Puna rauemi

<p>Captain Rangi Logan commander of D Company gives a brief update on their activities during the Libyan campaign. </p>
<p>In Menastir they fought alongside A Company and at Gazala they flanked the Polish.  Capt. Logan comments on the loss of Jack Tainui who was in charge of one of the D Company platoons. </p>
<p>This recording is part six of a fuller broadcast made by the Māori Battalion about the Libyan campaign in 1941.  </p>
<p>[Editors note - there is static throughout the sound file] </p>

<h2>Transcript</h2>
<p>I am honoured and deeply grateful for
the privilege afforded me of speaking to the men and relatives of the men of D
Company who fought under my command throughout the Libyan campaign.  Their loyalty and staunch support is not born
of unity of blood or tribe, but of comradeship in arms.  For one knows that men of D Company are drawn
from Waikato, Taranaki, King Country, Hawkes
Bay, Wairarapa, Wellington
and the South Island.  When I took over command at Sollum it was the
morning of the assault upon the barracks. 
We had suffered casualties like other companies but prepared for the
next task.  My platoon commanders were Mr
Matehaere of Tirau, Mr Ormsby of Te Kuiti, and my great friend Sergeant Tainui
of the South Island.  In the Battalion action at Menastir after
Sollum Mr Matehaere particularly distinguished himself by his fine leadership.  While in command of our left flank.  In this action together with the Ngapuhis on
our right, we annihilated German Battalions' for the loss of one man
killed.  The actions of the company after
this can best be described in the actions of the battalion.  At Gazala we had the pleasure of fighting
side by side with the Poles because attacking on the left flank of the
Battalion in broad daylight we were supported on our left by them.  However, several of my men had the unenviable
experience of being mistaken for Italian troops and being taken prisoner by
them.  In this same attack D Coy suffered
its greatest calamity, Jack Tainui one of the finest soldiers in our battalion
was killed.  It was our last fight and if
he'd survived the attack for another ten minutes he would have been here now.  However, such are the fortunes of war.  I was proud of my men and you have every
reason to be proud of them.  We are back
now and we have received reinforcements who will prove as good as those who
have gone.  In officers too we are
reinforced.  So my second in command is
Mr Ormond of Mahia, my platoon commanders are Mr Matehaere of Tirau, Mr Ropata
of Wellington and Mr Tikao-Barrett of Christchurch.  With these officers and the men now in our
ranks I have every faith in the future. </p>

