Third Division's Role

New Zealand's activities iv the Pacific Avar, if they have not been as spectacular as;the part played in the European theatre, have been no less valuable. All three Services—Army, Navy, and Air Foree t —have carried out the duties assigned to them with distinction and to the complete satisfaction of those in charge of Pacific strategy. The Dominion also had an important role, as a food-producing country, to supply the Allied forces stationed in the area, it also played host to many thousands of American servicemen.

New Zealand sent a force to the Pacific long before Japan entered the war. As long ago as 1936, when the British Overseas Defence Committee was considering the Fiji Islands in its deliberarions, it was presumed that, as Fiji obviously was unable to defend herself, New Zealand and the Navy would provide the necessary military and naval forces should they ever be required. Two years later New Zealand's Chiefs of Staff made the suggestion that the Fiji Defence Force should be increased to approximately the size of a brigade, that coast artillery be installed, airfields constructed, and a suitable body of reinforcements trained in New Zealand. That scheme was not fully implemented until two years afterwards. In July. 1940, the Chiefs of Staff visited Fiji and recommended that immediate ..-teps should be taken to bring the defences of the islands to a higher state, of readiness, and that New Zealand troops should be dispatched there to garrison tlie principal island of Viti Levu.

A FORCE IN SUVA.

Early in October, 1940. the 18th Army Troops Company, under Major L. A. Lincoln, arrived at Suva and the work of camp construction was pushed ahead with all speed. By the end of November the Sth Brigade Group, totalling 3053 all ranks, was in occupation and enduring the initial discomforts of tropic temperatures and their attendant insect pests. Because of the small force available, the tactical situation was reduced of necessity to the defence of two vital zones on the principal island—that is, Suva Peninsula in the eastern area, which included the port and town with their facilities and supplies, and the small airfield at Nausori, about 15 miles away on the left bank of the Rewa River; and the Namaka area on the west -oast, with the small port of Lautoka, tlie entrance through the reef at Momi and the small airfield at Nandi. In the early days the force was concerned with preparations for a scheme of mobile defence against the possibility of a Japanese attack. By the middle of January, 1941, the Bth Brigade Group had stepped up to a composite force, which included representatives of the Navy and Air Force. When, on February 20, Fiji was struck by Its worst hurricane for 21 years, some damage was done-to military installations, but miraculously there was no loss of life, although there were many narrow escapes.

THE FIJIAN DEFENCE SCHEME.

By March, 1941, the tactical scheme was operating smoothly, although arms and equipment, particularly motor transport, were still short of requirements. Under the original Fiji defence and garrison scheme New Zealand troops were to remain there for a six months' tour of duty and training, after which they were to be relieved and sent to the Middle East as required for the 2nd Division. The first relief arrived ih two sections—on May 23 and 29.

In December came the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, and this brought the New Zealand force in Fiji —possibly the only troops occupying their defensive posts ih the Pacific when Japan came into the war—well

into the picture. There began a period of renewed activity, beginning with the immediate arrest of all Japanese residents of Fiji and Tingo and their dispatch to New Zealand for internment. Five Hudson aircraft had arrived from New Zealand and were stationed at Nandi . airfield. Many others came later to build up the strength of the R.N.Z.A.F. there.

By January, 1942, men and material had arrived from New Zealand to bring the force up to divisional strength. Brigadier W. H. Cunningham was promoted to the rank of Major-General and appointed G.O.C. Fiji Forces. In addition R.N.Z.A.F. increased their strength with the arrival of more planes, and Wing Commander G. N. Roberts, A.F.C., was appointed to command them. Small naval craft from New Zealand for use as minesweepers and patrol boats enabled a constant watch to be maintained at the entrance of the harbour. A combined operations room came into existence at headquarters for the pooling of information. The organisation also meant an extension of existing occupied zones and a strengthening of all defence lines. Some idea of the territory New Zealand units were called upon to defend in Fiji can be gauged from the fact that the 14th Brigade's area covered approximately 1000 square miles.

Early in March, 1942, Major-General Cunningham, whose health had suffered from an exhausting bout of sickness, returned to New Zealand, and was invalided out of the service. He was succeeded by Major-General O. H. Mead, who took charge on March 9.

GUERRILLA TROOPS.

