Military unit
The 25th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Military Forces, which served during the Second World War as part of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd New Zealand Division.
The 25th Battalion was formed in New Zealand in 1940 and after a period of training, it, along with the rest of the 6th Brigade, embarked for the Middle East where it joined up with the 2nd New Zealand Division. Moved to Greece to help defend against a German invasion, the battalion participated in the Battle of Greece but was evacuated at the conclusion of the fighting in the country. It then fought in the North African Campaign and suffered heavy losses during Operation Crusader, when it was effectively destroyed by the 15th Panzer Division. From December 1941 to February 1942 the battalion was brought back up to strength before being transferred to Syria. It returned to Egypt in March 1942 and suffered heavy casualties during the First Battle of El Alamein.
After the fighting in North Africa ceased in 1943, the 25th Battalion participated in the Italian Campaign, fighting in actions at Orsogna and later at Cassino. It finished the war in Trieste, and remained there to counter the presence of Yugoslav partisans that had entered the city. After the withdrawal of the partisans several weeks later, the battalion moved to Florence while its long-serving personnel began returning to New Zealand. Not required for service in the Pacific theatre of operations, the battalion was disestablished in late 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. 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. Consequently, several infantry battalions were formed from 1939 to 1940 with New Zealand volunteers.
The 25th Battalion was the eighth such unit raised for the 2NZEF and was formed on 15 May 1940 at Trentham Military Camp with personnel drawn largely from Wellington, Hawke's Bay and the Taranaki region. With an establishment of around 780 men, it was organised into four rifle companies, a headquarters company consisting of specialised personnel such as signals and a battalion headquarters. It was one of three infantry battalions that were part of what was initially known as the Third Echelon of the 2NZEF and which would later be designated the 6th Infantry Brigade, one of three infantry brigades of the 2nd New Zealand Division.
Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Allan Wilder, who had served with the Wellington Mounted Rifles during the First World War, the battalion embarked for active service aboard the Cunard liner RMS "Mauretania" on 27 August 1940. After transferring to the Orient liner SS "Ormonde" at Bombay, the battalion arrived in the Middle East on 29 September and immediately commenced intensive training at Maadi Camp, the 2NZEF base near the town of Maadi, in Egypt.
Greece.
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 was one of a number of Allied units dispatched to Greece in early March. The 6th Infantry Brigade was tasked with the defence of the coastal portion of the Aliakmon Line in northern Greece, with the 25th Battalion preparing and manning the defences around Agios Ilias.
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 the 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. The battalion fought off a sharp attack by the German 5th Panzer Division on its positions around Thermopylae on 24 April, its only major engagement of the campaign in Greece, before it successfully disengaged later that day. It was evacuated from Greece on 29 April along with the rest of the 6th Brigade, the 4th and 5th Brigades having been taken off beaches to the east of Athens. While the latter brigades disembarked at Crete, the 6th Brigade continued onto Egypt.
Casualties during the 25th Battalion's campaign in Greece amounted to nearly 30 killed and wounded with 150 personnel captured and made prisoners of war. The majority of the captured personnel were from the battalion's reinforcement company, which had been left in Athens when the 6th Brigade moved up to the Aliakmon Line, as well as a truckload of infantrymen that had been misdirected to Kalamata during the retreat. One soldier managed to escape and eventually make his way to Turkey by sea, an act for which he was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
North Africa.
By late May, and after a period of training and refitting, the 25th Battalion was back up to full strength and moved to Kantara West, near the Suez Canal. Here, along with the rest of the 6th Brigade, the battalion manned defences against a possible attack from German "Fallschirmjäger" (paratroopers), recent events in Crete demonstrating the threat these forces could pose. The battalion shifted to the Baggush Box, near Mersa Matruh and to the west of Alexandria, in September 1941. At the same time, its commander, Wilder, was promoted to brigadier and given command of the New Zealand Training Group at Maadi Camp. The battalion's new commander was Lieutenant Colonel Gifford McNaught who had recently been involved in the fighting on Crete before being evacuated. At Baggush, the battalion improved the defences in the area and underwent intensive training in open desert warfare.
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. 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" Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. At the same time, the Tobruk garrison was to attempt a breakout.
Operation Crusader.
In November, the 6th Brigade moved to its starting positions in Libya to be held in reserve while the initial part of the offensive commenced. The brigade entered the fray on 21 November, and moved to Bir el Hariga with the 25th Battalion leading alongside the 24th Battalion, while the 4th Brigade targeted the Bardia–Tobruk highway and the 5th Brigade the area around Bardia and Sollum. However, the following day, the 6th Brigade was ordered to advance to Point 175, set up a perimeter and then make contact with the 5th South African Brigade, which was in some difficulty, at Sidi Rezegh. Leaving early in the morning of 23 November, the 25th and 26th Battalions led the advance. At daybreak, they stopped and bivouacked in a wadi. Units of the Afrika Korps, later discovered to be its headquarters element, moved into the wadi from the far end and this initiated a battle in which the battalion took several prisoners.