<p>Captain Charles Bennett sends messages of condolences to Sir Apirana Ngata and the Ngāti Porou people.&nbsp; He pays special tribute to those who have fallen in the Second Lybian Campaign (November-December 1941), noting C Company's commander, Captain Parekura Tureia, and Lieutenant John Green.&nbsp; Padre Kahi Harawira follows with a further acknowledgement to those who have also fallen in battle.&nbsp; He mentions casualties which included the <acronym title="Commanding Officer">CO</acronym>, Lieutenant-Colonel Dittmer, who was replaced by Major Love. He notes that all the officers of the Battalion at that time are Māori. &nbsp; <br /><br />This recording in Māori is part five of a fuller broadcast made by the Māori Battalion about the Libyan campaign.</p><h2>Transcript</h2><p>[Macrons are not shown as users have the advantage of listening to the recording to see which vowels require emphasis.]&nbsp;</p><h2>&nbsp;</h2><p>Charles Bennett:<br />E Api, tena koe i a Ngati Porou.&nbsp; Hoatu te aroha me te tangi ki a Ngati Porou nui tonu.&nbsp; Kahore e taea te korero te toa me te manawanui o a koutou tamariki, mokopuna.&nbsp; Kore rawa i wehi, kore rawa i hoki whakamuri.&nbsp; Nga mea i hinga i hinga whakamua, te hinga rangatira, te hinga a o tatou tupuna.&nbsp; He aroha, nga tangi kei nga pouaru, kei nga pani.&nbsp; Haere e Pare, haere korua ko John Green me ta korua whanau.&nbsp; Kahore he aroha i nui atu i tena, kia tuku koutou i a koutou kia mate, mo te iwi, mo te ao. Haere ki te Atua.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Padre Kahi Harawira: <br />Kati ra, e penei ana te whakatauki a o tatou matua, a o tatou tipuna - i hinga atu ana he tetekura, e ara mai ana he tetekura.&nbsp; Kua takatu ano a Ngati Porou inaianei.&nbsp; Koianei o ratou apiha:&nbsp; ko Reta Keiha te pakeke i raro i a ia ko Te Hati Rangiuia, Waipaina Awarau me Walton Haig.&nbsp; Kua hoki ano a Charles Bennett ki tona iwi ki a Te Arawa.&nbsp; Ko Tuhiwai i noho tonu i waenganui i te Battalion i etahi o nga mahi.&nbsp; No taua kokiri ano ki Sollum ka tu to matou kanara a whakahokia ki te hohipera.&nbsp; Ka riro ko Major Love hei kaiarahi i te ope Maori.&nbsp; Ka Maori katoa ai nga apiha i tenei wa.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><h2>Translation</h2><p>Charles Bennett:<br />O' Api, greetings to you and Ngāti Porou.&nbsp; Pass on our love and sympathies to the greater Ngāti Porou.&nbsp; We cannot say enough about the bravery and courage of your children and grandchildren.&nbsp; They never flinched, they never retreated.&nbsp; Those who fell [in battle] did so while they were advancing, a chiefly death, the death of our ancestors.&nbsp; Our compassion and empathy goes out to the widows and orphans.&nbsp; Farewell O' Pare, go thy way you and John Green and your men.&nbsp; There is no greater love than that, that you gave your lives for your people and for the world.&nbsp; Depart to the Lord.<br />&nbsp; <br />Padre Kahi Harawira:<br />Well, there is a proverb of our parents and ancestors that goes like this - when one warrior falls, another warrior takes his place. Ngāti Porou (i.e. C Company) are ready again now (i.e. have had their numbers restored through reinforcements).&nbsp; These are their officers: Reta Keiha is in command and under him are Te Hati Rangiuia, Waipaina Awarau and Walton Haig.&nbsp; Charles Bennett has returned to his Te Arawa people (i.e. B Company). [Jim] Tuhiwai is still with the Battalion in another role.&nbsp; Also, during that attack on Sollum our colonel was wounded and taken back to hospital.&nbsp; Major [Tiwi] Love was given command of the Māori Battalion.&nbsp; At this time all the officers are Māori.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Battalion were heading to Menastir, near the main Tobruk-Bardia road. They engaged with an advance guard of a German supply column.  It was a difficult battle with the Germans suffering many casualties - many of which were taken to hospitals.  At least one hundred were taken prisoner.  In comparison the Māori Battalion suffered one death and four were wounded.  The Māori Battalion returned to the barracks at Sollum.  Colonel Dyer arrived to take command of the Battalion and on the 9th of December they left Sollum for Tobruk.  The gift from the people at home arrived - mobile canteen, and tears fo joy flowed.  Major Love has suffered a severe injury and is in hospital.  The Battalion left Tobruk and Kroma on the 11th of December.<br /><br />This recording in Māori is part four of a fuller broadcast made by the Māori Battalion from Libya in 1941. </p><h2>Transcript<br /></h2><p>[Macrons are not shown as users have the advantage of listening to the recording to see which vowels require emphasis.] <br /><br />No te tahi o nga ra o Tihema ka haere atu matau ki Menastir ki te rori nui tonu i waenganui o Bardia me Tobruk.  Ko te mahi o reira e whakaritea ma matou he tiaki taua rori kia kaua te hoariri e hoki whakamuri ki Bardia.  No te toru o nga ra o Tihema ka tukua etahi o nga tamariki ki mua hei kanohi mo te ope nui ki muri.  No te awateatanga ka hoki mai ratou me te korero kei te haere mai i te hoariri me ona mano. Ka haere te korero a te matua o te ope, &quot;Tukua kia piri&quot;.  He mea uaua tenei i nga pakanga o enei ra.  Engari, i te mea kua Māori katoa nga apiha i tenei wa, kaati me whakamatau ki ta nga tupuna.  Tukua mai ana kia uru rawa mai te hoariri ki a matou, katahi ano ka puhia.  Tino mate te hoariri.  Ka mahue nga mea mate, ka hoki muri nga mea ora, ka <em>noho ia</em> mai ano.  No te wha o nga haora i te ahiahi ka kokiritia e te whanau ki te peneti.  Ka mutu tena pakanga.  E rua rau e ono tekau nga mea mate o te hoariri i <em>taea te tatau</em>. E kotahi rau e ono tekau ma rima nga mea i mauherehere.  Nuku atu i te rau nga mea i tu, i mauria mai ki to matou hohipera.  E kotahi tonu o matou i mate, e wha i tu.  Ka pai ano ta nga tipuna whakahaere.  I te wha o nga ra o Tihema ka hoki ano matou ki Sollum.  No tenei wa ka taea ake tetahi o matou kaumatua a Colonel Dyer hei kaiarahi te ope. No te iwa o nga ra, ka mahue i a matou e Sollum.  Hanga atu ki nga takiwa o Tobruk.  I te rori ka noho matou ka whakanga mo te po kotahi.  I te tekau o nga ra o Tihema ka tae ake te mobile canteen a te whanau e noho mai nei i te kainga ki roto ra no i te mura o te ahi.  Ka korero i nga tuhituhi o runga, ka heke nga roimata.  Tena koutou te whanau.  No tenei wa ka pa tetahi mate taumaha ki a Major Love ka whakahokia ki te hohipera.  Tekau ma tahi o nga ra ka mahue mai a Tobruk, ka mahue mai a Acroma. Atu o tenei wa, tae noa ki te mutunga ka riro ko te ope Maori ki mua.  </p><h2>Translation<br /></h2><p>On 1 Decermber we went to Menastir via the main road between Bardia and Tobruk. The task given to us there was to guard the road thus preventing the enemy retiring to Bardia.  On the 3rd December some of the boys were sent forward to reconnoitre for the Battalion.  At dawn they returned with news that the enemy was approaching in great numbers. The order given by the CO of the Battalion was, &quot;Allow them to come close.&quot; This is a difficult thing to do in modern warfare. However, because all the officers are Maori at this time, <em>well this was an opportunity</em> to adopt the way their ancestors fought.  The enemy were permitted to come right into our positions, then we opened fire. The enemy suffered heavily. The dead were left behind while those who survived retreated and took updid well again because our ancestors officers were in control defensive positions again.  At 4pm the Battalion attacked with bayonets. That was the end of that battle. Of those enemy who were able to be count ed 260 were dead, and 165 taken prisoner.  More than 100 were woundedand taken to our hospital. Only one of our men died while four were wounded. <em>We did well again because our ancestors/officers were in control.</em> On the 4th December we returned to Sollum.  At this time one of our senior officers, Colonel Dyer, was promoted to CO. On the 9th we left Sollum and headed to the region near Tobruk .  We spenty a night along the road. On the 10th December the mobile canteen, from our relatives at home, turned up in the frontline.  When we read the words [on the vehicle] tears fell.  Thank you to our families.  At this time Major Love is very ill and has returned to hospital.  On the 11th December we left Tobruk and we left Acroma. From then until the end [of the Libyan Campaign] the Maori Battalion has remained the spearhead [of the 5 Brigade advance].  </p><p>[Editors notes - there is intermittent static throughout the sound file. Portions of the transcript in italics were difficult to transcribe or translate.]   </p>

