|
|||||
Category: NZ in WW2At 1145 hours on 3 Sep 1939 a telegram was received by the Governor-General of New Zealand saying simply, “War has broken out with Germany” (Cody, 1953). Within a matter of hours a New Zealand Gazette Extraordinary declared that a state of war existed between New Zealand and the German Reich as from 2130 hours, 3 Sep, New Zealand standard time. That is when New Zealand joined the Allied effort of World War II. I focus on 2 NZ Division, not least because they were often considered the best allied division in Italy (Evans, 2001-5). 
If you didn’t know, Balagan means messy or chaotic. And lately my head has definitely been balagan. I’m trying to justify building up a Japanese force for Crossfire. I’m trying to find ways to fit the Japanese into my Official Focus of Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, and Israel. I’ve got to say, it ain’t easy. But with quite a lot of mental gymnastics I might manage it. 
My inner megalomaniac is back. This post is a follow on from my 2017 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian. The previous post was a retrospective of the last 23 months, which means pointing out my successes. This post is the (overly ambitious) list of what I’d like to get done in the coming year. It is the more embarrassing part. The confession. Bear in mind these are more or less active projects.
One of the things that really impresses me about Paul Ward of Matakishi’s Tea House is his focus. He chooses a new project, plans the project, does the project, finishes it, and moves on. I’m a bit more scatter gun myself despite the fact that at work I encourage teams to limit work in progress. I start with a focus and get a lot done but then often wander off on a tangent when something else comes up that sparks my interest. I let myself do that because this is my hobby, not my job. A hobby shouldn’t really Major R. A. Bagnold, Royal Corps of Signals instigated the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) on 10 Jul 1940. It’s main purpose was long range reconnaissance in the Libyan desert. The men quickly gained a reputation as the best navigators in the desert during WW2. The LRDG operated from Sep 1940 until Mar 1943. Technically it was part of the British Army but initially at least the LRDG was staffed by Kiwis of the 2 New Zealand Division. A Megablitz order of battle based on the Historical Order of Battle of 2 NZ Division for Italy 1943. An annotated bibliography for Kiwi involvement in WW2. The primary source for this subject is the The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945 (NZETC, 2005). It is very comprehensive extending to 50 volumes when I last counted – although many are general NZ history rather than WW2. It is available on-line, and if you search around you can find hard copies. Most Kiwis fighting during World War II fought as part of 2 New Zealand Division. For the moment I’ve just written aspects of their time in Italy 1943-45. So far I’ve just roughed out a skeleton on which to hang the detail of the Kiwi involvement in WW2. During WW2 the 2 New Zealand Division adopted British camouflage patterns on their vehicles. This is one of my WW2 Painting Guides. This WW2 timeline picks up 2 New Zealand Division as they enter the line in Italy and goes through to the fighting around Orsogna. During WW2 the 2 New Zealand Division adopted British uniforms. So this painting guide covers both Kiwi and British, but only in the Mediterranean. This is one of my WW2 Painting Guides. This WW2 timeline picks up 2 New Zealand Division as they, in conjunction with 3 Greek Mountain Brigade, approach Rimini. The timeline covers the period 12-21 Sep 1944. Order of battle for 2 New Zealand Division during WW2. The organisations are primarily based on Phillips (1957, p. 27), Doherty (1999), and Plowman, J. and Thomas, M. (2000, 2002). I have ignored HQ (unless it included armoured vehicles), transport, support, administration, and band elements. |
|||||
|
Copyright © 2001-2018 Steven Thomas - All Rights Reserved Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
|||||
