The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES” GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 24, 1943. N.Z.E.F. IN ITALY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21260, 24 November 1943, Page 2

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES” GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 24, 1943. N.Z.E.F. IN ITALY

Apart from this war’s brief campaign in the Balkans, the landing of the New Zealand Middle East Division in Italy means that Dominion land forces have set foot on European soil for the first time since 1918. News of this kind is inevitably received with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there will be pride in the knowledge that, the division is to reoccupy its place of honour with the magnificent Eighth Army under General Sir Bernard Montgomery; on the other, there will be widespread sympathy with the relatives of the men who are about to participate in the final assault on Hitler's European fortress. For a time the New Zealanders will suffer the physical discomfort associated with their sudden transfer from Egypt into Europe's winter. In this respect their experience will be more trying than that of the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force, which arrived in France from the Middle East in the spring of 1916. Nevertheless the Second Division has had the benefit of a long rest since the final battles of the Tunisian campaign and is bound to be fighting fit for the big tasks ahead. No doubt the men themselves will be glad of the opportunity to do what they can alongside their colleagues of the Eighth Army to hasten the end of the war. They know that they are overseas for a definite purpose. It would hardly be idle self-flattery for the Dominion to believe that the arrival of the New Zealanders in Italy will not be welcomed by the German officers who have either actually seen their units mauled by Kiwi aggressiveness or who have heard from colleagues of the prowess of the division. Although it may appear that one division on a front where troops are fairly thickly massed is but a small component of the whole force, it has been proved that the use of crack shock units in the right place at the right time can turn the tide of battle. That the New Zealanders arc good shock troops cannot be disputed. It is not surprising, therefore, that the division is reported to have had a very warm welcome from General Montgomery and his staff. Eighth Army men of all ranks, particularly the members of the Highland 51st Division, will also be glad to see the New Zealanders again. The feeling of mutual confidence that grew among the emits of this fine army on the African Continent will undoubtedly be cemented by the arrival of the Dominion’s Middle East Division on Italian soil. General Sir Bernard Freyberg has said: “Now that the final phase of the war against Germany appears to be in sight; there is a feeling of exhilaration in the air.” The universal hope—and it is a hope that may not be ill-founded—will be that the total collapse of Germany is near. Wintry weather may impede progress in Italion terrain which gives certain advantages to the defenders, but the Germans are being terrifically hard hit on the main land front and from the air. ' Destructive raids such as those over Berlin will save thousands of Allied infantrymen's lives.