<p><strong>The image shows Ben Porter receiving the Military Cross from Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery, commander of the Eighth Army in the Middle East</strong>. <br /><br />In part three of this broadcast Padre Harawira briefly discusses the Māori Battalion's taking of the Sollum  Barracks in Libya where Major Harvey, a Pākehā <acronym title="Officer Commanding">OC</acronym> of A Company was wounded.  He introduces Captain Porter who had received the Military Cross (MC) for his leadership during the campaign. Porter sends greetings to the tribes of North Auckland and acknowledges those soldiers from A Company who have fallen in battle.  He gives his people an update on A Company including which officers are in charge of its three platoons.</p><h2>Transcript </h2><p>[Macrons are not shown as users have the advantage of listening to the recording to see which vowels require emphasis.]<br /><br />Padre Kahi Harawira: <br />No taua kokiri ano hoki ki Sollum i te rua tekau ma toru o nga ra ka tu a Major Harvey o A Company.  Ka whakahokia ki te hohipera.  Ka whakaturia ko Captain W Porter hei kaiarahi i tiana iwi a Ngapuhi.  Koia tenei ka korero atu nei kia koutou. Captain W Porter MC.<br /><br />Captain Porter: <br />Paraire Paikea, Te Rerenga Wairua ki Tamaki, tena koutou. Tenei a koutou mihi kua tae mai kli te whanau morehu i puta mai i te mura o te ahi. Tena koutou i te whanau e takoto mai ra i nga mania o Ripia . E mihi ki a ratau, e tangi ki a ratau nga toto rangatira o te Apanui, Ngati Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi, Ngati Whatua. I maringi mai ra ki tera wahi ki tera wahi nga uri o ratau tupuna. Ka nui te mamae mo nga matua, nga pouaru, nga pani, nga teina, nga tuahine o te hunga kua rironei.  Kia ahatia? E hinga ana i te hinga a o ratau tupuna i te hinga rangatira kia tau ai te rangimarie ki runga i te mata o te whenua. Ma te Atua koutou e whakamarie i roto i o koutou pouritanga katoa. E kore ra e taea te korero te maia o te whanau. Kore rawa e whakahoki muri mai i waenganui i nga mea whakamataku o te pakanga. Kore rawa ratau i wareware ki te Kaihanga.Tenei honorekua uhia mai ki runga i toku tinana ehara na toku toa, engari na to ratau. Kua ki ano te kamupene i nga ope o muri nei. Ko nga apiha kei konei inaianei i tua atu i au ko Himi Henare, ko HenareToka, ko Hori Marsden. Ko Captain Urlich hoki raua ko Wordley kei te hohipera tonu, ratau katoa ko nga mea i tu.<br /><br />Ka nui to ratau pai. Tena koutou, tena koutou.</p><h2>Translation<br /></h2>

