THE GUNNERS have a long history and are proud of it. Their ‘colours’ are their guns and their guns, as their motto proclaims, have served ‘Everywhere’. In its first few centuries, to be sure, the artillery was not much loved, even by its servants. These were civilians—chemists and mathematicians—preferring gentler disputes than war and forced to rely on farm labourers who, with their horses, had the unsought and unwelcome task of towing the guns. Gunners gained popularity as weapons and methods improved; but the process was extremely slow. Four centuries of coaxing failed to rid the guns of all their cantankerous traits and those they were supposed to support were nervous of them. Smouldering wicks of matchlocks near open barrels of gunpowder made the men near the guns fidgety. Indeed it was not unknown for the forced labour at the wagon lines to try to run away. But from the earliest days gunners have served their guns to the last in many a bitter contest.

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, formed in 1716, became in due course a powerful and indispensable partner of the cavalry and infantry. On the Western Front in 1914–18 the guns bickered incessantly and flew into violent rages which dominated the battlefield for weeks on end. ‘Of those still living who went with the guns through Longueval that day, and down the tortured road that led to Flers’, says the New Zealand artillery historian about the Battle of the Somme in 1916, ‘assuredly none will forget it…. Battery after battery wound through the tumbled ruins of the village, and down past the ragged remnants of Delville Wood, a ghastly place where the big high-explosive shells were sending up great gouts of black earth and pieces of wood, and Heaven only knew what else’.

J. R. Byrne, New Zealand Artillery in the Field, 1914–18 (Whitcombe and Tombs, 1922), p.132.

Beneath the massive ramparts of Le Quesnoy British soldiers first tasted cannon fire—in the year of Crécy, 1336. Nearly 600 years later the New Zealand Division found this same fortress barring its way through Belgium to Germany. The heavy walls and outlying defence works in late 1918 were sprinkled with trees and shrubs and garnished with grassy banks, a picturesque survival of an earlier mode of warfare. But they were not altogether outdated. The New Zealanders had somehow to overcome the German garrison without harming the French civilians crowding the town. They therefore could not use heavy guns to crumble the walls into the moats below. They might try to deluge the defences with shrapnel and high-explosive from their light field guns and howitzers; but they could not let shells fall among the houses beyond. Furthermore, they had to make an exceptionally long advance, 10,000 yards or more, and their guns could reach no more than 6600 yards,

A few with new-type recuperators had a range of 9600 yards.

The assault began at 5.30 in the misty morning of 4 November and soon gained ground. A complicated set of artillery barrages led some infantry round the northern side of the town and others round the south to link up in the east and carry on towards the Mormal Forest. Cavalry, gunners (including many attached from the Royal Field Artillery), engineers, infantry and machine-gunners played their various parts in the intricate scheme with admirable precision. Some guns kept hard on the heels of the infantry to guard against German tanks and machine-gun fire poured down from the walls of the fortress on these gunners as they passed. Other batteries were heavily shelled. The wagon lines of one battery were churned up and 52 horses were hit. The advanced guard of horse-drawn 18-pounders and limbers in the leapfrog movement attracted fierce fire, but pushed on regardless of it and installed itself in positions a mile and a half beyond the town. When these guns resumed their role in the barrage programme other guns ceased fire and moved forward. Thus the curtain of bursting shells continued to screen the advancing infantry until they reached the forest in the afternoon.

The struggle for the ramparts meanwhile continued. The artillery, massed Lewis guns, and light mortars concentrated on the few possible approaches. With this support the infantry made many a determined attack which was beaten back. In the end a sudden rush carried a 60-foot wall, the breach was quickly widened and exploited, and in the late afternoon the defence collapsed. Four neighbouring villages also fell, nearly 2000 prisoners were taken and with them 60 field guns and hundreds of machine guns, and the civilians were delirious with joy. Not one shell had fallen in the town. It was a fitting climax to the history of the New Zealand Division in the First World War. Particularly it was so to artillery operations which had begun under desperate circumstances at Plugge's Plateau and Russell's Top at Gallipoli in April 1915. The gunners claimed no special credit, however, for this ‘memorable and striking success’

Byrne, p.292.

