2nd New Zealand Division in WWII
Part 2: Operations in the Middle East
and Departure for Greece
By Brian L. Knipple
March 2006

Note: Part 1 appeared last month.

By late April 1940 the First Echelon, hereafter referred to as the 4th Brigade Group, had begun training and equipping in the Middle East. The diversion of the Second Echelon to England meant that until the beginning of October it was the only significant New Zealand formation in Egypt.

While the 4th Brigade Group was obviously not ready for deployment, the urgency of the situation led to it being designated as a reserve element of the Western Desert Force. And as the threat of Italian entry into the war grew, the three infantry battalions (18th, 19th and 20th) were assigned rear area security, ultimately being assigned to secure the city of Cairo. Other units of the brigade were gradually dispersed to support communications, signals and railway operation. In short order a group of 129 men became responsible for British Army communications in Egypt.

The New Zealand Division would become one of the hardest-fighting formations in the Western Desert. That makes it very important in our upcoming Alamein game. But the war started slowly for the Kiwis. Italy's entry into the war was anticlimactic. Italian nationals were rounded up and life went on. The Italian Army in Libya made no immediate moves against the British, although this was not expected to last for long. General Freyberg and the New Zealand Government concluded that the Second Echelon, already diverted to England, was more likely to be in action, and he flew to England to take command of 5th Brigade and attached units. On 18 June, 18th and 19th Battalions were transported to Mersa Matruh where they combined training with defensive preparations. In early July they were replaced by 20th Battalion and a number of artillerymen; in late July, 18th Battalion returned to replace them.

18th Battalion lands in Egypt.

While the major units of the brigade pulled garrison and defensive construction duties, the 4th Reserve Mechanical Transport Company (RMT) was released to drive transport for the Western Desert Force (including moving units of the Brigade to and from Mersa Matruh). In this capacity the company became the first unit of the division to suffer casualties, when an Italian air attack wounded a corporal on 12 July. The one attempt by Gen. Wavell to combine elements of 6th Australian and 2nd New Zealand Divisions and designate other units as Army formations was rejected by Freyberg, who sent a message from England reminding Wavell of his charter to operate the New Zealand forces as a formation and not as dispersed subunits.

Other units of the group worked on construction projects, and some from the divisional cavalry were recruited by the Long Range Desert Patrol. Small groups were attached to units in the field to gain operational experience.

By July, the British position was serious. With a hostile Italian Libya to the west, a neutral but German-conquered Vichy French Syria to the east and an aggressive Italian East Africa to the south, every British unit in the Middle East had to be incorporated into the defensive plan.

Fourth Brigade, despite having not completed training and being only partially equipped, was to secure the line of communications between the Delta and Mersa Matruh, the position to which Gen. Wavell intended to retreat when the Italians in Egypt advanced. The 4th RMT Company remained deployed as part of the frontline British forces and continuously carried units and supplies forward. Nondivisional railway units assisted in the management and running of the Egyptian railroad system in the desert. By the time the Third Echelon — hereafter the 6th Brigade Group — arrived in late August, a 2 NZEF base had been established near Cairo to manage affairs behind the lines.

When Gen. Freyberg returned from England, he asked for the return of the many small units loaned all over the Middle East. Wavell replied that most could not be returned until 1941. Again Freyberg had to explain the New Zealand Government's position on the matter, and all units were placed under the command of 4th Brigade in the short term. Freyberg requested that the New Zealand division be assigned an armoured brigade, but was denied. It was not long, however, before the 4th Field Regiment was re-equipped with the new 25-pounder field gun.

Mail call.

In September the Italians crossed the Egyptian border and advanced only as far as Sidi Barrani before halting. There they prepared a series of fortified camps and began work on an extension of the water pipeline and an upgrade of the coastal road, presumably preparing to continue the advance. By December, no signs of a further move had appeared and Gen. Wavell began planning a counterattack. Operation Compass, as it came to be named, did not include the New Zealanders because of their insistence on the whole division being committed as a unit.

Those New Zealand units not integral to the division itself were involved in the offensive. Engineering and signals personnel already in the field took a bigger share of the load. Most directly involved of all was the 4th RMT, assigned to transport 5th Indian Brigade in the infiltration of the Italian positions. After an unobserved approach on 7 and 8 December, the entire 4th Indian Division moved through the Bir Enba gap in the early hours of 9 December. The drivers of 4th RMT were to carry the three infantry battalions of 5th Indian Brigade to the rear of the Italian fortified camps named Tummar West and Tummar East as part of the sweeping maneuver behind the Italian lines of the 4th Indian Infantry and 7th Armoured Divisions.

The huge dust clouds raised by the passage of so many vehicles made navigation difficult and resulted in a short halt. Once positions were fixed, the attack was launched, the New Zealand drivers bringing their charges to within 150 yards of the Tummar West fort walls. In the excitement of the day, many of the drivers picked up their rifles and joined the attack. One battalion had been allocated to attack Tummar East and the trucks carried the battalion to the walls of the fort only to be counterattacked. In the confusion many of the drivers joined the attack, one sergeant capturing an Italian machinegun post. As the remaining Italians were attacked or forced to retreat, 4th RMT Company was everywhere, moving fighting units forward or prisoners of war back.

New Zealand’s fighting truckers.

The transport company continued to support the advance of the Western Desert Force as Operation Compass grew into the pursuit of the Italians into Egypt. Casualties were light for the company, the heaviest of the period being sox killed and six wounded on the 24th of December in a bombing attack against Sollum. Engineering assets of the division were brought forward to repair services and restore roads and equipment in the ports captured from the Italians. Except for engineering and signal support, no New Zealand units took part in the eventual destruction of the Italian Tenth Army.

In February 1941, division-level training instructions were drawn up and begun in earnest with the expectation that operations would begin in March. The composition of the division was solidified with the 27th (MG) Battalion joined to the division (it had been a separate unit) and the artillery re-equipment completed with 25-pounders.

On the 16th of February the 5th Brigade advance elements arrived from England, followed on the 3rd of March by the remainder of the brigade. On the 17th General Freyberg was told that the division was to be the first formation of a corps being dispatched to the assistance of Greece, then at war with Italy and soon to be at war with Germany. On the 28th of February the advance elements of the division sailed for Greece, followed by the 4th Brigade, then the 6th and, after hurried training and re-equipment, finally the 5th.

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