked. They were therefore to evacuate Greece. In the New Zealand Division, 5 Brigade was to withdraw first to the point of embarkation: it was to move along the coast to Ayia Konstandinos on the night of 22 - 23 April and to the beaches at Marathon on the following night.

Colonel Falconer was distressed to learn that the two forward platoons of B Company, Nos. 10 and 12, commanded respectively by Second-Lieutenants Fergus Begg and Alan McPhail,

Lt-Col E. A. McPhail, DSO, MC and bar, m.i.d.; Wyndham; born Wanganui, 31 Dec 1906; bank official; CO 23 Bn 16 May-10 Jun 1944, 4 Aug-12 Oct 1944; 21 Bn Oct 1944-May 1945; wounded 9 Apr 1943.

were to be left in position to defend the vital ground around the demolished bridge and to bluff the enemy into thinking that a determined stand, and not a withdrawal, was being made. Under the company second-in-command, Captain Jock Worsnop,

Lt-Col J. A. Worsnop, MBE; born Makotuku, 31 Jan 1909; Regular soldier; 1 Army Tk Bn 1942-43; CO Div Cav, Japan, 1946; wounded 22 Jul 1944; Area Officer, Christchurch; died Christchurch, 24 Jul 1957.

this small detachment formed part of a 5 Brigade force, completed by two platoons from 22 Battalion and the Bren carriers of 22 and 28 Battalions, which had the responsibility of covering the bridge site and providing some link between 6 Brigade and the Australians until 9 p.m. on 24 April.

Although the 23rd's B Echelon had been strafed and bombed during the afternoon, Lieutenant McGregor, the transport officer, had his trucks ready behind the forward positions by 8.30 p.m. on 22 April. At the same hour, the forward companies withdrew and began their march back to the trucks. Their movement was not detected by the enemy. The Colonel and B Company headquarters took a regretful farewell of Captain Worsnop and his detachment: few thought it likely they would ever see 10 and 12 Platoons again. The convoy made slow progress back through the 6 Brigade positions at Molos to Ayia Konstandinos. Dawn was breaking on 23 April before the battalion's last vehicle was safely concealed in the trees. The German ‘recce’ planes were over shortly afterwards and later their fighter-bombers took up their task of bombing and strafing all likely targets in the rear areas. The 23rd was either well concealed or singularly fortunate: no enemy aircraft troubled it that day.

In the late afternoon of 23 April, orders arrived from 5 Brigade for the withdrawal to be continued that night, with Marathon as the destination. The route was to be via Livanatais and Atalandi and the main central road to Athens, where an authority entitled ‘Movement Control’ was to give further directions. At 9 p.m., in 3-ton trucks of the Divisional Ammunition Company and its own remaining trucks, the 23rd set out on its 150-mile journey. As far as Livanatais, side-lights only were used but thereafter the headlights were turned full on. This enabled the trucks to travel at high speed and, as the Germans were doing practically no night flying at that time, the risks were not increased. This was the fastest road move made by the 23rd in Greece. ‘We travelled like the hammers of hell all night,’ says Private Johnston in his diary. In places the road wound up and down steep hills and over many dangerous sections, and yet speed was essential if vehicles were to be off the roads before sunrise. The sight of miles and miles of vehicles with headlights blazing moving round the side of the mountains was one to be remembered. Only one vehicle belonging to the battalion was lost over a bank. It carried some 3-inch mortars which had to be abandoned with the truck.

The 5 Brigade convoy reached Athens just before dawn. Precious time was spent in discovering which beach was to be used by the different units. Eventually, some definite ruling was obtained and the 23rd moved down the Athens-Marathon road to its place of hiding among some pine trees. Every vehicle was again hidden before ‘Egbert’ and the other ‘recce’ planes came over. The day was spent resting in concealment. ‘Am beginning to feel a bit weary of things,’ wrote the normally cheerful Johnston in his diary.

colour map of crete

At 9 p.m., 24 April, the 23rd embussed again and moved another 20 miles to an assembly area whence it was to march to D Beach, Porto Rafti. Some vehicles had been destroyed at Marathon and the remainder were either left with sumps drained and engines running or were sabotaged with hammer and hacksaw. Some confusion prevailed as contradictory orders were passed along in the dark, but eventually the troops marched to the correct beach, waded into the sea, boarded the barges and were embarked on the Glengyle, the Calcutta or, in a few cases, the Phoebe. Some embarkation officers, strictly obeying an instruction that no heavy equipment was to be embarked, ordered picks and shovels and heavier weapons to be dumped. Some tools were dropped but all Bren guns and other weapons were taken. The ‘scramble nets’ and ladders enabled the men to climb the steep sides of the ships without unnecessary delay.

The battalion completed embarkation soon after 2 a.m. on 25 April. ‘Thank God we have a Navy!’ This expressed the feelings of the great majority as they got on board. ‘We were greeted with the most wonderful kindness and the most wonderful cups of cocoa,’ says R. D. Minson of A Company. As around 3 a.m. the ships weighed anchor for Crete, those nearest him heard Major Thomason remark: ‘To think that just twenty-six years ago today, I was sailing the opposite way!’ It was Anzac Day and, almost to the hour, the anniversary of the original Anzac landing at Gallipoli.

On the Glengyle Bren guns had to be mounted in an antiaircraft role. ‘The alacrity with which our fellows volunteered for this job was an inspiration,’ wrote Colonel Falconer at the time. Low cloud and some fog, combined with the fire of the various guns, prevented the enemy bombers from doing any serious damage to the ships in which the battalion made the crossing to Crete. Indeed, two German bombers were shot down, much to the delight of those who saw them fall. In the late afternoon, the 23rd arrived safely at Suda Bay in Crete. For it the Greek campaign was over.

In the meantime, the rearguard party under Captain Worsnop had passed under the command of 6 Brigade. Platoon disposi- tionsdispositions were altered and improved. No. 10 occupied the more important forward positions previously held by A Company, while 12 Platoon made some changes to ensure that the vital ground covered by B Company was still adequately safeguarded. The night of 22-23 April passed quietly. The following morning was reasonably quiet: several enemy fighter-bombers appeared but concentrated on gun positions; the rival artilleries shelled vehicles or other indications of activity.

About 4.30 p.m., however, enemy machine guns opened fire on the B Company positions nearest to the river. Under cover of this fire a party of eighteen Germans dashed up to the bridge site on motor-cycles and attempted to cross the river. Captain Worsnop immediately instructed Second-Lieutenant McPhail to take a patrol out on the right flank to cut off the Germans who crossed the river. He himself dashed off to get Second-Lieutenant Begg to do the same on the left flank, but he had not gone very far when he saw McPhail in trouble under heavy machine-gun fire. He helped him by getting a 10 Platoon Bren, sited on the bluff due south of the bridge, to shoot up the principal enemy machine-gun post. This was done successfully and McPhail was able to proceed, although he was unable to get into his own section posts which remained under fire.

McPhail now proceeded to carry out the task of the patrol alone. Armed with a tommy gun, he moved beyond the wire and between the road and the river until he was able to attack the enemy from a flank. Ten more of the enemy were just about to cross the river when McPhail opened fire: two Germans were hit and fell into the river, the others withdrew. Taking up a covered position from which he could bring aimed fire on to the blown bridge, McPhail remained there until he had only one magazine left. His fire deterred the enemy from further attempts to cross. Returning to his platoon at approximately 8.30 p.m., he ran into two of the enemy who had crossed the bridge when the first attempt was made. He shot one of these but the other escaped. So successful were his attempts to discourage the enemy from penetrating into a sector held by the merest handful of New Zealanders that the Germans did not renew their attempts to cross the river until 10 a.m. next day.

When McPhail got back to his platoon, he found that orders to withdraw at nine o'clock that night had been received. Although their area was shelled rather heavily after the machinegunning ceased, the two platoons of B Company withdrew successfully and without casualties. Withdrawal would certainly have been rendered difficult, if not impossible, if the enemy had managed to get a strong foothold south of the river. Nos. 10 and 12 Platoons reached Molos in the early hours of 24 April. The trucks which were to have carried them to rejoin 5 Brigade did not arrive, and consequently they had to wait and travel out with 6 Brigade, which left this area about 10 p.m. At first they followed the same route as the rest of the battalion to the south, but instead of going through Athens to the beaches to the east, they crossed the Corinth Canal and moved by stages to Monemvasia, where they embarked on HMS Hotspur on the night of 28-29 April. As 6 Brigade did not disembark in Crete, 10 and 12 Platoons continued their voyage, after transfer to the Comliebank in Suda Bay, to Port Said.

Two other parties of the 23rd must also be mentioned here. The 1st Reinforcements had trained with the 23rd in New Zealand, England and Egypt. Captains Scoular

Capt J. C. Scoular; Dunedin; born NZ 3 Oct 1918; clerk; p.w. Apr 1941.

and Caldwell,

Capt E. Caldwell; Hamilton, born NZ 26 Feb 1904; savings bank officer; p.w. 29 Apr 1941.

Lieutenants Simmonds,

Capt K. Simmonds; Dunedin; born England, 15 Mar 1907; factory manager; p.w. 29 Apr 1941.

Grant,

Capt M. D. Grant; born NZ 9 Jan 1904; clerk; killed in action 17 Jul 1942.

McKinlay,

Maj R. G. McKinlay; Dunedin; born NZ 20 Oct 1908; slipper manufacturer.

Deans

Capt R. G. Deans; Homebush; born Christchurch, 5 Apr 1915; farmer; wounded 20 Apr 1943.

and A. W. Moodie represented the 23rd in the reinforcement camp at Voula. Of these, McKinlay and Deans did guard duty at the Hasani aerodrome before being evacuated in the night of 26–27 April. Captain Caldwell and Lieutenant Simmonds participated in the fighting at Kalamata on the night of 28–29 April. Most other ranks in the 1st Reinforcements had been absorbed into the battalion before it left Egypt, but a number who had been sent back when sick or who had been separated from the unit for some other reason were in the New Zealand Composite Battalion at Kalamata. Unfortunately, like the officers named, they were taken prisoner when the plans for evacuation broke down.

Major Kelly, Lieutenant Bassett, Lance-Corporal Bowers,

Cpl W. J. Bowers; Ward; born NZ 14 Jan 1917; labourer.

Privates C. Pankhurst and Ludke

Pte E. G. W. Ludke; Invercargill; born Invercargill, 30 May 1916; sawmill hand.

preceded the main body of the 23rd to Athens and were given special duties in embarking troops from C Beach at Rafina. They did not rejoin the unit till 29 April, by which time they had been placed on the ‘not accounted for’ list. They were among the last to embark from their beach and narrowly escaped capture.

The 23rd had not been committed to any attack in Greece nor had it been attacked in force. Its casualties were therefore moderately light: 9 were killed or died of wounds, 8 were wounded, and 36 (6 of whom had first been wounded) were prisoners. The battalion remained a well-organised fighting force.

Its men now had a better understanding than before of what war meant. What had previously been vaguely understood was now a reality and a matter of poignant regret. ‘As we left this beautiful country, we felt like traitors to think we were leaving these good people to the scant mercy of the Huns,’ wrote one private.

Their first campaign had been short but trying. They had at times been so exhausted that they had needed all their stamina to carry on under the difficulties, but they had proved themselves to one another and the unit was the better for its experience of action: officers trusted men and men trusted their officers as they would never have done in years of training. Some practical lessons had been learned, especially on concealment and camouflage and on the way to deal with enemy infantry. Most men also took pride in having participated in the battalion's first actions and in knowing that, despite being completely outnumbered and lacking adequate air support, they had never been forced from a position before the time ordered for withdrawal. They knew, too, that despite difficult night withdrawals and confused convoy moves, the battalion had never been seriously disorganised but had continued, as it had begun, a compact fighting unit. As with most other units, officers and men of the 23rd held that man for man they were superior to the Germans and that, supported in the air and on the ground with machines comparable in quality and quantity with those used by the Germans, they could go on to win. When the 23rd left Greece, there was nothing wrong with the unit that a short period of rest and some good food could not remedy. The spirit to continue the fight was strong.

The unit's official war diary, as written by Lieutenant Bassett, summarised the battalion's experiences in Greece with apt brevity. ‘In Greece we lived amongst the gods at Olympos, held the Pass at Thermopylae and ran for Marathon.’

CHAPTER 5 Battle of Crete

IN April 1941 the rugged and mountainous Greek island of Crete was strategically important to both British and Germans. Situated close enough in the Eastern Mediterranean to Greece, Turkey and North Africa to make its three airfields of Maleme, Retimo and Heraklion of considerable value for offensive and defensive purposes, Crete also possessed in Suda Bay a large and useful harbour. Unfortunately, from the British viewpoint, the ports and airfields of Crete were all in the north and consequently within very easy reach of German aircraft based in southern Greece.

From 1 November 1940 the British had occupied the ports and other strategic points in Crete but, even by April 1941, little had been done to prepare for invasion. Although a small British garrison had been established on the island, Middle East Headquarters had too few men and supplies available to cope with simultaneous demands in the Western Desert, Abyssinia, Greece and Iraq, and thus no effective provision could be made for the defence of Crete prior to the German victory in Greece. Thereafter, it was almost certainly too late to complete adequate Cretan defences, but this did not lessen the strategic importance of the island. At the highest level, therefore, the decision was taken to defend Crete with the aid of troops evacuated from Greece. Crete was not to be given up without a stubborn defence.

In the afternoon of 25 April the 5 New Zealand Brigade units disembarked at Suda Bay. With a view, no doubt, to making an equitable distribution later, British officers and NCOs on the quays ordered the dumping of weapons and tools. Men who had carried their rifles and Brens from Mount Olympus refused to part with them on arrival in Crete. The 23rd, still an organised and complete unit (less the two platoons of B Company left with 6 Brigade), marched five or six miles to a bivouac camp on the Prison road to the west of Suda. Hot tea, cigarettes and chocolate, handed to the troops at a halting place, helped to tide them over a tiring conclusion to their move from Greece.

Relieved to find themselves safe on dry land and temporarily free from bombing and machine-gunning from the air, the men of the 23rd spent the first night in Crete in ‘B’ transit camp. Conditions were primitive: cooking had to be done in cut-down petrol tins; many men had no messing gear and fewer had blankets. To keep warm at night, men had to sleep fully dressed. Drinking vessels and eating implements were manufactured out of tins and pieces of wire. Supplies in this and other more important respects remained short during the period the battalion spent in Crete.

As General Freyberg did not reach the island till 29 April, Brigadier Hargest, as the senior New Zealand officer present, took command of the New Zealand troops in Crete. Colonel Falconer took temporary charge of 5 Brigade, leaving Major Leckie again in command of the 23rd. The first day was spent in reorganisation and in resting. Stragglers were collected and efforts made to secure new equipment, especially tools. Later, when the weapons brought out of Greece were fully checked, it was found that the battalion still had intact some 31 Brens, 2 Boys anti-tank rifles, 26 Thompson sub-machine guns, 2 two-inch mortars and 499 rifles—a total reached only because men had preferred to sacrifice personal belongings to their weapons and the stronger had carried more than their share. In his diary Major Leckie praised the man who brought from Greece to Crete ‘500 rounds, 6 Bren magazines, a Bren gun, his rifle and a shovel.’

On 27 April the battalion marched 11 miles west to take over a position in and around Platanias from 1 Battalion, The Welch Regiment. On the following evening Brigadier Hargest and Colonel Falconer returned to their normal commands. Two days later, General Wavell arrived from Cairo to put the defences of Crete in order for the airborne attack which was now definitely expected. Much to his surprise, since he had expected to leave that day for Egypt, where he hoped to re-equip and reorganise his whole Division, General Freyberg was appointed to command ‘Creforce’, as the combined British, Australian, New Zealand and Greek forces in Crete were now called. There were now approximately 15,000 British, 7750 New Zealand and 6500 Australian troops in Crete. Many of these were unarmed or were specialists who had been forced to leave their guns, heavy equipment or trucks in Greece. The 10,000 Greek soldiers were mostly untrained and ill-equipped. On 1 May General Freyberg notified the Commander-in-Chief, Middle East, that the forces at his disposal were totally inadequate to meet the attack envisaged. ‘Unless the number of fighter aircraft is greatly increased and naval forces are made available to deal with a seaborne attack I cannot hope to hold out with land forces alone, which, as a result of the campaign in Greece, are now devoid of any artillery, have insufficient tools for digging, very little transport, and inadequate war reserves of equipment and ammunition.’ He urged that, unless the full support of the Navy and Air Force could be assured, the question of holding Crete should be reconsidered.

Nevertheless, although the problem of supplying Creforce though the increasingly heavily bombed ports on the north coast grew more acute, General Freyberg disposed his troops to cover the sectors of Heraklion, Retimo, Suda Bay and Maleme. While British, Australian and Greek troops covered the first three of these sectors, the New Zealanders and some Greeks were made responsible for the last-named. This sector stretched west for some ten miles from the outskirts of Canea and had two main centres of defence—that of 4 Brigade between Canea and Galatas and that of 5 Brigade covering the important Maleme airfield. As 6 Brigade had been evacuated to Egypt from Greece, a new brigade, the 10th, was formed on 12 May from 20 Battalion, 6 and 8 Greek Battalions, a composite battalion of men from various New Zealand non-infantry units and a detachment of three squadrons of the Divisional Cavalry temporarily converted to infantry. Brigadier Puttick

Lt-Gen Sir Edward Puttick, KCB, DSO and bar, m.i.d., MC (Gk), Legion of Merit (US); Wellington; born Timaru, 26 Jun 1890; Regular soldier; NZ Rifle Bde 1914–19 (CO 3 Bn); comd 4 Bde Jan 1940-Aug 1941; NZ Div (Crete) 29 Apr-27 May 1941; CGS and GOC NZ Military Forces, Aug 1941-Dec 1945.

had command of the New Zealand Division for the battle. Conferences on the various levels followed the giving of orders by Generals Wavell and Freyberg. After a 5 Brigade conference on 1 May and a personal reconnaissance of the Maleme sector by Brigadier Puttick, 21, 22, 23 and 28 Battalions altered their positions slightly and took over the ground they were to hold in face of invasion from air or sea.

Whereas the four 5 Brigade units had at first been centred on Platanias and facing west, they were on 3 May moved to cover the Maleme landing field. Twenty-second Battalion was given the post of danger and of honour covering the actual landing field; 21 Battalion was moved to the higher ground south-east of Maleme while the 23rd moved into the 21st's former bivouac area east-south-east of Maleme; 28 Battalion was dispersed in and around Platanias, with 5 Brigade Headquarters remaining south of that village and on the east flank of the brigade position. The 23rd's area was mainly among olive trees about two to three thousand yards from the edge of the Maleme airstrip and on the slopes above the Sfakoriako stream south of Pirgos. The small village of Dhaskaliana was in the battalion's northern sector. Brigadier Puttick had written that ‘a good solid battalion’ was required for the counter-attack role and this was the task given to the 23rd, which was under orders to be prepared to counter-attack the enemy should he land on the airfield or on the beach to the east of it.

fifth brigade, maleme, 20 may 1941 black and white map of brigade

Once they had recovered from the Greek campaign, the men enjoyed immensely their first week or two in Crete. During the first ten days the weather was perfect and most men suffered no hardship from sleeping under the olive trees with practically no bedding. Lieutenant Bassett, the IO, recorded in the unit diary on 2 May: ‘Conditions very pleasant in this peaceful waiting existence—parties bathe in the Mediterranean and bask in the sunshine; the area is fertile with vineyards, cornfields and vegetable patches, and orange vendors ply a steady trade.’ That this official statement was quite in keeping with the experience of individual soldiers may be seen from these extracts from Private Johnston's diary: ‘Weather fine. Am very happy and in the best of health. (26 April) … went down to the sea for a swim. All we do is eat oranges and swim. Having a marvellous time. God! I'm as fit as a fiddle—a real box of birds! (29 Apr) … on fatigues all day, carting wood and water for the cookhouse. We are having a grand time. The grub is rather awful though. (30 Apr) … went for a long march over the hills for the day, and took our grub, with about a dozen oranges each. Boy! I am feeling fit. Never been so well off before. (2 May) … This holiday we are having seems too darned good to last. These swims in the old Mediterranean are great. (7 May)’

Actually, the ‘holiday’ had involved the preparation of company defensive positions: with limited supplies of tools and wire, the new defences did not compare very favourably with those constructed on Olympus. As most of their heavier equipment and all their trucks had been left in Greece, the men of HQ Company were organised into two rifle companies, designated HQ No. 1 and HQ No. 2 Companies. Since 11 Platoon of B Company was included in the former, this com- panycompany was commonly called B Company. All platoons had their ‘action stations’ which they were to occupy in the event of an attack. Officers and NCOs reconnoitred routes both to the beaches to the north and to the Maleme airfield in case they had to mount a counter-attack in either direction. Stand-to was observed from 5 to 6 a.m. and from 8.30 to 9.30 p.m. On 9 May, in accordance with a directive from Creforce Headquarters, the CO issued a regular training syllabus and, in order to reduce the activity in the 23rd's area, sent half the unit out on route marches and tactical exercises while the other half engaged in weapon and other training near their posts. ‘Concealment from the air must be practised at all times,’ stated an order from Battalion Headquarters issued in early May. The product of experience in Greece, it was so well obeyed that German reconnaissance planes did not locate the battalion's positions prior to the invasion. The dousing of all cooking fires on the approach of such aircraft was a dreadful trial to the cooks, but this was an important aspect of the concealment plan.

On Sunday 4 May, ‘Bob’ Griffiths, the 23rd's padre, paid tribute to those members of the battalion who had died in Greece. After the church service, General Freyberg spoke to the officers and NCOs on the Greek campaign and on their role in Crete. He praised the withdrawal as a well executed feat of arms and assured his listeners that he had never commanded better troops. He then insisted that the situation in Crete was serious, that invasion was imminent, and that any enemy troops who landed must be met and destroyed.

While the 23rd and other units awaited invasion, the position concerning close-support weapons improved slightly. A party of 3 officers and 75 other ranks from 28 Battery 5 Field Regiment, temporarily under command of the battalion, moved out on 8 May to man some Italian and French 75-millimetre guns. Nevertheless, the almost complete lack of artillery meant that the higher command could not secure a sufficient concentration of guns to be of real advantage. On 3 May Lieutenant MacDonald

Capt H. J. MacDonald; North Auckland; born Napier, 9 Aug 1908; sheep-farmer; p.w. 1 Jun 1941.

of No. 1 Company 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion arrived with four Vickers guns, which were sited on a commanding slope to fire down upon Maleme. On 8 May Lieutenant Richards and the mortar platoon received two 3-inch mortars of South African manufacture and they were sited behind and below the Vickers guns. Some barbed wire arrived and, since there were no pickets, it was strung from tree to tree or along the vines on the lower slopes. Signals equipment was particularly short. The 23rd possessed three telephones and a few hundred yards of signal wire. Other telephones had been brought from Greece but had been handed over to Brigade Headquarters for distribution to less fortunate units. One telephone was run by Lieutenant Noel Jones,

Capt N. Jones; Nelson; born Nelson, 29 Jan 1914: real-estate agent; wounded 27 Nov 1941.

the signals officer, and his men to 22 Battalion, and arrangements were also made for visual communication with that unit in the event of the line being cut. On ‘Lookout Hill’ behind the Vickers guns, provision was made for giving a warning of invasion: two beacon fires, fifty yards apart, were to signify invasion by sea and three, invasion by air. When the time came, no beacon fires were needed.

After seeing very little of the RAF in Greece, the New Zealanders were pleased to see a few friendly aircraft operating from Maleme. But daily the number of fighters was reduced in their fight against great odds and it became apparent that, until fuller support was available from Egypt, to keep the handful of surviving fighters in Crete was merely to sacrifice them in vain. Consequently, on 19 May, the remaining four Hurricanes and three Gladiators were sent back to Egypt. By that time the German bombing which had first been directed almost exclusively at the shipping in Suda Bay and other ports had switched to the ‘softening-up’ of Maleme and other defences. From 13 May onwards, bombing and machine-gunning from the air increased in intensity: it was the prelude to invasion.