<p>Padre Kahi Harawira: <br />During that attack at Sollum on the 23rd Major Harvey of A Company was wounded.  He was transferred to hospital.  Captain W Porter was promoted to command his Ngapuhi tribesman (i.e. A Company).  This is him about to speak to you - Captain W Porter MC. <br /><br />Captain Porter: <br />Paraire Paikea, Te Rerenga Wairua ki Tamaki (i.e. the people from the top of the North Island down to Auckland), greetings. Your well-wishes have reached the remnant of the family (i.e. survivors of A Company) who have returned from the heat of battle (i.e. Fighting in Libya). Greetings from the family who lie on the plains of Libya. We acknowledge them and weep for them the chiefly blood of Apanui, Ngati Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi andNgati Whatua. The blood of the descendants of their ancestors is spilt  in this place, in that place. We feel deeply for the parents, widows, [those who are now] orphaned, younger siblings and sisters of the group who have departed. What did they die for? They died the death of their ancestors, a chiefly death, because they gave their lives to ensure peace reigns upon the land.  May God give you peace in all your grief.I cannot speak higly enough of the bravery of the family (i.e. A Company). They never retreated despitefacing the terrible dangers of war.  Nor did they forget the Creator. This honour that has been bestowed upon me is notthe symbol of one man's bravery, but represents their bravery.  The company has been brought up to full strength again by the reinorcements. The officers here now, who are in front of me, are Jim Henare, Henry Toka and George Marsden.  Also Captain Urlich and Wordley are in hospital along with all those who were wounded.  They are very well.  Greetings, greetings.  </p>