Thus the ‘war to end war’ ended; but on 1 September 1939 another and greater one began, and two days later the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand joined in. New Zealand soon made up her mind to form another expeditionary force to serve overseas, a more or less self-contained force as before of an army division with ancillary services. This was more easily said than done. The tradition of the 1st NZEF had survived; but the fighting machine had long since been dismantled. Compulsory military training had ceased in 1930. When war broke out the Regular Force had 100 officers and fewer than 500 other ranks. A three-month recruiting drive had brought Territorial volunteer numbers up to nearly 17,000 and there was a special reserve of about 10,000. These were slender foundations for an expeditionary force plus a Territorial division for home service. Equipment was scarce and most of it out of date.

The 2nd New Zealand Division,

As it came to be called at the end of June 1942. Until then it was officially The New Zealand Division.

Divisional Artillery Headquarters.

Three field regiments each of twenty-four 25-pounders, a Signals section, and a light aid detachment of Ordnance.

One anti-tank regiment of forty-eight 2-pounders, a Signals section, and a light aid detachment.

One light anti-aircraft regiment of (at first) thirty-six 40-millimetre Bofors guns, a Signals section, a transport section (NZASC), and a workshops section of Ordnance.

One survey troop.

The highest appointments in 2 NZEF were still under earnest discussion and it was not until January 1940 that Colonel Miles

Brig R. Miles, CBE, DSO and bar, MC, ED, m.i.d.; born Springston, 10 Dec 1892; Regular soldier; NZ Fd Arty 1914–19; CRA 2 NZ Div 1940–41; comd 2 NZEF (UK) 1940; wounded and p.w. 1 Dec 1941; escaped, Italy, Mar 1943; died, Spain, 20 Oct 1943.

It had already been decided to assemble the Division in Egypt, where the New Zealand Division of the First World War had been formed after the Dardanelles campaign, and the First Echelon sent off advanced parties in December, a dozen gunners among them. The rest of the 4th Field hastened through its training programme. By November it had a full complement of guns: two four-gun troops of pneumatic-tyred 18-pounders and one troop of iron-shod 4.5-inch howitzers. With them the unit carried out a ‘live shoot’ at Whata Whata, near Frankton, which greatly increased the confidence of the gunners in the skills they had acquired.

After a ceremonial parade in the Auckland Domain on 3 January 1940, the First Echelon sailed from Wellington on the 6th in a convoy of six large ships, heavily escorted. ‘Ike’ Parkinson was Officer Commanding Troops in the luxurious Empress of Canada which carried his regiment and his bulky figure and inevitable pipe were prominent on board, making the gunners feel at home. The Empress was diverted to Sydney, where Major-General B. C. Freyberg,

Lt-Gen Lord Freyberg, VC, GCMG. KCB, KBE, DSO and 3 bars, m.i.d., Order of Valour and MC (Greek); born Richmond, Surrey, 21 Mar 1889; CO Hood Bn 1915–17; comd 173 Bde, 58 Div, and 88 Bde, 29 Div, 1917–19; GOC 2 NZEF Nov 1939-Nov 1945; twice wounded; Governor-General of New Zealand, Jun 1946-Aug 1952; died Windsor, England, 4 Jul 1963.

The artillery of the 2nd Echelon comprised the 5th Field and Headquarters and two batteries (the 31st and 32nd) of the 7th Anti-Tank, with a few more details for NZA Headquarters. Some officers and NCOs destined for these units had entered camp before 4 Field Regiment departed. The remainder came in somewhat spasmodically in the next few weeks, starting with a large draft of recruits on 12 January. The respective Commanding Officers were Major Sleigh,

Lt-Col R. E. Sleigh; Dunedin; born Dunedin, 11 Nov 1902; seed salesman.

The field gunners trained as before, but the anti-tank gunners had to make do with 18-pounders on Beach platforms, since 2-pounder anti-tank guns, extremely hard to get even in England, were unlikely to reach New Zealand for many months. The weather deteriorated and the low-lying camp with its makeshift facilities was neither comfortable nor healthy. Towards the end of February 5 Field Regiment carried out a live shoot at Waiouru, after only sketchy training. Observation of fire was poor and communications were uncertain, while several vehicles were damaged because of inexperience. It was nevertheless valuable training. The anti-tank batteries carried out an antitank shoot at the end of the month with rather more success.

On 1 May 1940 the artillery of the Second Echelon left camp for Wellington and next day embarked in the Aquitania. Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser

Lt-Col K. W. Fraser, CMG, OBE, ED, m.i.d.; Wellington; born Edinburgh, 1 Nov 1905; asst advertising manager; CO 5 Fd Regt 1940–41; wounded and p.w. 27 Nov 1941; Dominion President, NZRSA, 1957–62.