About this time guerrilla troops, recruited from native villages and commanded by New Zealand officers and n.c.o.s, were organised, the idea being that if Fiji were attacked with success these organised bands, working from established bases in the' interior of the island, could harass the enemy and destroy his supply lines and communications. Each guerrilla troop consisted of approximately 30 New Zealand officers and n.c.o.s, ail volunteers from infantry battalions and chosen for their initiative and knowledge of bush country, and 200 Fijians who underwent an intensive course of training. In May, Fiji was included in the

command of Vice-Admiral R. L. Ghormley, and as more and more American forces began to arrive in Fiji it became clear that the New Zealand force's stay there was coming 1o an end. On July 18 operational control was handed over to General Beightler, and the role of the 3rd Division as defenders of Fiji was over. General Mead arranged to remain in Fiji to attend combined operations (the first rehearsal for Guadalcanal) by United States naval, military, arid air forces on islands which he had helped to select for such tasks, and to pay a final visit to the troops in Tonga. On July 25 the Hudson plane in which he and his aide-de-camp, Lieut. J. C. Leslie, were travelling, was lost off Tonga in a tropical storm, which blanketed the island to the level of the palms.

BACK IN NEW ZEALAND.

Back in New Zealand for reorganisation, the Division was camped in the Auckland district, and MajorGeneral H. E. Barrowclough was appointed the Division's new commander. Early in October the 36th Battalion embarked for Norfolk, to spend some months occupying the island. Later that month Uie 34th Battalion was detached for duty in Tonga. Meantime the Division had been engaging in full-scale exercises in the Waikato district.

Early in November came the move to New Caledonia, where the Division was to do garrison duty and fit itself for the Solomons campaign. The time was devoted to arduous training. Jungle training was followed by amphibious operations. Towards the end of August the first combat units of the Division moved out of Vila for Guadalcanal, each convoy shepherded by alert destroyers. The long months of garrison duty and training were over and action was ahead.

The first job which fell to units of the 3rd Division was to complete the capture of Vella Lavella. This was accomplished by the 14th Brigade, which was the first to arrive at Guadalcanal. Vella Lavella is in the northern group of the Solomons. New Georgia, where the main American force was 'engaged, lies to the southeast. The Japanese had been driven to .the northern end of Vella, and theNew Zealanders had to complete the job by clearing them out altogether. They did this in admirable style and showed themselves masters of jungle conditions—a tribute to the thorough training they had received. The story of the capture of Vella Lavella has been fully told in the excellent Army Board publication, "From Guadalcanal to Nissen."

"The jungle." says the anonymous narrator of the story, "is the most difficult and pestilential country in which to wage war. Visibility ends only a faw yards away in a barrier of thick, fleshy leaves, writhing vines, and creepers, shrubs, and tree trunks, as this mass of vegetation fights upward to the sun. . . . By day the jungle is comparatively quiet, but when night falls, tho jungle comes to life and bedlam reigns till dawn. . . . This was the setting for the 14th Brigade's first action, and, with few exceptions, for all jungle action in the Solomons. . . .''■

JAPS OUSTED FROM VELLA

In such a setting the New Zealanders completed their task of ousting the enemy from Vella. There were many gallant actions as of officers observing for artillery who crept through the jungle in front of infantry patrols to watch and listen where the shells fell, for it was impossible for the gunners to see their targets and the results of their fire. Sometimes these officers lay from 25 to 50 yards from the bursts. Proofs of their efficiency came later when mutilated trees and pitted earth presented a vivid example of what flying fragments of metal can do, even in the jungle. And the Japanese did not like artillery fire Then there was the work of the signallers with radio and cable, the engineers who made roadways and airstrips, and, above all, the air force.

While the 14th Brigade were on Vella Lavella, the Bth Brigade undertook on their own the seizure of Mono in the Treasuries group ancl other islands. The landing was .opposed and there were casualties and damage to craft and equipment through enemy fire.

THE LAST ACT

The last act of the Division was the capture of Nissan (Green) Island by the 14th Brigade, far to the north bf Bougainville and only 135 miles from Rabaul. It was another big job well done, supply being a special difficulty, even water having to be transported, until condensers were set tip to distil sea water.

