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Soldiers of the 2nd NZEF, 20th Battalion, C Company marching in Baggush, Egypt, September 1941.. The military history of New Zealand during World War II began when New Zealand entered the Second World War by declaring war on Nazi Germany with the United Kingdom in 1939, and expanded to the Pacific War when New Zealand declared war on Imperial Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The 26th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Military Forces, which served during the Second World War as part of the New Zealand 2nd Division.Raised in May 1940, it fought in the Battle of Greece, the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign.
The 29th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand 3rd Division, raised for service during the Second World War.Serving in the Pacific, the battalion mainly undertook garrison duties and labouring tasks in Fiji and New Caledonia, but saw brief combat against the Japanese in the Treasury Islands in late 1943.
Returned to New Zealand in mid-1944 and was disbanded later that year as part of a partial demobilisation of New Zealand forces. Many of its personnel returned to civilian employment while others were sent to Italy as reinforcements for the New Zealand 2nd Division. The battalion was awarded three battle honours for its service during the war.
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZEF of World War I became known as the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force.
The battalion was formed on 29 December 1941 at Burnham Camp, near Christchurch, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A. H. L. Sugden, [Note 1] a member of the New Zealand Staff Corps, in response to Japan's entry into the war following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the invasion of Malaya. [2]
The 28th (Māori) Battalion had its origins before the start of the Second World War. In mid-1939, as war in Europe began to be seen as inevitable, Sir Āpirana Ngata started to discuss proposals for the formation of a military unit made up of Māori volunteers [3] similar to the Māori Pioneer Battalion that had served during the First World War. [1]
[citation needed] Some New Zealand personnel would later return to Japan on R&R during the Korean War (1950–1953). [25] Once back in New Zealand J Force personnel found they were treated differently from World War II veterans. Their service went unrecognised and until 1964 they were not eligible to join the RSA or receive war pensions.