The 27th Machine-Gun Battalion was a unit of the

2nd New Zealand Division The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry Division (military), division of the New Zealand Army, New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the World War II, Second World War. The division was ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It served in the

Greek Campaign The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

, Western Desert Campaign,

Tunisian Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...

, Italian Campaign and after the war took part in the

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

. It was one of two New Zealand formations that served overseas longer than any other unit in the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force 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 NZE ...

. The battalion was also one of the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

units that supplied men for the

Long Range Desert Group )Gross, O'Carroll and Chiarvetto 2009, p.20 , patron = , motto = ''Non Vi Sed Arte'' (Latin: ''Not by Strength, but by Guile'') (unofficial) , colours = , colours_label ...

History

Formation

The 27th Machine-Gun Battalion was raised at Burnham, New Zealand, on 3 October 1939. With an authorised strength of around 700 personnel and equipped with

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...

s, the battalion consisted of four machine gun companies, designated No. 1 to No. 4, underneath a headquarters company which fulfilled various specialist functions including administration, signals, transport, and anti-aircraft defence. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel

Lindsay Merritt Inglis Major-General Lindsay Merritt Inglis, (16 May 1894 – 17 March 1966) was a New Zealand military leader, lawyer and magistrate. Born in Mosgiel, Inglis volunteered for service in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the First World War ...

, the battalion undertook training in New Zealand before being shipped to Egypt in January 1941.

Mediterranean theatre

Further training was undertaken at

Maadi Camp Maadi ( ar, المعادي / transliterated: ) is a leafy suburban district south of Cairo, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about upriver from downtown Cairo. The Nile at Maadi is parallelled by the Corniche, a waterfront promenade a ...

, after which the 27th was one of the first units of the

to go into action in the

in April 1941. It took part in all the battles during the withdrawal to the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

, including the rearguard actions in the Battle of Vevi and the

Battle of Mount Olympus The Battle of Mount Olympus was fought in 189 BC between the Galatian Gauls of Asia Minor and an alliance consisting of the Roman Republic and Pergamum. The battle ended in a crushing allied victory. Livy is the main source for this battle, and ...

. The battalion, together with the rest of the division, was withdrawn to the island

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

and took part in the subsequent

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

during the German invasion, fighting at

Maleme Maleme ( el, Μάλεμε) is a small village and military airport to the west of Chania, in north western Crete, Greece. It is located in Platanias municipality, in Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. History Bronze Age A Late Minoan ...

and Galatas. After Crete, the battalion served in the Western Desert Campaign, in Operation ''Crusader'' in 1941 and the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

, and the pursuit of the Axis forces to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

where it took part in the

. Notable was the flanking manoeuvre around the

Mareth Line The Mareth Line was a system of fortifications built by France in southern Tunisia in the late 1930s. The line was intended to protect Tunisia against an Italian invasion from its colony in Libya. The line occupied a point where the routes into T ...

. The battalion was also one of the

units that supplied men for the

Long Range Desert Group )Gross, O'Carroll and Chiarvetto 2009, p.20 , patron = , motto = ''Non Vi Sed Arte'' (Latin: ''Not by Strength, but by Guile'') (unofficial) , colours = , colours_label ...

. The battalion was next in action during the Italian Campaign during which its

s fired nearly nine million rounds of ammunition. It was one of the first New Zealand units to cross the

Sangro River The Sangro is a river in eastern central Italy, known in ancient times as Sagrus from the Greek ''Sagros'' or ''Isagros'', ''Ισαγρος''. It rises in the middle of Abruzzo National Park near Pescasseroli in the Apennine Mountains. It flows ...

and early in 1945, was converted to an Infantry battalion and fought in the crossing of the

Sillaro River The Sillaro (Latin ''Silarus,'' Emilian ''Sàrrel,'' Romagnol ''Sélar'') is a long Italian stream, whose headwaters are by the village of Piancaldoli (Firenzuola, province of Florence), in Tuscany. It runs northeast through the city of Castel S ...

and at the Gaiana Canal, ending the war with the capture of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

. The battalion's casualties during the war amounted to 182 killed, 508 wounded and 257 captured. Members of the battalion received the following decorations: three

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

s, eight

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

es and one

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, and 26

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

s. One officer was also appointed to the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

Postwar

In the post war period, the battalion was then transferred to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

, where it was converted to an infantry unit and served with the New Zealand occupation forces in Japan. On 7 August 1947, the 27th Battalion changed its name to 3rd Battalion, New Zealand Regiment. It was disbanded in 1948 following its return to New Zealand.

Battle honours

For their service, in 1957 the 27th Machine-Gun Battalion received 34

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

Commanding officers

The following officers commanded the 27th Machine-Gun Battalion: * Lieutenant Colonel L. M. Inglis (1939–1940) * Lieutenant Colonel F. J. Gwilliam (1940–1942) * Lieutenant Colonel J. K. Robbie (1942) * Lieutenant Colonel A. W. White (1942–1943) * Lieutenant Colonel R. L. McGaffin (1943) * Lieutenant Colonel J. K. Robbie (1943) * Lieutenant Colonel

John Levy MacDuff John Levy MacDuff (11 December 1905 – 11 July 1963) was a New Zealand-born lawyer and magistrate. He served as Chief Justice of Fiji from 1962 until his death the following year. Biography MacDuff was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 11 De ...

(1943–1944) * Lieutenant Colonel R. L. Hutchens (1944) * Lieutenant Colonel D. G. Steele (1944) * Lieutenant Colonel G. P. Sanders (1944–1946) * Lieutenant Colonel W. F. Titchener (1946–1947) * Lieutenant Colonel R. C. Hollis (1947) * Lieutenant Colonel R. B. Dawson (1947)

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * {{Infantry Battalions of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, state=expanded Infantry battalions of New Zealand in World War II Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1948