The 18th Battalion was a formation of the New Zealand Military Forces which served, initially as an infantry battalion and then as an armoured regiment, during the Second World War as part of the 2nd New Zealand Division.
The 18th Battalion was formed in New Zealand in September 1939. After a period of training, in 1940 it embarked for the Middle East as part of the 2nd New Zealand Division and then, in 1941, on to Greece. It participated in the Battle of Greece and later in the fighting on Crete. Evacuated from Crete, it then fought in the North African Campaign and suffered heavy losses during Operation Crusader. Brought back up to strength, in June 1942 the battalion participated in the breakout of the 2nd New Zealand Division from Minqar Qaim where it had been encircled by the German 21st Panzer Division. The following month, the battalion fought in the First Battle of El Alamein.
In October 1943, the battalion was converted to armour and re-designated the 18th Armoured Regiment. To replace men lost at El Alamein, personnel were drawn from a tank brigade being formed in New Zealand. The regiment spent a year in Egypt training with Sherman tanks, before embarking for Italy in October 1943 to join up with the rest of the 2nd New Zealand Division. It participated in the Italian Campaign, fighting in actions at Orsogna and later at Cassino. The regiment finished the war in Trieste and remained there for several weeks until the large numbers of Yugoslav partisans also present in the city withdrew. Not required for service in the Pacific theatre of operations, the regiment was disbanded in late 1945.
Formation and training 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. After consulting 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, under the command of Major General Bernard Freyberg. The new division would require nine battalions of infantry and consequently, several infantry battalions were formed from 1939 to 1940 with New Zealand volunteers.
The 18th Battalion was formed in September 1939 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Gray. It was the first of three infantry battalions designated to make up the first echelon of the 2nd New Zealand Division, destined for overseas service. Its personnel, all volunteers, were drawn from the Northern Military District, which took in the upper half of the North Island of New Zealand. They were formed into four rifle companies, designated A to D and corresponding to the Auckland, Hauraki/Bay of Plenty/Rotorua, Northland and Waikato districts. A headquarters company included the specialist support troops; signallers, anti-aircraft and mortar platoons, pioneers and transport as well as administrative personnel.
A period of rudimentary training followed, firstly at Hopuhopu Military Camp and then at Papakura, before it was confirmed that the battalion was on active service. It departed New Zealand on the Orient liner RMS Orion for the Middle East on 5 January 1940 as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd New Zealand Division. Before it left, it paraded before the public at the Auckland Domain and was addressed by the commander of the Northern Military District, Lieutenant Colonel Norman Weir.
The Orion journeyed to its destination as part of a convoy of liners by way of Fremantle, Colombo, and Aden before it arrived at Tewfik, Egypt, where the battalion disembarked on 13 February 1940. After a train ride to Cairo, the battalion arrived at what would the main base in the Middle East for the 2NZEF, Maadi Camp, in mid-February. At Maadi, the battalion undertook further training. Following Italy's entry into the war in June, it moved to a newly established defensive position, the Baggush Box, to perform garrison duty. It remained there for the next several months, conducting regular patrols and working on the improvement of the defensive positions. During this time, the battalion suffered its first casualties of the war, although non-fatal, as a result of Italian air raids. By January 1941, the defensive work was completed and the battalion moved to Helwan Camp, near Cairo, for re-equipping and more intensive and large scale training.
Greece In early 1941, the British Government anticipated an invasion of Greece by the Germans 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 18th Battalion was the first New Zealand unit to depart Egypt, and sailed for Greece on 7 March aboard the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Orion and Ajax. The 2nd New Zealand Division was tasked with the defence of the Aliakmon Line in northern Greece and was positioned on the northern side of Mount Olympus; the 4th Brigade manned the left side of the New Zealand section of the line while the 6th Brigade took the right. The 18th Battalion was the first complete unit in the line; one company was positioned in Olympus Pass itself while the remainder started digging in the sector allocated to 4th Brigade. By 5 April, the battalion's defensive work was completed.
On 6 April, the Germans invaded Greece and advanced so rapidly that their forces quickly threatened to outflank the New Zealand positions. On 9 April the 4th Infantry Brigade was withdrawn and began moving south to the Servia Pass. Here, the 18th Battalion was positioned in the hills above the town of Servia and to the right of 19th Battalion, which was defending the pass itself. From 11 April, Stukas mounted air raids on the New Zealand positions before the Germans brought artillery to bear two days later as their ground forces approached. It was during an artillery barrage on 15 April that the battalion suffered its first fatality of the war. The same day, the 18th Battalion fended off initial probing attacks by elements of the 9th Panzer Division but were unable to prevent the Germans from occupying Servia.