<p>Padre Capt Kahi Takimoana Harawira speaks from Libya 1941.&nbsp; He gives a brief update of the Māori Battalion's activities during November 1941 in Libya noting the death of Capt Parekura Tureia who was <acronym title="Officer Commanding">OC</acronym> of C Company. Both men were veterans of the First World War and considered pakeke (elders) in the Maori Battalion.&nbsp; <br /><br />This recording is part two of a fuller broadcast made by the Māori Battalion about the Libyan campaign and was primarily directed at the Battalions' people at home in New Zealand.</p><p>[Editors note - there is intermittent static throughout the sound file]</p><h2>Transcript </h2><p>[Macrons are not shown as users have the advantage of listening to the recording to see which vowels require emphasis.]</p><p>Ki nga iwi, ki nga reo, ki nga rangatiratanga e noho mai ra i nga marae o Aotearoa, te Waipounamu, tena koutou.&nbsp; Ko nga morehu enei o te Hokowhitu a Tu i waimarie ki te puta mai i te mura o te ahi o Ripia e mihi atu nei ki a koutou. Tena ra koutou i a Parekura Tureia me tana whanau e tiraha mai ra i runga i nga marae o Ripia.&nbsp; Tena ano hoki koutou i nga aitua o te kainga.&nbsp; Haere huihui atu koutou i kona i konei.&nbsp; Katahi tonu matou ka hoki mai.&nbsp; No&nbsp; tekau ma tahi o nga ra o Noema i hikoi atu ai o matou waewae ki roto i te rohe o te hoariri.&nbsp; No te rua tekau ma toru o nga ra ka piri te whanau i nga taua a Hitara raua ko Mussolini ki runga ki nga parepare o Sollum.&nbsp; No te kokiri tuatahi tonu, ka hinga tera o matou pakeke a Parekura.&nbsp; I hinga rangatira, i hinga toa, i te wa e arahi ana&nbsp; i&nbsp; tana iwi a Ngati Porou. Ka noho pani era o a matou tamariki.&nbsp; No reira, ka karangatia atu tenei o a koutou tamariki a Captain Charles M. Bennett hei kaiarahi i a ratou.&nbsp; A, nana a Ngati Porou i arahi tae noa ki te mutunga o tenei pakanga.&nbsp; Tenei ia ka korero atu ki a koutou.&nbsp; Captain Charles M Bennett.&nbsp;</p><h2>Translation </h2><p>To the tribes, spokesmen and leadership on the maraes in the North and South Islands. We, the remnant of the Maori Battalion who were fortunate to return from the Battle of Lybia, send greetings to you. We greet you with the sad news of the death of Parekura Tureia and soldiers of his family (i.e. Company) who died on the battlefields of Libya.&nbsp; We also acknowledge those who have died at home.&nbsp; Farewell [to the departed]l, may you gather together here and at home. We have just returned [to Egypt from Libya]. On 11 November [1941] our feet walked into enemy territory. On the 23rd the family (i.e. Māori Battalion) closed with the armies of Hitler and Mussolini on the heights of Sollum. During the very first attack, our elder Parekura was killed. His was a chiefly death, the death of a warrior, while he was leading his people of Ngāti Porou (i.e. C Company). Our children have been orphaned [i.e. troops in C Company are without a commander]. Therefore, one of your children has been promoted to lead them -Captain Charles M Bennett. Here he is to speak to you. Captain Charles M Bennett.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Colonel HG Dyer was the commanding officer of the Māori Battalion after Colonel Dittmer was wounded at Sollum in November 1941.&nbsp; In this recording Colonel Dyer congratulates the Māori Battalion for their efforts in the Libyan campaign.&nbsp; He speaks about the reputation of the Māori Battalion, friendships forged with other units that they have fought with and remembers those soldiers lost in the campaign.</p><p>This recording is part one of a fuller broadcast made by the Māori Battalion about the Libyan campaign in 1941.</p>
<h2>Transcript</h2>
<p>Your leaders will tell you of the brave things that your men did in Libya.&nbsp; You will proud, the Māori name has become terrible to the enemy.&nbsp; In the campaign we were of course helped by other New Zealand and English units and we have made some lasting friendships.&nbsp; We remember the Taranaki men who at Gazala went in to help the Ngapuhis.&nbsp; Our partnership with the Royal Horse Artillery was a happy one.&nbsp; Their cool courage and bold handling of their guns have endeared them to the Māori heart.&nbsp; Some of our bravest and our best have not come back.&nbsp; The day seems dark when we think of them.&nbsp; But they are not sad.&nbsp; They died as solders, honoured by friends and enemy.&nbsp; They have become an enduring part of your famous race.&nbsp; In years to come Māori men and women will hold their heads higher because of them.</p>