On 13 May Colonel Falconer bade farewell to the 23rd and went to command 10 Composite Brigade, and later 4 Brigade, before proceeding to Egypt to take charge of Maadi Camp. All ranks regretted his departure. Colonel Falconer had achieved, however, what he set out to do in accepting the command of the 23rd: he had commanded it through its vitally important training period and then had led it through its first campaign. His influence was felt long after he left the unit: his example and views were quoted again and again by younger men who succeeded him in command of the battalion. The private soldiers shared the general admiration and respect for their first CO. Thus, in writing to his mother on 8 October 1941, Private W. Beynon said: ‘I saw Brigadier Falconer…. He is a fine man. I do not know what would have happened to the 23rd Bn in Greece if it had not been for him.’ Another private, whose spelling detracted in no way from the sincerity of his tribute, recorded in his diary on 7 December 1941: ‘Saw our old Colnol Falkener who is now a Brigadier—The best Colnol we ever had or ever will have!’

Brian Bassett, the IO, accompanied Colonel Falconer and continued as Brigade Major of 10 Brigade when its command was taken over by Colonel Kippenberger. For a junior officer, Bassett exercised a considerable influence on the spirit and the traditions of the 23rd. Later on, after Bassett's death, Brigadier Kippenberger paid tribute to his qualities and to his efforts on Crete: ‘Brian was undefeatable, gay, tireless, dazzlingly gallant, an inspiration to the whole motley collection called 10th Brigade, and to his Commander.’

Major Leckie, who had commanded the 23rd on board ship and in England, resumed command of the battalion. Major Fyfe became second-in-command while Second-Lieutenant Dan Davin became IO. Some NCOs departed at this time for the Middle East OCTU and this necessitated promotions additional to those arising from casualties in Greece. Prominent among those who wanted to stay to see what they termed ‘the fun’ and had to be ordered to go to OCTU was Paul Freyberg,

Capt P. R. Freyberg, MC; England; wounded 12 Dec 1941; Grenadier Guards.

who had joined the 23rd in England.

The intensification of the bombing of Maleme and the more obvious defences of Crete lent colour to the higher level intelligence reports that German airborne and seaborne attacks were to be expected within a week. Although the successful German raids on British shipping made the supply problem acute, and there were always too few troops for the many defensive tasks, some progress was made in preparing for invasion in the 5 Brigade sector. On Sunday 11 May, Brigadier Hargest convened a conference at the Court House in Maleme village and issued verbal orders to the nine units and sub-units under his command. On 18 May 5 Brigade Operation Instruction No. 4 confirmed these orders and clarified the roles of the various units. A detachment of the New Zealand Engineers of 7 Field Company and 19 Army Troops Company linked the Maori Battalion at Platanias with 23 Battalion at Dhaskaliana. In addition to the platoon of 1 Company 27 MG Battalion with the 23rd, two platoons of the same company were under command of 22 Battalion and were placed on the outskirts of the airfield. The 22nd also had two I tanks dug into a position overlooking the aerodrome and ready to ‘roll down’ in a ‘mopping-up’ role in the event of a major landing. The artillery support was limited: 27 Battery had A Troop with two English 3.7-inch howitzers in the 21st's area, B Troop with three Italian 75-millimetre guns in the 23rd's area, and C Troop with four French guns in the area held by the engineers. Two troops of 156 Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, one troop of 7 Australian Light Anti-Aircraft Battery and some 3-inch anti-aircraft guns covered Maleme airfield.

So far as the infantry units were concerned, the operation instruction confirmed their roles: 5 Brigade was to ‘defend its position at all costs’ and, in the event of the enemy making an airborne or seaborne attack on any part of the brigade area between Platanias and the Tavronitis River, its units were ‘to counter-attack and destroy him immediately’. The Maori Battalion was to remain in the Platanias area, to patrol the neighbouring beaches and to be ‘available for counter attack’. The engineers were made responsible for their area and the beaches on their front. Similarly, 21 Battalion was to remain in its position but, since Brigadier Hargest and others recognised the very real danger of an enemy landing in the unoccupied and quite undefended area and beaches to the west of the Tavronitis River, it was to be prepared ‘to move and hold line of the river facing West from 22 Bn left flank’, and two platoons with a mortar were to take up a holding position along this west flank immediately. Twenty-second Battalion retained, as its primary task, the static defence of the aerodrome by fire. Its support and reserve companies were to be utilised for ‘immediate counter-attack under cover of mortars and M.G. fire.’ The instruction added: ‘If necessary, support will be called for from 23 Bn and should telephonic means of comn fail here the call will be by “verey” signal (WHITE-GREEN-WHITE)’. Subsequent events make it important that the 23rd's orders be quoted as given: ‘23 Bn will maintain its present position and be prepared to counter-attack if enemy effects a landing (a) on the beach or at Maleme Aerodrome, (b) on area occupied by Det N.Z.E. West of Platanias.’

The 23rd laid some anti-personnel mines as well as some more wire along the north of its sector. The increased enemy air activity gave colour to the message from Mr Churchill which was read to all troops on the night of 19 May. He said: ‘All our thoughts are with you in these fateful days…. Victory where you are would powerfully affect world situation.’ General Freyberg had reported that morale was high. In the 23rd, the troops were fit and looking forward to action. As one private wrote after the bombing of Maleme and its environs had begun: ‘Boy! The fun has started. All the boys are just waiting on this invasion by parachutists, which is to take place sometime.’

The invasion came on 20 May. For over two hours from shortly after dawn, large forces of bombers and fighters attacked the airfield perimeter and such anti-aircraft guns as were visible. The heavier Dorniers, Heinkels and Junkers bombed and bombed again; the Stukas, many with screamers attached, dived on their targets with an ear-piercing and terrifying whistle; the fighters, with no RAF opposition to counter, fired cannon and machine-gun bullets indiscriminately through the trees and other cover. If the enemy could not annihilate, he could at least attempt to intimidate the defenders of Maleme. Immense clouds of dust stirred up by the bombs rose high into the air and acted as a partial screen for the gliders and troop-carrying planes which came next. The gliders came swishing over but, although Lieutenant MacDonald's Vickers guns got on to the nearest, they landed well outside the 23rd's area. Those which landed on the airfield or to the east of it were shot up, but others landed safely in the dry riverbed of the Tavronitis or on the undefended flats and beaches to the west. Next came the troop-carriers and the sky seemed to fill suddenly with opening black, white, brown and green blossoms. The paratroops were landing. It was a Jules Verne fantasy come to life.

Although some men were more than a little bewildered by the strangeness of the situation, the 23rd quickly went into action. The excitement was intense during the period of the first ‘drop’: one officer described those moments as ‘like the last minute of an even score test match’. Many of the Germans were shot in the air; some were caught in the olive trees or could not get rid of their harness before a bullet ended their struggles; only a few landed safely in or near the battalion's area and managed to bring their sub-machine guns into action. In his diary Private Charles Pankhurst gives a typical account of those first minutes of the fighting in Crete: ‘I thought the end of the world had come as the air seemed full of the parachutes but, once I got something to shoot at, I lost my fear. Duck shooting must be tame compared to parachutist shooting. As they drifted down … we blazed away with our rifles and there were not many to reach the ground alive. Those who did were nearly all mopped up….’

Before they were mopped up, a few of the Germans in the area inflicted casualties. Thus, Major Tom Fyfe, the battalion second-in-command, was killed by a parachutist just after he had visited the intelligence section observation post on ‘Lookout Hill’, about 100 yards south-east of Battalion Headquarters. But, for the most part, the only enemy to form up successfully were those who dropped in unoccupied territory. To deal with these, parties of the 23rd were quickly organised and sent out. Thus Major Thomason sent Lieutenant W. B. Thomas and his No. 15 Platoon to mop up the Germans who had landed unmolested on high ground overlooking both 22 and 23 Battalions. By careful stalking and determined attacking, this patrol succeeded in killing twenty-nine Germans and taking three prisoners for the loss of two men killed.

Some details of this patrol are given by Thomas in Dare to be Free, Chapter 1.

As Thomas has stated, ‘Before long every man in the platoon was wearing a Luger revolver and a pair of Zeiss binoculars, and our morale ran extremely high.’ Lieutenant Rex King and 14 Platoon wiped out a small enemy party which was threatening Battalion Headquarters from the south-east and which probably included the parachutist who had killed Major Fyfe. D Company was also ordered to send its platoons to the north and west of the battalion area. Lieutenant Bond and 16 Platoon worked their way along the irrigation canal and ran into a platoon or more of enemy who were just collecting arms and equipment that had been dropped separately. Fierce fighting ensued and 16 Platoon suffered casualties before all the enemy were killed. Lieutenant Connolly and 17 Platoon mopped up to the north of Dhaskaliana while Lieutenant Cunningham and 18 Platoon linked up with elements of HQ 2 Company and cleared the area round the church. While they were there, another ‘drop’ of paratroops came fluttering down and were dealt with effectively. As the last of the troop-carriers came over and opened its release door, an 18 Platoon Bren-gunner got his Bren firing right into the open doorway: few, if any, paratroopers landed alive.

In the meantime, the greater part of III Battalion Assault Regiment of II Air Corps had been dropped over the 23rd's positions. Two troop-carriers dropped their loads directly over Battalion Headquarters but the troops there proved equal to the occasion. Colonel Leckie shot five parachutists as they were descending more or less directly on top of him. Lieutenant Dick Orbell, the Adjutant, rose from his packing-case desk to shoot another two. Again a few paratroops landed safely and gave trouble: Lieutenant Dan Davin and others in and around the headquarters area were wounded. Again the danger was effectively removed by Lieutenant King and his men. Twenty-third Battalion estimates of the number of Germans killed in and around its area vary from four to six hundred. The official historian of the Crete campaign, the 23rd's IO up to the time of his being wounded, D. M. Davin, has conservatively estimated ‘as many as 200 killed in the air, in the trees and on the ground’ by his unit on that first day. He mentions, however, that II Air Corps estimated that 400 out of 600 men of III Battalion were killed, but suggests that not all of these would have fallen to the 23rd. Although no careful count was made, all who visited the battalion were impressed by the number of dead paratroopers there. Thus Captain Dawson, Brigade Major of 5 Brigade, who visited the unit to deliver messages and orders, described the scene: ‘23 Bn at this stage was fairly satisfactory. They had cleaned up all the Huns dropped in their area. Even around Bn HQ there were bodies everywhere, every 10 – 12 yards. One stepped over them as one went through the olive groves—and some very good looking fellows there were, too.’ The casualties in the 23rd were, by comparison, surprisingly light on 20 May—only 7 killed and 30 wounded—and morale was high. When Lieutenant Gordon Cunningham passed through three companies en route to Battalion Headquarters that afternoon, he found that every one ‘had the same story that the Huns were easy shooting’.

The difficulty of maintaining communications with 22 Battalion meant that the position on Maleme airfield was not known to Colonel Leckie. After the telephone wires between the two units had been cut by both bombing and by paratroops, Corporal Pettit

Cpl L. T. Pettit, m.i.d.; born NZ 23 Apr 1912; clerk; wounded May 1941.

and other signallers attempted to establish contact by ‘visual signalling’ but without success. No flare signals from 22 Battalion were seen, despite the fact that the 23rd intelligence section's OP was manned throughout the day and various officers watched the Maleme environs for signals. Of course, the more or less continuous activity of the enemy aircraft discouraged both battalions from doing very much that would attract bombs or machine-gun fire from the air.

During the afternoon, under orders from the CO, Lieutenant Connolly and 17 Platoon tried to establish contact with HQ Company of 22 Battalion but, despite raising their British tin hats on their rifles as an aid to recognition, they were kept back by the steady fire of the 22 Battalion men. Connolly later on found the explanation in the widely current stories of the tricks the Germans would play, especially in trying to pass themselves off as New Zealand soldiers. ‘I had a yarn to the HQ Coy Cmdr 22 Bn after Crete and he told me that he remembered us when we tried to contact him on the 20 May. He said he had it drilled into him to trust no one as they might be Huns in disguise. He certainly didn't trust us and in particular a bloke with a 2” mortar simply hated us. 17 Platoon could swear very well and if all ears in the 22 Bn from the CO down didn't burn that day they must have been made of asbestos.’

So far as the 23rd observers who studied the Maleme situation through their glasses could determine, the Germans were unable to move in the open. Twenty-second Battalion appeared to hold the environs of the ‘drome and also had the runways under fire. Colonel Leckie therefore concluded that the situation generally was as satisfactory as it obviously was in the 23rd's own area. This impression was strengthened about mid-afternoon by the arrival of a message from Brigadier Hargest, whom Leckie had advised in the late morning that mopping-up operations were proceeding very well. The Brigadier's message, initiated at 2.25 p.m., said: ‘Glad of your message of 1140 hrs. Will NOT call on you for counter attacking unless position very serious. So far everything is in hand and reports from other units satisfactory.’

Actually, the situation with 22 Battalion was not at all satisfactory and Colonel Andrew,

Brig L. W. Andrew, VC, DSO, m.i.d.; Wellington; born Ashhurst, 23 Mar 1897; Regular soldier; Wellington Regt 1915–19; CO 22 Bn Jan 1940-Feb 1942; comd 5 Bde 27 Nov-6 Dec 1941; Area Commander, Wellington, Nov 1943-Dec 1946; Commander, Central Military District, Apr 1948-Mar 1952.

the CO, was expecting the 23rd to counter-attack in response to his Very light and other signals, but, on account of the clouds of smoke and dust over the airfield, these were not seen by the 23rd. Practically all his companies suffered from the bombing and machine-gunning which preceded the arrival of the gliders; his communications with his outlying companies broke down and runners sent out either failed to make contact or failed to return; the enemy, especially those who had landed unopposed in and west of the Tavronitis riverbed, built up their strength and effectively isolated 22 Battalion Headquarters from most of its companies. The 22nd's counter-attack did not succeed, largely because the two I tanks broke down and had to be abandoned. Establishing contact with 5 Brigade Headquarters on his No. 18 wireless set when the batteries were fading, Colonel Andrew asked for reinforcements and eventually secured, at 6 p.m., the assurance that one company each from 23 and 28 Battalions would be coming. That 5 Brigade Headquarters did not regard the situation as particularly serious at the end of this first day of fighting in Crete may be seen from the following report sent to Divisional Headquarters shortly before 10 p.m.: ‘LO reports 23 Bn, 7 Fd Coy tired but in good fettle, hundreds of dead Germans in their areas. All units keeping a sharp watch on beach tonight…. In general the situation quite satisfactory.’

Captain Carl Watson took A Company of the 23rd out about dusk along a previously reconnoitred route to reinforce the 22nd. En route A Company captured two paratroopers. The route followed led via the 21st's area, across the head of the Sfakoriako and the road which led to the south of Point 107. At 22 Battalion Headquarters Watson was told by the second-in-command and adjutant that he and his company were to take over the positions previously occupied by their depleted D Company on the west flank. Lieutenant McAra

Lt E. J. McAra; born Dunedin, 5 Apr 1906; commercial artist; killed in action 20 May 1941.

of 22 Battalion led the way as guide to where 7 Platoon under Sergeant Hooper

2 Lt A. C. Hooper, MM; Christchurch; born Waipiata, 9 May 1906; farmer.

was to take up a defensive position. Shortly afterwards, as McAra was leading 8 Platoon into its position, a German machine-gunner opened fire at short range, killing McAra and wounding Lieutenant Baxter,

Capt B. Y. W. Baxter; Lower Hutt; born Timaru, 15 Mar 1907; wool clerk; wounded 20 May 1941.

Sergeant-Major Wilson,

WO II C. D. Wilson; born NZ 3 Aug 1914; labourer; wounded 20 May 1941; p.w. 15 Jul 1942.

and Lance-Corporal Johnson

L-Cpl W. Johnson; born NZ 29 Jun 1915; lorry driver; wounded 20 May 1941.

of A Company. Without his guide, Captain Watson was uncertain where to place his men and returned to the 22nd's headquarters to secure another guide or fresh information, only to be told by Colonel Andrew that, since the greater part of his unit had been lost, he was withdrawing the remainder, and that A Company of the 23rd was to provide the rearguard to cover this operation. A Company, which had been joined by the remnant of the 21 Battalion platoon which had manned the bank of the Tavronitis, now occupied the ridge behind Point 107 while Colonel Andrew withdrew that part of his battalion with which he remained in touch. About 2 a.m. Colonel Andrew reported his battalion withdrawal complete—apart from those of whose continuing existence he was not aware—and A Company returned to its own 23rd area, taking with it a number of walking wounded from 22 Battalion's RAP.

By early morning of 21 May, therefore, part of 22 Battalion had withdrawn to the area to the south of the 23rd. Several anti-aircraft gunners and stragglers from various British sub-units were also fitted into the defensive scheme. As Colonel Andrew had reported large numbers of enemy in the Tavronitis riverbed, preparations were made to repel an attack from the west. The first attack on 21 May came from quite a different direction. At dawn an enemy party of little more than platoon strength rushed and captured ‘Lookout Hill’, but a dashing counter-attack by two sections of 14 Platoon, ably led by Lieutenant King, recaptured this vital ground and destroyed the enemy, apart from twelve taken prisoner.

During the morning the enemy began shelling and mortaring the 23rd from the direction of the airfield. A German officer captured by C Company was found to have on his person a large red Nazi flag, which he explained was the ground sign for the dropping of supplies from the air. Major Thomason, now the battalion second-in-command, and Lieutenant Thomas spread out the flag to see what happened. To their delight, containers with a heavy mortar and a supply of bombs for it, snipers' rifles, LMGs, ammunition, hand grenades, entrenching tools and food were dropped from the planes which were coming regularly over the area. The mortar was quickly brought into action by Thomas and the Bofors gun which the enemy had been using near the ‘drome was knocked out. The value of this weapon having been proved, volunteers now went out to secure more enemy equipment which was lying outside the battalion wire. Private Schroder

Pte S. W. J. Schroder, DCM; Kowhiterangi, Westland; born NZ 20 Dec 1913; bridge builder; wounded and p.w. 1 Jun 1941; repatriated Nov 1943.

of C Company was so fearless in moving in the open when low-flying aircraft were overhead that they apparently mistook him for a German and he was able to collect or destroy several containers.

On 21 May the Germans strengthened their hold on Maleme airfield and its environs: two and a half companies of parachutists were safely landed on or to the west of the airfield in the morning. Two companies of 2 Parachute Regiment, which landed on the road and beaches between Pirgos and Platanias, were roughly mauled by the 23rd, the engineers and the Maoris. Direct support from the air aided the attacks the Germans launched eastwards from Maleme during the day. The 23rd suffered more casualties than on the previous day through the bombing, machine-gunning from air and land, mortaring and shelling which the Germans directed against its forward positions. This enemy fire covered the advance and later the probing of the Germans on the sectors held by HQ 1, D, A and B Companies. These probing advances were discouraged by aimed fire and nothing came of them. On one occasion, Lieutenant Cunningham and Sergeant Hobbs

WO II E. W. Hobbs, DCM; born Dunedin, 11 Nov 1904; diesel shovel driver; wounded 26 May 1941; died of wounds 31 Aug 1942.

advanced with Brens firing from the hip and turned back or killed the enemy trying to infiltrate through the olives and vines. About 4 p.m. a more definitely organised attack from the north came in on the platoons commanded by Lieutenants F. S. R. Thomson and J. Ensor. These HQ Company men stood their ground and repelled or killed the enemy with their steady fire. Men on the spot estimated, perhaps a little optimistically, that nearly 200 German dead were left in front of the 23rd positions. But, in the main, the day was one of attacks, recurring attacks, from the air rather than of serious attacks from the troops on the ground.

The situation generally in Crete was deteriorating. Although the Germans had failed to take Retimo and Heraklion, where they had landed parachutists, they had sufficient men in those sectors to provide nuisance value and prevent the transfer of forces to the more seriously threatened Canea and Maleme sectors. In the reservoir-prison area of the valley south-west of Canea and south of the 4 Brigade area, a 3 Parachute Regiment force was building up strength. But Maleme, with its airfield, was the most important and most seriously threatened sector. About 5 p.m. on 21 May, the Germans tightened their grip on it by landing II Battalion and Regimental Headquarters of 100 Mountain Regiment from Junkers 52 aircraft. The more heavily armed infantry of the Mountain Regiment strongly reinforced the parachutists and the glider-borne troops who had preceded them.

As the troop-carriers began to land at Maleme or on the beaches, the 23rd MMGs and mortars had excellent targets and concentrated fire was directed at them, despite the distracting counter-fire of German guns and mortars. Lieutenant MacDonald's Vickers poured belt after belt of ammunition into the first plane to land. It managed to take off again but one of its landing wheels fell into the sea, much to the delight of the battalion's observers. Into another plane landing closer, on a beach to the north, the Vickers pumped all the rounds they could, and it remained in the shingle. No German came out. Immediately afterwards, the 3-inch mortars under Lieutenant E. E. Richards and Sergeant A. R. M. Bowie landed a bomb directly on the plane and guaranteed it would remain grounded. Regardless of losses suffered from artillery and other types of fire, the Germans continued to land or crash-land their troop-carriers at or near Maleme, and the new commander of the Assault Regiment, Colonel Ramcke, was able to take over a much-strengthened sector. That night the attempt to land more German forces and equipment by sea was defeated at some cost to themselves by the destroyers and cruisers of the British Navy.

To restore the situation at Maleme, it was decided at Brigade Headquarters and higher levels to counter-attack the ‘drome with 20 and 28 Battalions in the early morning of 22 May. Had this attack gone in, as intended, at 4 a.m., it would almost certainly have succeeded, as the Germans could not call for direct air support while it was still dark. Unfortunately, for various reasons which need not be detailed here, this counter-attack was delayed until it had to proceed in broad daylight. It was a gallant attempt against heavy odds, rendered worse by the nature of the country, which favoured the defenders. After suffering heavy casualties, both units had to withdraw, although their leading companies had killed many Germans and made fair progress.

During this counter-attack, elements of A Company of the 23rd, under Captain Watson, joined in to assist the Maori advance. Apart from 7 Platoon under Sergeant Hooper, these A Company men were unable to proceed farther than Maleme village, where they were held up by mortar and machine-gun fire which caused several casualties. No. 7 Platoon, however, proceeded across country without meeting more than ‘continuous mg fire’ and got well beyond the village to high ground from which they could see the 20th held up on the beach. Hooper later wrote an account of this incident:

‘From this position we had quite a good view of what was happening and a building almost on the beach some 300 yards from the drome appeared to be the HQ of the force that was holding up the 20 Bn. While we waited there, one section of my platoon under Pte. A. E. H. Stephen

Pte A. E. H. Stephen; Nelson; born NZ 3 May 1914; coalminer.

crawled through the vines etc., across the road and almost on to the beach between this building and the drome. Pte. Stephen told me that he thought the Germans were evacuating the building as while he lay in some scrub several German officers passed within a few yards of him hurrying back to the drome. However it was not long before we realized that the 20 Bn were retiring so we had no option but to make our way back.’

Twentieth and 28th Battalions withdrew in the course of the afternoon of 22 May and took up positions in and around the 23rd's area: most of the Maoris occupied the rough ground between 21 and 23 Battalions, while three companies of the 20th strengthened the northern sectors of the 23rd. Elated with their success in knocking back a threat, the Germans pressed hard on the western flank of the combined positions in the late afternoon. B Company had to repel a thrust on the road junction and Captain Mark Harvey

Maj M. D. Harvey, ED, m.i.d.; Palmerston North; born Dunedin, 29 Feb 1904; salesman; wounded 25 May 1941.

with some D Company men drove off another party. The Maoris launched one of their bayonet charges and cleared their front. The mutual regard for one another of the 23rd and 28th was strengthened by this brief association. Of the 23rd officer nearest to him, Major Dyer

Lt-Col H. G. Dyer, m.i.d.; Onerahi, Whangarei; born Hamilton, 7 Mar 1896; school-teacher; CO 28 (Maori) Bn Dec 1941-May 1942; comd 9 Inf Bde 1943.

of the Maori Battalion said: ‘Mark Harvey was on my right; a brave officer, collecting his men and encouraging them under fire.’

The German successes both in holding and reinforcing Maleme and in increasing their threat to cut off 5 Brigade resulted in the decision to withdraw that brigade into divisional reserve. Brigadier Hargest received the orders to withdraw about 1 a.m. on 23 May. As Captain Dawson, the Brigade Major, knew the route up to the forward battalions best, he again went forward, for the second time that night, to advise the units of the plan. The withdrawal to the Platanias River was supposed to be completed by first light but, as the 23rd did not receive its orders till about 4.30 a.m., it could not comply. Although positive from his own appreciation of the local situation that the 23rd and the other units could have held their positions, Colonel Leckie gave his orders for the withdrawal. C Company was to provide the battalion rearguard while the rest of the companies followed Dawson along a route through the foothills and inland some hundreds of yards from the coast road. No. 18 Platoon waited and assisted with the withdrawal of 28 Battalion; HQ 2 Company under Lieutenant Max Coop withdrew with 21 Battalion. The members of the mortar platoon took their own and some Maori Battalion mortars to the road, but as no trucks could get through to lift them, they had to be abandoned.

