The 6th Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the New Zealand Military Forces, active during World War II as part of the 2nd New Zealand Division. It saw service during the North African Campaign and the Italian Campaign before being disbanded in late 1945.
History
The 6th Infantry Brigade was intended to be the last of the three echelons of the 2nd New Zealand Division, commanded by Major General Bernard Freyberg. The first two echelons had already departed New Zealand for the Middle East when the 6th Infantry Brigade was formed in May 1940. However, the officers and non-commissioned officers of the brigade had received their training with the 5th Infantry Brigade, the second echelon of the division. Brigadier Harold Barrowclough, who was then in England where the second echelon had been diverted while in transit, was appointed commander of the brigade. The 6th Brigade consisted of three infantry battalions, these being the 24th (with men drawn from the Northern Military District), the 25th (Central Military District), and the 26th (Southern Military District).
There had been some initial reluctance by the New Zealand government to allow the departure of the brigade. There were fears that the Japanese Empire had hostile intentions towards British Commonwealth possessions in the Pacific and the brigade represented trained and equipped manpower that could be used in home defence. In the end, it was decided to retain a contingent of reinforcements intended for the first and second echelons for defence purposes in the Pacific. The brigade itself left for the Middle East in August 1940, and arrived in Egypt by the end of September. The 6th Brigade was located at the division's Maadi Camp where it would undergo training while the other major component of the division already in Egypt, the 4th Infantry Brigade, was on garrison duty in the Baggush Box.
Greece The start of the Greece campaign marked the division's first offensive operations as a complete formation. Sent to Greece alongside the Australian 6th Division and a British armoured brigade in order to support the Greeks in their defence against an expected invasion by the Germans, the New Zealanders manned the Aliakmon Line, with the 6th Brigade deployed on the eastern end of the line, near the coast. Arriving in early March, it busied itself with preparation of its defensive positions for the next several days. For a time, 26th Battalion was detached to help prepare defensive positions for 5th Brigade, still in transit, around Olympus Pass.
The Germans began their invasion of Greece on 6 April and within a few days, the Aliakmon Line was abandoned with the brigade being withdrawn to Olympus Pass and into a series of rearguard actions. Soon it was decided to evacuate the Allied forces and 6th Brigade covered the early stages of the withdrawal. At this stage, the brigade was located near Monemvasia along with British and Australian personnel. The brigade duly embarked from Monemvasia on 29 April on the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Ajax and four destroyers, with the 24th Battalion acting as the rearguard for the evacuation. The ships arrived later that day off Crete. While the 4th and 5th Brigades were to remain on Crete, the 6th was transferred to a pair of transports which went onto Egypt, arriving on 2 May. It would play no role in the Battle of Crete.
North Africa
Following the Battle of Crete, the remaining elements of the division were evacuated to Egypt where they would meet up the 6th Infantry Brigade for refitting and resupply. Many units were heavily depleted but reinforcements from New Zealand bring them up to strength and training is resumed after a week of "survivor's leave."
While the New Zealanders were fighting in the Greece and Crete campaigns, the situation in North Africa had significantly changed with the entry of the Afrika Korps into the theatre of operations in order to aid the Italians there. British forces were pushed out of Cyrenaica and the German and Italian forces advanced and laid siege to Tobruk, held by the Australian 9th Division. The 2nd New Zealand Division was attached to XIII Corps, part of the British Eighth Army, and designated to participate in Operation Crusader. This operation was intended to lift the Siege of Tobruk.
The 2nd New Zealand Division moved into Libya on the night of 18 November and began its contribution to the offensive three days later. The 6th Brigade was initially brought up the rear while 4th and 5th Brigades advanced on 21 November. The former targeted the Bardia–Tobruk highway and while the latter the area around Bardia and Sollum. The 6th Brigade, as planned, was detached to XXX Corps and sent to Sidi Rezegh to provide infantry support to the armoured units there. The brigade moved to Bir el Hariga with the 25th Battalion leading alongside the 24th Battalion. However, the following day the situation at Sidi Rezegh had deteriorated, and 6th Brigade was ordered to advance to Point 175, set up a perimeter and then make contact with the 5th South African Brigade, which was in some difficulty, at Sidi Rezegh. Leaving early in the morning of 23 November, the 25th and 26th Battalions led the advance. At daybreak, they stopped and bivouacked in a wadi. Elements of the Afrika Korps, later discovered to be its headquarters unit, moved into the wadi from the far end and this initiated a battle in which several prisoners were taken. General Ludwig Crüwell, commander of the Afrika Korps, only just avoided capture but vital papers and communication equipment was captured or destroyed.
