26th Battalion (New Zealand)

26th Battalion
Active 1940–1945
Country  New Zealand
Branch New Zealand Military Forces
Type Infantry (1940 to 1945)
Size ~780 personnel[1]
Part of 6th Brigade, 2nd Division
Engagements

Second World War

Battle of Greece
North African Campaign
Italian Campaign
Disbanded December 1945

The 26th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Military Forces, which served during the Second World War as part of the New Zealand 2nd Division. Raised in May 1940, it fought in the Battle of Greece, the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign. It finished the war in Trieste and was disbanded in December 1945.

Formation

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the New Zealand government authorised the formation of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF), for service at home and abroad.[2] Following consultation with the British government, it was decided that the main New Zealand contribution to the war effort would be in the form of an infantry division, the 2nd New Zealand Division, which would require nine battalions of infantry.[3] Consequently, several infantry battalions were formed from 1939 to 1940 with New Zealand volunteers and these would eventually be sent to the Middle East, the expected deployment area of the 2nd New Zealand Division.[2]

The 26th Battalion was formed at Burnham Camp in Christchurch in May 1940, with volunteers drawn from the Southern Military District, which took in the entirety of the South Island. The battalion, under the overall command of Lieutenant Colonel James Page, was the third and last of three infantry battalions making up the 6th Infantry Brigade.[4][Note 1] The battalion was organised into four rifle companies, designated as A, B, C and D companies. The first three of these companies had personnel drawn from the Canterbury, Southland and Otago provinces respectively, while D Company was staffed with personnel from the Nelson, Tasman and West Coast provinces. There was also a headquarters company with specialised personnel, such as signals, as well as a battalion headquarters.[4]

Greece

After a period of training, the 26th Battalion, departed New Zealand on the P&O liner Orcades on 27 August 1940. It, along with the two other infantry battalions of 6th Brigade, was destined for the Middle East.[5] After transferring to the Orion in Bombay, India, the battalion arrived at the main 2NZEF base in Egypt, Maadi Camp, near the town of Maadi, on 30 September.[6] Here, it was occupied with intensive training for three months before it, along with the rest of 6th Brigade, shifted to Helwan Camp. Training continued, becoming more tactically sophisticated.[7] In the meantime, the 2nd Echelon, which while in transit to the Middle East had been diverted to England to temporarily strengthen that country's defences, arrived in Egypt to finally complete the 2nd New Zealand Division.[8]

The British Government anticipated an invasion of Greece by the Germans in 1941 and decided to send troops to support the Greeks, who were already engaged against the Italians in Albania. The 2nd New Zealand Division, now at its full complement, was one of a number of Allied units dispatched to Greece in Operation Lustre during early March.[9] The 6th Infantry Brigade was tasked with the defence of the coastal portion of the Aliakmon Line in northern Greece, with the 26th Battalion, apart from one company, based at Mount Olympus as the divisional reserve.[10] Later in March, it was replaced by 23rd Battalion and moved forward to rejoin 6th Brigade near Katerini, digging in between the 24th and 25th Battalions.[11]

On 6 April, the Germans invaded Greece and their advance was so rapid that it quickly threatened to outflank the Aliakmon Line. The brigade had to abandon its positions and was withdrawn to Olympus Pass on 9 April. This marked the beginning of a gradual retreat down the country, during which a series of rearguard actions were fought by elements of the division.[12] During this time, the 26th Battalion was temporarily attached to the Australian 19th Brigade, which was manning the lines to the west of Servia Pass, adjacent the New Zealand 4th Brigade.[13] After the Germans flanked the Australian positions, the 26th Battalion helped cover the subsequent withdrawal of the 19th Brigade on 16 April.[14]

The battalion, faced with transportation issues, had to dump much of its supplies[15] and had to march south to rejoin 6th Brigade, which was acting as the rearguard for the 2nd New Zealand Division.[16] On 19 April, elements of the battalion boarded a train for the Thermopylae sector to the south, the rest journeying by truck.[17] Arriving on 21 April, after a protracted journey with several bombing attacks by Luftwaffe aircraft, the battalion dug in at Molos. The next day, orders for the division to evacuate Greece were received and the battalion was instructed to form the rearguard.[18] Apart from air raids, the battalion did not come in contact with the Germans (although the neighbouring 25th Battalion did). It duly reached the beaches near Monemvasia and was evacuated from Greece on 29 April along with the rest of 6th Brigade,[19] the 4th and 5th Brigades having been taken off beaches to the east of Athens.[20] While the latter brigades disembarked at Crete, the 6th Brigade continued to Egypt.[21]

The campaign in Greece cost the battalion 76 casualties; 11 men were killed and 42 were wounded. Four more died of their wounds and 29 men (including 10 of the wounded) were taken prisoner of war. Most of the fatalities were as a result of bombing raids as the battalion withdrew down the country.[22]