The work of the Division was done, and as transport became available the Division moved back to New Caledonia, and thence, after a spell, to New Zealand. It was, concludes the story, "a slow and rather melancholy process of disintegration. Some* thousands of men took their leave before being absorbed into essential industries; the remainder • were scattered through Burnham, Papakura, and Trentham camps to await their departure overseas to other theatres of war. . . . From October 20, 1944, the 3rd New Zealand Division ceased to exist."

COMBINED OPERATIONS.

It will have been noted from the story of the 3rd Division that running right through are references to the close co-operation that existed between the three branches of the Services—Army, Navy, and Air Force. If in the present article less space is devoted to the exploits of the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal

New Zealand Air Force, it is not because of any lack of appreciation ofi the remarkable service given, but because their work was covered in some detail in the special issue published when the European war came to an end.

Nev/ Zealand airmen and seamen have played a prominent part in the Pacific right from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, and even before. There was an R.N.Z.A.F. bomber reconnaissance unit of de Havillands, formed in November, 1940, in the Pacific a year before Japdn came into the war. Within a month of December 7, 1941, heavy bombers from the United States were able to use an island base built by a New Zealand construction" unit. Long before that date, New Zealand survey parties had gone into the South Pacific to prepare the way for airfield construction, and when the attack came men from the Dominion were already busy with heavy machinery, building bases from which the Allies subsequently drove forward to clear the South Pacific of Jaos.

LESSONS OF SINGAPORE

Before they met the enemy in the South Pacific. New Zealand airmen had the advantage of the lessons learnt by the fighter squadron which had set such a high standard in the battle for Malaya. New Zealand also had an aerodrome construction unit in.Malaya which did magnificent work in building airfields. After the turn of the tide at Coral Sea in June, 1942, a New Zealand bomber reconnaissance unit of Lockheed Hudsons .went on service in the Pacific, and by June, 1943, R.N.Z.A.F. fighters were on the job. At Vella Lavella New Zealand fighters played a decisive part in smashing a threat by. Japanese dive-bombers. And so the story goes on—a story of an increasingly important contribution to the war against Japan under arduous conditions, and a contribution which has received the highest praise from the Allied commanders in the Pacific.

THE NAVY ACTS;

When hostilities against Japan started on December 8. 1941, H.M.N.Z.S. Achilles, Leander, and Monowai were engaged on patrol and escort duties in the South Pacific area. In the early hours of that memorable morning an urgent request was received in Wellington that Achilles should proceed to Singapore to reinforce the Eastern Fleet, which was desperately short of cruisers. The request was approyed at once by War Cabinet, and in. less than four hours a'signal was made to H.M.N.Z.S. Achilles, then at sea on passage to Fiji, to "proceed with all dispatch to Suva and complete with fuel. Probable fifial destination Singapore." Two hours later this was amplified by. another signal instructing Achilles to proceed irom Suva to Port Moresby, New Guinea, and thence, after fuelling, "with all convenient dispatch" to Singapore to join 'the Eastern Fleet.

Twelve hours after receiving the first signal Achilles sailed from Suva and, proceeding at speed, arrived at Port Moresby in the evening of December 11. In the meantime the situation had changed rapidly, and while she was still oiling Achilles received orders to cancel her sailing to Singapore and return to Auckland, where she arrived in the forenoon of December 16.

The paramount duty of the available naval forces in the South Pacific was the protection of the sea communications of Australia and New Zealand. To this end the Anzac Squadron came into beine, comprising: the available sjhips of the two Dominions.

Achilles proceeded from Auckland at midnight of December 16-17 to join the Anzac Squadron, which met an important United States convoy and escorted it to Brisbane. Subsequently the squadron acted as escort to the Aquitania and another ship carrying troops and supplies to Port Moresby. Later Achilles took part with Leander and Monowai in covering the considerable movements of New Zealand troops and supplies to Fiji. To the Monowai came the first contact -frith the enemy. On January 16, 1942, the Monowai had just cleared Suva harbour on passage to Auckland when she was attacked by a Japanese submarine. After a brief exchange of gunfire, in which no hits were made by either side, the submarine broke off the action and dived.

Leander and Achilles, operating under the United States Commander, South Pacific Area, were employed as escorts for important convoys transporting personnel and supplies from the United States to the South Pacific and with United States task forces in the Solomon Islands area. On January 5, 1943, a task force covering the passage of reinforcements to Guadalcanal was attacked by Japanese aircraft. One bomb hit Achilles on a gun turret, her casualties being 13 killed and eight seriously wounded.