The walking wounded had been evacuated during the night but some sixty stretcher cases remained in the 23rd RAP, which was situated in a natural air-raid shelter in a dry watercourse with steep banks. Here, the battalion MO, Captain Ron Stewart, and the Padre, Bob Griffiths, had worked strenuously on both New Zealand and German wounded. These officers and their orderlies, Privates Walsh

Pte J. E. Walsh; Christchurch; born Auckland, 27 Jan 1915; NZR employee; p.w. 23 May 1941.

and Buchanan,

L-Cpl W. T. F. Buchanan, MM, m.i.d.; born NZ 17 Apr 1917; lorry driver; p.w. 23 May 1941; escaped Nov 1941.

felt it their duty to stay with the wounded and see that they got the best of treatment. Giving priority to the interests of others as they did, they were rightly described by Major Thomason as ‘brave and courageous gentlemen’. On the other hand, from the point of view of the battalion's continuing needs and the problem of replacing them, this was an unnecessary sacrifice of officers and men.

By 10 a.m. on 23 May, the withdrawal of the battalion to its new positions was complete. While crossing the flat country near the Platanias River, the battalion had some thirty casualties from both ground and air fire. Just when the men seemed to be clear of the enemy on the ground, a dive-bomber or a fighter would give a sharp reminder of the Germans7apos; unchallenged mastery of the air over Crete. In the absence of a medical officer, Sergeant Henry McGrath

Sgt H. I. McGrath; Christchurch; born 17 Sep 1919; carpenter.

set up an RAP in the Platanias village church, the thick walls of which prevented further casualties during the mortaring to which the unit's new positions were subjected. The RQMS, Harry Dalton, who had taken over the duties of Quartermaster when Captain Patterson was evacuated as a casualty from Maleme, also took charge of the wounded at this stage. His St. John's Ambulance training proved invaluable and, ably assisted by Staff-Sergeant Reg Jenkins,

2 Lt R. D. Jenkins; born Invercargill, 22 Oct 1918; storeman clerk; killed in action 24 Apr 1943.

he attended to the bandaging of the wounded.

As 5 Brigade still appeared in danger of being cut off, orders for a further withdrawal arrived late in the afternoon. On this occasion the 23rd acted as rearguard: the 20th and 28th, accompanied by 5 Brigade Headquarters, withdrew first, and then, after 21 Battalion had passed through, the 23rd withdrew in good order. All units were successful in evacuating their wounded on this occasion, for although two trucks sent up for them were shot up, a third was able to get through safely. Dalton, Jenkins and others, including Private ‘Ginger’ Evans,

Pte S. C. Evans; Dunedin; born Tasmania, 21 Jan 1919; miner; wounded 26 May 1941.

did excellent work as stretcher-bearers despite the mortaring of the area. When it became obvious that the evacuation of the wounded was going to delay the final rearguard beyond the time given in orders, Major Thomason, Lieutenants King and Ensor organised a road block and persuaded two British tanks to support their defence of it. C Company, temporarily commanded by Lieutenant Thomas, again acted as rearguard to the battalion. By 4 a.m. on 24 May all companies were back in the ‘rest area’ at Makri, about a mile and a quarter north-east of Galatas, where 4 Brigade continued to hold a line.

During 24 May 23 Battalion and other 5 Brigade units reorganised in reserve on a north-south line astride the main Galatas-Canea and the Alikianou-Canea roads. Enemy aircraft were again active and caused further casualties. A new medical officer, Captain Wilson,

Maj R. A. Wilson, MC; born Christchurch, 2 Feb 1909; medical practitioner; RMO 23 Bn 1941–42; 3 Gen Hosp Dec 1942-Jan 1944; PW Repatriation Unit (UK) 1945–46.

arrived and set up his RAP in a house near Battalion Headquarters. Issued rations were short but most men had secured food from the Germans they had shot.

Most of 25 May passed with the 23rd still in reserve. A reconnaissance plane persisted in hovering over its area and, in the early afternoon, a flight of Stukas came over. At this and other stages the Germans in the air, not those on the ground, made the war in Crete almost unbearable for exhausted men. Six days of fighting, lack of sleep, and a growing uneasiness about the outcome meant that stores of nervous energy were running out for some men. Commenting later on the effect of the Stuka raid in nearly producing panic, Lieutenant Thomas wrote: ‘Tired and frightened men lose their sense of proportion and if one crossed an open space between trees with a Stuka anywhere even within sound, urgent and panic-charged shouts would be hurled from all directions: “Get down, you bloody fool! Do you want us all killed?”’

In the meantime, the enemy had been attacking strongly along the Galatas line and 4 and 10 Brigades had been hard pressed. Orders issued on 24 May had authorised 4 Brigade to call on the 23rd if necessary. Early on 25 May the senior officers of the 23rd—Colonel Leckie, accompanied by Lieutenant Bond, who was now IO, Major Thomason, accompanied by Sergeant Hulme,

Sgt A. C. Hulme, VC; Te Puke; born Dunedin, 24 Jan 1911; farmer; wounded 28 May 1941.

and some of the company commanders—carried out a reconnaissance of the routes up to the forward areas. In the early evening, when the Germans had gained so much ground that they threatened the whole Galatas line, the 23rd was called forward. Shortly after 7 p.m. it moved off towards Galatas.

galatas, 7 p.m., 25 may 1941 black and white map of galatas

An hour or two earlier, the Germans had occupied the village and had pushed in behind three squadrons of the Divisional Cavalry under Major John Russell.

Lt-Col J. T. Russell, DSO, m.i.d.; born Hastings, 11 Nov 1904; farmer; 2 i/c Div Cav 1941; CO 22 Bn Feb-Sep 1942; wounded May 1941; killed in action 6 Sep 1942.

The line between the village and the sea was weakening as major elements of the Composite Battalion and 18 Battalion had been beaten out of their positions. If the enemy made a complete break-through at this juncture, most of the New Zealand Division and some other troops would be placed in an extremely dangerous position. Galatas appeared to be the key to the situation. As the 23rd advanced towards the stone buildings of Galatas, machine-gun fire was coming down the road. Colonel Leckie was wounded in the leg and had to hand over command to Major Thomason. The latter had been coming forward with D Company when he was sent by Brigadier Hargest to attempt to stabilise the line where it appeared to be cracking. During the minutes that elapsed before he could rejoin the 23rd, the attack on Galatas was organised.

Colonel Kippenberger had earlier established his headquarters on the side of the road leading into Galatas and was directing the troops as they came forward. He had just placed a mixed force of 4 Brigade Band, the Kiwi Concert Party, and some of HQ and D Companies of the 20th on a ridge running north from Galatas. He now ordered the leading 23rd company, A Company under Captain Carl Watson, into position extending the re-formed line to the north. B Company, under Lieutenant Gray,

Maj J. B. Gray, ED; Milton; born Milton, 12 Jul 1907; draper.

entered the line between the band and A Company. The line was being stabilised, but the essential requirement to ensure stability was the recapture of Galatas.

At this stage, Colonel Kippenberger sent the two light tanks of 3 Hussars under Lieutenant Roy Farran into Galatas to discover the strength and position of the enemy. Their advance was the signal for renewed fire all along the line. Guided by Sergeant Sullivan

Capt J. G. Sullivan, DSO, m.i.d.; Cobb Valley, Nelson; born Grey-mouth, 1 Aug 1913; survey assistant; p.w. 15 Jul 1942.

of 20 Battalion, C and D Companies of the 23rd under Captains Harvey and Manson now arrived and their commanders received their orders from Colonel Kippenberger. There was no time for further reconnaissance, they were simply to follow the tanks, one company on either side of the road, and recapture Galatas. On arrival, Major Thomason agreed with the arrangements already made. Farran returned with his two tanks, reported ‘The place is stiff with Jerries’ and announced that he had a tank commander and a gunner wounded. When Colonel Kippenberger and Major Thomason called for volunteers, Lieutenant Noel Jones, the 23rd's signals officer, promptly volunteered but was just as quickly turned down by Major Thomason as his services were needed in his normal capacity. Headquarters Company of the 23rd under Lieutenant McGregor was moving out to the left flank which appeared, in Thomason's words, ‘to be in the air’. Two men with this company but not of it, Private Lewis,

Lt C. D. Lewis, m.i.d.; Auckland; born NZ 25 Oct 1913; draughtsman.

a machine-gunner attached to the 23rd, and Private Ferry,

Cpl E. H. Ferry; Palmerston North; born Wanganui, 1 May 1917; civil servant.

from 4 Brigade Headquarters, said they ‘would give the job of manning the tank a go’. Farran gave them some instruction and then the two tanks were ready to lead the way. Lieutenant Connolly of D Company took the opportunity to speak to Colonel Kippenberger: ‘I asked him about the coming show, about two minutes away, and he said “They'll run like Hell”. I know I immediately had the feeling they would and so did all that heard him.’

The companies were now briefed, bayonets were fixed and all were ready. On the right, C Company was attacking along the road; on the left, D Company was attacking with 17 Platoon, under Lieutenant Connolly, following a route parallel to the road, and the other platoons, led by Lieutenant Cunningham, coming in from the left flank. In C Company, 15 Platoon, under Lieutenant Thomas, was on the right, and 14 Platoon, under Lieutenant King, on the left, while 13 Platoon, under Sergeant Dutton, brought up the rear. Realising the smallness of their numbers, the men of the 23rd were glad to be joined by small parties from the 18th and 20th. A handful of men from 23 Battalion Headquarters and from HQ Company, including some cooks who were anxious to join their mates, followed C Company.

About 8.10 p.m. Colonel Kippenberger gave the word to the tanks to lead the way and the attack was on. This time the 23rd was not withdrawing, as had been too often the case, but was going forward to attack the enemy. The onset of darkness meant an end to Stuka raids: this time it would be men against men on the ground. Their spirits rose! As the tanks moved off, the infantry gave a cheer and the cheer changed quickly to a deep shout of defiance and determination. Leading participants in the attack can best describe that shout.

Lieutenant Cunningham: ‘The uproar of yells accompanying the attack was sufficient to make the enemy in front of A Company withdraw off the ridge. Above the noise, Rex King could be heard roaring like a bull as he led his men forward.’ ‘Hook forwards, hook!’ was King's main battle cry, say others.

Lieutenant Thomas: ‘… suddenly…. I found myself shouting to my men and we were away…. And then it happened. I don't know who started it, but, as the tanks disappeared as a cloud of dust and smoke into the first buildings of the village, the whole line seemed to break spontaneously into the most blood curdling of shouts and battle cries…. the effect was terrific—one felt one's blood rising swiftly above fear and uncertainty until only an inexplicable exhilaration quite beyond description surpassed all else, and we moved as one man into the outskirts…. By the time we entered the narrow streets, every man was firing his weapon to the front or in the air and every man, you could feel it, was flushed with confidence. Nothing could stop us.’

Lieutenant Connolly: ‘I was on top of the world that night yelling and shouting like old Orb does on parade or in the mess’.

The fierce battle cry had its effect: it startled the enemy and impressed New Zealanders of other units. Thus Colonel Gray,

Brig J. R. Gray, ED, m.i.d.; born Wellington, 7 Aug 1900; barrister and solicitor; CO 18 BnSep 1939-Nov 1941, Mar-Jun 1942; comd 4 Bde 29 Jun-5 Jul 1942; killed in action 5 Jul 1942.

commanding officer of the 18th, wrote in a private letter: ‘I shall never forget the deep throated wild beast noise of the yelling charging men as the 23rd swept up the road. There was a hell of a battle in the village.’ Private Adams

Tpr H. M. Adams; Auckland; born England, 9 Jul 1915; warehouse-man.

of the 18th's ‘I’ section recorded how he was too late to join in the attack but how, ‘'Twas quite dark now and suddenly from Galatas 400 yards away we heard the most ungodly row I have ever heard—our chaps charging and yelling and screaming to put the wind up them, cat calls and battle cries, machine guns, rifles, hand grenades all going at once.’ Ferry, the volunteer gunner in one of the tanks, said: ‘The howling and shouting of the infantry sounded like the baying of dogs … as it rose and fell, it made my flesh creep.’

The tanks in the lead fired their guns at the slightest sign of the enemy, who shot up flares, called for mortar fire, most of which fell harmlessly in the rear of the attackers, hurled stick bombs and grenades, and fired all their small arms at the advancing New Zealanders. One tank had a track blown, Lieutenant Farran was wounded, and the other tank temporarily retreated but was turned back into the village by Thomas and his men as they surged forward. Streams of tracer bullets came from the windows and from behind low stone walls. They were ill-aimed but caused casualties nonetheless.

On the right, the C Company men cleared the first few houses one by one but, finding more Greek women and children than Germans in some, they pressed on. Well supported by Sergeant Templeton, Corporals Thompson

Sgt R. W. Thompson; born NZ 2 Apr 1909; saddler; wounded May 1941.

and Irwin,

WO II A. T. Irwin, m.i.d.; Pukeatua; born Timaru, 22 Jun 1912; musterer; twice wounded.

Privates Diamond

Pte L. A. Diamond; born NZ 25 Jul 1911; labourer; wounded May 1941; died of wounds 4 Sep 1942.

and Bellamy

Pte H. J. Bellamy; Auckland; born NZ 11 Sep 1914; carpenter; wounded 24 Oct 1942.

and several others, Thomas led his platoon up to the knocked-out tank, clearing the enemy with bayonet and bullet as they went. Here they halted, reloaded and, under some cover from the Spandau bullets coming from across the square, gathered themselves for a last charge. But Thomas can tell his own story:

‘I realized that my force was rapidly dwindling in spite of the reinforcements of Sgt. Dutton and his men. The opposition was desperate but to retreat with the knowledge of the consequences to the Division was unthinkable. Templeton, my Sgt., kneeling by me on the road, suddenly jerked and stretched out gasping quietly. Action, quick action was essential: I decided to charge. The boys rose as one man, we jostled each other for the lead, and firing from the hip we advanced across the square. The consternation at the far side was immediately apparent. Screams and shouts showed desperate panic in front of us and I suddenly knew, with that peculiarly clear insight which sometimes comes in battle, that we had caught them ill prepared and in the act of forming up…. By now we were stepping over groaning forms, and those which rose against us fell to our bayonets, and bayonets with their eighteen inches of steel entered throats and chests with the same horrible sound, the same hesitant ease as when we had used them on the straw-packed dummies in Burnham. The Hun seemed in full flight. From doors, windows and roofs they swarmed wildly, falling over one another to clear our relentless line. There was little aimed fire against us now. The earlier exhilaration returned, victory seemed assured.’

Victory was assured, despite the last-ditch stand of a group of diehards. Thomas himself was wounded shortly afterwards—hit by a bullet in the leg and by a grenade in the back. Lieutenant King, whose experiences in the advance were somewhat similar, was also wounded, as was Captain Harvey. But, without officers, the men of C Company hastened on to make an end to the job which had been so successfully begun. Private Gallagher

Sgt B. O'C. Gallagher; Cobden; born Dunedin, 29 Jun 1913; miner; wounded 24 Oct 1942.

made a solo charge and cleared one strongpoint singlehanded. Sergeant Hulme and Private Dunn

Pte M. J. Dunn; born Christchurch, 8 Aug 1912; bushman; died of wounds 18 Nov 1942.

cleared another. Sergeant Dutton and Private Joyce

Pte A. M. J. Joyce; Christchurch; born NZ 15 Oct 1904; labourer.

led the way in a rush which took some 13 Platoon men in and through a large stone building which held up progress for a few minutes. Everywhere the fighting was bitter and no quarter was given on either side. ‘From one building we got 11 machine guns,’ wrote Gallagher later, ‘it was like a butcher's shop inside—some grenades had been popped in the windows.’ Soon they came out on the side of the village opposite that on which they had entered. There were about thirty of the men who had gone in with C Company left standing.

Entering from another angle, D Company had its measure of success. The leading platoon, No. 18, under Lieutenant Cunningham, took the hardest way of entering Galatas by going over walls and through backyards, but this was sound tactics as it enabled some heavy machine-gun posts to be outflanked or overrun. When they did find themselves forced to charge up a narrow street, a machine gun held up the attack for a minute or two until Private David Seaton

Pte D. E. Seaton; born NZ 27 Oct 1907; tractor driver; killed in action 25 May 1941.

broke the spell by striding forward firing his Bren gun from the hip. While he kept up steady bursts, others edged round to a flank and knocked out the machine gun with grenades. Seaton was killed but the attack surged on again.

It is perhaps unfair to single out a few for special mention since practically all were heroes of the fight to retake Galatas. But those not mentioned will not grudge the honour done to a few as representatives of them all. Corporal Alan Henderson,

Cpl A. J. M. Henderson, m.i.d.; born NZ 4 May 1917; storeman; wounded and p.w. 1 Jun 1941.

a section leader in 16 Platoon, showed outstanding qualities of leadership in leading his men to knock out some of the last machine-gun posts on their flank. Private Fitchett

Pte J. P. Fitchett; born Gore, 19 Aug 1918; sawmiller; wounded 27 Nov 1941.

used grenades coolly and effectively in the house-clearing, while Private ‘Ginger’ Drysdale

Cpl J. Drysdale; Taihape; born Dunedin, 31 Jan 1917; labourer; twice wounded.

knocked out a troublesome post. As one particular strongpoint was making progress impossible, Lieutenant Cunningham tried to knock it out with a grenade lobbed up in the air but it burst harmlessly on a roof, scattering slates in all directions. He next rolled another grenade along the cobblestones and it burst in the doorway of the house. As the German occupants dived out, Private Lydiate

Pte J. P. Lydiate; Dunedin; born Dunedin, 27 Mar 1922; biscuit maker.

shot four of them while Cunningham despatched the officer with his pistol. In many places the enemy stood firm until wiped out by fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Bayonets, rifle butts, pistols and bare hands were all used in what was the closest (in the most literal sense of the word) fighting in which the 23rd ever engaged.

Lieutenant Connolly has recorded an incident which illustrates the closeness of the fighting in Galatas: ‘My platoon followed Cunningham's…. one Larsen

Pte A. E. Larsen; born Denmark, 27 Oct 1905; cook.

must have walked into the village square from another direction as when I got there he was held off the ground by a huge German paratrooper. I had with me one Kennedy

Pte M. Kennedy; Rapahoe, West Coast; born NZ 23 May 1911; labourer; wounded 26 May 1941.

(… can't be sure of the name but he was wounded with me next day). The German had Larsen by the throat at arm's length while he fumbled with his other hand for a knife. Kennedy and I had rifles with bayonets and as we hopped in, the Hun used Larsen as a shield to keep us off. As we separated to get around him, he exposed his back for a moment and Kennedy split his head with a lovely butt stroke. Larsen was a man with a grown family but was up and off in the hunt in no time.’

While the recapture of Galatas was principally a 23rd achievement, credit must be given to the representatives of other units who joined in this fierce fighting. Colonel Gray rallied those of the 18th nearest him and led them into the village, where they joined in destroying some of the German posts. Some of his officers, such as Lieutenants Macdonald

Capt D. H. St. C. Macdonald; Hamilton; born Auckland, 15 Jul 1915; shop assistant; wounded and p.w. 27 May 1941; repatriated Oct 1943.

and Lambie,

Capt R. F. Lambie; Wellington; born Ashburton, 4 Feb 1911; salesman.

also led their men in this fighting. Platoons of the 20th under Lieutenants Bain,

Capt F. J. Bain; Waipara; born NZ 16 Mar 1916; warehouse assistant; wounded and p.w. 26 May 1941.

who was badly wounded, and Green,

2 Lt S. J. Green; born Invercargill, 6 Jan 1910; commercial traveller; killed in action 25 May 1941.

who was killed, and some gunners under Lieutenant Carson

Maj W. N. Carson, MC, m.i.d.; born NZ 16 Jul 1916; warehouseman; died of wounds 8 Oct 1944.

joined in the bayonet charges, which put the issue beyond all doubt and gave the Germans their first real setback after they had occupied any part of Crete.

German accounts of the battle, some published in 1942 and others secured from prisoners captured in Italy in 1944–45, show that Galatas was occupied by both parachutists and troops from different mountain regiments. These accounts fully confirm the closeness of the fighting, as a few extracts demonstrate. ‘A bitter hand-to-hand fight develops in the darkness…. In the village itself hell is let loose, and everywhere the battle comes down to bitter individual clashes. Cpl. B. of a machine gun company described these…. “Suddenly we are face to face with a crowd of Tommies three yards away; in the darkness they are only recognizable by their flat helmets and lowered bayonets. As quick as lightning our lieutenant whips up his machine pistol and fires into the attackers, and the rest of us fire our pistols and carbines as rapidly as possible. But bullets and grenade splinters are whistling round our ears too. There is thunder and lightning in every corner and cranny, and the flashes of grenades flicker like a fire…. our machine guns fall silent, one after the other, grenade splinters are putting them out of action. The crews are nearly all wounded or dead; but they are holding the position! Our brave comrades defend themselves with pistols and hand grenades in this fearful hand-to-hand struggle. It is a case of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! … our ammunition is running out slowly. With a heavy heart our lieutenant decided to evacuate the village with his still further diminished band”.’

Gebirgsjager auf Kreta, pp. 188–92.

In Galatas the 23rd suffered serious casualties: C Company lost all its officers and most of its senior NCOs wounded, while both companies lost some of their best men. At such a cost is victory won in close fighting. The enemy was estimated to have lost 200 killed and many more wounded. These estimates may be high, but the German accounts both of the different companies in Galatas and of the fierceness of the fighting would appear to support them.

When General Kippenberger and others visited Crete after the war, they counted 4400 German graves in Maleme and Galatas alone.

In a letter written on 30 July 1946, General Kippenberger summed up 23 Battalion's efforts in Galatas:

‘… The counter attack was carried out with the greatest gallantry right through the village and the blow delivered by Farran's two tanks and the two little companies of Infantry stopped the whole German advance. When the village was cleared and the firing died down it also stopped on the whole field. Anyone who was there could never forget the occasion. General Freyberg, in his report on the Battle of Crete, says that this counter attack was the highlight of the whole battle.

‘The intention of the counter attack was to deliver a blow that would check the Germans’ advance. The position was so bad and so many troops were disorganized that I thought it useless to try and patch up the line any further. The secondary object was to give the Divisional Cavalry an opportunity of extricating themselves, and this was seized very ably by Major Russell. Both objects were therefore achieved.

‘I have given you this account at length because it is one of the most brilliant episodes in the history of the 23rd, and the reasons for the attack must be of interest to those interested in the Bn. It was one of the best and most effective efforts made by any single Bn in the division throughout the war.’

When the fighting died down, the Germans established themselves in one strongpoint at the south-western exit from Galatas while Lieutenants Connolly and Cunningham, the two surviving officers of the battalion, proceeded to regroup their forces inside the village in case the enemy should in his turn launch a counter-attack. Colonel Gray and his party of the 18th left the village to the 23rd, ‘whose objective it was’, as Colonel Gray termed it. The 23rd signals platoon ‘teed’ into a cable and established contact with 4 Brigade Headquarters, which received its reports of a successful attack on Galatas with scepticism. Lieutenant Jones had, however, received the correct report from his runners with the two companies, Privates Redfearn

Sgt B. A. Redfearn, MM; Nelson; born Christchurch, 19 Jul 1920; carpenter; won MM with 16 Fd Regt in Korea.

and Ericksen.

Pte C. H. Erickson; Lyttelton; born Lyttelton, 20 Mar 1920; sheet-metal worker; p.w. 15 Jul 1942.

Their report was confirmed by Captain Harvey who, though wounded in the mouth, was able to give a useful account and solicit help for the wounded. At this point Colonel Kippenberger handed over to Major Thomason and went back to 4 Brigade Headquarters, where a conference was being held on the next moves to be made.

Major Thomason placed Connolly in command of C Company and left it to hold the village, and made D Company establish contact with B Company on the right centre, while HQ Company continued to cover the left flank. From some-where he secured a small truck, which he sent up to the edge of the village to evacuate the wounded, many of whom were carried out on doors in the absence of stretchers. Unfortunately, most of the wounded reached 6 Field Ambulance's dressing station too late to be sent back to catch the last hospital ship and therefore had to remain and be taken prisoner of war.

After the attack had gone through Galatas, a steady stream of refugees came down the road past the 23rd headquarters established on the side of the road. Sergeant Young

Lt R. C. Young, MM; Halcombe; born Havelock, 6 Sep 1902; farmer.

and Corporal Wastney

Cpl E. R. Wastney; Nelson; born Nelson, 22 Mar 1893; labourer; served 1914-18 War; wounded Gallipoli, 1915.

examined them carefully to make sure no Germans were among them. Throughout the fighting in Crete, Bob Young, although only a private at the time, carried out the duties of Intelligence Sergeant with conspicuous success. Frequently employed in liaison work between companies and between the 23rd and Brigade, he normally made a habit of collecting the maximum amount of useful information. As Lieutenant Bassett wrote of him later: ‘Steady as a rock and undauntedly cheerful, he reconnoitred night and day without ceasing, his reports being always full and accurate.’

Since Galatas itself could be outflanked and the line through the village was too long for the troops available to hold effectively, the conference at 4 Brigade Headquarters, under Brigadier Inglis,

Maj-Gen L. M. Inglis, CB, CBE, DSO and bar, MC, m.i.d., MC (Gk); Hamilton; born Mosgiel, 16 May 1894; barrister and solicitor; NZ Rifle Bde and MG Bn 1915–19; CO 27 (MG) Bn Jan-Aug 1940; comd 4 Bde 1941–42 and 4 Armd Bde 1942–44; GOC 2 NZ Div 27 Jun-16 Aug 1942, 6 Jun-31 Jul 1943; Chief Judge of the Control Commission Supreme Court in British Zone of Occupation, Germany, 1947–50; Stipendiary Magistrate.

decided that the forward troops must withdraw to a shorter line to be established by 5 Brigade. Orders to this effect were received about 3.30 a.m. on 26 May by Major Thomason and the 23rd were successfully withdrawn about an hour later. Many of the battalion were highly indignant at having to withdraw so soon from a position so hardly and so gloriously won. For example, Connolly could write later: ‘Then the awful order to retire came. Cun and I were mad. Both of us felt we'd won the war at that moment…. I was giving all the Brass Hats Bun Hats that night.’

colour map of north egypt

An A Company ‘listening post’ under Sergeant A. C. Hooper, on a small ridge to the north of Galatas, was inadvertently forgotten when the order to withdraw was given. At daybreak Hooper reported to his company headquarters only to find it occupied by the enemy. He and his party then made for the hills in an attempt to outflank the enemy and rejoin the battalion. Passing through the outskirts of Galatas, they ran into some Germans who were too surprised to act quickly. After an exciting and exhausting series of narrow escapes and record-breaking sprints from one patch of cover to another, often under fire, this section rejoined the battalion in the early afternoon.

By this time, the 23rd was in reserve on either side of the coast road and behind the line held by 21 Battalion, which included A Company of the 20th for the time being, 19 Battalion and 28 Battalion, whose positions linked up with those of 2/7 and 2/8 Australian Battalions. Here the weary soldiers of the 23rd carried out normal post-battle reorganisation. But they could not rest for long. The usual amount of strafing and bombing was experienced. About 2 p.m. a wounded officer reported a ‘break-through’ on the coastal sector: Brigadier Hargest ordered the 23rd to send two companies forward ‘to restore the line at all costs’. Major Thomason sent A and C Companies forward to do this job. On its way forward C Company was ruthlessly machine-gunned from the air and, as a result of two savage attacks, the company suffered thirty casualties. Headquarters No. 2 Company and B Company were sent forward to replace C. The German fighters and Stukas were still active and, according to one member of the relieving party, it took about four hours to advance one mile. Actually, the situation in the front line was not as serious as had been reported. Major Thomason carried out a personal reconnaissance of the forward area and found that, despite attacks and temporary penetration, the line was still holding.

Private Pankhurst's account of being under fire from the air on this occasion deserves recording for its graphic picture of an all-too-common experience of that time:

‘Our Btn was told to go to a position on the right because the Huns were thought to be breaking through…. We got hell … I think the 23rd lost 34 men…. Now here's a close shave. As we were making our way up a small gully C Coy were coming down causing a lot of congestion. A Hun fighting Messerschmitt crossed this gully firing his guns. I felt the heat of the bullets pass my face and the leaves were dashed from the tree under which I was crouched. “Damn it all,” I thought, “this is no place for mother's little boy now that bloody squarehead knows we are here”. So I out of the gully, crossed the road & made my way among the olive trees to our rendezvous and it's just as well I did for that darn plane came down the gully a few minutes later (not across as it did the first time) and cleaned up fifteen men with one burst from its guns.’

Late that night word came that 5 Brigade was to withdraw again to a new line ‘two miles west of Suda at approximately the junction of two converging roads’, and that 23 Battalion would provide the rearguard. The battalion established a strongpoint covering the bridge on the Canea road just east of the junction of the main coast road and the Alikianou-Canea road. It held this position till after 1 a.m. on 27 May, by which time the rest of the brigade had withdrawn through it. As they marched back, the troops helped themselves to rations and ammunition from dumps which were being abandoned. Although little was known of their efforts at this time, the withdrawal of the New Zealanders was assisted by the stand made by 1 Welch and 1 Rangers Battalions and a detachment of Northumberland Hussars who had been sent forward by Major-General C. E. Weston, the commander of the Suda sector.

The position to which the 23rd withdrew in the early hours of 27 May was known as 42nd Street because the sunken dirt road about a mile to the west of Suda and prominent in this area had been worked on by 42 Field Company of Royal Engineers. The Brigade Major, Captain Dawson, allocated battalion areas south of the main road to the 21st, 28th, 19th and 22nd in that order, with the 23rd, as the rearguard force, expected to pass through the forward units into a reserve position behind the Maoris. On the morning of 27 May, however, the units were not arranged as methodically on the ground as the Brigade Major had planned. Many men had dropped exhausted where they found themselves at the end of their tiring night march. Thus the men of the 23rd found themselves in touch with both the Maoris and 2/7 Australian Battalion, one of the units of 19 Brigade which was holding the ground north of 5 Brigade.

42nd street positions, 27 may 1941 black and white map of battalion position

About 9.30 a.m. enemy bombers came over again and began the ‘softening-up’ process which was a preliminary to an infantry attack which began about an hour later. The Maoris and 2/7 Australian Battalion, assisted by platoons and small parties from the 19th, the 21st, the 22nd, and the 23rd, launched a counter-attack with the bayonet which gave 42nd Street a name of some importance in the Battle of Crete. On the whole front the Germans lost some 300 men and their advance was checked. The 23rd men who participated in this charge were mainly from HQ and A Companies, led by Sergeant McKerchar

Lt F. J. McKerchar, m.i.d.; born NZ 3 Jul 1917; grocer's assistant; killed in action 17 Dec 1943.

of the signals platoon. The rest of the unit were ordered to man the line of 42nd Street when the alarm was given and this they did.

The rest of the day was comparatively quiet, apart from some bombing and strafing. About 3.30 p.m., however, the Germans were reported to be carrying out an outflanking movement round the hills to the south. One small party of Germans entered the village of Tsikalaria on a hill to the south of the 23rd. D Company, with men from A and C Companies, hurried over to drive the enemy out. The Germans withdrew without a fight. The 23rd men returned elated—not only had they succeeded in their primary mission but they had also discovered a dump of beer, whisky and gin.

By this time, it was clear that the programme was one of withdrawal to Sfakia in the south, whence the troops could be evacuated by the Navy. In the late afternoon, orders were given for that night's withdrawal. The Maori Battalion was to move first but was to leave two companies at Beritiana to prevent the route out from being cut by enemy coming through that point. The 23rd was to act as rearguard again and allow the other units to withdraw to Stilos. When the time for final withdrawal came, the enemy was applying pressure. The 2/7 Australian Battalion counter-attacked and this enabled the 23rd to break contact with the enemy about 11 p.m. D Company, the last to withdraw, had to avoid heavy machine-gun fire on fixed lines as it pulled back. At the cemetery, east of the Suda end of the tram lines, the 23rd passed through A Battalion of Layforce, a commando force lately landed in Crete under Colonel R. E. Laycock.

A gruelling night march followed. All were feeling the lack of sleep and of regular meals, to say nothing of the strain imposed by frequent attacks from the air. The road grew steeper and rougher the farther south it went. At daybreak the battalion reached Stilos. Major Thomason established his headquarters in a cave and ordered A and D Companies to occupy a ridge on the west of the road, covering the northern approaches to Stilos. Lieutenants Norris

Capt P. T. Norris, MC; born NZ 18 Apr 1914; law student; wounded 27 June 1942; killed in action 17 Dec 1942.

and Cunningham, the two company commanders, made a reconnaissance before settling down. As they reached a stone wall at the top of the ridge, they saw Germans coming out of a creek bed about 400 yards away. Machine-gun fire whizzed over the ridge. In great haste the men of the two companies, many of whom had already dropped off to sleep, were summoned to the ridge. Major Thomason ordered those near him to join A and D Companies, shouting, ‘Sergeant Hulme!’ Get men on top of that hill! Whoever gets men there first wins! ‘Hulme was among the first to arrive and opened fire from behind the stone wall just when the enemy leaders were about 15 yards away. He was joined by Sergeant Bob Young and then by D Company. After the leading elements of II Battalion of 85 Mountain Regiment had been repelled, Hulme was to be seen sitting side-saddle on the stone wall, shooting at the enemy on the lower slopes. His example did much to maintain the morale of men whose reserves of nervous and physical energy were nearly exhausted. At one stage, too, Hulme threw the grenades that were being hurriedly primed by others. Eventually, after shooting several Germans, he him-self was wounded in the arm.

Twenty-first Battalion and a company of the 19th also responded to Thomason's call, joined in repulsing the enemy and, after extending the line taken up by the 23rd to either flank, succeeded in beating off the attack. Had it succeeded 5 Brigade's withdrawal would have been seriously endangered. Possibly the Germans concerned were anxious to justify themselves, but 85 Mountain Regiment subsequently reported of this engagement: ‘A terrific struggle developed, including bloody hand-to-hand fighting.’

Even exhausted men could smile and say ‘Joke!’ when they saw the predicament of some hundreds of Italians who now approached Stilos from the south. A prison camp for Italians captured by the Greeks in Albania had been opened and its inmates were marching with white flags to join their German allies. They looked like a procession marching on Parliament, but the effect was spoilt by the German mortars which opened fire on the road: the Italians scattered like frightened rabbits. But their nuisance value was such that they were hurried through the 5 Brigade area to join their allies.

At a 5 Brigade Headquarters conference at nine o'clock that morning of 28 May, Brigadier Hargest asked, ‘Can you fight all day and march all night if we can extricate ourselves?’ The battalion commanders, apart from Lieutenant-Colonel Dittmer

Brig G. Dittmer, CBE, DSO, MC, m.i.d.; Auckland; born Maharahara, 4 Jun 1893; Regular soldier; Auckland Regt 1914–19 (OC 1 NZ Entrenching Bn); CO 28 (Maori) Bn Jan 1940-Feb 1942; comd 1 Inf Bde Gp (in NZ) Apr 1942-Aug 1943; 1 Div Aug 1942-Jan 1943; Fiji Military Forces and Fiji Inf Bde Gp Sep 1943-Nov 1945; Commander, Central Military District, 1946–48.

of the Maori Battalion, who was worried about his two companies left at Beritiana, said ‘No!’ and agreed that they must push on by day and avoid being cut off. Fifth Brigade was at this stage co-operating very closely with 19 Australian Brigade under Brigadier G. A. Vasey, and the plan was for the New Zealanders to fall back through the Australians, who were seven miles back.

When the time to withdraw came, the 23rd's forward companies were again in contact with the enemy and it seemed that a counter-attack would have to be launched to enable them to disengage. To the delight of the 23rd, shouts and hakas were heard from the rear of the Germans, who withdrew in some confusion. Captain Royal's

Maj R. Royal, MC and bar; Wellington; born Levin, 23 Aug 1897; civil servant; Maori Pioneer Bn, 1914–18 War; 28 (Maori) Bn 1940–41; wounded 14 Dec 1941; 2 i/c 2 Maori Bn (in NZ) 1942–43; CO 2 Maori Bn May-Jun 1943.

two companies of Maoris at Beritiana had sent back their wounded under care of a strong escort, which had decided to charge through the enemy to rejoin 5 Brigade.

The daylight withdrawal was in some ways both more and less difficult than had been expected: enemy aircraft did not trouble the men that day, a change that the exposed nature of the rising road through the mountains made especially welcome; but the heat and the going were most trying. A few men had acquired new boots in those happy days immediately after arrival in Crete but the majority were now finding their boots wearing out and giving trouble. Dirt- and sweat-stained clothing chafed and rubbed. Only the strongest were able to carry on without showing signs of collapsing with the steadily mounting fatigue. They reached Vrises at 3 p.m. and rested there for three hours. During this halt, those who could not keep up were given permission to continue the march in their own time.

At 6 p.m. the march continued. Brigadier Hargest urged all units to keep their men together, to adopt a reasonably easy pace, to conserve water and to retain arms and ammunition. His wise counsel was followed to the benefit of all and some stragglers were picked up. The Brigadier's determination to bring his brigade out as nearly intact as possible was a major factor in the success of this withdrawal. As Lieutenant Cunningham said of this operation: ‘During the next five days being reduced in numbers and seeing our Brigadier frequently we could admire his coolness and ability.’

The battalion moved back first from Vrises in order to take up a defensive line on top of the pass behind Amigdhalokorfi, five miles farther to the south and some 2300 feet above sea level. About 11 p.m. the 23rd occupied its positions, with D Company on the left of the road, HQ Company, A Company and a detachment of gunners under Captain John Snadden,

Maj J. P. Snadden, MC; Wellington; born Te Kuiti, 24 May 1913; salesman; 2 i/c 5 Fd Regt Mar-Oct 1944; twice wounded.

who temporarily counted themselves part of the 23rd, on the right. The other 5 Brigade units marched through about and after midnight and made their way down to the Askifou Plain.

The 29th May passed quietly. The enemy had also found the march exhausting and, in addition, had had to deal with the ‘blowing’ and blocking of the road. Only about 4 p.m. did the leading scouts of two companies of mountain troops put in an appearance. Water was sent up to the 23rd in all kinds of containers, including great glass wine bottles carried in basketwork panniers. But the enemy were seen to have supplies dropped to them from the air. The 23rd companies were seriously reduced by now: A Company, for example, had only forty men under Lieutenant Norris, the only officer left with the company. Several officers and men had been sent back suffering with dysentery and many of those still with the unit were troubled by the same complaint. All needed more sleep, more food and more drink. After giving his order to withdraw shortly after 4 p.m., Major Thomason handed over command to Lieutenant R. L. Bond. Thomason had been a tower of strength to the battalion from Galatas onwards. He had carried on with a bomb splinter in his knee until he could no longer walk; he had served the 23rd well.

As the battalion withdrew from the Rogdhia position, the two rearguard companies, A and D, were hurried along by enemy fire. Corporal Dan Davis,

Lt D. G. Davis; born Wales, 15 Jan 1917; NZR surfaceman; three times wounded; died of wounds 8 Jan 1944.

who had commanded 16 Platoon from 20 May onwards with both ability and gallantry, again showed his quality as a soldier by covering the final withdrawal of D Company. Farther back, 2/7 Australian Battalion ensured that the enemy would not follow. After marching through a beautiful valley and the village of Sin Kares, the 23rd embussed in 15-cwt trucks supplied by the Royal Marines and was taken south to within a short distance of the zigzag road leading down to Sfakia. Its march across Crete was practically at an end. Despite the steepness of the slopes and the roughness of the rocks, men slept where they lay.

The next day, 30 May, was not a particularly happy one for the battalion. Although not engaged in any active role, it came under enemy mortar and shell fire in the late morning and had to shift its position. In the early afternoon, Lieutenant Bond received orders for the final withdrawal to the beach at dusk and for the embarkation that night. Even a renewal of the mortaring could not rob the men of a feeling of satisfaction that their trials and troubles in Crete were practically over. This feeling of satisfaction was rudely shattered, however, when it was announced about 5 p.m. that the orders for the embarkation of the 23rd had been cancelled, that there was some prospect of getting away the following night, and that, if it were not possible to embark at Sfakia, Brigadier Hargest was determined to lead all able-bodied men eastwards along the south coast to some other point where embarkation might still take place. The prospect of being taken prisoner of war loomed up and was not improved by the fact that no rations and no water were issued that day. In difficult circumstances, the very junior commanding officer proved himself a worthy successor to his three predecessors: as a brother officer put it, ‘Bond's optimistic spirit and determination dominated the 23rd Bn scene.’

Next morning 5 Brigade moved down to Sfakia. The 23rd reached the village about 8 a.m. and was issued with a light ration of two tins of bully beef and three packets of biscuits for eight men. The battalion was called upon to supply a rearguard of thirty to fifty of its fittest men to scale the hills again and with ‘Burrows Force’, the 4 Brigade rearguard, give protection to the evacuation beach. Volunteers were called for and found: soon Lieutenant Cunningham was leading his party up the 2000 feet to man a protective outpost till dusk. Prominent in this party were Sergeants Barcock,

Lt W. A. Barcock; born Christchurch, 24 Mar 1913; salesman; wounded Oct 1942.

M. Bowie, Trewby and McKerchar and Corporal Davis. The rest of the battalion held a reserve position farther down the slopes while those who were not fit remained in the village. Lieutenant Jones improvised a system of signals communication between Battalion Headquarters and the troops in the hill positions. The day passed without their being attacked.

At 9.15 p.m. on 31 May the battalion reassembled east of Sfakia and, with the other 5 Brigade units, began moving to the embarkation beaches. The troops passed through the cordon supplied by 22 and 28 Battalions to prevent stragglers usurping positions reserved for fighting and organised troops and shortly before midnight began embarking on the landing craft, pinnaces and launches used for taking the troops out to the waiting ships—the cruiser Phoebe and the destroyers Abdiel, Kimberley, Hotspur and Jackal. Mere words cannot express how glad these men were to be aboard these ships or how grateful they were to the Navy and to the individual sailors for their help. Private Pankhurst can speak for his fellows: ‘The sailors fed us and treated us very well…. We were in the space where mines were usually kept and, as we were very crowded, it was hot as a furnace. But it would not have mattered to us if the ship had been a slave trader so glad were we to be off Crete.’

The 23rd came off Crete with reduced numbers but still a disciplined fighting unit. On 20 May, when the fighting began, it numbered 24 officers and 547 men, a total of 571. On 31 May the strength state was given as 230. The only officers left on the active list were subalterns—Lieutenant Bond as CO, Lieutenant Jones as Signals Officer, Adjutant and IO, Lieutenant Norris in command of A Company, Lieutenant Cunningham in command of D, and Lieutenants McGregor and Coop with HQ Company. Lieutenants Orbell and Gray, also evacuated with the unit, were sick men. The battalion's casualties in Crete were not known at the time but were later officially listed as 56 killed or died of wounds, 187 wounded and 114 prisoner of war, of whom 58 had been wounded—a total of 299 casualties This leaves a discrepancy of 42, a figure no doubt made up of those who were evacuated sick or for some other reason.

In the above figures, five men who died of wounds while prisoners of war have been included with the killed; the wounded include those wounded and taken prisoner.

Its individual members make a unit but a battalion history can rarely spare space for stories of individuals. In Crete, various individual acts of daring and gallantry went unrecorded and unrewarded. Decorations were won which were never awarded. Nevertheless, justice was done in the case of Sergeant Clive Hulme, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallant exploits on Crete, and justice demands that the history of his unit should record, even if briefly, some of those exploits.

Some mention has already been made of Hulme's participation in the counter-attack on Galatas and the repelling of the enemy at Stilos. But most of his outstanding efforts were made alone or with small patrols and did not fit into any unit actions. They were typical of this man who sought so frequently to fight a one-man war. Hulme was the battalion provost sergeant from early 1940 onwards. In his official capacity he was assisting Lieutenant Roach

Maj W. J. G. Roach, MC; Inglewood; born Levin, 12 Oct 1909; bank officer; 2 i/c 21 Bn Oct 1943-Mar 1944; wounded 22 Nov 1941.

of 21 Battalion to run a Field Punishment Centre east of the 23rd's area and south-west of Platanias when the Germans began to land on 20 May.

At first Hulme and the other members of the Field Punishment Centre were busy dealing with the parachutists dropping in their area. Later, Lieutenant Roach reported that the Germans gave some trouble but ‘Sgt. Hulme got cracking—very aggressively. He stood in full view of any German and fired bursts into any suspected places and that closed up the odd burst of fire.’ Sometimes alone and sometimes with another—for example, on two occasions he had Private Shatford

Sgt J. E. H. Shatford; born NZ 16 Jun 1912; gardener; died of wounds 24 Oct 1942.

with him—Hulme went out and dealt with enemy riflemen. Stalking them carefully, he almost invariably got his man. Roach's report shows how much one determined infantryman could dominate an area when it says: ‘Hulme used to wander about a lot—from the camp to the road was all his country.’ Hulme himself claimed no special credit for the manner in which the Punishment Centre men cleaned up their area but 126 German dead were counted in that general area. Reporting in to 5 Brigade Headquarters on one occasion with some marked maps, Hulme was detailed by Brigadier Hargest to deal with a sniper, whom he stalked and shot.

Hulme returned to the 23rd the day before the unit left its area near Maleme. By this time he had acquired two items from parachutists he had shot which gave him some protection on his stalking patrols and may possibly have misled the Germans. These were a camouflage suit or blouse which he wore over his battle-dress tunic and a camouflage hat, which could be worn either rolled up like a balaclava or down in a hood, with eye-slits, over the face. He killed two other Germans before the order to withdraw came. On a visit to Brigade Headquarters, he ran into a small party of New Zealand engineers held prisoner by one German sentry. Afraid to shoot for fear of hitting a New Zealander, Hulme crept up behind the sentry, jumped on him and killed him with a short German bayonet. Directed to find out how many Germans were in Pirgos, Hulme ran into two unguarded aircraft which he set on fire with German fusee matches.

After Galatas, Hulme heard that his brother, Corporal ‘Blondie’ Hulme,

Cpl H. C. Hulme; born NZ 16 May 1914; clerk; died of wounds 26 May 1941.

of 19 Battalion, had been killed. Determined to avenge his brother, Hulme dropped behind the withdrawing unit and, taking up a position covering a food dump, waited till the leading Germans arrived. Before this patrol pulled back, Hulme shot three of them.

During a conference of senior officers, including Australian and British, at 5 Brigade Headquarters behind 42nd Street, German snipers sent bullets whistling over. Hulme volunteered to deal with the trouble. He climbed the hillside from which the Germans were firing, came out above four Germans, and shot the leader. He was wearing his camouflage suit at the time and, when the Germans looked round to see where the shooting was coming from, Hulme also looked round, giving the impression he was one of them. When the men below him looked down again, he quickly picked off two of them and then shot the fourth as he moved up towards him. A fifth he shot as he came round the side of the hill towards him. Most of these proceedings were watched by Major Thomason through his binoculars.

Sergeant Hulme's official citation says that he ‘made his score thirty-three enemy snipers stalked and shot.’ It adds: ‘Sergeant Hulme's Brigadier, in supporting the recommendation for the award of the Victoria Cross, states that during the whole of the fighting until he was wounded, Sergeant Hulme conducted himself with such courage that the story of his exploits was on everyone's lips’. That this was true of the commanding officer of the 23rd may be seen from Lieutenant Thomas's account of a visit from Colonel Leckie in the dressing station behind Galatas: ‘Colonel Leckie limped over to see me. He stayed and talked with me for some time, speaking sadly of the Battalion's casualties and proudly of its showing throughout the fighting. He spoke at length of Sgt. Hulme who … had done wonders.’

In his letter of recommendation of Hulme, Brigadier Hargest also said: ‘From my own personal observation I know he showed such a complete contempt for danger that it amounted to recklessness.’ With the prescience of a mystic and the assured self-confidence of a man who trusted his intuition or ‘sixth sense’ in the special kind of fighting in which he engaged in Crete, Sergeant Hulme established something of a record for an infantryman.

For the New Zealanders, Crete was neither a success nor a failure. The Germans had won the island but at such a cost that they were never again to employ their airborne troops in an invasion or large attack. One German spearhead had been effectively blunted. Many lessons concerning the importance of supporting arms and good signals communications were learned by the New Zealanders.

In the 23rd, those men who had lasted out till 31 May had every reason to be proud of their stamina and courage. To the end, they had remained a fighting unit and provided rearguard after rearguard. In his report on the campaign, Major Thomason concluded with some satisfaction: ‘The officers and men fought a great action against hopeless odds. They did everything that was required of them and more—no matter what odds were against them…. continually bombed and machine-gunned from the air, at no time were there complaints or any suggestion of down-heartedness, and never a thought of surrender.’