North Africa

By late May, and after a period of training and refitting at Helwan, the 26th Battalion was back up to full strength and moved to Ismailia, near the Suez Canal. Here, along with the rest of the 6th Brigade, the battalion manned the Canal Zone defences against a possible attack.[23] The brigade remained in the area until mid-August, at which time it was replaced by 5th Brigade and returned to Helwan.[24]

This training was in preparation for the 2nd New Zealand Division's role in the upcoming Operation Crusader, which was planned to lift the siege of Tobruk.[25] The New Zealanders were to be one of the 8th Army's infantry divisions that were to surround and capture the main strong points along the front while the armoured divisions were to seek out and engage Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. At the same time, the Tobruk garrison was to attempt a breakout.[26]

The fighting in Tunisia ceased with the formal surrender of the Afrika Korps on 12 May 1943, and the New Zealanders shortly afterwards began returning to Egypt. Within 26th Battalion, replacements were found for the three company commanders who were casualties of the last battle.[27] On 1 June, they arrived back at Maadi Camp and were greeted with news of the implementation of furlough leave for long serving personnel. The first draft of 162 men, mostly experienced commissioned and non-commissioned officers and making up nearly a fifth of the battalion's full complement, left for New Zealand on 14 June.[28] After a period of rest, training resumed in mid-July and this helped newly arrived reinforcements, bringing the battalion up to 780 personnel, integrate with the experienced soldiers.[29] Training was now focused on combat conditions that were to likely to be encountered in Europe rather than the open fields of the desert. In mid-September, the battalion began preparations for a move to Italy, where the 2nd New Zealand Division would rejoin the Eighth Army.[30]

Italy

The 6th Brigade left Egypt on 5 October aboard three transports,[31] arriving at the Italian port of Taranto three days later. [32] It remained here for several weeks, acclimatising to the country and refining its tactical training, discarding much of what had been learned in desert warfare.[33] By late October, the 2nd New Zealand Division was once again complete for the 4th Brigade, now converted to armour, had arrived in Italy.[34]

The battalion participated in the Italian Campaign, fighting in actions at Orsogna and later at Cassino. It finished the war in Trieste and remained there for several weeks, until the large numbers of Yugoslav partisans also present in the city withdrew.[35] Not required for service in the Pacific theatre of operations, the regiment was disestablished in late 1945.[36] During the war, the 26th Battalion lost nearly 430 officers and men, either killed in action or died of wounds. Just over 400 personnel were made prisoners of war, half during the fighting in Libya in late 1941.[37]

Honours

Six members of the battalion, including five of its commanders,[Note 2] were awarded the Distinguished Service Order while a member of the YMCA who was attached to the battalion for a portion of its service overseas was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire along with three other personnel. Eleven officers were awarded the Military Cross with one of them also awarded a bar. Five non-commissioned officers received the Distinguished Conduct Medal and 36 personnel the Military Medal. One man received the United States Bronze Star and numerous personnel, including the original commander of the battalion, were mentioned in dispatches.[38]

Commanding officers

Notes

Footnotes
  1. ↑ The other two infantry battalions were the 24th and 25th.[4]
  2. ↑ Page, Peart, Fountaine, Richards and Fairbrother.[38]
Citations
  1. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 11–12.
  2. 1 2 McGibbon 2014, p. 16.
  3. ↑ McGibbon 2014, p. 19.
  4. 1 2 3 Norton 1952, pp. 1–2.
  5. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 4–5.
  6. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 8–9.
  7. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 14–15.
  8. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 16.
  9. ↑ McClymont 1959, p. 103.
  10. ↑ McClymont 1959, p. 136.
  11. ↑ McClymont 1959, p. 140.
  12. ↑ McGibbon 2000, p. 208.
  13. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 31.
  14. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 38–39.
  15. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 40–41.
  16. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 45.
  17. ↑ McClymont 1959, pp. 308–309.
  18. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 54–56.
  19. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 64–65.
  20. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 57–58.
  21. ↑ McClymont 1959, pp. 446–447.
  22. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 67.
  23. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 68–69.
  24. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 73.
  25. ↑ Pugsley 2014, pp. 192–193.
  26. ↑ McGibbon 2000, p. 389.
  27. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 281–282.
  28. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 283–284.
  29. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 285.
  30. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 286.
  31. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 288.
  32. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 289.
  33. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 290.
  34. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 292.
  35. ↑ Norton 1952, pp. 528–531.
  36. 1 2 Norton 1952, pp. 533–534.
  37. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 547.
  38. 1 2 Norton 1952, p. 545.
  39. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 9.
  40. 1 2 3 Norton 1952, p. 147.
  41. 1 2 Norton 1952, p. 182.
  42. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 408.
  43. ↑ Norton 1952, p. 469.

References

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