Brigadier William Gentry D.S.O., O.B.E, commanding officer of the 9th Infantry Brigade, talks about the formation of the Brigade, its training in central Italy and the parts it played in the final Italian campaign.
The Brigade is the newest part of the New Zealand Division and he describes how it was formed from the Divisional Cavalry, the 22nd Motor Battalion and the 27th Machine Gun Battalion.
Brig. Gentry arrived with the Brigade in February 1945 and began training the unit for night fighting and assault work. In downtime, on 11 March, the Brigade's rugby team won a rugby match against the 8th Army's representative team.
In April they moved to the Forli area and began training on river and stream crossings. They were joined by tanks from the 4th Hussars, known as 'Kangaroos'. He describes watching the assault on the Senio River, which was accompanied by heavy air support.
He describes several different engagements by the Brigade's battalions, as they advanced towards the Po River, including use of a great concentration of flame-throwers.
Brig Gentry describes advancing on Padua, through Italian villages which were excited to see them. Prisoners were so numerous they were just handed over to Italian partisans or left on the side of the road.
When they reached Trieste, there was debate over who would accept the final German surrender, New Zealand's 9th Brigade or the Yugoslavs who had also taken part of the town, so a compromise was reached.
He ends by paying tribute to the officers and men of the three battalions in the 9th Brigade.