SECRET TRANSFER

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 126, 23 February 1944, Page 5

SECRET TRANSFER

N.Z. Division Switched To Fifth Army REVIEW BY FREYBERG (Official War Correspondent. N.Z.H.ff.) DIVISIONAL H.Q. FIFTH ARMY FRONT, February 6 (delayed). The New Zealand Division is m action on the Fifth Army front. A secret move about a, fortnight ed them from the other side ot Italy to this theatre of war. Oui tioops had a short spell from snow but it was not any holiday. S was training in plenty and much work on transport, weapons, and ‘ mour to occupy their time Fine weather for the most part, an d the absence of snow and mud has do e much to put the men a’ n d For a time they were m pleasant ' ana peaceful surroundings, and as man? possible had a day’s leave to visit places General"' Frey berg took advantage of the spell to review the artillery, armour ed and infantry units. General’s Inspiration.

. After inspecting one infwtry fomation General Freyberg said: Before -Ld Ala S, when General Montgomery inspected this unit, he said that generals r ®cuire inspiration as much as the men. • fess that I am very much impressed and inspired by what I have seen today. The inspection took place in the pictur esque setting of ploughed fields,. with oak trees and the white walls of ancient ruins In accordance with the policy expressed by the general, the parade was held without rehearsal. The march past was an impressive spectacle, particularly considering that the men before were engaged in conflict. General Freyberg paid tribute to the nursing sisters at the casualty clearing station, who were present as spectators. He said that for long their organization had been regarded as an army establishment. He was glad to see them with their division, to which they rightly belonged, and would like to see them in the divisional parade itself, “on the right of the line.” Armoured Units.

The armoured formation was formed up in a large field over which towered snow-capped hills. General Freyberg congratulated the men on the manner in which they had overcome great difficulties in the iSangro battle. The experience they had gained, though hard won, would be of much value to them. He referred to the high esteem in which they were held by other units. , ' Nearby, in wide grassy pasture lands, the men of the New Zealand artillery paraded with all their guns and vehicles. General Freyberg commended the gunners on their sterling work in the Italian and previous campaigns. The men marched past in column of troops, after which came a spectacular review of the guns and fighting vehicles. It was the first vehicle march past since the “Victory March” which Mr. Churchill saw near Tripoli just a year ago, and it gave just as clear an impression of the efficiency and striking power of the division.

OLD ENEMIES MEET New Zealanders And Unit Of Afrika Corps

’■(Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) ITALY, February 8 (delayed). Grenades bursting across brittle, frozen earth and bursts of machine-gun fire splattered about the walls of an old farmhouse began the first episode of the close fighting the New Zealanders had on the Fifth Army front in Central Italy. It happened in bitterly cold darkness only a few hours after the New Zealanders occupied the trenches, of their sector on this front, among the jumble of peaks and hills between the Apennines and the sea. Anxious to know what changes had been made on this important sector of the front and what new forces had joined the line, the Germans sent out toward our lines a strong fighting patrol with orders to take at least two prisoners. They were heavily armed and had sappers to clear tracks through the minefields. The Germans came on a farmhouse which was the forward headquarters post of some Auckland infantry. Overpowering the sentgy, the Germans surrounded the little stone house and shouted to its occupants, “Come out or be killed.” The reply was a shower of bullets from the windows and doors.

For a'few furious minutes this small piece of front became violently alive. The New Zealanders kept up machinegun fire and hurled grenades into the darkness till, realizing that they were not making headway, the German patrol began to withdraw. The Aucklanders went after them.

As one New Zealand sergeant rushed out of the doorway a. German hand grenade landed at his feet. All he could do was to kick it aside, but his action was enough to save his own life and those of the others- behind him. A second or two later the grenade exploded, wounding the sergeant slightly. - Another New Zealander shot a tommygun from the hands of a German a few feet from him.

Leaving two prisoners, one of them severely wounded, the German patrol made off. One of the prisoners was an Austrian who had served for 22 months on the Russian front. He was a sapper from a unit of a famous German division destroyed at Stalingrad. All the rest of the patrol were infantry of the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division.

As well as being their first infantry action with the Fifth Army, this little battle was the first time the New Zealanders had met the Germans in this reorganized unit of their old enemy, the Afrika Korps.

AIR SUCCESSES OVER AEGEAN (British Official Wireless.)

RiUGBY, February 21. A Middle East air communique states that Baltimores of a Middle East squadron beat off attacks by two formations of enemy fighters over the Aegean Sea. yesterday and destroyed two aircraft. During a reconnaissance of the island of Rhodes, Baltimores ran into five JuSS’s near Calato airfield. They shot down one. Later they encountered four MelOO's in the same area and destroyed one and probably a second. It was a 'busy and fruitful day, for these Baltimores, as they were flying over south-west Greece, noticed a train near the railway station at Kabisila. Diving down, they shot up the train, which came to. a standstill, and scored hits on the station and some trucks. They also fired on armed men guarding the railway line. Beaufighters sank two supply ships in the port of Nios. U.S.A.A.F. Mitchells accounted for another ship south-east of Kalymnos Island. On the previous day Middle East aircraft bombed Rhodes harbour. From these and other operations one of our aircraft is missing. SPORTSMAN GENERAL (Received February 22, 8.10 p.m.) LONDON, February 21. Lieutenant-General Richard McCreery, who is announced to be commanding a corps on the Garigliano front, was General Alexander’s Chief of Staff in the Middle East and followed him to Tunisia. He then obtained a corps, with which he attacked Salerno. General McCreery is a well-known amateur steeplechase jockey, having twice won the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown.