26th Battalion (New Zealand)

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. It finished the war in Trieste and was disbanded in December 1945.

Formation
The 26th Battalion was formed at Burnham Camp in New Zealand in May 1940 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel J. R. Page and was the third of three infantry battalions making up the 6th Infantry Brigade. Its personnel were drawn from the South Island of New Zealand and formed into Canterbury, Southland, Otago and Nelson, Tasman and West Coast companies.

Campaign history
After a period of training, the 26th Battalion departed on the P & O liner Orcades for the Middle East on 27 August 1940. After transferring to the Orion in Bombay, India, the battalion arrived at its base in Maadi, Egypt on 30 September and was involved in training and garrison duty at Baggush for most of the next 12 months.

The British Government anticipated an invasion of Greece by the Germans in 1941 and decided to send troops to support the Greeks. The 2nd New Zealand Division was one of a number of Allied units dispatched to Greece in early March. The 6th Infantry Brigade was tasked with the defence of the coastal portion of the Aliakmon Line in northern Greece, with the 26th Battalion, apart from one company, based at Mount Olympus as the divisional reserve. Later in March, it was replaced by 23rd Battalion and moved forward to rejoin 6th Brigade near Katerini, digging in between the 24th and 25th Battalions.

On 6 April, the Germans invaded Greece and their advance was so rapid that it quickly threatened to outflank the Aliakmon Line. The brigade had to abandon its positions and was withdrawn to Olympus Pass on 9 April. This marked the beginning of a gradual retreat down the country, during which a series of rearguard actions were fought by elements of the division. During this time, the 26th Battalion was temporarily attached to the Australian 19th Brigade, which was manning the lines to the west of Servia Pass, adjacent the New Zealand 4th Brigade. After the Germans flanked the Australian positions, the 26th Battalion helped cover the subsequent withdrawal of the 19th Brigade on 16 April.

It marched south to rejoin 6th Brigade, which was acting as the rearguard for the New Zealand Division. On 19 April, elements of the battalion boarded a train for the Thermopylae sector, to the south, the rest journeying by truck. Arriving on 21 April after a protracted journey fraught with bombing, the battalion dug in at Molos. The next day, orders for the division to evacuate Greece were received and the battalion was instructed to form the rearguard. Apart from bombing raids, the battalion did not come in contact with the Germans (although the neighbouring 25th Battalion did) and it was evacuated from Greece on 29 April along with the rest of 6th Brigade, the 4th and 5th Brigades having been taken off beaches to the east of Athens. While the latter brigades disembarked at Crete, the 6th Brigade continued onto Egypt. The campaign in Greece cost the battalion 76 casualties; 11 men were killed and 42 were wounded. Four more died of their wounds and 29 men (including 10 of the wounded) were taken prisoner of war. Most of the fatalities were as a result of bombing raids as the battalion withdrew down the country.

The battalion participated in the Italian Campaign, fighting in actions at Orsogna and later at Cassino. It 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 disestablished in late 1945.

During the war, the 26th Battalion lost nearly 430 officers and men either killed in action or who later died of their wounds. Just over 400 personnel were made prisoners of war. Half of these occurred during the fighting in Libya in late 1941.

Honours
Six members of the battalion, including five of its commanders, were awarded the Distinguished Service Order while a member of the YMCA who was attached to the battalion for a portion of its service overseas was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire along with three other personnel. Eleven officers were awarded the Military Cross with one of them also awarded a bar. Five non-commissioned officers received the Distinguished Conduct Medal and 36 personnel the Military Medal. One man received the United States Bronze Star and numerous personnel, including the original commander of the battalion, were mentioned in dispatches.

Commanding officers
The following officers served as commanding officer of the 26th Battalion:
 * Lieutenant Colonel J. R. Page (May 1940–November 1941);
 * Lieutenant Colonel S. M. Satterthwaite (December 1941–April 1942);
 * Lieutenant Colonel J. N. Peart (May–September 1942)
 * Major C. N. Watson (June 1942);
 * Lieutenant Colonel D. J. Fountaine (September 1942–December 1943; June–October 1944);
 * Lieutenant Colonel E. E. Richards (December 1943–April 1944);
 * Lieutenant Colonel G. P. Sanders (June 1944)
 * Lieutenant Colonel M. C. Fairbrother (October 1944–September 1945);
 * Major L. A. Pearce (September–December 1945).