The 6th Brigade moved on quickly to take Point 175, which was held by German forces. Point 175 marked the start of the Sidi Rezegh escarpment, from Tobruk. Arriving a few hours after their initial contact with the enemy earlier in the morning, the 25th Battalion made its first attempt to capture Point 175, having received orders to do so from the brigade's commander, Brigadier Harold Barrowclough. Initial impressions that Point 175 was only lightly defended proved incorrect and the attack needed additional support with two companies of the 24th Battalion and a squadron of Valentine tanks from 8th Royal Tank Regiment called upon to assist. After initially proceeding well, a German counterattack caused significant casualties amongst the battalion and the remaining two companies of the 24th Battalion moved forward that evening to help secure the little ground that had been won. Lieutenant Colonel Clayden Shuttleworth, commander of the 24th Battalion, took over command of the overall position following the wounding and subsequent evacuation of McNaught. The losses incurred by 25th Battalion on this day were 100 dead, 125 wounded, and another 100 made prisoners-of-war.
It was not until 27 November that all of Sidi Rezegh was under the control of the New Zealanders, with the 25th Battalion at little more than company strength following the events of 23 November. Barrowclough made the 25th Battalion, together with the 21st Battalion which had been moved to Sidi Rezegh, his brigade reserve. However, Rommel had inflicted a significant defeat on the British armour and was now returning to the Tobruk area with his forces. The 6th Brigade was strung out along Sidi Rezegh in pockets, vulnerable to a counter-attack, and elements of the 15th Panzer Division made contact on 28 November.
By 30 November, the 6th Brigade was surrounded and the Afrika Korps, including the Italian Ariete Division, began attacking after midday with tanks and infantry. Despite the support of anti-tank guns, the New Zealanders were overrun. Shuttleworth was made a prisoner-of-war along with his surviving company commanders. The survivors of the 25th Battalion, now commanded by Major Henry Burton, the sole surviving company commander, had been moved into reserve a few days previously and managed to withdraw before Sidi Rezegh was overrun.
Syria.
The battalion was reformed at Baggush from those who had escaped capture at Sidi Rezegh (about 300-odd) and other personnel who had been left out of battle, along with replacements from New Zealand. The battalion's second-in-command, Major C.D.A. George, who had been left behind at Baggush when the New Zealanders moved into Libya, was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became its commander. The battalion was stationed at Baggush until late January 1942 before being moved to Maadi. Shortly afterwards it was called into Cairo for four days to increase the Allied presence there and counter potential unrest amongst the civilian population of the city. Once tensions decreased it returned to Maadi, and resumed training and this included practice in amphibious operations.
From late February to mid-March, the 2nd New Zealand Division was transferred to Syria. The Allied high command was concerned that the Middle East was at risk from an invasion by the Germans and the New Zealanders were part of the force tasked with blocking their likely route from the Caucasus. The 25th Battalion was stationed close to the border with Turkey, near the town of Idlib, and its platoons manned frontier posts for several weeks. The battalion later shifted to the Djedeide fortress area where it would prepare defences. However, following the attack on the 8th Army's Gazala Line by Panzer Army Africa, the 2nd New Zealand Division was recalled to Egypt. By the end of June, the 25th Battalion, along with the rest of the 6th Brigade, was setting up camp in the Alamein area.
Egypt.
The 2nd New Zealand Division was dispatched to the lines of El Alamein and while the 4th and 5th Brigades went south to Minqar Qaim, the 6th Brigade, now commanded by Brigadier George Clifton, was initially held in reserve before being ordered to man the Kaponga Box at Bab el Qattara. Arriving on 28 June, the 25th Battalion guarded the western side of the box, while the 24th and 26th Battalions were responsible for the northern and southern sides respectively. The brigade remained here, watching first the retreating British stream by and then the Germans, at a distance, for several days before moving to Amiriya. It missed the action of 14–15 July at Ruweisat Ridge which saw the destruction of a large part of the 4th and 5th Brigades when, after securing the ridge, no armour was available to defend a counterattack by the Germans. The 6th Brigade was recalled back to the El Alamein lines to relieve what was left of the 4th Brigade. A few days later, it was involved in a night-time attack on the El Mrier Depression. The aim was to secure the depression to create a route through which British armour could penetrate. The brigade, with the 25th Battalion as its reserve, successfully achieved its objective and was consolidating its positions when