A brief overview of the 28th Māori Battalion prepared by Ronald Baker, with insights from his father, Adj. Captain John Baker, who served in the Battalion.
The 28th Māori Battalion was part of the 2nd New Zealand Division, the fighting arm of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) in the Second World War (1939-45). A front-line infantry unit comprised entirely of volunteers. The Battalion usually contained 700-750 men.
Like the other infantry battalions, commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel with five companies: four rifle companies of about 125 men each and a headquarters (HQ) company of around 200 men, each company was commanded by a Captain or Major.
The Battalion’s four rifle companies were organised along tribal lines and named:
- A Ngā Keri Kapia (the Gum Diggers),
- B Ngā Ruku Pene (Penny Divers),
- C Ngā Kaupoi (the Cowboys), and
- D Ngāti Walkabout, while HQ Company (Odds & Sodds) drew its personnel from each company.
After three months of training, they left on 2 May 1940 and sailed for the Middle East.
The convoy left South Africa on 31 May 1940, bound for the United Kingdom, following the evacuation from Dunkirk. Britain was facing the real prospect of a German invasion. After arriving at Gourock, Scotland, on 16 June, the Māori Battalion was deployed to southern England, where it suffered its first fatal casualty in September 1940, when a dispatch rider was killed in a night-time road accident.
After six months in the UK, they left for the Middle East arriving in Egypt on 3 March 1941. At Helwan Camp, the Battalion was bolstered by around 300 Māori reinforcements from New Zealand. More than a year after first entering camp, the Battalion was itching to get at the enemy. That chance would come in Greece.
It was a baptism of fire in the ancient lands of the Mediterranean. The Allied defence of Greece and Crete against a German attack in April and May 1941 was to end in crushing defeat. New Zealand suffered heavy losses, but in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting at Maleme and 42nd Street, the legend of the Māori Battalion was born.
The ordeal of Greece and Crete was followed by a lengthy period of reorganisation, training and reinforcement in Egypt. Then, from late 1941 to early 1943, the Māori Battalion and the rest of the NZ Division would confront Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps and Italian forces in the vast North African desert – a harsh environment of extreme temperatures, ferocious sandstorms, and swarming flies. Rommel was to comment, “Give me the Māori Battalion, and I will conquer the world.“
Again the ferocious fighting by the Battalion ensued in 1942 at Minqar Qaim, El Alamein and Tebaga Gap. Where Second Lieutenant Ngarimu earned a Victoria Cross, it continued to Takrouna, where a DCM was awarded to Sergeant Manaahi instead of a Victoria Cross. From May to August 1943, the Battalion was rebuilt around new reinforcements, with many of the first soldiers coming home.
In September 1943, the 28th Battalion moved to Italy, landing at Taranto and marching to Bari. On 7 December 1943, the first battle of the Māori Battalion in Italy took place at Orsogna, where they were to spend the winter with little movement.
February 1944 saw a move to Cassino on the other coast and the dramatic battle from 17-18 February at the railway station. A&B Companies experienced 60% casualties. It is said that Captain Monty Wikiriwhi crawled back using two sticks.
Two other battles were fought before the Polish captured the monastery. On to Sora, then the advance to Florence and Empoli before being relocated again to the Adriatic Coast. Rimini, Faenza, Senio, Santerno, Sillaro, and Idice all river crossings to The River Po on Anzac Day 1945. On to the Austrian Border at Udine on 2 May 1945, where the War ended. The 28th Māori Battalion returned to NZ as a whole unit arriving on 25 January 1946.
“Kaore rātou e koroua ana pēnei ia mātou i mahue mai nei.
The Ode of Remembrance
Kaore rātou e ngoikore ana ahakoa pehea te ahuatanga o te wā.
I te hekenga iho o te rā tainoa ki te aranga mai i te ata.
Ka maumahara tātou kia rātou.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Arapeta Awatere, Adj Captain John Baker; Lieutenant-Colonel James Henare
Article was written by Ronald Baker.
It is said that no other NZ Battalion was as decorated with bravery awards then the Māori Battalion. On this day, we honour and remember them for their sacrifice and the legacy they have left behind.