The men quickly looked to the future with confidence. The conviction, born in Greece, that when they were supplied with adequate equipment and well supported on land and in the air they would pay old debts with interest, now grew in intensity. Private L. A. Diamond wrote soon after the campaign: ‘I long for the day when we can match the Germans in the sky, ‘plane for ‘plane. When that day dawns, Germany is beaten. We know by experience that we can whack his land forces, tanks included, any day of the week.’ The outlook for the future was lightened by this confidence which came from the knowledge and experience gained in Crete.

CHAPTER 6 Libya 1941

FIVE and a half months elapsed between the safe arrival of the 23rd back in Egypt and its return to battle. In that time the battalion reorganised and recuperated, was reinforced and trained for desert fighting and for combined operations with the Navy and the RAF.

Sleep and more sleep between intervals of eating and drinking, seven days' leave with sightseeing in Egypt or Palestine, swimming and activities of not too strenuous a nature were the principal aids to recuperation after the fighting in Crete. By mid-June, 239 reinforcements had joined the battalion.

These came mainly from the 4th and 5th Reinforcements, which had arrived in Egypt between 16 December 1940 and 13 May 1941.

At first some of the old hands were inclined to look down upon these untried soldiers, but the need for reinforcement was so great that the family circle of the 23rd was soon widened to admit the newcomers. Before long, B Company's method of welcoming reinforcements at an evening party in the company lines became standard practice: there the men endorsed the formal welcome given by the commanding officer. In a private letter, Lieutenant-Colonel Leckie, back in command after a period in hospital, described those who joined the unit in June 1941 as ‘very fine reinforcements … fit, keen and well-trained’.

Actually, these reinforcements were to see a longer period of fighting than the original members of the 23rd. Many of the originals went on furlough on the Ruapehu scheme, introduced in June 1943, whereas some of the 5th Reinforcements did not go on furlough till early 1945.

Till near the end of July 1941, the 23rd trained at Garawi, a desert camp and training area not far from Helwan. Refreshed by their leave and kept in good physical shape by their training, the troops were soon as fit and as full of energy as an Egyptian summer would allow. Morale, which always rose with good health, was also improved by news from the battlefronts of the world: the fighting in Syria ended in victory by 17 July, and the German invasion of Russia on 22 June meant the diversion of most of Hitler's army to that front. The institution of a speedy airmail letter-card service to New Zealand at this time was much appreciated. A unit picnic and sports meeting at the Special Constabulary Club, Mena, the music of the 33 Battalion pipe band, and improved amenities all helped to relieve the tedium of the hot July.

On 27 July, however, the battalion moved to Kabrit on the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal to engage in combined operations training. First came instruction in the handling of the boats and practice in embarkation and disembarkation from landing craft. Soon landings were being practised, first by day and then by night, on the Sinai shore. During the full-scale brigade exercise carried out on 12–13 August, the battalion encountered many of the problems connected with the execution of carefully timed night operations involving all three services.

After this training, the 23rd moved to Moascar for a fortnight and then, with the other units of 5 Brigade, moved in early September, by road and rail, to El Alamein. South-west of the railway station in a desert area later known as the ‘Kaponga Box’, the brigade group proceeded to develop a horseshoe-shaped fortress area, which it was hoped would be able to hold out in the event of any deep enemy penetration into Egypt. For most of September the 23rd laboured hard: two flat-topped features north of the Qattara Depression were made secure against tank attack by escarping the forward slopes, minefields were laid, gun and section positions were sited. But most men felt keenly that they were in the Western Desert for a very different purpose from digging defences over 230 miles behind the existing front line. On 5 October the brigade reverted to the direct command of the New Zealand Division, then part of 13 Corps, operating under the newly formed Eighth Army. This transfer and the move to Baggush pointed to a very different role.

From this stage forward, training was directed to preparing units for the fast-moving war of manoeuvre, typical of the thrust and counter-thrust in the Western Desert, the ‘tactician's Paradise’. Since the desert in many places resembled the sea in its lack of conspicuous features and obstacles to movement, transport convoys in what was known as desert formation resembled convoys of ships at sea. In the 23rd the vehicles, led by the Intelligence Officer's ‘pick-up’, formed up on a two-company front, with 100 yards between vehicles during daylight and a much shorter distance at night. When the whole brigade moved in desert formation, it did so at this stage on a two-battalion front with the Bren carriers of its units providing a covering screen some distance (up to four miles) in front and on the flank. Anti-tank guns and machine guns were placed near the perimeter, where they could come quickly into action. Anti-aircraft guns were so positioned throughout the formation that triangulation was provided, or they moved to cover any defile which might cause a congestion of vehicles.

During October the battalion spent several days in practising convoy discipline and communications with flag signals, in speedy debussing and deploying, and in all the procedure of navigation in the desert. A brigade exercise involving an attack on two dummy fortress positions, ‘Sidi Clif’ and ‘Bir Stella’, marked an important stage in the training. This exercise showed that further training in the use and lifting of mines was required, but the night approach of some 30 miles without vehicle lights and the deployment to attack at first light went well. Such an exercise could only be a rehearsal for the real thing. The issue in early November of battle dress to replace the summer dress of shorts and shirts, the sanding of windshields to prevent their flashing in the sun, and similar preparations were followed by the move of the battalion on 11 November towards the Egyptian frontier.

Later, in his report on the Libyan campaign, General Freyberg stated: ‘The move of the Division to its assembly area…was carried out as an exercise. No mention was yet made of an attack. I do not think this deceived anybody.’ The 23rd certainly believed they were ‘in the know’. On 10 November Second-Lieutenant Alf Jeavons,

Capt A. J. H. Jeavons; Dunedin; born Auckland, 26 Apr 1909; barrister and solicitor; wounded 27 Nov 1941.

the 23rd's IO, wrote: ‘This last 10 days we have been making our preparations and today is the great day to move forward. The spirit of the blokes amazes me. Each one has been quietly putting his house in order, destroying papers and letters, paying all debts and so on, each doing it with the intention of having everything in order in case he might be one of the unlucky ones. Yet I never saw men in higher spirits, laughing, fooling, boozing, and rioting, and far more excited over the N.Z. v S. Africa football match

In this match, played on 8 November, New Zealand beat South Africa by 8 to nil. R. T. Miller, a New Zealand war correspondent, began his despatch on this match: ‘Three thousand great-coated, battle-dressed fans, from Rugby-mad privates to a Rugby-minded General, yelled most of their throats hoarse today across a sandy field….’

than the death or glory just ahead.’ But excitement over such a football match was the best stimulus to morale before a new campaign began.

The campaign on which the New Zealanders were embarking is known by its code-name of ‘Crusader’ or as ‘Libya'41’, although all the fighting took place in Cyrenaica, the eastern province of Italian Libya. By November 1941 the pendulum of military success, which had swung one way and then another since Italy's entry into the war in June 1940, had become temporarily stationary and was waiting for a push from either side. Waveil's wonderful thrust in December 1940-February 1941 had been followed, in the days of the Greek campaign, by the advance to the frontier of the newly arrived Afrika Korps and the Italians, who had found fresh courage when supported by German troops, tanks and aircraft. But Tobruk, some 80 miles from the Egyptian border, held out, a thorn in the side of Rommel's forces, which were thus compelled to halt at the escarpment running inland from above Sollum through Halfaya Pass towards the south-east. The line of forts, protected by minefields, which ran north-east from the Omars towards the coast at Sollum made a frontal assault impossible and forced the British to seek an approach route in the south.

When the 23rd left Baggush in the trucks of an RASC unit, 309 Transport Company, the role of the New Zealand Division was to cross the frontier south of the Omars, which 4 Indian Division was facing, and advance north to cut off and contain the frontier garrison from the west while the armoured units sought out and destroyed the enemy armour. The route followed was along the main road to the Siwa road and then down it to an area near Abar el Kanayis. Here the 5 Brigade units rested while final plans were made: the troops completed the last details of desert camouflage for vehicles and made a last overhaul of weapons and equipment while the officers attended conferences and studied maps.

On 15 November 5 Brigade continued the advance to the frontier by a daylight move of some 45 miles. The whole Division on the move, with its guns and its three thousand vehicles, made an imposing sight. On 16 November Major-General Godwin-Austen, Commander of 13 Corps, visited the Division, where officers down to company commanders were drawn up to receive him. Captain Orbell, the 23rd's Adjutant, reported on the speed with which the Corps Commander moved: ‘He arrived in a cloud of dust, shook hands all round, bellowing how “that fellow Rommel” would hate to meet us, and how proud he was to command us and tore off in his car before we realized he had arrived.’

Moves of some 25 to 50 miles each followed on the nights of 16–17, 17–18 and 18–19 November. All of these were carried out without the use of vehicle lights. An electrical storm on the second of these nights provided a prelude for the noise of the shelling of Sidi Omar on the Indians' front. The Divisional Cavalry and 5 Brigade were the first through the 300-yard gap in the frontier wire cut by the engineers. While the Division waited about eight miles south of Libyan Sheferzen for news of the armoured battle which was being fought in the northwest, the men of the 23rd derived much pleasure from seeing the sky so full of RAF aircraft. ‘The Boys are in marvellous spirits. At dawn, they warm themselves at football! What a war! The sight of the R.A.F. busy in the skies is a great tonic to us,’ wrote Private Diamond in his diary that morning.

5 brigade positions around bardia, november 1941 black and white map of brigade position

Fifth Brigade Group's first task was to advance to the Trigh Capuzzo and sever the communications of the frontier positions with the west and cut the Bardia-Capuzzo water pipe. The move to execute these tasks did not come until 21 November. Shortly before midday the brigade moved north, preceded by a squadron of tanks of the Royal Tank Regiment. Rain fell during the afternoon and the sodden muddy ground nearly bogged some of the vehicles.

About 20 miles from its starting point, the brigade split up: 21 Battalion turned west-south-west towards Hafid Ridge, the 22nd west-north-west to cover the road junction at Sidi Azeiz, while Brigade Headquarters and the 23rd and 28th moved west with Bir Bu Tabel as their destination. Actually, led by the Brigade IO, these units reached Bir Beder, about a mile and a half nearer Capuzzo than the destination given. At this point, Colonel Leckie received orders to send out a strong patrol to reconnoitre the approaches to Fort Capuzzo and to cut the pipeline supplying Sollum and Halfaya Pass with water. The intention was that this patrol should test the defences of the Fort and then, if necessary, the battalion would attack and capture it at dawn next morning.

Built by the Italians to keep the Senussi under control, Fort Capuzzo was originally little more than four stone walls, with a tower and crenellated battlements, but the shelling of each successive campaign made more and more holes and finally lowered the walls to the ground. In November 1941, however, it was still of some importance as a centre of desert road communications: directly to the north about 14 miles away lay Bardia, to the east lay Sollum and Halfaya, while to the south and south-west were the frontier posts. Captain F. S. R. Thomson, commanding C Company, led the 23rd patrol, which was composed of his company of infantry, a sub-section of engineers under Second-Lieutenant Brady,

Capt N. R. Brady; Kerikeri Central; born Auckland, 20 Nov 1912; civil engineer; wounded 24 Oct 1942.

one troop of anti-tank guns and a section of Bren carriers. Lance-Corporal Ramsay

2 Lt J. N. Ramsay; born Dunedin, 15 May 1918; solicitor; killed in action 23 Oct 1942.

of the ‘I’ section acted as navigator for the move of nearly ten miles across the open desert.

The patrol started at 8.30 p.m., had trouble with the heavy going and had vehicles stuck on more than one occasion, but about 11.30 p.m. it reached the disused landing ground west of Fort Capuzzo. Captain Thomson now decided to go forward to the Capuzzo-Bardia road before advancing to the Fort itself. As this was being done, some of the trucks and anti-tank portées got stuck in the mud and soft sand. Private Diamond graphically recorded his impression of the scene: ‘…still they bog, the noise, shouting, blue language, and roaring of engines flat out is terrific. Our approach is not at all like the silent swift approach that we have had drilled into us. We find comfort in the thought that the unorthodox is often successful. Surely, we tell each other, the enemy will think a whole Division is coming.’

After reaching the road about half an hour after midnight, Thomson left the company B Echelon, under Captain Ted Richards, with the anti-tank guns and signals, to hold a defensive position on which the patrol could retire if necessary. The Bren carriers were also placed in reserve to protect the flanks of this position. The infantry then simply walked down the road and occupied the Fort without meeting any real opposition. Apparently, the Italians on guard had heard the noise of the advancing patrol, including the uproar when the trucks were stuck, and had concluded that only friendly Italians would make so much noise at night. They never dreamed that New Zealanders engaged in a ‘silent’ night attack, unsupported by artillery or other fire, could be coming in to occupy their fort.

Thus, Fort Capuzzo was captured shortly after 1 a.m. on 22 November. Captain Thomson whistled up the B Echelon and supporting arms and proceeded to consolidate his position. By 1.30 a.m. he had advised Battalion Headquarters by radio of C Company's success and Colonel Leckie gave up his plans for employing the squadron of tanks entrusted to the 23rd for the capture of Capuzzo. Captain Richards and his men cut all telephone wires in the area but experienced some difficulty in cutting the pipeline until a captured Italian officer obligingly indicated how to remove a section of it. Everything was working out so smoothly that it seemed like a picnic. About 5 a.m. two Italian trucks arrived from Bardia. The tossing of a grenade and the firing of a few shots halted them. Three Italians were killed and the remaining dozen with their officer quickly surrendered. The rations they were bringing into Capuzzo were also seized. The latest prisoners explained that they had come from Bardia, where no one had any idea that anything untoward had happened to the Fort.

The rest of the battalion arrived soon afterwards, Their experience on the way resembled that of the patrol the previous night. ‘We pitched and rolled and tipped into holes mile after mile,’ wrote one officer afterwards. By 6.30 a.m. the battalion was organising itself in and around the Fort. Company positions were soon allotted and the supporting arms and tanks deployed in defence of the recently occupied area.

Before turning into the Fort, Second-Lieutenant Jeavons, escorted by three Bren carriers, reconnoitred past Musaid. Close to Sollum, he ran into a large telegraph line junction. The direction and number of its wires indicated that it probably connected Gambut, Bardia, Sidi Omar, Sollum and Halfaya, or virtually all the Axis strongpoints in that part of Cyrenaica. A Bren carrier quickly rammed two poles, the wires were cut and the resulting break in enemy communications helped to preserve the surprise gained that morning. As a result, carrier and other patrols kept on capturing trucks and small parties of the enemy, including some German signallers and an Italian Water Company officer and party. By mid-morning there were 118 prisoners (38 Germans and 80 Italians). This number grew steadily during the day as more trucks were captured. The equipment taken was also useful: B Company took two motorcycles and a 3-ton truck, HQ Company under Captain Morten,

Lt-Col T. B. Morten, DSO; Little River; born Christchurch, 20 Sep 1913; shepherd; CO 25 Bn Jan 1943-Feb 1944; wounded 15 Jul 1942.

mainly through the efforts of the carrier platoon, captured nine trucks, four of which were still in perfect order, A Company knocked out another vehicle, and D Company claimed a wireless vehicle equipped with a range-finder. C Company had earlier captured three six-wheeled Spa trucks and a small scout car as well as the large telephone exchange in Capuzzo. In the exchange were also found orders of battle, location statements and code-names for all Axis forces in Cyrenaica, which with marked maps and other Intelligence documents were sent on to Brigade Headquarters as quickly as possible. Stores of ammunition, 400 gallons of petrol, and other supplies were also captured. The Libyan war was going well. ‘Everything going swell, our Boys marching prisoners in by the score,’ wrote Diamond.

Without realising how simple the capture of Fort Capuzzo had been but appreciative of the results, General Freyberg wrote in his report: ‘5th Brigade Group moved on by night and 22nd Battalion occupied Sidi Azeiz while 23rd Battalion moved against Capuzzo. It was a brilliant move and an excellent piece of desert navigation. The attack on Capuzzo was also an excellent piece of planning carried out at dawn with “I” Tanks. The small force there was taken completely by surprise. It was like a dress rehearsal for the Battle for “Sidi Clif”. Two hundred prisoners (60 Germans and 140 Italians) were captured without casualties to ourselves…. The capture of Capuzzo played a most important part in disorganising the enemy because the Army Signal Exchange was situated there. In the afternoon 21st Battalion occupied Hafid Ridge.’

Stimulated by their success, the 23rd companies favoured more and more aggressive patrolling and B Company, under Captain Reg Romans,

Lt-Col R. E. Romans, DSO, m.i.d.; born Arrowtown, 10 Sep 1909; business manager; CO 23 Bn Jul 1942-Apr 1943, Aug-Dec 1943; twice wounded; died of wounds 19 Dec 1943.

set about forestalling 28 Battalion in the capture of Fort Musaid. At 12.15 p.m. Romans advanced with 10 Platoon, supported by two anti-tank guns, a section of mortars, and four I tanks. The diary of Bob Stone,

Sgt R. W. S. Stone; Invercargill; born Invercargill, 2 Feb 1914; storeman; three times wounded.

a reinforcement private, gives a first-hand account of this excursion:

‘22nd November…. Noon. No. 10 told we were to proceed to Fort Musaid. We'd never heard of that and more than a few of us had a sinking feeling in the stomach, imaggginnninnng wiiireee, mineees, trenches, etc…. Crawled down the road and Jerry promptly fired a couple of mortars at us. It seemed big stuff to us. Reggie leading us. Off the trucks near a wrecked Hun plane and Pat Lynch

Capt P. L. Lynch; born Invercargill, 23 Oct 1912; civil servant; killed in action 23 Oct 1942.

lined us up—16 of us to make a line. The tanks buzzed off towards Sollum barracks and Reggie headed us forward—ran us in fact. Past a heap of rocks and rubble which Colin P., the RAP boy inspected and said had nothing. The sight of 16–20 figures trotting along by themselves with one out in front waving them on must have intrigued Jerry—maybe it was a surprise move. Flashes from the barracks and shells bursting in front of us. “Back a bit, boys,” said Reggie. Pat L ran us back 50 yards and we went smartly…. Then over the rise came Doug Leckie in a Bren carrier. “Where the B——H——do you think you chaps are going, there's your objective.” The piles of rocks and rubble C.P. had inspected alone—so that is Fort Musaid. Back we head and Jerry decides we are harmless and shuts up. Heavy rain falls and squatting among piles of rocks amongst a collection of Itie gear and letters, we wondered how long war would be like this—wet through, no food, no loot. Black as pitch at night…. Advice received from Bn that the Maoris to come up in the morning and take Sollum barracks and that man with the ea had No. 10 go in in broad daylight. Very little sleep and then we heard the Maoris go in. Day broke and boys poking about the rubble discovered a cellar from which 16 Ities promptly emerged and surrendered. We had stood guard above ground all night while the Ities slept beneath. I hope they slept well. 10 a.m. and some hot stew arrived. We felt 100% again. “Hadn't we captured Musaid?”’

On 22 November, too, Colonel Leckie sent out a larger patrol to test the Bardia defences. Captain J. R. J. Connolly took A Company, supported by five tanks, a troop of 25-pounders from the battery of 5 Field Regiment supporting the 23rd, a section of mortars and two carriers, but his patrol was heavily shelled and was unable to penetrate the defences of Bardia.

Bardia did not fall until 2 January 1942.

The strength in which this place was held was thus confirmed for the higher command.

During the Maoris' successful attack on Sollum on 23 November, their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Dittmer, was wounded and evacuated. Brigadier Hargest now placed Colonel Leckie in command of the Gapuzzo-Sollum area with orders to ‘co-ordinate the defence of the area. All troops already there come under your command. You will ensure that the enemy is not allowed to concentrate for an attack. You will watch the Halfaya flank in case the enemy attempts to break through’.

In the consolidation of the unit position at Capuzzo, the CO placed A and C Companies in the north, with A astride and to the east of the Bardia road and C to the west of it. B Company was on the east with two platoons at Musaid and a third at the old Customs House site between Capuzzo and Musaid. D Company, under Captain R. McKinlay, covered the south to south-west sector, while HQ Company held a line facing west and linking C and D Companies. Battalion Headquarters occupied trenches to the north of the Fort and parallel to the Bardia road. The unit transport was dispersed between Battalion Headquarters and HQ Company.

Shortly after midday on 23 November, the first enemy troops to make any serious approach to the battalion's area made their appearance on the A Company front. After exchanges of fire, the enemy withdrew after having one of their trucks hit by mortar fire. Their withdrawal was hastened by the appearance of fourteen British tanks on their way westwards. The rest of the day passed quietly, apart from exchanges of fire between carrier patrols and enemy troops on the Bardia road.

By 23 November, too, important changes had been made in the distribution of the New Zealand Division: to the west, 6 Brigade had moved to the support of British troops at Sidi Rezegh while 4 Brigade had moved via the Menastir area to Gambut, and General Freyberg, taking 21 Battalion into Divisional Reserve, was forced to let the rest of 5 Brigade pass under the command of 4 Indian Division, which was still too far south to be in intimate touch with developments around Fort Capuzzo.

The next day, 24 November, passed quietly enough. In a message that morning Brigadier Hargest announced: ‘The decisive battle is being fought west of us and as every tank will contribute towards our success I have released those attached and they are proceeding “hot foot” to the assistance of the Division’. To make up for the tanks removed, the Brigade Commander increased the supporting arms with the 23rd. Thus, a section of Vickers machine guns was added to A Company's sector, and a second troop of anti-tank guns from 32 Anti-Tank Battery and three Bofors guns from 42 Battery of the Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment arrived. On patrols, Brigadier Hargest had laid down as his policy: ‘In none of these patrols do I wish to incur casualties or be engaged in battle, but to harass the enemy and if possible pick up prisoners’. During the day, Lieutenant E. A. McPhail took an A Company patrol with supporting arms to reconnoitre the Marsa er Ramla area, near the coast between Bardia and Sollum, and reported it strongly held by the enemy. At night Major Tom Pugh, who had succeeded Major Thomason as second-in-command in July when the latter was evacuated to the Convalescent Depot, took out four patrols to different wadis and points on the escarpment which, under Lieutenants G. H. Cunningham and Stubbs,

Maj C. L. Stubbs; Lower Hutt; born Dunedin, 17 Jan 1905; traveller; wounded 11 Dec 1941.

Second-Lieutenants Brittenden

Maj J. A. M. Brittenden; Wellington; born Tinwald, 28 Mar 1914; artist; wounded 5 Jul 1942.

and Hoggans,

Capt R. D. Hoggans; Invercargill; born NZ 25 Jun 1916; storeman clerk.

they reconnoitred without coming into very close contact with the enemy.

On 25 November 5 Brigade gave warning of the approach of thirty enemy tanks from the south, but by midday it was reported that the Indians had knocked out seven and forced the remainder to retire. Similar threats were reported in the afternoon and it grew increasingly obvious that heavier enemy movements were taking place. Around 4 p.m., about 200 enemy vehicles debouched from Halfaya. The artillery and the squadron of Divisional Cavalry with 23 and 28 Battalions opened fire and, after some exchanges and some tactical movements which suggested tentative manoeuvring to secure an attacking position, the enemy went back into the Halfaya area. Spasmodic enemy shelling and transport movements near the horizon continued. To safeguard the gap between the 23rd and 28th, Colonel Leckie placed a company of Maoris at Musaid and drew one of the B Company platoons back.

The next two days, 26 and 27 November, were the most exciting of the whole campaign for the 23rd. At 5 a.m. on 26 November, Brigade Headquarters reported that a large enemy convoy had blundered into its lines but had been broken up. Heavier shelling from the direction of Halfaya than had so far been experienced suggested that the ‘picnic’ conditions were at an end. The battalion's intelligence section and the artillery OP in the tower of Fort Capuzzo reported many movements on the skyline or closer in. About 9 a.m. Bren carriers returned from a patrol and reported much movement of enemy transport from Halfaya Pass. At 11.30 Brigade advised that some thirty enemy tanks were to be seen making for Bardia. The CO, as a precaution against any approach from that sector, moved two anti-tank guns into the A Company area. The one tank from 8 Royal Tanks, which had been left behind for repairs and was now mobile again, was also moved into a position covering the Bardia road. Further reports of enemy tank and other vehicular movements continued to come in. At 2 p.m. Brigade warned that some 30 tanks and 700 vehicles of all kinds were moving towards Bardia. Shortly afterwards the OP observed some fifty trucks moving on the escarpment from Halfaya Pass. More trucks were seen a little later in the same locality. The artillery reported that three of these had been hit by their fire. The afternoon wore on with mounting reports of enemy transport movements in the south, the south-west, the north-east and north-west. Fort Capuzzo appeared to be seriously threatened.

