in april 1942 puttick was promoted to lieutenant general, the first new zealand-born soldier to reach this rank. in the 1942 birthday honours, he was appointed a companion of the order of the bath (cb). as the war progressed he was faced with the difficulty of juggling resources to maintain both the 2nd new zealand division in the middle east and the 3rd new zealand division in the pacific theatre. later in the war, he was in favour keeping the 2nd division in italy to deal with what he considered to be the greater priority, the defeat of germany, rather than have it be used against the japanese.