The 6th Brigade moved on quickly to take Point 175 as soon as possible. Point 175 marked the start of the Sidi Rezegh escarpment, from Tobruk. Arriving a few hours after their initial contact with the enemy earlier in the morning, the 25th Battalion made its first attempt to capture the feature, having received orders to do so from Barrowclough. Initial impressions that Point 175 was only lightly defended proved incorrect and it was found that the position was held by the 361st Afrika Regiment. The attack needed additional support with two companies of the 24th Battalion and a squadron of Valentine tanks from 8th Royal Tank Regiment called upon to assist. After initially proceeding well, a German counterattack caused significant casualties amongst the battalion and the remaining two companies of the 24th Battalion moved forward that evening to help secure the little ground that had been won. In the meantime, 26th Battalion was sent forward to link up with the South Africans. However, unable to prevent the South Africans from being overrun by German forces, the battalion itself has to fend off attacks and withdrew to Sidi Rezegh.
The 4th Brigade moved to link up with the 6th Brigade and, with its support, continued to work towards the capture of Sidi Rezegh. On 27 November, the 6th Brigade fought a fierce battle with a battalion of the 9th Bersaglieri Regiment and by the end of the day all of Sidi Rezegh was under the control of the New Zealanders. However, the 25th Battalion was at little more than company strength following the events of 23 November and there had been heavy casualties in the other battalions including 21st Battalion, which had been detached from 5th Brigade and placed under Barrowclough's command. In the meantime, 4th Brigade had moved on and managed to link up with the British 32nd Army Tank Brigade at El Duda. This established a small bridgehead on the Tobruk front but this was to last for just five days.
Rommel had inflicted a significant defeat on the British armour and was now returning to the Tobruk area. The 6th Brigade was strung out along Sidi Rezegh in pockets, vulnerable to a counter-attack, and elements of the 15th Panzer Division made contact on 28 November. By 30 November, 6th Brigade was surrounded and after midday the Italian Ariete Division and 15th Panzer Division began attacking with tanks and infantry. Despite the support of anti-tank guns, both 24th and 26th Battalions were overrun. The survivors, and what remained of 25th Battalion, managed to withdraw before Sidi Rezegh was overrun.
From late February to mid-March 1942, the 2nd New Zealand Division was transferred to Syria. The Allied high command was concerned that the Middle East was at risk from an invasion by the Germans and the New Zealanders were tasked with blocking their likely route from the Caucasus. Following the attack on the British Eighth Army's Gazala Line by Panzer Army Africa, the 2nd New Zealand Division was recalled to Egypt. By the end of June, the brigade, was setting up camp in the Alamein area.
Egypt
The 2nd New Zealand Division was dispatched to the lines of El Alamein and while the 4th and 5th Brigades went south to Minqar Qaim, the 6th Brigade, now commanded by Brigadier George Clifton, was initially held in reserve before being ordered to man the Kaponga Box at Bab el Qattara. Arriving on 28 June, the 25th Battalion guarded the western side of the box, while the 24th and 26th Battalions were responsible for the northern and southern sides respectively. The brigade remained here, watching first the retreating British stream by and then the Germans, at a distance, for several days before moving to Amiriya. It missed the action of 14–15 July at Ruweisat Ridge which saw the destruction of a large part of the 4th and 5th Brigades when, after securing the ridge, no armour was available to defend a counterattack by the Germans. The 6th Brigade was recalled to the El Alamein lines to relieve what was left of the 4th Brigade. A few days later, it was involved in a nighttime attack on the El Mrier Depression. The aim was to secure the depression to create a route through which British armour could penetrate. The brigade, with the 25th Battalion as its reserve, successfully achieved its objective, although with some losses to 24th Battation, and was consolidating its positions when the 21st Panzer Division attacked on 22 July.
At daylight, the tanks of the 21st Panzer Division caught the headquarters of 6th Brigade, which along with 24th and 25th Battalions (the latter having moved up during the night), was positioned in the relatively shallow El Mrier Depression. Firing from the edge of a low cliff overlooking the depression, the Germans caused heavy losses amongst the infantry battalions before passing through their positions in pursuit of the British armour. Over 900 men were either killed, wounded, or captured including the majority of 24th Battalion and half of the 25th Battalion. Clifton, with his brigade headquarters, had been among those captured but managed to escape. What remained of 6th Brigade moved to the southern section of the Alamein line where it manned defensive positions during the Battle of Alam Halfa, Rommel's failed attempt to cut off the Eighth Army. On the night of 3 September, the brigade's 26th Battalion, the strongest of the brigade after the action of 22 July, along with 5th Brigade and the British 132nd Infantry Brigade, made a nighttime attack. Although 5th Brigade fared relatively well and gained its objectives, the commander of 26th Battalion was killed and his successor, along with Clifton, became a prisoner of war.
On 8 September, the 2nd New Zealand Division started withdrawing from the front for a rest. The British Eighth Army was now under the command of Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, who was planning for offensive operations against the Panzer Army Africa, which had formed a defensive position at Alamein. A reinforced 2nd New Zealand Division, with Brigadier William Gentry in command of 6th Brigade, was to play a major role in the forthcoming attack. The first of its three phases began on 23 October, with the New Zealanders advancing behind a creeping artillery barrage that commenced at 9:40 pm. The division quickly attained all its objectives and began consolidating them.