Soon after 4.30 p.m. on 26 November, the expected attack came in on the 23rd. One of the officers most concerned has left a detailed account of that attack:

‘About middle afternoon a great cloud of dust to the north-west became visible and later we watched hundreds and hundreds of vehicles making eastward to Bardia just out of range of our guns. It kept on all afternoon till it became fantastic to estimate their numbers. By 4 p.m. enemy had been reported on all sides of us. The situation had got too ludicrous to worry about and everybody was quite cheerfully determined to do his best, though our ultimate fate seemed to be certain. Promptly at 4.30 p.m., the shelling over Sollum way suddenly became intensely heavy and in two minutes Sollum was invisible under an enormous pall of smoke and dust.

The Maoris in Sollum had earlier made an advance towards Halfaya as they thought the transport movements meant its evacuation. Now they were being attacked.

It was obvious that the attack was coming. Five minutes later, big guns, apparently brought up from Bardia, opened fire on us and, at the same time, down came a terrific barrage from the east…. I was busy observing to the north, and presently in they came—scores of vehicles flying down the Bardia road and through the desert on either side, just like our own method of mechanised attack in desert formation. Our artillery opened up on them and, two minutes later, the rattle of machine gun fire from A Coy told that the party was on. At the same time, a ‘phone ring from B Company to the south-west reported tanks and infantry flying in on them.

‘What a pandemonium! Shells crashing in, tank shells whizzing everywhere like fiery comets, bullets whining and screaming about and the Jerry explosive bullets everywhere…. An hour or so after dark, it began to ease off in the north and we realized the Jerry had a guts full there. A Company's casualties were large, but not bad considering. To the south, the tanks had been beaten off by our artillery firing over open sights at point blank range and by our anti-tank guns.’

A review of the companies' experiences shows that the 23rd had repelled a serious attack. A Company, under Captain Connolly, met the brunt of the infantry and AFV attack down the Bardia-Capuzzo road. Connolly sent 8 Platoon, under Lieu- tenantLieutenant Brittenden, forward about three miles from Capuzzo to cover a section of 2 Platoon, 1 MG Company, under Corporal Mack,

WO II R. J. G. Mack, MM; Papakura; born NZ 3 Apr 1917; hospital orderly.

and two 3-inch mortars. This small force fought a particularly gallant action against superior numbers and was later paid a handsome tribute by the diarist of 15 Panzer Division, whose 115 Infantry Regiment was engaged in the advance towards Capuzzo.

The approach of the German infantry was delayed by artillery fire directed by an OP officer with 8 Platoon, but shortage of ammunition meant that the battery had to reserve its fire for targets closer in to the Fort. The Vickers guns, however, opened fire and forced the enemy to debus. Connolly reported ‘Much good shooting was done by the M.M.G. and mortar and … they must have caused much damage.’ Heavy enemy mortar and artillery fire preceded the advance of the German infantry and persuaded the A Company commander that he should pull his forward platoon back to its main prepared defences nearer the Fort. Darkness was falling by the time this order reached Brittenden, who passed it on by runner to his forward sections. After seeing what he took to be the left-hand section withdrawing, Brittenden went forward to supervise the movement back of his right-hand forward section, failed to locate it, decided it must have moved back unnoticed in the dark and withdrew according to plan. In fact, the two forward sections had moved to attack the advancing infantry battalion, which had begun to outflank them on the left flank. Corporal R. D. Minson's personal account scarcely does justice to his own leadership but it gives the essential facts:

‘By dusk we had made small arms contact with about a Bn of infantry in extended line of advance. Our platoon put up very heavy fire … and stemmed their advance for approx. 1 ½ hours. By this time it was completely dark … our Sgt., R. Cherry, was badly wounded through the chest. I, being the only full corporal, took charge. The Hun made a rapid advance after dark and appeared to be attacking from our left flank. I decided to send one of my section, Pte. H. O'Neill,

Pte H. O'Neill; Waimate; born NZ 14 May 1917; labourer; wounded 16 Jul 1942.

back to Bn HQ for permission to withdraw, being obviously heavily outnumbered. I reformed the platoon parallel with the road and made a bayonet advance to meet what I thought was the strongest quarter of their attack. At this stage we had six casualties, two killed…. We had temporary success with what Huns we could see [who] withdrew rapidly. The mortar fire became very intense. I received a shrapnel wound in the thigh and was unable to walk. I handed over the remainder of the platoon to L/Cpl. M. O'Connell,

L-Cpl M. G. O'Connell; Oxford; born Rangiora, 2 Jun 1918; labourer; wounded and p.w. 26 Nov 1941.

who carried on with the attack but was soon overwhelmed. I managed to crawl back to our Bn, arriving there about 4 or 5 a.m.’

That the Germans in this sector thought they were up against the main 23rd defences and had no idea that they were opposed by only one platoon can be seen from the 15 Panzer Division diary. 1 Battalion of 115 Infantry Regiment advanced about 600 yards after dark and eventually overran the forward positions of 8 Platoon and the Vickers guns they were covering. But the diary admits that the defenders took the initiative as indicated by Minson: ‘In the dark the enemy managed to get close up to our positions and bitter close-range fighting with bayonets and hand grenades took place’. Then, still unaware of the limited strength of the New Zealanders, the German writer not only admits temporary success by 8 Platoon but also mentions the supporting attack by the second battalion of 115 Infantry Regiment. ‘In one place the enemy made a penetration but was stopped by two light infantry guns of 5/115 and forced to surrender. By this time 11/115 had advanced to 800 metres NE of Capuzzo and had driven back the enemy, who hurriedly withdrew SW.’ A report from the attacking I Battalion states that ‘on the left flank of the road there was hard fighting for every slit trench’, and that ‘2/Lt. Keim (commander of the spearhead) was killed while charging a pocket of resistance at the head of this company’.

Corporal Mack and Privates Harrisson,

Cpl J. G. Harrisson, m.i.d.; Henderson; born England, 2 Dec 1910; gardener.

Baker

Pte C. A. Baker; born Whitianga, 14 Apr 1917; millhand.

and Hoggard

Cpl D. F. Hoggard; born NZ 22 Nov 1917; labourer; twice wounded.

kept their Vickers gun firing during this engagement. Later, this gun crew shammed death when their gun position was overrun in the dark and they withdrew to safety only when the Germans had withdrawn in the early hours of the morning. The mortars in the 8 Platoon position were too hot to move in the withdrawal but they and the machine gun were recovered next morning by a Bren-carrier patrol which reported that, in addition to the twenty enemy dead buried that morning by A Company, there were several fresh German graves in the advanced battlefield. A Company lost 3 killed, 2 wounded and 18 missing. The question of why the Germans had not followed up their success by a more determined attack on the Fort was discussed at the time. German documents have since provided the answer: the order to break off contact and return to the starting point arrived, having been issued at the direct command of General Rommel, who had reached Bardia and had decided on another operation.

On B Company's front the attack on the afternoon and evening of 26 November was also heavy. At 4.45 p.m. a large enemy convoy advanced from the south, preceded by a heavy bombardment. This column divided into three, one part going towards Capuzzo, one towards Musaid and the third towards Sollum. The Musaid column was the most determined on action: it split into two, the lorried infantry from eight troop-carriers debussed about 1000 yards south of Musaid while the remainder moved out to the east, debussed in a slight depression and began their attack. Immediately the attack opened, Captain Romans moved out to Musaid from the Customs House and ordered 11 Platoon up to reinforce 10 Platoon and the Maoris' B Company at Musaid. Private Blampied

Sgt G. R. Blampied; Invercargill; born NZ 9 Dec 1917; clerk; wounded 20 Apr 1943.

of 11 Platoon recorded his impressions as follows:

‘… Then the excitement commenced, the curtain went up with crossfire from Jerry's machine guns, and we could see the trail of lead owing to the tracers in them. For some distance we advanced and, when the show got too hot, we flattened out…. we safely negotiated the fire and reached the platoon we were to reinforce. We lay there for some time, watching and listening to the sound of trucks and tanks (Jerry's). They were faintly visible in the darkness and we could hear the orders being given in German…. after what seemed an eternal age, this convoy passed and we breathed again.’

Possibly, things would have turned out less happily had not E Troop of the anti-tank guns done considerable damage to the enemy. Nos. 2 and 3 guns, under Lieutenant Fagan,

2 Lt J. F. Fagan; born NZ 6 Aug 1918; shop assistant; killed in action 17 Dec 1941.

scored direct hits on four AFVs. Nos. 1 and 4 guns, under Lieutenant Foubister,

2 Lt W. Foubister; born NZ 1 Aug 1916; clerk; killed in action 27 Nov 1941.

knocked out two light tanks. Later, in the growing darkness, an AFV was seen towing a gun near the ruins where No. 1 gun was sited. Sergeant Gibson

WO II D. Gibson, m.i.d.; Lower Hutt; born Dunedin, 3 Dec 1915; electrician.

laid his gun on the target, despite enemy machine-gun fire, and destroyed the vehicle.

No. 12 Platoon, left at the Customs House, also had its share of excitement as some of the enemy vehicles passed to the west of Musaid when the main column circled out to come in from the east. These forces brought two 50-millimetre guns and several machine guns into action against 12 Platoon and the vehicles parked in the rear. The two-pounder at the Customs House put a tracked troop-carrier out of action but could not stop the guns from firing. The mortars attached to B Company were now brought into action. Lance-Corporal Russell,

Cpl A. Russell, MM; Bluff; born Ruapuke Island, 3 Jun 1905; oyster-man; wounded 23 Oct 1942.

whose section of 12 Platoon had kept up a steady fire of small arms, and Second-Lieutenant Hoggans, the platoon officer, stalked the guns and passed back reports on the fall of mortar bombs so successfully that the mortars were able to get right on to the guns, scatter their crews and enable the infantry to capture both of them.

Although the enemy carried away most of their wounded, they left sufficient of their number dead to indicate how heavy had been their losses. At Musaid, six wounded and two unwounded prisoners were taken, while seventy-three of the enemy were buried later. At the Customs House, one dead German was found and three wounded prisoners taken. Similarly, although the enemy carried out vehicle recovery measures during the hours of darkness, the Maoris at Musaid collected 12 trucks, 2 armoured cars and a light tank, and at the Customs House, B Company of the 23rd had the two 50-millimetre guns and an armoured troop-carrier.

There was no slacking on the ‘stand-to’ on the morning of 27 November but, when daylight came, the front was quiet, with only a small amount of transport disappearing to the north-west to be seen. Bren-carrier patrols reported engaging at extreme range some trucks and a staff car. At 8.15 a.m. A Company engaged four armoured cars and a light tank which were escorting about twenty trucks down the Bardia road. This force withdrew, but a German supply truck captured at this time supplied the explanation: the driver stated that the German task on the previous day had been the recapture of Capuzzo and that he had been told they had succeeded. The ‘I’ section OP reported enemy transport in the north-west and the sound of battle could be heard and much smoke seen from the Brigade Headquarters area at Sidi Azeiz. It was not till the following day that the 23rd learned that at about 8.40 a.m. Brigade Headquarters had been overrun by the German armour and that Brigadier Hargest was a prisoner. More enemy transport came into view, and shortly after 11 a.m. shells began to fall again in the area around the Fort. This fire was coming from 105- and 150-millimetre guns in the north-west sector. The 27 Battery guns replied but, as they could not reach the enemy, and as ammunition was running low, Captain Nolan

Lt-Col H. T. W. Nolan, DSO, m.i.d.; Auckland; born Auckland, 23 Jul 1915; sheep-farmer; Adjutant, 5 Fd Regt, Dec 1940-Jun 1941; comd 30 Fd Bty Sep 1942-Dec 1943; BM NZA, Aug-Nov 1944; CO 4 Fd Regt Mar-Dec 1945; wounded Feb 1942.

and his gunners decided to wait till enemy tanks or infantry had to be repelled. It was a wise decision as about 1 p.m. the real attack was launched by the Germans.

To the surprise of the troops, the German attack came in from the south-west and not from the area on which their attention had been concentrated during the shelling. ‘Look at this charging in on us! There's hundreds of them!’ shouted the ‘I’ section OP when the enemy vehicles were seen charging at full speed, not in open desert formation, but in close order as if they were determined to cleave a way through by sheer weight of transport. The guns switched quickly to this new target and very soon they scored several direct hits and set a number of trucks on fire. The German convoy dispersed and some of the lighter vehicles sheered off to a flank. But the tanks and some troop-carriers came on, headed for one of the weaker parts of the battalion perimeter, the part held by mixed elements of HQ Company and drivers of 309 British Transport Company. A two-pounder of G Troop of 32 Battery knocked out three or four vehicles before it was itself left blazing and bullet-ridden. The enemy appeared to be in some strength, about one battalion, supported by four to six light tanks and some mobile guns. The one tank still with the 23rd was ordered into action and it disabled two guns and some vehicles before it received a shell through a bogey.

The nearest platoon of C Company, No. 14, also opened fire and the effect of the combined artillery, anti-tank, machine-gun and small-arms fire was to make the enemy veer to the north and come in more directly from the west. Shortly after 2.30 p.m., enemy tanks broke through the sector held by the transport drivers and part of HQ Company, directly west of Battalion Headquarters. About sixty English, Maori and 23 Battalion drivers were captured. Enemy infantry were coming in to consolidate, but Lieutenant Stratton

Maj M. I. Stratton; Australia; born Auckland5 Jan 1914; Regular soldier.

with his Bofors gun from E Troop of 42 Light AA Battery set one troop-carrier on fire with a direct hit. Unfortunately, this Bofors soon drew the concentrated fire of the tanks and guns and was quickly silenced.

The enemy set up machine guns and mortars in the transport park about 200 yards to the west of Battalion Headquarters and also in the shelter of the walls of the south-west corner of the Fort. Some of the 23rd's trucks and two or three German tanks were blazing. The situation was deteriorating rapidly: the enemy was in position to overrun Battalion Headquarters and then attack the infantry companies from the rear. There was no time for detailed reconnaissance or for calling in one or more of the infantry companies from the perimeter defences; it was a time for immediate action. Captain R. M. S. Orbell, the Adjutant, shouted, ‘Every second man follow me and we'll clear these bastards out’. He evidently meant to leave half the men in position to hold and operate the headquarters but there were few who did not respond to his call. Under Orbell's leadership, about twenty men with fixed bayonets set off for the north-west, intending to come in on the transport lines from the north. Second-Lieutenant Jeavons collected another five or six men and set off due west. The CO, busy on the telephone calling on A Company for support, shouted ‘Attack! Attack! Attack!’ What happened to Jeavons and his gallant few is best told in his own words:

‘I got my blokes to fix bayonets and spread them out to look as imposing as possible…. At the same time I had a chance to look them over and see what I'd got. I noticed at once Dudley Fraser,

L-Cpl W. D. U. Fraser; born NZ 18 Nov 1918; student; killed in action 27 Nov 1941.

Dick Brett,

Pte R. F. G. Brett; born NZ 19 Aug 1918; machinist; killed in action 27 Nov 1941.

Docherty,

Pte A. W. Docherty; Mosgiel; born NZ 2 May 1913; fitter.

and Johnstone,

Pte H. K. Johnstone; Otahuti, Southland; born Johannesburg, 5 Feb 1910: farmhand.

the Colonel's driver. I was considerably cheered. As stout a lot of blokes as I could have picked if I'd had the chance! I took them forward at the double two hundred yards, and then put them down in the last cover available, an old stone sangar and a wrecked I tank, for a much needed breather. From here they kept up an intensive fire on the Jerries ducking in to reinforce those already under our transport, while I took a poke about to find out what was what. Jerries were obviously still hidden in amongst our transport in front, and among the fort buildings on the left— others were racing to join them and I got in a few pot shots at these…. There was heavy small arms fire close at hand to the left. I calculated a demonstration here was necessary no matter what the cost. We could not stop them by firing from cover and, if they came on, we were sunk. I called my few brave lads to come on, telling them to try and clear the broken ground to the left. They rose like one man and away we went. I made straight for the gun position ahead…. After going about fifty yards, I was hit in the right shoulder. A few yards further on, the boys on either side of me were both hit and killed at the same moment…. Fifty or sixty yards further on I was hit again, this time on the head, my helmet spinning off into the middle distance…. I went on again until a moment or two later, with the gun position almost in reach, I got a sledge hammer blow in the chest which knocked me head over Turkey, and left me winded and gasping for breath on my face.’

fort capuzzo, 27 november 1941 black and white map of fort

While this gallant if costly bayonet charge was going in, Orbell's party cleared the ground up to some burnt-out Matilda tanks, relics of an earlier campaign. There they were pinned down by particularly vicious machine-gun and small-arms fire from among the transport lines. Lieutenant Noel Jones, the signals officer, went free-lancing among the trucks, ran out of ammunition and found himself under one end of a truck with two Germans, one with a Spandau and the other with a pistol, at the other. These two Germans, taken by surprise, surrendered. But, in his next encounter with a German in a nearby slit trench, Jones was badly wounded in the leg. Others in the Battalion Headquarters party had similar experiences and their counter-attack halted.

Another minor sortie, which failed to dislodge the enemy but at least checked their advance, was that made by the party gathered together by Major Tom Pugh, Second-Lieutenant Phillips,

Lt V. D. Phillips; Christchurch; born Lumsden, 8 Apr 1916; salesman; wounded 27 Nov 1941.

the transport officer, and Captain Berry of 309 Transport Company. This group, made up of drivers and mechanics, and joined by the nearest section of D Company, advanced from a more southerly quarter until, with Major Pugh, Second-Lieutenant Phillips and others wounded, and three or four, including Captain Berry, killed, they were forced to go to ground.

Meanwhile the CO had organised other forces to restore the situation. Six Bren carriers under Second-Lieutenant Charlie Mason

Capt C. T. Mason, MC; born Pukerau, 9 Sep 1915; school-techer; killed in action 12 Jul 1942.

raced round to the north-west before turning south and coming in on the rear of the attacking enemy and the captured English drivers, who were held in close ranks about 1000 yards west of the transport. The carriers, commanded by Sergeants E. Hobbs and McGregor,

Sgt L. A. McGregor; born NZ 27 May 1913; baker; killed in action 27 Nov 1941.

attempted to release the prisoners but found they could not halt without coming under fire. McGregor and his crew took a chance, dismounted and fired their machine guns from the ground, but without attaining their object. Boarding their carrier again, they moved towards a low stone wall behind which enemy infantry were sheltering. As these infantry tried to rejoin some half-tracked vehicles, McGregor and Private J. P. Fitchett opened fire on them and accounted for fifteen or more. At this stage an anti-tank gun fired on their carrier and scored a direct hit, killing McGregor and wounding Fitchett. Corporal Price

Cpl M. A. Price; born Lumsden, 6 Feb 1914; shepherd; killed in action 27 Nov 1941.

took his carrier forward in support of McGregor's but it too was knocked out, Price being killed. Two or three light tanks forced the other carriers, which had followed a different route, to retire after they had fired several bursts into enemy transport.

One section of the nearest platoon of D Company had already gone forward with Second-Lieutenant Phillips and, once he had collected his other two sections, the platoon officer, Second-Lieutenant Cameron,

Lt J. H. Cameron; Oamaru; born Dunedin, 17 Apr 1909; bank clerk; wounded 15 Jul 1942.

led them into the attack. They, too, met with stiff opposition in the shape of machine-gun, mortar and small-arms fire, but they forced some of the enemy to withdraw. Thereafter, they were unable to fire to their front owing to the danger of hitting the prisoners who were being used as a screen by some of the enemy. The tide was turning, however, and Second-Lieutenant Ken Armour

Maj K. I. Armour, m.i.d.; Christchurch; born Scotland, 16 May 1913; indent agent; wounded 16 Jul 1942; OC ERS, J Force, Mar 1946-Mar 1947.

and his 3-inch mortar crews, who got over 300 bombs away that afternoon, caused many enemy casualties. In addition, Second-Lieutenant Chance,

Capt G. R. Chance; Dunedin; born Dunedin, 21 Jun 1916; optician; wounded 2 Sep 1942.

Sergeant McClelland

Lt A. V. McClelland; Auckland; born Auckland, 13 May 1918; hardware assistant.

and Bombardier Manning

Lt A. C. Manning; born Balclutha, 21 Feb 1918; clerk.

knocked out a German tank, a heavy machine gun and another gun with well-aimed fire from the No. 3 Bofors.

Another D Company platoon, No. 16, under Sergeant Dan Davis, advanced from the south to clear the enemy from the fort buildings. Attacking from a flank, it took the enemy by surprise and, in addition to putting some infantry to flight, destroyed one machine gun and two anti-tank gun crews. No. 16 Platoon next joined in a bayonet charge launched in grander style and on a larger scale than any of the earlier efforts. Captain Connolly had arrived with practically the whole of A Company. The tide which was already turning rose to the flood, and the enemy who were not destroyed or captured beat a hurried retreat. Second-Lieutenant Jeavons, the man nearest the enemy at the time this last charge was launched, can best describe it:‘…there was a sudden intensification of the fire about me and I heard the sound of many cheering roaring voices and good lusty New Zealand cursing. They came nearer and I heard good old Dick Connolly's voice urging them on. I lifted my head and saw them coming, a long straight line of determined blokes, bayonets fixed and firing from their hips. A Company was putting in their counter attack and making a job of it. I tried to give them a cheer but only got out a gurgle. They swept on past me.’

Jeavons and other wounded were picked up shortly afterwards by stretcher-bearers taken out, under fire, in a truck driven by Private Jack O'Fee, the driver of the unit water truck. Writing to the author, Colonel Leckie described how he called to pay a last farewell to Jeavons the next morning: ‘The M.O. gave him little hope of living. Alf greeted us thus: “I suppose you bastards have come to attend my bloody obsequies. Well, there's not going to be any. The ground here is too bloody hard to give a man a decent burial.” Alf pulled through. He was typical of the real 23rd spirit.’

They swept on with some of that same irresistible spirit of the counter-attack in Galatas and, within minutes, what remained of the enemy had been put to flight.

One private soldier later wrote home saying: ‘The greatest sight I ever wish to see in my life was a bayonet-charge by the 23rd Battalion. I consider myself very highly favoured by Fate to have been able to witness this charge…. In five hours of fierce fighting, our boys were almost fought right out of the place. Instead of running away—which seemed just about all there was left to do—they fixed bayonets and in 30 minutes had won back all they had lost, as well as chasing the Germans back two miles and capturing some of their light artillery.’

As soon as the enemy were ‘seen off’, Colonel Leckie reorganised the defences, reducing and strengthening the line of the perimeter. The Maori Battalion's transport was sent to Sollum and the 23rd's was transferred to the east of the Fort. A counting of casualties revealed that the unit had emerged comparatively lightly from its ordeal. The battalion group had lost 2 officers (Captain Berry, 309 General Transport Company, and Second-Lieutenant Foubister, 32 Anti-Tank Battery) and 16 other ranks killed, and 4 officers and 32 men wounded. The transport drivers, with the exception of seven of their number, were released some distance west of the Fort by the retreating enemy. Some sixty Germans were buried next day, while the Indians later reported burying several more on the western fringes of the area. The 23rd also took 1 German officer and 11 other ranks prisoner. Captain Romans became second-in-command of the battalion. He was succeeded in command of B Company by Captain Murray Grant.

Of course, on the night of 27–28 November, the 23rd did not know how soon or in what strength the enemy might renew his attack. The battalion group was short of artillery ammunition and rations and other supplies were running out. The carriers which patrolled to the west and south-west reported that enemy to the strength of possibly a brigade had debussed less than five miles away on the side of Hafid Ridge nearest to Capuzzo. Throughout that night, the 23rd broadcast the following message in code on the various frequencies on which British forces were believed to be operating: ‘New Zealanders holding out at Capuzzo and Sollum. Aid and air support wanted urgently.’

But, if the senior officers were worried about their isolation, the lack of any word and any supplies from Brigade, and the likelihood of a heavier attack, the men generally were so pleased with their success in repelling two attacks that they had no very grave fears. Thus, on the morning of 28 November, Len Diamond wrote in his diary: ‘They must have captured one of our supply columns, hence the shortness of our rations. Still, we've got the pumping station and that's what Jerry wants. He appears to have miles and miles of transport and God knows how many men, but, for all the numbers he has against us, our battalion are in fine fettle and we reckon we're sitting pretty.’

