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The 24th Auckland Battalion was an infantry battalion of the 2nd New Zealand Division during the Second World War. The 24th Battalion was formed on 1 February 1940 and embarked for Egypt on 28 October 1940. It was part of the 6th Infantry Brigade. The battalion fought in Greece, North Africa and Italy. == Formation == The 24th Battalion was first assembled from 158 men at Narrow Neck on 1 February 1940. Its first orders were given on 4 March 1940 for the promotion of enlisted men and noncommissioned officers. On 3 April 1940, the battalion moved to the Papakura Military Camp for continued training. At Papakura, the battalion was reinforced by more men. Equipment shortages resulted in complaints from Lieutenant Colonel Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth divided the battalion into companies based on their territories as follows: * A Company, commanded by Major F.G. Dill – Auckland City * B Company, commanded by Captain W.J. Collins – Hauraki * C Company, commanded by Captain D.G. Morrison – North Auckland * D Company, commanded by Major R.V. Closey – Waikato * Headquarters Company, commanded by Captain S.J. Hedge On 26 August 1940, 24 Battalion boarded trains to Wellington and embarked on 28 August for Egypt on the converted passenger liner ''Empress of Japan''. The liner was filled with 2,635 troops, and therefore was overcrowded. Shuttleworth was placed in command of all troops on board, so command was transferred to the second in command, Major A.C.W. Mantell Harding. After a month-long voyage, the ''Empress of Japan'' arrived at Port Tewfik. From there, the battalion was moved by rail to the base of the 2nd New Zealand Division at Maadi Camp, south of Cairo. The troops trained at Maadi and were moved on 11 December 1940 to Helwan Camp. 24 Battalion conducted a practice night crossing of the Nile and desert manoeuvres with the rest of the brigade. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「24th Battalion (New Zealand)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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