2nd New Zealand Division in WWII
Part 1: From Formation
to Dispatch Overseas
By Brian L. Knipple
February 2006

When England declared on Germany on 3 September 1939, New Zealand simultaneously declared war. The British and New Zealand governments decided an infantry division for overseas service was the best way for the dominion to support the war effort.

From a March 1939 strength of 578 regulars, the New Zealand government had to raise combat and support units for employment in the Pacific (1st Division), while simultaneously raising a complete British-style formation of nine infantry, one machine gun, two engineer, two reconnaissance and three artillery battalions as well as a host of other support units for the infantry division. Sources for the manpower necessary included 10,742 territorials and trained reservists, the majority of whom were expected to enlist.

On 6 September the government authorized the initial formation of a volunteer force of 6,600. On 12 December the force was officially declared the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2 NZEF), the 1st now having been that dispatched in the First World War. Enlistment on a voluntary basis was limited to men aged 18-35 (later raised to 40), with length of service being the duration of the war plus 12 months. Enlistment began on 12 December and by the end of the day, 5,419 men had signed up. By 5 October, 14,983 men had enlisted. Enlistment of New Zealand men in England were sufficient to form the nucleus of the divisional anti-tank regiment, eventually forming 34 Battery of the 7th Anti-Tank Regiment.

(In all places here the term “regiment,” as used by the Commonwealth, actually refers to a battalion-sized unit.)

On 18 September 1939 the Maori tribes, the native people of New Zealand and fierce warriors in their own right, requested to be allowed to form a combat unit for overseas service. Approval was quickly forthcoming and the Army began accepting enlistments on the 9th of October. The unit eventually formed from the men who volunteered was the 28th (Maori) Infantry Battalion, one of the most flamboyant and warlike units in the division and maybe the entire Allied ground forces. The addition of this unit gave 2 NZ Division an extra infantry battalion. An earlier installment covered the exploits of the Maori at war.

Bernard Cyril Freyberg, warrior-dentist.

A New Zealander Commanding

Major General B. C. Freyberg, V.C., D.S.O., was appointed commander of 2 NZEF on 23 November. Unlike the First World War where the New Zealand Division was commanded by British regular army officers, the 2 NZEF was to be commanded by a New Zealander. Freyberg was so highly regarded that the Chief of the Imperial Staff had intended to offer him command of a British division. During the Great War, Freyberg had joined the British Royal Naval Division as an officer in 1914 and later a number of British Army brigades, ending the war, at age 29, as an acting major general commanding the British 29th Infantry Division. He had been awarded the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross three times, been wounded nine times and risen in the rank to major-general in the interwar British Army before being medically retired in 1937 under unusual circumstances by a cost-cutting British government.

As 2 NZEF commander, Freyberg insisted on and was granted a unique set of responsibilities beyond those of a combat unit commander. The force represented a significant percentage of the nation's male population between the ages of 21 and 35 and Freyberg and the government believed recourse beyond the British chain of command, which the unit would become part of, was necessary to ensure the unit was employed appropriately and administered as a New Zealand unit rather than a British one (Australia, South Africa and Canada did likewise). In this case “appropriately” employed meant what General Freyberg and the New Zealand government considered it did.

The 2nd New Zealand Division was organized and battalion-level and below units numbered so as to continue the numbering system used in the 1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force (a convention also used by the Australians, except that they carried it to the numbering of brigades and divisions as well). Brigades were numbered 4th, 5th and 6th as the first three were to be in the 1st Division. Infantry battalion numbering began with 18 as there had been 17 in 1 NZEF, artillery battalions began with the 4th, engineer companies began with the 5th and so on.

As might be expected of a nation with as small a regular army as New Zealand, the commanders of the 4th Brigade and the 4th Field Regiment were regular Army officers, but all other battalion and company commanders were territorial officers, with two of the infantry battalions commanded by lawyers. In almost every case, units were commanded by men with experience in 1 NZEF, even if they had not remained in the Army between the wars.

The plan was for the First Echelon to depart for the Middle East in January 1940 so it could equip and train in far better conditions than could be found in New Zealand. With the addition of the next two echelons of units, the expectation was that the division would complete training in August and be ready for deployment in September 1940. A base in England was to be established and the division be made available for use in Europe.

During the first nine months of the war almost 20,000 men embarked for overseas service in 2 NZEF. The First Echelon began training of officers and senior noncommissioned officers (NCO) on 27 September with the main draft of enlisted men being mustered in on 3 October. This was to be followed by the Second two months later and the Third two months after that.

27th Machine Gun Battalion boards the troop transport Sobieski. Lyttleton, N.Z., January 1940.

First Echelon

The First Echelon, numbering 6,529 of all ranks and composed of 2 NZEF divisional HQ, some administrative and supply units deemed necessary for the establishment of a base force in Egypt, the 4th Infantry Brigade (18th, 19th and 20th Battalions), 27 Machinegun Battalion, A and B Squadrons (companies) of the divisional cavalry (reconnaissance) battalion, 5th Field Park (engineer) Company and 4th Field (artillery) Regiment, departed Lyttelton and Wellington harbors on 5 and 6 January 1940.

The convoy arrived at Port Tewfik, 100 miles from Cairo, on 12 February, completing disembarkation on the 15th. Camp was established 8 miles outside Cairo and training and equipping begun. The divisional reconnaissance squadrons received Bren carriers and Mark VIb light tanks and 4th Field Regiment an allotment of 18 pounders and 4.5-inch howitzers. By late April, the 34th Battery, 7th Anti-tank Regiment had joined the First Echelon in Egypt.