<p>Sir Charles Bennett, Commanding Officer of the 28th Māori Battalion details the attack on Point 209; the deadly German artillery and the use of rocks as fake grenades by C Company troops.</p><h2>Transcript</h2><p>The Germans of course had a grandstand view of all this and they started their defensive fire right from the very beginning and then they started firing mortars over &nbsp;from their rear... their troops. We found out afterward it extended considerably...they were there in depth. So they had mortars behind them and these mortars had air bursters, these shells would come over, they'd burst just above the heads of our troops, and then the shrapnel would fly in all directions, ricochet off the rocks and cause very heavy casualties. And so, the battle continued, it was still daylight, 5 o'clock when the attack took place and by the time darkness came C Company was pretty close to the top of the hill, but they hadn't taken it.</p><p>When darkness came it provided cover for C Company men and they continued to fight the enemy at the top of the hill right through that night. At one stage they rang me and they said that they'd run out of hand grenades and did we have supplies down below and I told them no, that we had no reserve supplies. I said to them why not use stones, because the enemy can't tell the difference in the dark, because when big stones land they think it's a grenade. And so they did, it's in our history. I think there was a grin on most of their faces when they threw these stones over and they could hear the German's yelling and scattering in all directions thinking it was a hand grenade.</p><p>Well the battle continued all night, we hadn't driven the enemy off the top of the hill... I'm sorry we had, but they were just on the brow of the hill on the other side and we were on the brow of the hill on this side. But it was only literally a question of yards separating their troops from our troops that they fought through the night.</p>

<p>Charles Bennett, Commanding Officer of the 28th Māori Battalion describes the traits of Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu VC. As a member of his intelligence section Bennett explains that Ngārimu's particular qualities were such that he would defend his men, even at the cost of his own life.</p><h2>Transcript</h2><p>I knew Ngārimu well. I think I've already related that he was one of my intelligence section in Greece and in Crete. Ngārimu was, how shall I put it, an introvert; a very quiet kind of bloke; had very little to say, but very meticulous in his behaviour, in his appearance, always appeared well dressed, very careful about his appearance. Had little to say, well disciplined and a chap who was the kind of bloke that you can give an order to perform a certain job and you can take it for granted that that job will be done and done well.</p><p>So, I think briefly if you add all these qualities up I think you can see the qualities of a good soldier you know. Disciplined, obedient, fearless, no questions asked and doing everything to the best of his ability and I think it was not surprising that kind of... I have the highest regard for Ngārimu as I did for a number of others in my intelligence section, but it was not surprising that a man like Ngārimu should've been capable of winning a Victoria Cross in the end, because I should imagine when he was given this particular job to do by his Company Commander he did it even at the cost of his life.</p><p>I could see him standing up now, because his job was to defend the particular patch that he had and to defend his men and he did that willingly... quite prepared to die. Because he had been wounded, as the history shows, he had been wounded previously and I had tried to get him out to bring him out, but he said no, he didn't want to go, he wanted to be with his men, and he stayed with his men until he died, that's the kind of man he was...</p>

