World War 2 In Review

Valentine IIIs of I Troop in the Jungle somewhere in the Pacific. The 1 Troop number is carried prominently on the locker on the turret rear. Note the use of the Stuart grouser box on the rear of the track cover for extra stowage on the tank. When the 1st NZ Army Tank Brigade was broken up in December 1942, 2 Tanks Battalion Group was reorganized along the lines of an Armoured Regiment with two squadrons of Stuart Hybrids and one of Valentine Mk II and IIIs. It was designated to provide armored support for the 3rd Division then moving back to the Pacific, however, in June 1943 the requirement for armored support for 3rd NZ Division was reduced to a squadron sized unit and so 2 Tanks was broken up the bulk going to provide reinforcements for 2nd NZ Division while the rest were formed into the 3rd NZ Division Special Army Tank Squadron Group. The Tank Squadron was dispatched to the Pacific two echelons. The first, including the Recce troop, left from Auckland for New Caledonia. The b...

3rd Division unloading landing craft on exercises in and leaving New Caledonia, late 1943. The 3rd New Zealand Division was a division of the New Zealand Military Forces. Formed in 1942, it saw action against the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean Areas during the Second World War. The division saw action in the Solomon Islands campaign during 1943–44, but was later disbanded in October 1944. The majority of its manpower was returned to civilian employment, although around 4,000 men were sent to Italy to reinforce the 2nd Division. The 3rd New Zealand Division began forming from New Zealand Military Forces units in Fiji in May 1942 and moved to New Zealand in the middle of the year. Major-General Harold Barrowclough was appointed to command the division on 12 August. By October the division consisted of the 8th and 14th Brigades, each of which consisted of three infantry battalions, along with artillery including the 33rd Heavy Coast Regiment, the 28th HAA Regiment, the 29th Light Anti-...