Second Echelon

The Second Echelon and attached companies mustered on 12 January 1940 and began the process of training and preparation. It totaled 6,838 all ranks and was made up of 5th Infantry Brigade (21st, 22nd, 23rd and 28th [Maori] Infantry Battalions), 5th Field Regiment, 7th Anti-tank Regiment (31 and 32 Batteries), C Squadron of the divisional cavalry, elements of 6th Brigade HQ (being sent out to prepare training programs for the Third Echelon) and 7th Field (engineer) Company.

The 11 Forestry Company (loggers) and 9 Railway Survey and 10 Railway Construction Companies joined the group for passage to England instead of the Middle East. Second Echelon and the forestry and railway companies departed Lyttelton and Wellington on 2 May and sailed first to Australia, where they joined a larger convoy carrying Australian troops to the Middle East (50 members of the railway companies left in an earlier convoy).

This journey did not have the air of carefree adventure of the First Echelon. Germany had invaded Norway and Denmark and plans were made to divert the convoy to England in the event it should prove necessary. On the 12th of May Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Two days later British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned and Winston Churchill was sworn in.

Due to increased concern over German raiders and the potential for Italy entering the war, the convoy was diverted to Capetown, South Africa. After a week’s stay at Capetown, the convoy set sail for England on 31 May. During the first ten days of June, the astonished soldiers heard of the Dunkirk evacuation, panzers advancing across France and finally, on the 10th, of Italy's declaration of war. Although sinking ships from other convoys were spotted, the convoy itself was not attacked, arriving at the Clyde on the 16th of June.

With the surrender of France the situation changed dramatically. General Freyberg flew to England to take command of the Second Echelon. After conferring with the New Zealand government, he was given total control of the force in England and reported it ready to assume its place in the British defense scheme without regard to many of the restrictions placed on the use of the division. Thus it became part of the GHQ reserve and slowly began to receive equipment, the first issue arriving on 28 June.

The force was divided into 5th Brigade and a mixed brigade composed of 28th (Maori) Battalion and 29th (composite) Battalion. Both were assigned to VII Corps (along with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and 1st Armoured Division) and given buses for transport. Numerous exercises were conducted and in two months the force was considered trained and ready.

New Zealand anti-tank gunners training in England, March 1940.

When the expected German invasion did not occur, the units in England made ready to depart on the 15th of September for the Middle East to join the rest of the division. Increased German air attacks and evidence pointing to invasion resulted in a request by the British government to delay the force’s movement to Egypt. General Freyberg agreed.
With the 14 September Italian invasion of Egypt, Freyberg faced the choice of staying in England or joining the units in Egypt in what was clearly going to be a battleground.

Convinced of the ability of the forces in England to defeat an invasion, he and his chief of staff took a flight on the evening of 22-23 September and arrived on 25 September, despite a crash landing on Malta. In the last months of the year small parties managed to find passage on the convoys to the Middle East, but is was not until December that a large unit sailed, in this case 5th Field Regiment. The remainder left in two convoys in early January, arriving in the Middle East on 3 and 4 March and completing disembarkation on 8 March. Twentieth (Composite) Battalion was disbanded and the personnel spread among other units of the division.

Third Echelon

The Third Echelon, numbering 6,434 all ranks and composed of administrative and supply units, the 6th Infantry Brigade (24th, 25th and 26th Battalions), 34rd Battery, 7th Anti-tank Regiment, 8th Field (engineer) Company, 6th Field (artillery) Regiment and 3,050 replacements assembled for training on 15-17 May, 1940. With lessons learned from the two previous groups, things proceeded swiftly as events in Europe made even more urgent the dispatch of the units.

The drastic turn of events that left the Commonwealth alone facing Germany and Italy after the surrender of France made for dramatic changes in the New Zealand political climate, to the point of enacting compulsive service on 23 July 1940. Additional requests for logging, railway and engineering support from England led to the formation of 14 and 15 Forestry Companies, 16 and 17 Railway Operating Companies, 13 Railway Construction Company and 18 and 19 Army Troops Companies, the last two coming from and effectively resulting in the disbanding of 8 Field Company.

As the time approached for the units to sail for the Middle East to complete training and be equipped, questions arose regarding the need for them to remain in New Zealand. A rapidly declining political situation in the Pacific seemed to increase the likelihood of Japanese aggression, particularly after the Royal Navy reduced its strength in the region following the fall of France. After careful consideration and dialog with the British government, the New Zealand government agreed to the dispatch of the Third Echelon to the Middle East, after which the New Zealand Division would be formed and retained for operation in the Middle East in lieu of England. It was decided that the 3,050 replacements would be retained for formation of a Fiji Island garrison.

The Third Echelon sailed on 27 August, reaching Bombay on 15 September where the group was rearranged to allow the forestry companies to proceed to England. The remainder continued to the Middle East, arriving at Tewfik on 29 September. Sixth Field Ambulance and 500 reinforcements were forced to remain in India until transport could be found, finally sailing on 9 October. This group had the most exciting voyage — they were attacked at sea and in port by Italian aircraft, and the convoy escort engaged in a surface action with Italian destroyers from Italian East Africa. They finally reached Port Said, Egypt without loss.

The 5th Brigade and a number of other units were in England and the two brigades in the desert were not concentrated, and it would take several more months for these issues to be resolved. But finally the whole of the 2nd New Zealand Division was overseas.