Despite this, the battalions of 4th Brigade remained in good defensive positions. However, they were withdrawn two days later to the Thermopylae Line, a new defensive position to the south, due to pressure on their flanks. The withdrawal did not go smoothly for the New Zealanders who had to walk out on foot under the cover of darkness amidst harassing artillery fire. Having the furthest to travel, at one stage two companies of 18th Battalion got lost before making their way to the safety of the rear of Servia Pass and their transport. Once clear of the pass, the battalion's transport was subjected to several air raids before they finally made it to the Thermopylae Line, the next defensive position for the New Zealanders.
The Thermopylae Line was defended by the 2nd New Zealand Division and 6th Australian Division, with the 4th Brigade held in reserve while the 5th and 6th manned the front lines. However, on 22 April, the Allies decided to abandon Greece and the battalion moved out the same day with the rest of the 4th Brigade as part of an intended rearguard. Originally the battalion was to hold a gorge through which other units would pass for 24 hours but it ended up remaining there for three days. During the intervening period, the intended embarkation route for the battalion's departure from Greece was cut off by the Germans and so the entire brigade made its way to Porto Rafti, east of Athens, where the battalion was one of the first units of the 2nd New Zealand Division to be shipped to the island of Crete. Total casualties during the campaign in Greece were 23 killed in action and 42 wounded. In addition, 117 men, mostly personnel recuperating in hospitals in Athens and unable to evade the Germans, were captured.
Crete
Situated along vital air and sea lanes of communication in the middle of the Mediterranean, Crete was of considerable strategic importance to both sides and, after the conclusion of the campaign in Greece, the Allies fully expected that the Germans would attempt an invasion. The 4th Brigade was stationed as a reserve force in the area around Galatas with the 18th Battalion near the newly established general hospital. When the airborne invasion began on 20 May, the battalion quickly dealt with a company of Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) that landed near them. It carried out mopping up operations and patrolled the area for the next two days before assisting the 19th Battalion in an attack on Fallschirmjäger that had established a strong defensive position nearby.
Despite heavy casualties during the initial attack, the Germans were able to land reinforcements and the situation on the island quickly deteriorated for the Allies. The brigade had abandoned its initial positions and moved to a new location to the west of Galatas to eliminate the threat that it would become separated from the 5th Infantry Brigade. On 25 May, the 18th Battalion had to deal with a full-scale attack by Fallschirmjäger. This caused heavy casualties and a large portion of one of the battalion's companies was captured. Despite reinforcements arriving from the 20th Battalion and the best efforts of Gray in rounding up stragglers, the Galatas position was breached and the township captured. Some battalion personnel, led by Gray, along with the bulk of the 23rd Battalion, participated in an attack that briefly re-took the township but it later had to be abandoned again after further fighting. The battalion was then withdrawn to the east as the order to evacuate Crete was received, making its way towards Suda Bay, where Allied ships were taking troops off the beaches. Along the way, they were subjected to heavy air raids, one of which killed a company commander, Captain Jack Lyon, the Member of Parliament for the Waitemata electorate.
During the evacuation of the 4th Brigade, which took place from Sfakia on 30–31 May, the 18th Battalion formed a rearguard helping police and maintain order; it was the last battalion of the brigade taken off. One of the battalion's platoons also acted as a bodyguard to the King of Greece during the battle and evacuation. The King subsequently conferred some of the men with Greek decorations. Casualties during the fighting on Crete were heavy for the 18th Battalion, with 105 men killed or missing and 110 more taken prisoner.
North Africa Back in its former base in Egypt and with its ranks restored with 400 reinforcements that arrived in June, the battalion began intensive weapons training. In September it moved to Baggush where on occasion it worked alongside tanks in training exercises. The 2nd New Zealand Division was now preparing for a role in the upcoming Libyan offensive, and several divisional and brigade level exercises were carried out.
Operation Crusader In November 1941, the battalion, now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Peart as Gray had been hospitalised, participated in Operation Crusader as part of the British Eighth Army and was engaged in offensive operations towards the Sidi Azeiz area. On the night of 25 November, along with the 20th Battalion, it was tasked with the capture of Belhamed, a hill adjacent to Sidi Rezegh. With two companies leading the battalion's portion of the advance, the objective was captured with a bayonet charge. Peart was wounded during the attack but remained in command. The battalion held the hill for three days and then swapped its positions with the 20th Battalion before, on 30 November, the 15th Panzer Division surrounded and attacked Belhamed. While the 20th Battalion was effectively destroyed, the 18th Battalion, with Peart maintaining tight control of some personnel who were close to panicking, managed to evacuate in time and reached the British 70th Division in Tobruk.
Rebuilding