<p>From an interview between Maiki Parkinson (<a href="/node/2199">Jules Vern Parkinson</a>, 67603) and Megan Hutching.  </p><p>Maiki
Parkinson,
Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, recounts coming under attack from Rommel's troops on the El Alamein line. </p><h2>Edited transcript</h2>
<p>The Germans put up flares. All
the front was lit up with reds and greens. It was beautiful. One had gone up,
and just before it went out someone was silhouetted in the flare. It was our
Bren gunner, <a href="/node/3376">Nugget Tukaki</a>. Bang! Down he went. We went up. Christ! It was one of our fellas. How he came to be in front of us, we don't know.
It was a pure accident. It wasn't intentional; he shouldn't have been there.</p>

<p>The next minute there was a flash of bloody
88-millimetre. The Germans had much better weapons than us. The 88-millimetre
gun was the most feared gun in the desert. We charged two of these guns. We
went in yelling, with bayonets. They must have taken off, because when we got
there, there was nobody there. We did what we could to try to disable the guns,
then we went on and down a depression. I couldn't believe it. All of Rommel's
trucks were laagered there, but most of them were our captured trucks. There
were Fords and Chevs. We had to wreck them by putting bullets through the
radiators and blowing the tyres out. It was quite traumatic, wrecking your own
trucks.</p>

<p>We wrecked as many vehicles as we could and it
was getting light then, so we climbed up on the escarpment and set off back to
where we thought our lines were. The next minute a tank and an armoured car
appeared. I thought, This is it. A joker said, 'Dig in.' So we dug in. I don't
know what the hell we were going to do there, but we'd do anything to get down
below the ground. We were like moles. We didn't know what was going to happen.
Anyhow, they must have had a conference back at Div headquarters and next
minute we could hear shells coming over. All our artillery opened up. It was the first time I'd ever seen smoke shells. What a sight they were,
screaming overhead, these white things. They landed amongst us and covered us
in smoke. We could see which way the shells were coming and we headed for that,
going like the hammers of hell. We were stumbling along, dragging other fellas,
carrying other fellas. A German shell landed amongst us and hit one of our boys
and took his thigh off. It was the first time I'd seen blood spurting out. We
tried putting on a tourniquet, but we had no stretcher so we used the straps
from our rifles and carried him out. The shells were landing around us. We came
to a big hollow and we were coming down the side when we looked up. Twenty four
Stukas were coming over. They wheeled around and we thought, we're going to get
caught, but they weren't going for us, they were going for the tanks that were
corning up behind. We got to our lines and they put us behind the other fellas
and said, 'Have a rest, boys.' We slept that night.</p>

<p><em>Rukuhia rā e hoa mā te Moana</em> is a song of tribute to 2nd Lieutenant <a href="/node/1988">Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu</a>, who was bestowed with the highest award for gallantry, the Victoria Cross, for his actions at Tebaga Gap, Tunisia, in March 1943. [Moananui-a-Kiwa is also spelt 'Te Moana-Nui-ā-Kiwa'. Both forms are correct.]</p>

<p>New Zealand Broadcasting Service Commentator Arch Curry speaks from the North African campaign. Artillery guns are heard in the background.</p><h2>Transcript</h2><p>This is a broadcast in the closing hours of the African campaign.  Below the heights of Takrouna we are witnessing what maybe the last artillery barrage against the axis stronghold in Africa.  The 8 Army Corp is commanded by General Freyberg and the New Zealanders are supported by British Infantry and the fighting French.  </p><p>I'm looking out on the grim country which marked the final natural defence against our advance into the Tunisian plane. Already Tunis and Bizerta have fallen.  First army assisted by 8 army units making their brilliant assault only 5 days ago.  In the background you may hear some of the artillery regiments as the last positions of the axis affront are being attacked.  Infantry assaults have been carried out and although the enemy is tactically surrounded his resistance has been fierce and determined.  An attack on the Māoris only 2 nights ago was beaten off and one of the final triumphs of this Battalion was their sortie next day of which resulted in the capture of the entire Company which had opposed them. </p>

<p>From an interview between Maiki Parkinson (<a href="/node/2199">Jules Vern Parkinson</a>, 67603) and Megan Hutching.  </p><p>Maiki
Parkinson, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, remembers approaching the front lines at El Alamein and coming under a terrifying attack by German Stuka dive-bombers. He describes it as a 'baptism of fire'. </p>