Back at Hopu Hopu the 6th Field had begun to assemble on 31 January 1940, under Lieutenant-Colonel C. E. (‘Steve’) Weir, with WOI Mossong

Capt L. Mossong, MBE; Auckland; born NZ 14 May 1898; Regular soldier.

The arrival of the 4th Field at Maadi on 11 February 1940 had been more memorable. They had marched with their personal gear from the railway a mile away, led by the band of the Durham Light Infantry and watched by a sprinkling of local residents, English, French and Egyptian. The 4th Field was the first New Zealand unit to arrive; hence this special treatment. The artillery lines had been prepared beforehand by 1 Field Regiment, RA, and a party from this unit welcomed the newcomers and had a meal ready for them, as well as giving them a week's ‘mothering’ which was especially helpful in administration and quartermastering.

Gunners of the First Echelon could only do elementary training until their equipment arrived and therefore made the most of their leisure hours. No leave passes were needed to visit Cairo and this city showed a brighter and kindlier face than later arrivals were to see. The Egyptian Museum was still open, the lights of the city blazed, and the New Zealanders, the largest and wealthiest of the contingents of troops stationed nearby, were made most welcome. The residents of Maadi erected a huge tent among trees at the edge of the desert a mile from the camp and staffed it as a recreation centre which became very popular. In the camp there were several recreation huts and the ramshackle Shafto's Cinema.

Training proceeded rapidly with guns which arrived on 1 March and with the help of other artillery units, particularly the 4th Royal Horse Artillery. In April ‘Milesia’ under Briga- dierBrigadier Miles fought ‘Puttagonia’ under 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; 2 NZ Div (Crete) 29 Apr-27 May 1941; CGS and GOC NZ Military Forces, Aug 1941-Dec 1945.

The anti-tankers brought with them nine of their full complement of twelve 2-pounders and in almost all other respects were fully equipped for war, a unique distinction which aroused considerable interest. They possessed anti-gas capes, machettes, camouflage nets, field dressings, Horlick's emergency rations and many other items that attracted attention.

When the Wehrmacht attacked first Norway and then the Lowlands and France and it seemed likely that Italy might enter the war on the German side, Brigadier Miles redoubled his efforts to obtain the guns, transport and other equipment that his units urgently needed. The Italian declaration of war on 10 June caused the gunners much hard work in dispersing their tents and ‘digging them in’ in case of air raids. But it also meant the closing of the Mediterranean to British shipping and further delay in equipping the Army of the Nile. Dismounted artillery detachments also went to Helwan and Heliopolis to protect airfields, while other gunners made dummy tanks which were in due course sent to the Western Desert to deceive the Italians there.

A force of 120 guners laboured in the torrid July heat to dig a deep anti-tank trench at Garawla, 14 miles south-east of Matruh. A similar detachment relieved them after three weeks. A field battery received full war equipment early in August and by the end of the month the whole of the 4th Field moved to Maaten Baggush, where 4 New Zealand Infantry Brigade Group (to give it its full title) prepared a ‘box’ of a few square miles with all-round defences. Some men still laboured at Garawla, while 34 Anti-Tank Battery (now under the command of Major Jenkins,

Maj A. V. Jenkins; born NZ 30 May 1903; civil servant; died of wounds 26 Apr 1941.

The Western Desert was still an empty wilderness in the autumn of 1940 and in it a force of little more than a division faced a large Italian army under General Graziani at Sidi Barrani. The New Zealand brigade guarded the lines of communication from Alexandria to a point west of Baggush. The single-track railway and narrow coast road traversed 160 miles of scrub-covered sand, baked earth and limestone rock which in placed formed steep escarpments. Occasional Arab homes, a few Bedouin encampments, a line of telegraph poles which sometimes sent out a branch to the south, and the ramshackle buildings near the railway stations of El Alamein, Ghazal, El Daba, Fuka and Sidi Haneish, with rare coastguard or light-house buildings, were almost the only evidences of man in this wasteland and on them were thinly superimposed the marks of the Western Desert Force with its RAF supporters. The sea for the most part was empty, too, and in the heat the land seemed to wobble like jelly. It was a lonely place in those early days to fight a war.

