After returning to Maadi, the regiment was sent to Syria with the 2nd New Zealand Division to prevent an Axis attack from Turkey and was sent back to Egypt after the British rout in the Battle of Gazala.

[7] A special march through Auckland Domain was held on 3 January; the next day, the regiment (except for C Squadron) embarked for Egypt aboard the troopship RMS Rangitata.

The regiment disembarked the following day and entrained for the New Zealand base camp at Maadi, the central depot and training area for 2 NZEF in the Middle East.

[9] In March, twelve Bren gun carriers and five Light Tanks Mark III arrived, and tank-gunnery training began on the range at Abbassia; the regiment participated in brigade manoeuvres at El Saff the following month.

The mortally ill Pierce was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Carruth on 22 February and C Squadron joined the regiment at Helwan on 5 March.

[26] German forces reached the regimental positions on 12 April; the following day, their attempts to cross the river in assault boats were repulsed.

Cut off from the 10th Brigade headquarters, Russell followed Kippenberger's orders and withdrew to Galatas in Chania, to reinforce a Greek unit south of the village.

[33] The right flank of Div Cav and the Petrol Company, acting as infantry, was exposed and the 23rd Battalion counter-attacked and retook Galatas at dusk, withdrawing during the night.

At 01:00 on 26 May the regiment joined remnants of the 21st Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Allen on the main coast road between Chania and Galatas on Hellfire Hill.

Major Arthur Nicoll received a promotion to lieutenant colonel and succeeded Carruth after the latter took command of the Composite Training Depot on 26 July.

In early September, the regiment prepared to move into the Western Desert to take part in the coming British offensive to raise the siege of Tobruk.

[39] Prior to the beginning of the offensive, the regiment screened the Egyptian border south of Trigh el Abd to detect any German advance in that sector.

The 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade arrived the next day; the 20th Battalion attacked enemy positions, while C Squadron captured several Italian machine-gun posts.

On 25 November, C Squadron screened the brigade in its advance on Sidi Rezegh and captured a number of German soldiers before being sent to guard divisional headquarters.

[44] The next day, the squadron patrolled the Sidi Rezegh and Gambut escarpments, driving off German tanks and infantry in the afternoon and incurring vehicle and crew losses.

[48] On 13 March, the New Zealand Division moved to Syria to build fortifications in the Beqaa Valley, to protect against the prospect of an Axis attack from Turkey.

The regiment probed ahead of the box, engaging the Axis forces, and B Squadron lost a carrier to anti-tank guns on the Alam Nayil ridge.

Div Cav, the rearguard for the 4th and 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade retreat, reached Deir el Munassib on the morning of 8 July and received 15 Stuarts.

[67] On 17 December, Div Cav guarded the northern flank of the brigade in its advance on Nofilia; B and C Squadrons engaged the German rearguard, knocking out one Panzer III and losing two carriers.

The regiment was scheduled to camp at Nofilia for a week, with C Squadron dispatched to guard the airfield at Sultan with a detachment of engineers to clear mines.

The regiment patrolled the area between the 11th Hussars and the Free French Flying Column for the next five days and moved back to Foum Tatahouine on 13 March, where the New Zealand Division assembled for a flanking movement inland.

[75] Div Cav became part of the Eighth Army reserve along with the rest of the 2nd New Zealand Division[76] and was positioned several miles north of Lucera, near the Foggia Airfield Complex, on 4 November.

On 12 November, the regiment left Lucera for the front, arriving at Cupello in the afternoon to guard a bridge over the Sinello River below the village of Gissi.

Three troops from C Squadron finally crossed the river by the afternoon of 29 November; one was ordered to advance to Elici and a second was to make contact with the 8th Indian Infantry Division at La Defenza.

There was only enough space for a two-company advance, so Divisional Cavalry and 24th Battalion machine-gunned and mortared the area to their front to create the impression of a larger attack.

Div Cav moved out of the line to Monte Trocchio on 23 February and was relieved by the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment from the British 78th Division.

The regiment pulled out of the line on 20 March, taking up the new left flank of New Zealand Division along the Gari River and was relieved on 9 April by the 22nd Battalion.

[87] During the final Allied offensive in Italy, the battalion was assigned to the new 9th New Zealand Infantry Brigade, which was allocated as the divisional reserve in April for Operation Buckland.

Wilder was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Victor Tanner; the battalion advanced again at midday on Route 11 towards Venice, encountering its last strong German resistance in Mira.

The battalion raced on, changing to Route 14 headed for Trieste, and was ferried over the Piave on 30 April; it was at Monfalcone, controlled by Yugoslav partisans, by the end of 1 May.