The morning of 28 November was devoted to tightening the defences and improvising where necessary. Thus, old dumps of ammunition, located some distance out by the carriers, produced HE shells without charges for the 25-pounders, and these were made fit for use by inserting charges from the smoke shells, which were practically the only ones left with the guns. All water containers were filled and Musaid and Sollum were well supplied with these in case of a siege or long-drawn-out battle. But the day passed without any renewal of the action of the previous day. About 10.15 a.m., 27 Battery made wireless contact with 4 Indian Division and orders were received that 23 and 28 Battalions were to hold on in their present positions and that supplies of all kinds would be sent to them. A later message stated that 5 Brigade Headquarters had been overrun and probably captured. One 23rd Bren-carrier patrol, supported by a section of Vickers guns, shot up a small enemy convoy and captured one 3-ton truck and two prisoners. Otherwise, the day passed without any contact with the enemy.

The next day, 29 November, saw an end to the isolation of the two battalions. After a comparatively quiet morning in which two enemy trucks and two prisoners were taken as a result of anti-tank and other fire put down on a small convoy passing in the north, and two small British trucks were recaptured by a Bren-carrier patrol, 22 Battalion escorted by the Divisional Cavalry arrived in the Capuzzo area. A new 5 Brigade Headquarters was established at Musaid with Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew as temporary commander. Of even more importance from the point of view of the men was the arrival of the Indian supply column about 5·30 p.m. The ration situation would have been desperate had it not been for the Italian rations captured at Capuzzo and in some of the trucks taken later.

The next day passed quietly and on 1 December the Indians relieved the 5 Brigade units in Capuzzo-Musaid-Sollum. That afternoon the brigade moved north-north-west about 15 miles to the Menastir area, where it was to establish a base from which to conduct mobile operations against columns operating between Bardia and the west, to raid enemy dumps and create as much confusion as possible.

Actually, the next three days passed without much excitement. Carrier patrols by day and infantry patrols by night met with limited success: on 2 December one ration truck and two Germans were captured, six Italians surrendered to a patrol, and several large dumps outside the Bardia wire were discovered, several of which were blown up the following day. On the afternoon of 3 December, the 23rd had to stand to in its prepared positions as a strong German column was approaching, but the Maoris fended this force off and the 23rd made no contact with the enemy. Diamond, the veteran of Greece and Crete, could write at this time: ‘The Boys are keen to have another crack, feeling easy about it myself’. That evening 5 Brigade was ordered to return to Capuzzo to relieve the Indians, who were required for operations in the Tobruk sector. The move back was begun at 2.30 a.m., the escarpment was safely negotiated by moonlight, and after a bone-shaking ride, hurried somewhat by shelling from tanks, the battalion was back in its old Capuzzo positions by 9 a.m. on 4 December.

Four and a half days were spent comparatively quietly at Capuzzo under command of 2 South African Division, the New Zealand Division's headquarters and the other two brigades having been withdrawn to Egypt. Carrier patrols continued to provide the more interesting news. With one of these, Sergeant E. W. Hobbs outflanked and shot up an enemy patrol on the Bardia road. A 37-millimetre anti-tank gun was captured and added to the number of enemy guns, which were given plenty of use, mainly in practice, by their new owners.

On 8 December Brigadier Wilder

Maj-Gen A. S. Wilder, DSO, MC, m.i.d., Order of the White Eagle (Serb); Te Hau, Waipukurau; born NZ 24 May 1890; sheep-farmer; Wgtn Mtd Rifles 1914–19; CO 25 Bn May 1940-Sep 1941; comd NZ Trg Gp, Maadi Camp, Sep-Dec 1941, Jan-Feb 1942; 5 Bde 6 Dec 1941–17 Jan 1942; 5 Div (in NZ) Apr 1942-Jan 1943; 1 Div Jan-Nov 1943.

took over command of 5 Brigade and, that evening, the brigade was ordered to move into 13 Corps Reserve and be available for operations west of Tobruk. So sudden was this order that a section of a patrol which could not be recalled by radio had to be left behind for the time being. The battalion moved off at 3.30 a.m. on 9 December with Second-Lieutenant Mason in charge of the vanguard of three carriers, one anti-tank gun and one medium machine gun. The infantry had to march approximately ten miles to a rendezvous with the trucks of 4 RMT Company. While this march was not to be compared in severity with the one to Kokkinoplos, it served to show how speedily the physical condition of men could deteriorate during campaigning on poor and scanty rations. ‘Long as I live, I'll never forget that march—we were all dead beat, and our feet are in a bad state through no washing for weeks,’ wrote one diarist. But there was consolation that day in the arrival of a good parcel mail from New Zealand. As one private recorded at the time: ‘That morning we were eating dry biscuits and mouldy stale bread, that afternoon we ate fruit cake, shortbread, and sweets’. Another said: ‘Some parcels have just arrived—couldn't have come at a better time. We can go to bed with full bellies for a change. The old wolf was nearly in the door’.

At Sidi Azeiz the brigade formed up for a move to the west. The news that both Japan and the United States of America had entered the war was received at this time with mixed feelings, but most men concluded that, while the war might approach New Zealand more closely than they had previously thought possible, the best thing they could do was to get on with the job in hand. Sidi Bu Amed, about 20 miles east of Tobruk, was reached about dusk on 9 December. A day was spent at this place. It rained heavily and was very cold. Small wonder, therefore, that a private diarist recorded: ‘Carriers brought in barrels of cognac—the boys got tight’.

At 3 a.m. on 11 December the brigade moved on with the 23rd in the lead. C Company supplied the advanced guard, which was strengthened by three Bren carriers, a section of Vickers guns and a troop of anti-tank guns. The route followed led via the Tobruk by-pass to Acroma, where the ‘Chestnut’ troop of the Royal Horse Artillery joined the advanced guard. By 7.30 a.m. they had turned west along the Tobruk-Derna road. At the 136 kilo peg (the numbering started from Derna), the advanced guard made contact with elements of 32 Army Tank Brigade and some South African armoured cars. The orders from Brigade were to make contact with the retreating enemy and then reconnoitre the Gazala Box defences. About 10 a.m. enemy shellfire caused C Company to debus just short of the Kilo 130 peg. The RHA troop went into action and soon silenced the enemy guns. Enemy aircraft—very few had so far been seen in the campaign—came over at a very low altitude and apparently unaware that British forces were already so far west. The Bofors guns with the 23rd shot down four Junkers 52s before these German aircraft were able to take any evasive action.

The advance continued in the afternoon with C Company's ‘flag’—a West Coast football jersey—showing the way on Captain Thomson's ‘pick-up’. About 2 p.m. the trucks came under fire again. Captain Thomson ordered the infantry to debus and advance in open order. The trucks screeched to a halt, the infantry jumped down and deployed in their sections just as they had done in the October manoeuvres. Then they advanced resolutely through the flying shrapnel and dust and smoke. The Bren carriers with the advanced guard did their best to help the attack: Sergeant Ernie Hobbs raced his carrier forward and out to a flank where he set up a Spandau machine gun and fired belt after belt of bullets into the enemy positions. He stopped firing only when the advancing infantry masked his target. Captain Thomson was wounded and Lieutenant Len Stubbs took over. He, too, was badly wounded as the company approached its objective, but the attack went on.

the attack on gazala, 11–17 december 1941 black and white map of military attack

Two participants in this attack have left eye-witness accounts which the historian cannot do better than quote. Diamond, who had previously mentioned in his diary that, of the original C Company members who went through Greece and Crete, only fifteen were left, recorded: ‘The Eyeties put down a real hot barrage, big stuff and small stuff, it whinnied and whined, whispered and whanged over our heads and in our ranks. The Boys went through it like veterans. Never once did they falter; they obeyed their orders promptly and went on—some good stuff amongst these reinforcements! Later on we got out of the artillery range; it was dropping behind us, and now we get the small stuff and mortars. Brens and rifles spat out and Bredas, fired somewhat erratically, spurted up the stone and dust around us. We were heavily engaged and too far in to withdraw—we would have been cut to bits by artillery. Our wireless had broken down with the result that communications were nil. Three or four hundred yards from the ridge and the trenches, we sent back runners for tanks and support, a long way back to Battalion, 5 or 6 miles. By the time the poor devils got back we were in the trench and over the ridge. When we got within say 50 yards of the trench and prepared to go in with the bayonet and tommy gun, the Eyeties chucked it in. You never saw such a sight—they came running out from behind rocks, out of caves, up from trenches in front of us. Everywhere they came waving anything that appeared white, shirt tails, underpants, cigarette papers, rags. Crikey! What a sight.’

Sergeant Hargreaves,

Sgt J. Hargreaves; born England, 27 Jan 1917; wounded 24 Oct 1942.

who was on the left flank of the advancing company, has also left a stirring account:

‘… So steady was the advance that the gunners could not range quickly enough with the result that the shells were bursting behind our line, though to me it seemed that several direct hits were made on the right flank but the boys came out of the smoke and dust still in line, never faltering. It was a magnificent sight to see that thin line moving steadily forward into a hail of lead, with shells of all sizes … bursting all around…. the fact that the ground was sandy saved more casualties…. One more dash brought us to within bayonet reach. We crossed the ground swiftly, some of the boys shouting encouragement to each other. From my position on the left flank, I could see our line, straight enough to bring joy to any bayonet instructor, stretching away to the right flank. Roaring “Forward!”, I came up ready for the final dash. It made the blood sing to see the boys leap forward, a steady line of gleaming steel backed by grim faces. Nothing short of death could stop them now.’

On the right flank, Sergeant Gallagher showed his usual courage and sound tactical sense by waiting for an infantry assault gun to turn to a flank before dashing in with his tommy gun blazing to silence its crew. Then, as described by Diamond, white rags and flags made their appearance with such rapidity as to give point to the jest that they must be ‘army issue’ with the Italians in Libya.

Another four or five hundred yards on were more trenches manned by many more Italians. Their artillery and mortars switched to ‘Thomson's Ridge’, as the freshly captured feature was now called, and it seemed that a counter-attack, with the odds, numerically at any rate, very much in favour of the Italians, was about to be launched. Lieutenant Slee

Maj C. A. Slee, m.i.d.; born Westport; clerk; died of wounds 5 Apr 1944.

quickly organised the left-hand platoon to face this threat, while CSM Norman Trewby took over the two right-hand platoons and ensured that all likely approaches were covered by fire. Diamond's account can be resumed at this point:

‘A slight pause and then the counter-attack, shot and shell, mortar and Breda make the ridge a red hot hell, a very determined counter-attack it seemed. Eyeties 50 or 60 yards off as thick as flies, and no support in sight for little old C Company. We grabbed their Bredas and used them. We give them everything, and then the unexplainable happened, they chucked it in, simply left their guns and hopped it towards Derna. There's no accounting for them. Through the action of aggressive, high spirited men, a mere company of us put to flight at least a battalion of sawdust cæsars. We captured two hundred odd prisoners, a large number of Bredas, Fiats, mortars, etc. But you ought to have seen the Eyeties that got away.’

All the Italians on that front did not withdraw and C Company was glad when D Company arrived to fill gaps in its defences and to extend the short right flank which had been causing Sergeant-Major Trewby some concern. The troop of RHA had its OP officer well forward throughout both the attack and the counter-attack, and his calls for artillery fire were quickly answered and probably did more than C Company realised to discourage the Italians. Despite the shellfire falling in the area of the advance, Driver O'Donnell

2 Lt A. M. O'Donnell; Bunnythorpe; born Palmerston North, 25 Oct 1913; mental hospital attendant.

drove a truck across the flat and picked up all the wounded he could find.

C and D Companies held their ridge till after darkness had fallen. About 5.30 p.m., acting on instructions from Battalion Headquarters, D Company covered the withdrawal of C back to its trucks on the road. About half an hour later, D Company also withdrew. No enemy fire troubled the withdrawal: the Italians, too, were pulling back to other positions. C Company's casualties were light for an attack on the forward positions of two battalions—2 officers wounded, 2 other ranks killed in action, 2 missing and 24 wounded. The Italians, mostly from 20 Regiment, Brescia Division, lost an unknown number killed and, as prisoners to C Company, 9 officers and 252 other ranks. The enemy also gave up much equipment, including several dumps of stores and ammunition.

On the following day, 12 December, carrier patrols were out early but did not contact the enemy. The remainder of 5 Brigade were advancing on an inland track due west from Acroma and the battalion's only communication with Brigade Headquarters was by wireless. Orders were received to continue the advance. This was done and thirty more prisoners of war were taken: 22 from the Trento Division gave themselves up to B Company headquarters. In the afternoon, with a tank and carrier screen in front and extending to both flanks, and with A Company on the right of the road and B Company on the left, both in desert formation, the 23rd advanced closer to Ain el-Gazala before enemy shelling compelled its troops to debus and prepare for another attack. Just past the wreck-strewn Gazala aerodrome, the infantry of A and B Companies began to advance on foot, well supported by the RHA gunners. Scrub and low mounds offered plenty of cover for a defending enemy, but no contact was made during daylight. Warm fires and other signs of hastily evacuated positions showed that the enemy had pulled back under his own artillery fire as the South Island infantry began to move forward. Quite heavy shelling from guns back on the escarpment continued most of the afternoon and compelled the transport to be kept out of range. At dusk the tanks pulled back to laager at Kilo 118. The advance had not been turned into an attack, but this was in keeping with the brigade instruction: ‘… gain contact with the enemy but do NOT incur casualties.’

That night, at 6.30 p.m., Second-Lieutenant P. Lynch took 10 Platoon out as a patrol to locate the enemy gun positions in the area to the left of the road, west of the Kilo 110 peg. Corporal Dave Jenkins

2 Lt D. S. Jenkins; Tuatapere; born Orepuke, 21 Dec 1912; farmer.

wrote an account in his diary, which may be quoted both as a useful description of this patrol and as giving a typical reaction to a death in a platoon: ‘We got right up close in the dark and they opened up at less than fifty yards with all kinds of fire—machine guns, tank guns, grenades—and had us in a sweat for a while. We returned the fire and moved in closer and threw some grenades, then they quit and scattered. We killed a few and wounded some. Harry got one with his tommy gun. Then we opened fire on a big bunch further in to the escarpment and wounded six before discovering they were Indians taken prisoner. They were relieved to find who we were…. Poor old Tony Valli

Pte A. Valli; born Nightcaps, 10 Sep 1918; flaxmill hand; died of wounds 12 Dec 1941.

was killed, and we all feel bad about it. He was one of the old original members of No. 10 and one of the best workers we had.’

During the time the patrol was under fire, Corporal A. D. Smith

Cpl A. D. Smith, MM; born Wyndham, 21 Jul 1911; labourer; killed in action 15 Jul 1942.

worked his way forward, rushed a machine-gun post, killed the crew with a grenade and then swung their machine gun into action against other MG posts nearby. The patrol saw several 75-millimetre and other guns but it was not strong enough to bring them away, nor was it equipped to destroy them. In addition to recapturing the forty-three members of an Indian first-aid unit, which had been captured late that afternoon through taking the wrong road, Lynch's patrol took some prisoners, which brought the total for the day to 3 officers and 70 other ranks.

The battalion spent the next few days at Gazala with little more action than the interchange of artillery fire to report. The normal carrier patrols went out and an OP was established to watch enemy transport movements on the Derna road. Brigade expected the next advance to be made in the south and therefore had told the 23rd to ‘Hold present positions until further orders.’ A few more prisoners were taken. Diamond's diary gives the story of one lot: ‘Our fellows marched in 11 Italians including an officer. Nearly got a Hun, too. This is dinkum. When our fellows approached them, the “Hun” wanted to have a crack at us, with the help of the “Eyeties” of course, but the Italians didn't agree with the Hun, so to ease the situation they shot the Hun.’ A few more Bersaglieri captured by the carriers brought the unit total for the week 9–16 December to 18 Italian officers, 387 Italian other ranks and 2 Germans. The marked contrast in a soldier's life between such action as he experienced in the night patrol of 12 December and the inactivity of waiting for something to happen is well illustrated in what Corporal Jenkins wrote three days later: ‘Been reading a Free Lance, all about the Grand National, even the fashion notes to pass the time—Fred Blanchard

S-Sgt F. J. Blanchard; Maheno, North Otago; born NZ 7 Aug 1905; shepherd.

says he read all about Mrs. Elworthy's frock and Miss Orbell's hat.’

On 16 December the Polish Brigade launched an attack inland. The 23rd gave a demonstration of fire power in support of this attack. About ten o'clock next morning Brigade signalled that enemy resistance was collapsing and that the battalion was to push on with all speed. The Bren carriers and A and B Companies therefore advanced to the anti-tank ditch where, after a small amount of skirmishing, they rounded up some 200 Italians, whom they ordered to start marching back along the road towards Battalion Headquarters.

In the early afternoon, when the carriers were giving chase to some enemy trucks, they ran on to a lightly sown but well concealed minefield. Actually, Second-Lieutenant Mason had crossed the field in the leading carrier before one of those following was blown up. This carrier went on fire immediately and the three members of its crew, who had been wounded or knocked unconscious, would have had no chance of survival if Charlie Mason had not rushed back and, despite the exploding ammunition, lifted them out.

At this time, brigade orders to hand over to the Poles and to withdraw to a rendezvous at Bir el-Geff, some 20 miles to the south-east, reached the leading elements. Although the ‘hand-over’ did not take place till 18 December, the campaign was concluded for 5 Brigade. Nevertheless, things were going so well that most men would cheerfully have gone on. Some were talking about the greener country between Derna and Benghazi; others were over-optimistically forecasting ‘Tripoli for Christmas’. A day or two before, Diamond had recorded in his diary: ‘This is a different battle from the battle of Greece and Crete. We no longer go unwashed, unfed, unrelieved…. This battle is ours, we eat, shave, wash, polish our boots, rest, fight, and give the enemy hell. The men are bursting with confidence, the Morale was never higher, and last, but not least, the Battalion wears the hallmark of parade ground smartness.’ Little wonder that three days later he should write: ‘The game's very quiet now, seems as if the battle has passed us by. The rumour is that we are to withdraw back to the Baggush Box…. Blast them! Why can't we go on and be in at the kill!’, and on 21 December: ‘Today we got the dinkum oil. As far as we are concerned, the Libyan campaign is over. The crowd are very disappointed…. It's galling to find we can't go on and pluck the fruits of our first victory’.

Soon the brigade was on its way back to Egypt. On 19 December much of the transport was handed over to 22 Guards Brigade, which was taking up the pursuit. All ammunition in excess of the regular scale, all captured guns and equipment,

The inventory of captured guns, etc., sent in by the 23rd included one 210-mm gun, one 150-mm, six 105-mm guns, three 75-mm, ten 37-mm, twelve Breda 20-mm guns, four 81-mm and 22 50-mm mortars, 10 Fiat 8-mm machine guns, 15 Breda 6.5 and 2 Spandau 8-mm machine guns, and two Mark III tanks (one of which had been placed in running order with parts from the other).

and all the Bren carriers had to be delivered to the appropriate authorities in Tobruk.

On 21 December the padre, the Rev. Stan Read,

Rev. S. C. Read; New Plymouth; born Invercargill, 24 Aug 1905; Presbyterian minister; National Patriotic Fund Commissioner, UK, 1944–46.

took a church and memorial service. While they waited for transport, company and later battalion teams played football on ‘Romans Oval’, the desert ground named after Major Romans. The 23rd celebrated Christmas Day and dinner at El Adem. It had plenty of captured cognac but rations were still light. One diarist recorded: ‘Xmas Day we got extra rations in the form of green peas and potatoes—the peas were like the pebbles on the beach, and the potatoes—well, this is the 27th and the cooks are still battling with them.’ On 26 December the battalion ran into one of the worst dust-storms it ever experienced in the Western Desert but, despite the loss of contact and direction by several trucks, they all arrived eventually at the railhead and returned to the Baggush Box, seven weeks from the date on which they had left it.

The 23rd's first experience of desert fighting was certainly much more fortunate than that of most other New Zealand units in the same campaign. This was the result of fortuitous circumstances over which the units had no control. The battalion had the one short period of facing German soldiers—and it proved its worth in the defence of Fort Capuzzo—but, otherwise, it had fought Italians who had not offered very strenuous opposition, especially when it came to close fighting. Nevertheless, even Italian shells and bullets could do damage: the battalion's casualties were 25 killed in action or died of wounds, 68 wounded, and 17 (of whom 10 were wounded) lost as prisoners of war.

A measure of the 23rd's good fortune in this campaign is found in comparing the casualties given above with those suffered by other units. Twentieth Battalion's casualties were 24 officers and 524 other ranks, of whom 9 officers and 354 other ranks were prisoners. The 26th, the third South Island unit, suffered 449 casualties, of whom 89 were killed and 9 officers and 217 other ranks were taken prisoner. The 21st, which was separated from the rest of 5 Brigade in this campaign, had 376 casualties made up of 83 killed, 126 wounded and 167 prisoners of war.

The men had endured the severe conditions—the cold winds, the rains, the short rations, the salty water, the jolting truck rides and the dust. But most of the battalion took these as part and parcel of campaigning in the desert and would have agreed with the concluding diary entry for this campaign made by Corporal Jenkins: ‘Still we had some good times and experienced things we'll never forget and, if B Coy's luck holds as good next time, we ask no more.’

CHAPTER 7 Three Interludes: Kabrit, El Adem, Syria

THE reunion of 5 Brigade with the rest of the Division nearly coincided with the end of 1941 and the celebration of New Year's Eve. The appropriate parties held in the Baggush Box were marked by huge fireworks displays in which German flares, Italian grenades and other captured items were used to such effect that neighbouring British units ‘stood-to’, anxiously expecting an enemy seaborne attack. In their dugouts, 23rd officers and men cheerfully toasted ‘Happy New Year—Victory and Home’.

During the next few weeks, the battalion's moves were determined by decisions taken at divisional and higher levels by General Freyberg and General Auchmleck. These, in turn, were directed to countering the moves made by Rommel and the Afrika Korps. Early in January 1942 Rommel had temporarily withdrawn into the strong El Agheila position. Middle East Headquarters considered that a frontal assault on that key defensive position would be materially assisted by a landing in the Gulf of Sirte in the enemy's rear. Fifth Brigade was selected for this task of landing to the west of El Agheila and, on 4 January, set out for Kabrit to refit and undertake further combined training exercises.

A small road party from the 23rd travelled with the unit's own transport, while the main body of the battalion entrained at Sidi Haneish for Geneifa and Kabrit. On this occasion, most of the men had to travel in crowded box wagons, many of which had previously been used for transporting live sheep for Indian troops, whose religion demanded that only butchers of their own faith should handle their meat. After a journey of twentyeight hours notable for cramped limbs and the strong smell of sheep, the battalion arrived at 1.30 a.m. at Geneifa and was quickly taken by trucks to a tented camp at Kabrit.

After a few days spent in reorganising and refitting, during which men from the 6th and 7th Reinforcements were welcomed in what was becoming the traditional 23rd manner, the battalion began training for combined operations. Under the direction of naval officers, all ranks practised scaling rope ladders when fully equipped, rowing heavy boats, embarking and disembarking from assault landing craft, crashing through barbed wire and other beach defences, and attacking after landing. On 14 January the 23rd carried out a highly successful exercise involving a landing on a hostile coast and the securing of a position seven miles inland. On the next big exercise, a practice dawn landing, nearly everything went wrong that could go wrong. Some of the predicaments in which men found themselves were most realistic.

Although, as from 20 January, up to 50 per cent of the unit at one time was granted a week's leave, general training was continued. The last combined operations exercise concluded on 7 February. On the following day Brigadier Kippenberger, who had taken command of 5 Brigade on 17 January, paid a visit and announced that the brigade was returning to Libya three days later.

On 21 January Rommel emerged from the El Agheila position and began a reconnaissance in force, which developed into an advance when he found the British opposition weak. On 28 January he re-occupied Benghazi, and by 7 February the British forces were falling back on Gazala. These moves shattered any idea of a landing at Sirte. Reinforcements were required in Libya. While 4 and 6 Brigades remained for two or three weeks at Kabrit, 5 Brigade moved to El Adem.

Starting on 11 February, the 23rd moved back to Libya by both road and rail. The road party of 119, under Captain T. B. Morten, OC HQ Company, and Second-Lieutenant Cook,

Capt D. W. Cook; Invercargill; born Gore, 16 Jan 1917; truck driver; wounded 20 May 1941; wounded and p.w. 15 Jul 1942.

Transport Officer, travelled, by not very difficult stages, via Mena, Wadi Natrun, Amiriya and along the Western Desert road. The rail party of 15 officers and 560 other ranks, under Major Romans, the second-in-command, had a slow and cramped journey of forty hours before reaching the desert railhead at Misheifa about 4 p.m. on 13 February.