SUBMARINE RAMMED

half years' service with the Royal New Zealand Navy. , H.M.N.Z.S. Monowai completed her service in the :South Pacific on March 16, 1943, when she arrived at Auckland and was docked for a refit. From August 30, 1940, when she was commissioned as an armed merchant cruiser, to March 16, 1943, the ship steamed a total distance of more than 137,000 miles. The Monowai left Auckland on April 24, 1943, and proceeded via the Panama Canal to bLiverpool, where she arrived on June 3. 1943. The ship was then paid off and converted for transport duties. SUCCESS OF GAMBIA. On September 22, 1943, the cruiser Gambia was commissioned as a unit of the Royal New Zealand Navy. After operating with other cruisers for some weeks against enemy blockade runners in the North Atlantic, the Gambia proceeded to the Indian Ocean and oomed the Eastern Fleet. The ship there took part in several successful operations against Japanese bases. The Gambia held her own as a most efficient ship among the cruisers of her squadron, which subsequently transferred to the British Pacific Fleet. As a unit of a task force of that fleet, the Gambia has since taken part in a number of successful operations against the Japanese in the Sakishima Islands. Early in 1943 H.M.N.Z.S. Achilles had proceeded to England for re-arming and a complete refit. The ship was recommissioned on May 23, 1944, and proceeded to the Mediterranean, and thence to Indian waters, . where she served for three months in the Eastern Fleet. In December, 1944, the Achilles transferred to the British Pacific Fleet, with which she has recently served in operations against the Japanese. The 25th Minesweeping Flotilla served for more than three years in the South Pacific, "operating as antisubmarine escort to United Nations transports and supply ships arriving at and departing from forward bases in the South Pacific area. Apart from the engagements of the Kiwi, Moa, and Tui already referred to and some minor incidents, there was little to relieve the monotony of the ships' important but mainly unspectacular round of duties faithfully performed under uncomfortable conditions in tropical waters. AMERICAN TRIBUTE. Expressing his "sincere appreciation for the services you have rendered to our common cause," the commanding general of the United States XIV Army Corps remarked that the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla had "at all times eagerly undertaken every mission assigned, and has completed them all with signal- success." Early in 1944 12 Fairmile motorlaunches of the Royal New Zealand Navy were placed under the operational control of the commander, South Pacific area, for service in the Solomon Islands. Since then they have steamed many thousands of miles carrying cut their important patrol and escort duties. These vessels recently returned to New Zealand." The corvettes Arabis and Arbutus, manned by New Zealand officers and ratings, were commissioned last year for service in the R.N.Z.N. The former joined the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla and the latter is doing duty with the British Pacific Fleet.

Three weeks later H.M.N.Z.S. Kiwi ancl Moa fought a gallant and successful action against a large and heavilyarmed Japanese submarine. Forced to surface alter being depth-charged, the submarine was engaged by ' gunfire from the two small ships. A fierce action lasted more than an hour, during which Kiwi thrice rammed the submarine, which finally struck a reef and was wrecked. One Japanese survivor was picked up. On the following night Moa and Tui engaged four enemy armed landing craxt, two of which were sunk in a sharp action. H.M.N.Z.S. Moa was sunk at Tulagi, Solomon Islands, on April 7, 1943, as a result of enemy air attack. Five ratings were killed and 15 injured. The commanding officer was also injured. In August, 1943, Tui, which was escorting a convoy from Noumea, took part with aircraft in the sinking of another large Japanese submarine, from which six survivors were picked UP- . . » • Operating as a unit in an American task force of cruisers and destroyers, H.M.N.Z.S. Leander took part in the night action of July 12-13, 1943, against two groups of Japanese destroyers and at least one cruiser, which were attempting to reinforce the enemy troops on New Georgia. In this action, known as the Battle of Kolombangara, two American cruisers and the Leander were damaged by torpedoes and a U.S. destroyer was also torpedoed and had to be gunk some hours later. Leander's casualties were 28 killed and missing and 15 injured. The Japanese lost one cruiser and possibly three destroyers sunk . and one destroyer was severely damaged.

Leander returned to Auckland on July 29, 1943, and was docked for temporary repairs. The ship subsequently sailed for the United States for permanent repairs and rearming. She arived at Boston on December 23, 1943. having completed seven and a