REST AND TRAINING

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25172, 9 April 1945, Page 7

REST AND TRAINING

NEW ZEALAND DIVISION SPELL FROM FRONT LINE (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) DIV. HEADQUABTEJRS. March 25 After three months in the line under severe winter, the New Zealand Division has been withdrawn to an area well removed from the battlefront for rest and training. It was at the end of November that the Division, after a month's rest, took up its position along the Lamone River before Faenza in a countryside of flat fields and vineyards, waterlogged by heavy and incessant rain. A fortnight later, when conditions improved somewhat, two successive brigade attacks were put in under heavy artillery barrages. The first, which a bridgehead established across the river by an English division, outflanked Faenza and forced the Germans to evacuate the town. The second sustained the momentum of the drive and threw back the enemy to the line of the Senio River, the next water barrier on the road to, Bologna. Nearly ;">OO prisoners resulted from these two operations. A winter line was established along the Senio. and the New Zealanders settled down to two months' extremely monotonous type of warfare, enlivened only by patrol clashes and occasional small engagements, with the high stop-bank of the river as their main objective. Especially for infantrymen it was a wearisome period, Avith succesive spells in and out of the line so that when the time came for the Division to be relieved they were more than readyfor the relaxation they are now enjoying.

The countryside where the troops are at present is a pleasant district in the foothills of the Apennines, and the perfect weather which has prevailed has provided ideal conditions for the strenuous training programme that has been undertaken in preparation for future operations. Opportunity has also been taken during the present break to hold ceremonial parades, at which honours and awards won by officers and men of the Division have been presented bv Lieu tenant-General Sir Bernard Frevberg. At one such parade yesterday the awards included two won in fighting in the Pacific, as the recipients have since joined the Second Division. SIR PATRICK DUFF'S VISIT NEW HIGH COMMISSIONER (N.Z.E.F. Official War Correspondent) DIV. HEADQUARTERS, April 6 The New Zealand Division and its supporting services have been visited this week by Sir Patrick Duff, who will succeed Sir Harry Batterbee in July as High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in New Zealand. Sir Patrick, who is an old soldier, expressed great admiration both of the lighting qualities of the Division and the organisation of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. "1 shall always be grateful to General Frevberg for giving me the opportunity to see the New Zealand forces in the field in Italy," he said. "This brief contact has brought back old times and many dear memories, for it is not the first time I have been with New Zealand troops. I fought in the 29th British Division at the landing on Gallipoli, and there and later in France and Belgium was side bv side with them many times. *'l well remember how even in those

days a young officer called Freyberg was a household word in the 29th Division for gallantry and leadership. I have been privileged to have a glimpse of the set-up of the Second New Zealand Division and many of its units from bases in Italy right up to points in the forward areas, and have been able to appreciate something of the difficulties of fighting in this type of country. I have seen- the troops themselves under varying conditions and can only say 1 am as impressed as 1 ever was bv the manliness and modesty of the New Zealanders." Sir Patrick also expressed keen admiration of the 'work of the medical and welfare services and said he hoped

the day would soon come when he would bo able to assist the New Zealand people to welcome their troops on their return home.