At Baggush the 4th Field occupied an area of scrub mounds laced with tracks knee-deep in soft white dust and the anti-tank battery lines reached down a gentle hollow towards the date palms and water wells of Burbeita. By September the regiment had 22 assorted field guns in five troops, two in a field role and three in an anti-tank role, while another troop was on special duty in Alexandria with four 4.5-inch howitzers. None of the troops had up-to-date equipment; but they prepared to do battle with what they could get. Battalion and brigade manoeuvres were carried out in the rough-country to the south of the Box, and gunners learned to navigate by sun compass

Navigators had to take oil compasses away from vehicles to diminish the inaccuracy caused by the mass of iron and steel. This was not only time-consuming: in a large, dispersed group it was hard to find anywhere within a reasonable distance that allowed fairly accurate readings.

The reunion of the two contingents of gunners was heart-warming, though the new camp made a disagreeable setting for it and a strong wind whipped up the sand and dust. Attention soon centred on new equipment which began to arrive. The field gunners were excited about the first of their 25-pounders, Mark II: the 25-pounder proper. In the 4th Field Colonel Parkinson supervised a hand of draw-and-show poker to decide which battery was to have the first four and 26 Battery won. By 16 January 25 Battery was fully equipped with the Mark I variety and 26 Battery with Mark II. Manoeuvres in the surrounding desert with live shell were marked for the gunners by the realisation of a gunner's perpetual nightmare: a premature burst of a shell in the barrel of a gun. Fortunately it was a smoke shell and only one member of the gun crew was wounded; but it was a sobering event.

The days at Helwan passed quickly with training schemes, course shooting

Course shooting was a training programme to teach junior officers in particular the routines associated with directing the fire of the guns.

The tempo increased in February and Divisional Artillery Headquarters, which had been taking shape at Maadi and had been reinforced from England in December, was particularly busy. The union of the Divisional Artillery was close at hand and full equipment and an active role were also promised. There was therefore a last-minute rush to complete preparations. On the 18th the 5th Field and 7th Anti-Tank reached Helwan—the Cook's Tourists, as they were called. None were more delighted than the anti-tank gunners, stationed at Mahfouz Camp, between Helwan Camp and the town of Helwan. The 31st and 32nd Batteries, with Regimental Headquarters, met for the first time 33 Battery from New Zealand and 34 Battery which had preceded them in England (having enlisted there). Within a few days the first combined church parade of the whole Divisional Artillery was held and Brigadier Miles proudly took the salute at a march past.

Miles knew something of what was in store for the men who marched past him, though he could not yet disclose it to all. It was not until the 17th that General Freyberg had been told that the Division was to go to Greece, and the wheels of diplomacy were still turning as furiously at an inter-government level as the wheels of administration were in the formations

A formation is an army organisation larger than a unit.

The gunners were for the most part confused by the welter of preparations and rumours, by the issue of mosquito nets and pith helmets, and by the official obfuscations. The wise ones got their information from Cairo bootblacks and Greek restaurateurs, who proved remarkably accurate.

The Divisional Artillery left Helwan and Mahfouz in the first half of March, Headquarters and the 4th Field first, other units later. In road convoys they drove through Cairo, past the Pyramids, and on along the road to Alexandria to halt overnight at the Wadi Natrun. A short drive then took them to Amiriya transit camp, a few miles outside the city. The camp was on a stretch of desert much afflicted with dust-storms and gunners worked there in considerable discomfort repacking loads on vehicles to decrease their height for a sea voyage. When the transport parties arrived at the docks and saw the vessels they were destined to sail in they realised that the precaution was fully warranted. The class of ship involved was much below what the three echelons had come to expect—especially the newly-arrived Second Echelon gunners. The Brattdal, which took the first lot of guns and transport, was small and awkward, and the motor vessel Devis, which took the next lot, was no better. The dockside labour, moreover, was clumsy and careless in the extreme and the embarkation staff seemed undismayed—scarcely even concerned—when guns or vehicles were damaged.

