[Note 1] Its personnel were drawn from the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand and formed into Wellington, Wellington/West Coast, Hawke's Bay and Taranaki companies.

[5] The battalion arrived at its base in Maadi, Egypt on 14 February,[6] and was involved in training and garrison duty at the Baggush Box, a defensive position in the Western Desert, for most of the next 12 months.

[8] The battalion was reinforced in December with personnel from the third echelon of the 2nd New Zealand Division, which had just arrived in Egypt having spent several months in the south of England.

[9] The British Government anticipated an invasion of Greece by the Germans in 1941 and decided to send troops to support the Greeks, who were already engaged against the Italians in Albania.

[20] In the early hours of 27 April, after contact with a German convoy of 100 vehicles, the brigade withdrew again,[21] this time through Athens to Porto Rafti, from where it was to be evacuated.

[30] A field hospital in the 18th Battalion's sector was captured by paratroopers and about 500 wounded soldiers and medical staff were made prisoners of war.

[38] Two day later, while manning a rearguard defensive line at Chania, it supported a counterattack mounted by Australian and New Zealand forces in an action later known as the Battle of 42nd Street, following an advance by the 141st Mountain Regiment.

The 5th Brigade was part of the rearguard, fighting delaying actions to prevent chasing Germans of the 85th Mountain Regiment from cutting the road to Sphakia.

It was ordered to link up with the Tobruk garrison, elements of which had moved forward to take Ed Duda in light of 6th Brigade's failure to do so.

[71] After the withdrawal of 4th and 6th Brigades from Belhamed and Sidi Rezegh respectively, two companies of the 19th Battalion remained at Ed Duda, becoming part of the Tobruk defensive perimeter.

[74] In early March 1942, the 19th Battalion moved, with the rest of the 2nd New Zealand Division, to Syria to defend against a possible attack through Turkey on the Middle East oilfields by the Germans.

[79] The New Zealanders made their way to a neglected fortified position to the west of Mersa Matruh, surrounded by minefields,[80] reaching it on the night of 21 June; the battalion had travelled 900 kilometres (560 mi) in five days.

Under a bright moon, the infantry marched with bayonets fixed, beginning in the early hours of 28 June before machine gun fire broke out.

[92] The brigade's move forward had routed much of the Italian defences although, on daybreak, it was discovered that numerous strong points had been bypassed, leaving the German line in front of the ridge largely intact.

The British tanks belatedly moved forward and although this drove off the German armour, the other infantry brigades withdrew from Ruweisat Ridge later in the evening.

Consideration was given to transferring it to the Pacific but once the New Zealand Government decided that the division would stay in Europe, it joined the Eighth Army, which was now engaged in the Italian campaign.

[114][115] Later in the month, the division crossed the Sangro with a view to taking the high ground beyond, a series of ridges culminating in one peaked by the town of Orsogna.

[116] Initial attacks on Orsogna in the first week of December involved infantry, and then the tanks of 18th Regiment; these failed as did subsequent attempts mounted later in the month.

[117] As a stalemate settled, the infantry of the 2nd New Zealand Division remained active around Orsogna with the 19th Regiment being based at Sfasciata Ridge and providing support as mobile artillery.

[138] The 2nd New Zealand Division was withdrawn from action in mid-June and remained in reserve, recuperating after the efforts of the previous few months, until 9 July, when it was attached to XIII Corps.

[143] After hectic fighting as a result of a German counterattack, the Shermans, of which only two were still mobile, had to withdraw in order to fix faults that had developed with their guns.

[158] It began providing artillery support on 20 December, with B Squadron forming a gunline along the Senio and engaging spotted targets; it would expend over 12,000 rounds in this duty, which it performed until 6 January 1945.

[158] The regiment remained at Faenza for several weeks, with one squadron forward on the Senio, providing targeted shoot in response to infantry requests, and another guarding the road behind the crossing.

[160] By February 1945, the infantry picked up the intensity of their patrolling and the regiment's squadrons were more frequently called up to lay down fire on targets identified as being of interest.

[169] Once the defence was overcome, the regiment resumed its advance but was then subject to a friendly fire incident, when the leading troop was bombed by Supermarine Spitfires.

[170] The Po was crossed by the infantry without incident on 24 April, although congestion with other traffic of V Corps meant it was a few days before the 19th Regiment was able to traverse the river.

The headquarters section and C Squadron, still separate from the rest of the regiment, gained the town of Sistiana on 2 May and were then ordered to advance to Trieste, where Yugoslav Partisans had partial control of the city.

[172] One such group was holed up in the city's courthouse and C Squadron's tanks put several cannon shots into the building allowing the partisans entry to destroy the German garrison.

[173] The war ended shortly afterwards but the 2nd New Zealand Division remained in Trieste for several weeks until the large numbers of Yugoslav partisans also present in the city withdrew.

[178] The 19th Battalion and its successor, the 19th Armoured Regiment, was awarded the following battle honours: Mount Olympus, Servia Pass, Olympus Pass, Elasson, Molos, Greece 1941, Crete, Maleme, Galatas, Canea, 42nd Street, Withdrawal to Sphakia, Middle East 1941–44, Tobruk 1941, Sidi Rezegh 1941, Sidi Azeiz, Belhamed, Zemla, Alam Hamza, Mersa Matruh, Minqar Qaim, Defence of Alamein Line, Ruweisat Ridge, El Mreir, Alam el Halfa, North Africa 1940–42, Perano, The Sangro, Castel Frentano, Orsogna, Cassino I, Cassino II, Gustav Line, Advance to Florence, Cerbaia, San Michele, Paula Line, St. Angelo in Salute, Pisciatello, Bologna, Sillaro Crossing, Gaiana Crossing, Italy 1943–45.