The regiment spent a year in Egypt training with Sherman tanks, before embarking for Italy in October 1943 to re-join the Eighth Army.

[2] The 20th Battalion was the third such unit[Note 1] to be raised for the 2NZEF and was formed in Christchurch at Burnham Military Camp on 6 October, with Lieutenant Colonel Howard Kippenberger, an experienced Territorial Force soldier and veteran of the First World War, as its commander.

The men of 20th Battalion also engaged in company level tactical exercises but did not have training in infantry support weapons, such as anti-tank rifles, as these were not available in New Zealand.

[8] The battalion departed for the Middle East on 5 January 1940 aboard SS Dunera as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, 2nd New Zealand Division.

[1][Note 3] The battalion arrived at its base in Maadi, Egypt on 14 February,[9]and was involved in further training, including brigade level exercises.

It also received its infantry support weaponry, such as the Bren light machine gun, Boys anti-tank rifle and Two-inch mortar.

[11] 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.

[13] On 13 April, the battalion suffered its first fatality as a result of enemy action when a soldier was killed in an air raid[14] and the following day, German forces reached the Servia Pass.

[16] The 4th Brigade was used to cover the withdrawal of the division from Greece, and moved to Porto Rafti, east of Athens, from where it was evacuated to Crete on 28 April.

[30] After manning defensive positions to prevent Germans infiltrating the cordon around the embarkation beaches, the rearguard was evacuated the following day.

[38] While the 4th Brigade continued to advance, the battalion stayed to cover the road, occasionally intercepting and destroyed lightly armoured vehicles of the 21st Panzer Division, until 23 November at which time it was relieved and placed in reserve.

In February 1942, the 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.

[54][55] In Syria, the battalion prepared defences in its assigned sector around Djedeide Fortress, digging weapons pits as well as undergoing further training.

[57] Much of the Eighth Army was in retreat resulting in traffic congestion as the New Zealanders made their way to Mersa Matruh, a neglected fortified position surrounded by minefields.

German tanks and infantry approached the 2nd New Zealand Division's positions, including the 20th Battalion's sector on the northern side of the Minqar Qaim escarpment, and were successfully beaten off.

[65] The infantry of the 4th Brigade breached the German lines in the very early hours of 28 June, creating a hole through which the transport and the rest of the division could follow through.

[66] The 20th Battalion bore the brunt of the fighting on the northern flank of the chosen withdrawal route, part of which included a wadi where numerous German vehicles had been parked.

During the action at Minqar Qaim and the subsequent breakout, the battalion's casualties were light, with seven men killed, eighteen wounded and just over twenty made prisoners of war, and it reached the El Alamein line that evening.

The advance 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.

[83] About half of the 20th Battalion had been wounded, killed or captured during the Battle of Ruweisat Ridge and it, along with the rest of the 4th Brigade, was withdrawn to Maadi to be brought back up to strength.

Despite the best efforts of the infantry, they were unable to flank the anti-tank guns and Kippenberger, as commander of the 5th Brigade and in overall charge of the attack, called off the advance.

Small groups of German paratroopers and panzergrenadiers were destroyed and the regiment reached the Savio the next day, having advanced 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) to complete its objectives.

The regiment's Shermans fired an hour-long barrage of high explosive shells along their front to create a diversion, under the cover of which the Canadians made their own landings on the far bank of the Savio.

[130][131] In late 1944, the 20th Armoured Regiment crossed the Lamone River and its squadrons supported the infantry battalions of the 6th Brigade in attacks in and around the town of Faenza in December.

[134] Along with many of the regiment's experienced personnel, Purcell returned to New Zealand on furlough and was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel H. Robinson, who had served with the Divisional Cavalry.

[136] Along with the 19th Armoured Regiment, on the night of 10 April, it supported the New Zealand infantry's crossing of the Santerno River,[137] the first of a series of advances against the retreating German rearguard.

[138] The regiment, along with the rest of the 2nd New Zealand Division, remained in and around Trieste for several weeks to counter the presence of the partisans, who had laid claim to the city.

Since early 1944, the regiment's longest serving men had been steadily returned to New Zealand on furlough, and most were not required to come back to active service.

[147] The 20th Battalion and its successor, the 20th Armoured Regiment, was awarded the following battle honours: Mount Olympus, Servia Pass, Olympus Pass, Molos, Greece 1941, Crete, Maleme, Galatas, 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, Orsogna, Cassino I, Advance to Florence, San Michele, Paula Line, Faenza Pocket, Rio Fontanaccia, St. Angelo in Salute, Pisciatello, The Senio, Santerno Crossing, Bologna, Sillaro Crossing, Idice Bridgehead, Italy 1943–45.