The 4th Field sailed in a rough sea in a grubby little Greek government steam yacht called the Hellas on the 9th, with men packed tightly into every conceivable space. For a day they were hove to in the storm. Brigadier Miles and his brigade major, Queree, sailed in HMAS Perth on the 17th. The motor vessel Cameronia which carried the 5th and 6th Field gunners was larger and tidier than most, but like the others was greatly overcrowded. The survey troop sailed among strangers in the Ulster Prince. Last of all, the 7th Anti-Tank embarked in the 2625-ton Korinthia, which was in a shocking condition. Lieutenant-Colonel Duff made many representations to the embarkation staff about this and kept asking for the Officer Commanding Troops on board until he learned that he himself had been given this appointment, in charge of 1900 men including his own. While the Korinthia was at sea the Battle of Cape Matapan took place, causing some delay to the convoy, much damage to the Italian navy, and sheer delight to the Greeks, as the gunners soon learned.

The Divisional Artillery needed only the light anti-aircraft regiment to complete its establishment as then authorised. There were few serious deficiencies of equipment, though a slight shortage of men in the field regiments and a considerable shortage in the anti-tank unit. Headquarters was a small band of six officers and 22 other ranks, with seven cars and trucks and two motor-cycles. It included a Counter-Battery Officer, but no Counter-Battery organisation. With such a small staff it could only hope to supervise in a very general way the work of the units, and the intention evidently was that control of these should be largely decentralised to infantry brigade level. The field regiments each numbered roughly 45 officers and 590 other ranks, including those attached from other corps (Signals, Ordnance and Medical), and they each had 112 cars and trucks (of which 36 were 25-pounder ‘quads’, the odd-looking towing vehicles for guns and limbers), 48 ammunition trailers, and 29 motor-cycles. Each regiment had two batteries, numbered as follows:

Each battery in turn had three troops (A, B and C Troops for the first battery in the regiment and D, E and F Troops for the second). One troop per battery, however, was a ‘swinging’ troop, dependent on one of the other two (or both of them) for certain facilities and work. All had either Mark I or Mark II 25-pounders. The anti-tank regiment had 122 cars and trucks and 37 motor-cycles. It had, of course, four batteries and each of them had three four-gun troops of 2-pounders. All but those of 34 Battery were towed behind trucks; the 34th had ‘portées’, which were 30-cwt (later 3-ton) trucks converted to carry 2-pounders ready for instant use (though with restricted traverse) in emergency action, though the guns would normally be lowered to the ground and dug in before action. The troops were lettered A, B and C (31 Battery), E, F and G (32 Battery), J, K, and L (33 Battery), and N, O and P (34 Battery). The missing letters (excepting I, which was not to be used) were reserved for the fourth troop eventually intended for each battery. The survey troop was trained and equipped to carry out flash-spotting (to locate hostile batteries) and for surveying regiments or batteries in on a grid, providing bearing pickets, and suchlike tasks. Each regiment had a section of Divisional Signals to provide and maintain communications, a Light Aid Detachment of Ordnance to maintain vehicles and guns, a medical officer and a padre. The grand total for the Divisional Artillery was therefore some 185 officers and 2500 other ranks with 475 cars and trucks (among them 108 ‘quads’), 130 motor-cycles, 144 ammunition trailers, 72 field guns and 48 anti-tank guns.

The main appointments were:—Commander, RA (CRA): Brig R. Miles, DSO, MC, RNZA; BM: Maj R. C. Queree, RNZA; Staff Captain: Capt L. N. McKay, RNZA. 4th Field: CO: Lt-Col G. B. Parkinson, RNZA; Second-in-Command (2 i/c): Maj A. Ainslie; E Sec Div Sigs: Lt N. W. Laugesen; 9 LAD: 2 Lt H. A. Bauchop; Medical Officer (RMO): Maj G. H. Thomson. 5th Field: CO: Lt-Col K. W. Fraser; 2 i/c: Maj M. A. Bull; F Sec Div Sigs: Lt H. W. Robins; 16 LAD: 2 Lt E. F. Cooper; RMO: Lt J. M. Tyler. 6th Field: CO: Lt-Col C. E. Weir, RNZA; 2 i/c: Maj C. L. Walter; G Sec Div Sigs: Lt A. S. D. Rose; 18 LAD: 2 Lt B. A. McConnell; RMO: Lt B. M. Hay. 7th Anti-Tank: CO: Lt-Col C. S. J. Duff; 2 i/c: Maj T. H. E. Oakes; H Sec Div Sigs: Lt T. M. Paterson; 15 LAD: 2 Lt J. W. Neale: RMO: Lt W. G. Cook. I Survey Troop: OC: Capt E. T. Kensington.