Under instructions from Lieutenant-General ‘Strafer’ Gott, commanding 13 Corps, Brigadier Kippenberger set his units to construct a defensive position or ‘Brigade Box’ at El Adem. This ‘Box’ was expected to give depth to the Gazala-Bir Hacheim line, to prevent the enemy from severing the supply routes along the Trigh Capuzzo, and to provide local protection for the Corps Field Maintenance Centre and the El Adem landing ground. In these defences the 23rd was given the western sector and, for the next five weeks, the men were busy developing and improving their positions. First, they dug slit trenches and weapon pits, getting help from the engineers' pneumatic drills where the rock was hard; then they dug crawl communication trenches and erected dannert wire fences; later, they thickened the wire in many places and fitted both wire and weapon pits into the arrangement of minefields laid by the engineers. By the end of February most of this work was complete. The names given by the intelligence section to most company localities and a few platoon positions did not last long enough to immortalise the officers after whom they were given, but Morten's Wadi, Norris Narrows, Grant's Gully, and McKinlay's Gulch, as well as Cooper's Canyon and Davis Ditch, temporarily commemorated the officers most concerned with particular sectors of the battalion defences.

Infantry patrols went out at night and carrier patrols by day, but more for training purposes than with any expectation of meeting the enemy, who had been halted west of the Derna-Mechili line. An inter-unit salvage competition, won by 21 Battalion, was held in the first fortnight of March and a weird assortment of items was collected from the nearby battlefields. The ‘I’ section brought out the El Adem News Herald Tribune with all the ‘Good news’—not that the fall of Singapore on 15 February could be considered good. C Company's football ground was the scene of some vigorous struggles. Sometimes the enemy aircraft, which bombed El Adem landing ground nearly every day, turned their attention to the 23rd transport. At nights, when Tobruk harbour was bombed, the men could see if not hear the ack-ack barrage covering the sky with hundreds of red-hot lances. Occasionally, as on 4 March, heavy rain soaked the area and flooded the dugouts and dug-in bivouac tents. On the whole, the men were, as one private recorded in his diary, ‘fit and healthy and happy’, but they were growing bored with the desert and were glad to hear that the other brigades had gone to Syria and that they were to follow.

On 1 March General Freyberg met the Brigadier and the unit commanders at Gambut to tell them of the Division's move to Syria. Fifth Brigade was not relieved for nearly three weeks, but on 19 March the brigade advance party left for Maadi, and on the 22nd, as 3 South African Brigade had arrived, the 23rd convoy joined the rest of the brigade in moving to near Sidi Rezegh. On 27 March the battalion arrived in Maadi where tents, erected by the LOB party under Captain Connolly, were waiting for them.

The unit's stay in Maadi was short, but on 2 April the first full-scale parade and inspection of 5 Brigade in Egypt was held, after some unit practices and a full brigade rehearsal. General Freyberg inspected the parade and presented decorations won in Greece, Crete and Syria. Captain McPhail, Sergeants Hobbs and Trewby, and Corporal A. D. Smith represented the 23rd on this occasion. On the following day, Good Friday, the battalion made up for its Christmas dinner of bully and biscuits with a dinner in the Pall Mall theatre in Maadi Camp. Several of the original members of the unit who had been posted to duties in Base or elsewhere attended this celebration, which was voted a great success. The next day the advance party left for Syria.

Part of that land bridge which links the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, Syria appeared likely in 1942 to maintain its reputation for being politically and strategically important. Whether or not, in the German grand strategy, an invasion came through Turkey or the Caucasus, it seemed likely that a pincers movement would be directed on the Suez Canal, with one arm coming out of Libya and the other stretching down the Levantine coast through Syria and Palestine. Allied, mainly Australian, forces had occupied Syria in June and July of 1941 to prevent the spread of German influence among the Vichy French and the Syrian natives. Now, with the movement of other forces to the East, the New Zealand Division moved to Syria and came under the British Ninth Army, which was responsible for internal security and for fighting a delaying action in the event of invasion. In late February and early March, 4 and 6 Brigades entered Syria. Thus, before it left the Western Desert, the 23rd knew that the ‘green fields’ to which General Freyberg had said they would move were in Syria, not, as some had optimistically hoped, back home in New Zealand.

On 4 April the advance party, under Major Morten, moved off from Maadi by road. A larger road party left two days later, while the main body of the battalion left by train on the 9th. The routes of the two parties were somewhat different. After crossing the Suez Canal and the Sinai desert with its picturesque sand dunes, the road party camped at Bir Asluj, a recently established petrol and water point, and then travelled via Beersheba, Ramleh and Lydda to the Tulkarm transit camp. They passed through many places with names more exciting or more historically interesting than their appearance seemed to warrant; they found the local inhabitants, both Jew and Arab, apparently more pro-British than the Egyptians and they enjoyed the oranges and grapefruit of ‘the promised land’. From Tulkarm they moved via Hadera, through Affula on the Plain of Esdraelon, to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, over the Upper Jordan and through the hilly country around Kuneitra to the staging area at Damascus. Thence the route led north through Homs and Hama, past the big groaning water-wheels on the Orontes, to Idlib, where Battalion Headquarters was to be for the next two months.

eastern mediterranean black and white map mediterranean

The rail party, under Major Reid,

Lt-Col A. D. Reid, ED; Timaru; born Waikoikoi, 11 Jan 1903; garage manager.

who had taken over command of B Company from Captain M. D. Grant, crossed the Suez Canal at Kantara and continued its train journey to El Kehir, near Haifa. After two days in the tented transit camp at At Tira, the troops travelled by civilian buses to Beirut. ‘'Twas the most hair-raising trip I ever had—either with full-throttle or consistently degeared, the ever-grinning drivers rounded the coastal hair-pin bends with maniacal, reckless abandon,’ wrote one 23rd man later. Next, they travelled by a narrow-gauge railway up over the steep Lebanons—nine miles in seven and a half hours was one estimate—to Rayak, where they changed to the main line for Aleppo. ‘It is marvellous country—wonderful after being in Egypt.’ A New Zealand YMCA party provided a hot drink and a meal at Homs. A story told against one sergeant described how he was told to get his men out for this meal at Homs, woke from a fitful sleep, saw the sign ‘HOMMES’ near a small station, and promptly ordered all his men to parade with mugs or mess-tins. By 16 April all companies had arrived in Idlib.

In Aleppo and on the Turkish frontier, 5 Brigade relieved 6 Brigade, which moved back to assist 4 Brigade in the task of constructing the Djedeide fortress in the Bekaa valley. Fifth Brigade's tasks were to watch the frontier, prepare demolitions, maintain internal security, show the flag among a people of uncertain political sympathies, and continue general training. The 23rd took over from 25 Battalion. Battalion Headquarters was established in a solid stone house on the outskirts of Idlib, a large village about 35 miles south-west of Aleppo. Headquarters Company (Major Morten) occupied the Idlib barracks, which had been built by the Turks and occupied more recently by the French. B Company (Major Reid) and D Company (Captain McKinlay) occupied Nissen huts and tents in a sheltered area among the olive trees about a mile out of Idlib. These companies provided the men for guards and for the mobile columns which were training for rearguard actions. A Company (Captain Connolly) was at Bab el Haoua, right on the Turkish frontier. A Roman triumphal arch, various ruins and a Roman road, which ran alongside and then joined the road into Turkey, gave an air of departed glory to this area. A Company checked passports, covered the demolitions the engineers were preparing and kept guard on an important entry from Turkey. Farther south along the frontier, C Company (Captain Thomson) covered two more roads into Turkey at Qenaye and at Harim. C Company's duties resembled A's, but they were somewhat more complicated as many Syrian Arabs lived in its area.

On the whole, life in north-west Syria in the spring of 1942 was very pleasant. Green fields and trees made a pleasant contrast to desert sands. Although anti-malaria precautions had to be taken, neither the mosquitoes nor the flies constituted a serious problem. The ration scale in the Ninth Army was not generous by New Zealand standards and parcels from home were much appreciated. The beer ration—two bottles per man per week perhaps—encouraged some to try the wines of Syria. Several acquired a taste for the forbidden arak; others drank liqueurs almost as they normally drank beer, with the result that some members of B Company who drank too much crème de menthe had green lips for days. Leave to Aleppo was given regularly. Here the troops found a city more oriental and more medieval than any they had as yet encountered. Its amenities for soldiers on leave were, however, very limited and its prices for goods worth buying very high.

Major Romans and other officers organised plenty of sporting contests and other entertainments to make up for the inadequacy of the fare in Aleppo. Inter-company cricket matches were the scenes of big hits and much hearty barracking. Debates provided food for argument. Individuals and teams participated in various shooting competitions. The most important of these was a match between a team from HQ, B and D Companies and a team from the local French gendarmerie in which the New Zealanders emerged victorious. Colonel Leckie added to the triumph by defeating Commandant Vabre in a private shoot. An HQ Company XI defeated an Aleppo American College soccer team but was defeated by a local Idlib team. Private Dick Baker

Sgt R. V. R. Baker; Invercargill; born Otautau, 11 Feb 1918; shop assistant; wounded 25 May 1944.

won the divisional middleweight boxing championship at Baalbek. The Kiwi Concert Party, 5 Brigade Band, and the YMCA Mobile Cinema Unit all visited the battalion. Celebratory and other parties also helped to pass the time and to keep spirits from flagging. Such convivial gatherings marked the second anniversary of the unit's departure from New Zealand, the meeting of the widely separated companies at cricket or other matches, the arrival of reinforcements and, on 11 May, the happy occasion when Lieutenant Sandy Thomas, who had been left wounded in Crete, arrived across the Turkish border at Dick Connolly's post.

The story of his escape from a German prison camp in Greece is told in his book, Dare to be Free.

As part of the ‘showing the flag’ policy, the 23rd extended hospitality both to local notables and to the French officers in the district. This hospitality was usually reciprocated, often to the distress of the officers involved in these gastronomic adventures. It was almost certainly no coincidence that Colonel Leckie needed medical treatment at the end of this Syrian interlude. Thus, the Abdine Agar-Rustum treated twenty of the battalion's officers to a fourteen course meal which lasted from midday to seven o'clock. On one occasion, Commandant Vabre and his officers sent a dashing detachment of cavalry led by a gendarme, who twirled a shining scimitar, to escort Colonel Leckie and his senior officers to a showing of French films. On another, a French military band gave a carnival air to a garden party.

But, despite these pleasantries, training did go on, often quite strenuously. As commonly happened in similar periods out of the line, several officers and NCOs went on courses of instruction. Despite the late arrival of the brigade in Syria, a party of two officers and sixteen other ranks left the 23rd on 17 April to attend the last course for the season at the Ski School at Les Cèdres in the Lebanon. Such experts as Lieutenant Harold Richards

Lt H. T. Richards; born Ashburton, 1 Dec 1906; farm manager; killed in action 15 Jul 1942.

and WO II Bowie enjoyed the course immensely, but some of the others found it tough going. Probably the most important course for the battalion, especially in view of the intention to equip infantry units at an early date with twopounder anti-tank guns, was the month's training in the use of these guns given to infantry officers by 7 Anti-Tank Regiment. Captain Herbie Black,

Capt H. C. Black; born NZ 29 Aug 1917; warehouseman; twice wounded: killed in action 20 Apr 1943.

Lieutenant Robin Deans and Second-Lieutenant Don Grant,

Lt-Col D. G. Grant, MC, m.i.d.; Invercargill; born NZ 29 Feb 1908; school-teacher; CO 23 Bn May-Sep 1945; wounded 15 Jul 1942; Rector, Southland Boys' High School.

all in turn commanders of the anti-tank platoon in the 23rd, attended this course. Thirtysecond Anti-Tank Battery, attached to the 23rd at this time and under Lieutenants Betts

Capt B. F. Betts; born Christchurch, 1 Apr 1913; warehouseman.

and Slyfield,

Lt H. D. Slyfield; Kaikohe; born Auckland, 28 Dec 1911; insurance inspector; p.w. 22 Jul 1942; escaped, Italy, Sep 1943.

also instructed a number of NCOs and privates in the use of the two-pounder. In addition, several men attended a physical training course in Aleppo.

A Ninth Army course which indirectly influenced the battalion's training was the G (R) course in irregular warfare run in the hills above Eriha by commando officers. Officers and NCOs attending this course learned a great deal about sabotage and commando raids. They reported that the commandos could march 6 miles in one hour, 9 miles in two hours, and 12 miles in three hours. In a fiercely competitive frame of mind, Colonel Leckie claimed that anything the commandos could do, the 23rd could do better, and the order went forth that route marches by day and by night were to aim at both distance and speed. The following company and battalion diary entries indicate something of the outcome: ‘C Company at Kafer Harim are setting new records in marching, fitness and proficiency of all arms. They have attempted several long marches and have come through every one of them in fast time and with an absolute minimum of foot trouble.’ On 27 May an A Company man recorded: ‘Today we carried out a route march to a point in C Company's area—roughly a distance of 20 miles. There were no casualties, everyone finishing the march in good fettle.’ Even HQ Company men, usually anxious to escape route-marching, caught the fever, and the mortar platoon, in particular, went on several long marches. Thus the ‘I’ diary for 26 May: ‘The Mortar platoon left early in the morning for a cross country march to A Coy's position…. All sections of the Battalion have at one time or another gone on long marches, some of them during the night, and the standard of marching, endurance and the lack of complaints speak highly for the fitness of all ranks.’

Although no battalion manoeuvres were possible, some companies did combine in mobile column training. Thus B Company moved as in its anticipated role to the Turkish frontier, where C Company, acting as enemy, put in an attack while B Company fought a delaying action in which it was supported by the carrier and mortar platoons. On the way back to camp, B Company found itself cut off by D Company ‘paratroops’ and a full day ‘battle’, involving attempts at outflanking the D positions, was fought.

During the latter half of May and the first week of June, both 4 and 6 Brigades carried out brigade manoeuvres in the Syrian desert near Forqloss, east of Homs. By 13 June, 6 Brigade had relieved 5 Brigade in order that the latter might take its turn at desert training, including co-operation with infantry tanks. That day the 23rd left Idlib for the northern Syrian desert; the officers brushed up their rusty knowledge of flag signals for moves in desert formation and the men reverted to living in and around their trucks. Next morning the battalion began its training in desert manoeuvres, but as the day wore on, the heat became unbearable—the metal parts of vehicles could not be touched for more than a split second with the bare hand and the petrol was vapourising. Brigadier Kippenberger called off the afternoon exercise; the units withdrew to the Euphrates River and the men relaxed in its cool waters. In the late afternoon orders were issued for a brigade move in desert formation, to be followed by a night attack. But, before this move began, a message arrived from Divisional Headquarters saying that the Division was under notice to move and ordering the brigade to return forthwith to Djedeide. The night attack and other exercises were cancelled. The move to join the rest of the Division began next morning and was completed by 16 June. The 23rd spent 17 June in packing base kits and preparing for the return to Egypt. Next day the battalion left Syria by road. A peaceful and happy chapter in the unit's life had ended.

When they left Syria, all ranks were physically fit and well trained in the use of their weapons. The spirit of the unit was excellent. Unfortunately, the scattered nature of the company localities in Idlib and along the Turkish frontier and the sudden cancellation of desert exercises had prevented the rehearsal of a battalion night attack or any unit or formation training. Lack of this training was the greatest handicap with which the unit entered Egypt.

CHAPTER 8 Battle for Egypt

DURING the Libya fighting of May-June 1942, the pendulum of success had swung even more strongly than before in favour of the Axis forces. Despite stands at Bir Hacheim and other ‘boxes’ by Free French and British troops, Rommel broke through the Gazala line and pressed on to Tobruk. When the New Zealand Division was called to return to the Western Desert, it was expected to take up a position near the Libyan frontier, but by the time its move was completed, it was too late to occupy such a position. This was in no way due to lack of speed in making the move. The 23rd, for example, took only five days to move from Djedeide to Mersa Matruh. The battalion left Djedeide on 18 June and, after passing through Merd-jayoun, Upper Galilee and Tiberias, staged the night at Tulkarm. Asluj and the Canal marked the next two staging points. Officers only had been informed of the unit's destination and a few rumours circulated concerning the ships at Suez which were to take the Division back to New Zealand or to the war in the Pacific. But, as the BBC news grew worse, fewer and fewer men believed in any destination other than the Western Desert. The report that Tobruk had fallen came as a genuine shock. Any lingering doubts as to destination were removed on 21 June as the convoy rolled through Cairo and took the Wadi Natrun road to Amiriya.

Although the move was ‘Top Secret’, with divisional shoulder flashes and hat badges removed, and vehicle signs and fern leaves painted out, the newsboys and other street sellers of Cairo hailed the ‘Kiwis’ as confidently as if flags and all identification signs had been shown. Amiriya itself was just a little dirtier and a little more dismal than usual. On the move along the coastal road towards Matruh on 22 June, the battalion met heavy traffic pushing, without any sign of organisation or control, towards Alexandria and Cairo. Sometimes in two and sometimes in three or more columns, trucks of all kinds from a variety of units, loaded with gaunt-faced weary men, forced their way back from Libya and the scene of the Eighth Army's latest defeats. Sometimes the convoy was disorganised by inter- ferenceinterference from this down traffic and a dust-storm at Daba did not improve the going, but all trucks managed to report at Smugglers' Cove, a few miles east of Mersa Matruh, on 22 June. Later General Freyberg termed the Division's move of over 900 miles from Syria to Matruh as a ‘most remarkable military move’.

During this return to the desert, Colonel Leckie was evacuated sick and Major Romans temporarily took command of the unit. As Colonel Leckie, the last of the First World War officers to leave the battalion, did not return to the 23rd, his departure marked a decisive break with the unit's early history. As its original second-in-command and its commander on board ship, for a time in England, and from 13 May 1941 till 21 June 1942, Colonel Leckie made a notable contribution to the spirit and outlook of the 23rd. All who recall how ardent were the supporters of pre-war Southland Ranfurly Shield football teams will know something of the spirit Doug Leckie infused into the battalion. This spirit, a fierce pride of unit, was sometimes narrow and not markedly friendly towards other units, but it generated a Highland clannishness and a determination to make the 23rd the best fighting battalion in the Division. In the mess, Leckie was ‘one of the fighting Leckies’

In southern New Zealand the Leckies have built up a record of achievement in the ring and on the athletic field. The best-known boxer of the family was generally known as ‘fighting Johnny Leckie’.

and in no way a stickler for formalities. He encouraged an independent individualism in his officers and NCOs. In particular, he encouraged them to hold and enthuse their men, not by virtue of their rank but through such natural powers of leadership as they possessed. This helped to make the 23rd a hearty unit in which respect for officers and NCOs grew according to the qualities they possessed and was not something enforced by King's Regulations and adherence to the letter of the law. Sometimes this led to a neglect of what is often termed the ‘regimental’ side of the unit's life. ‘We never over-organised in the 23rd but we always got things done’. In this typical remark of his, Leckie possibly summed up his views on command. During his term as CO, the 23rd may not have been ‘regimentally’ perfect, but it built up a remarkable esprit de corps which was one of the major forces in making it a strong and successful battalion.

Although the sight of an army in retreat was depressing, morale soon recovered: a swim in the Mediterranean, a good meal and an equally good beer—company canteens had picked up cases of tinned beer at the various NAAFIs en route—enabled most men to recover their normal high spirits. On 23 June Major Romans placed the companies in position in the eastern sector of the Matruh defences which were then being occupied by the New Zealand Division. On 24 and 25 June the battalion worked hard to clear the accumulated sand out of trenches, to re-erect or improve flattened barbed-wire fences, and to dig new weapon pits. In keeping with orders, a large LOB party, consisting of the whole of C Company and the seconds-in-command of all companies, was sent back to Maadi.

Company commanders at this time were Maj T. B. Morten (HQ Company), Capt M. Coop (A), Capt P. T. Norris (B), Capt F. S. R. Thomson (C) and Maj D. B. Cameron (D). Captain Connolly was on a tour of duty as second-in-command of the Southern Infantry Training Depot; Maj D. Reid was transferred to 20 Battalion in exchange, as it were, for Maj Cameron; and Capt McKinlay was returning to New Zealand as an instructor. When Capt Coop was evacuated wounded on 27 June, Capt Norris returned to A Company and Capt T. F. Begg took command of B Company.

Late on 25 June, to the delight of all who had given any thought to the likely outcome of being shut in this so-called coastal fortress, the New Zealanders handed over the Matruh ‘box’ to 10 Indian Division and moved out on a more mobile role to the south.

After a night move, 5 Brigade took up a defensive position at the head of Wadi el Garawla, but in the afternoon of 26 June moved to the vicinity of Minqar Qaim, a peculiarly shaped escarpment about 25 miles south of Matruh. Here the Division (excluding 6 Brigade which, in keeping with the current Eighth Army doctrine that a division had more infantry than its guns could support, was being held at Amiriya) occupied a battle position with 5 Brigade in the west and 4 Brigade in the east. In 5 Brigade, 21 Battalion was sent off on a separate mission to guard a petrol dump at Bir Khalda, the 22nd was placed on the west facing south and west, while the 23rd took up positions on a terrace and a flat area to the north of the escarpment. In the unit area, D Company was on the west and almost entirely on the flat ground in positions which faced north and north-west. A Company was in the centre on the terrace and covering Battalion Headquarters, while B Company was on the right facing north and north-east.

The ground at Minqar Qaim was extremely hard and, although the urgency of the task kept many of the troops digging till well after midnight on 26–27 June, some slit trenches were still very shallow and sangars had, in some cases, been built up from the excavated rocks. The digging-in of the spigot mortars, the new but rather big and clumsy infantry anti-tank weapons which were supposed to be most effective if a hit was scored at 100 yards range, proved virtually impossible in the time available. The news that the enemy had ‘broken through’ at Charing Cross stimulated the diggers to make fresh efforts. Of course, the late discovery that HQ and B Companies had trespassed on the 22nd's area and that the men responsible had to begin digging fresh slit trenches was greeted with typical comments from the soldiers concerned.

After stand-to on 27 June at 4·45 a.m., work on the defences was continued. Carrier patrols went out to the south and west. After breakfast, Captain J. Ensor, the brigade transport officer, conducted all the non-fighting transport to what was hoped would be a safe locality in the south. When, about mid-morning, large transport columns came over the north-west horizon, Major Romans, who was inspecting company defences, was asked the question in most minds, ‘Ours or theirs?’ With typical optimism, he replied, ‘Ours, of course. You don't think the enemy would move at such speed when we have 100 tanks between him and us’. The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the opening rounds in a lengthy artillery duel were fired. The enemy vehicles came on but shells forced them to retire. Several times, as their numbers increased, they advanced and then pulled back out of range. Later in the day the enemy tanks and trucks moved round to the east on the north flank of 5 Brigade and, somewhat later, attacks on 4 Brigade were reported.

The battle of Minqar Qaim was not one in which the 23rd was at all actively engaged. The men were well enough dug-in to be safe from most of the shelling, which varied in intensity from very fierce to spasmodic. All platoons came under this fire, but possibly 11 Platoon came under the heaviest shelling. This platoon was dug in on a small spur running out from the main terrace. One artillery troop had its guns at the end of the spur, another was in the slight depression east of it and a third was in a similar position west of the spur. When the counter-battery shooting reached its heights, 11 Platoon received many ‘unders and overs’ but, although one man was buried temporarily, no serious casualties were sustained.

Shelling is an experience which the infantryman comes to take for granted, but the first time under such fire is trying enough. Private Jack Bickley

WO II J. W. Bickley; Orawia, Otautau; born Riverton, 30 Jan 1915; school-teacher; wounded 19 Apr 1943.

wrote an account during the day of 27 June which is of value both as giving a reinforcement soldier's reactions and a picture of the shelling to which the 23rd was subjected on that and many other days:

21 panzer division encircles minqar qaim, 27 june 1942 black and white map of panzer division

‘1030 hrs. 27th June…. My first experience of battle…. It's not very pleasant. I'm not actually afraid but a bit het up just like before a football match. Unfortunately, last night in the bustle, we didn't get a very good position. I'm on a solid rock floor, could get only about 6” under the level of the ground and built a rough barrier round me of stones…. That was close! Up by Bn HQ. Whir-r-r-rr DUCK! A couple of trucks are on fire out in front…. Gosh! It's getting hot in here with a tin hat on and the sun streaming in…. 1130 hrs. I'm getting stiff and sore—this rock isn't as comfortable as it might be. Can see the flash of his guns