page_title: 25th Battalion (New Zealand)
section_title: Formation
hierarchical_section_title: 25th Battalion (New Zealand) / Formation
caption_attribution_description: English: Maadi military camp, with Cairo in the background. Photograph taken by G R Bull, circa 1941. Bull, George Robert, 1910-1966. Department of Internal Affairs. War History Branch :Photographs relating to World War 1914-1918, World War 1939-1945, occupation of Japan, Korean War, and Malayan Emergency. Ref: DA-11253. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. George Bull was an official photographer of the NZ Military Forces and thus copyright in this work rests or rested with the Crown. The Crown has released this work under the CC-BY 3.0 unported license. Refer to source website for details: http://natlib.govt.nz/about-this-site/copyright-and-privacy. This work's copyright expired 50 years after creation in New Zealand and probably also in countries following the rule of the shorter term.
context_page_description: The 25th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the New Zealand Military Forces, which served during the Second World War as part of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd New Zealand Division.
  The 25th Battalion was formed in New Zealand in 1940 and after a period of training, it, along with the rest of the 6th Brigade, embarked for the Middle East where it joined up with the 2nd New Zealand Division. Moved to Greece to help defend against a German invasion, the battalion participated in the Battle of Greece but was evacuated at the conclusion of the fighting in the country. It then fought in the North African Campaign and suffered heavy losses during Operation Crusader, when it was effectively destroyed by the 15th Panzer Division. From December 1941 to February 1942 the battalion was brought back up to strength before being transferred to Syria. It returned to Egypt in March 1942 and suffered heavy casualties during the First Battle of El Alamein.
  After the fighting in North Africa ceased in 1943, the 25th Battalion participated in the Italian Campaign, fighting in actions at Orsogna and later at Cassino.
context_section_description: Following the outbreak of the Second World War, the New Zealand government authorised the formation of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF), for service at home and abroad. Following consultation with the British government, it was decided that the main New Zealand contribution to the war effort would be in the form of an infantry division, the 2nd New Zealand Division, which would require nine battalions of infantry. Consequently, several infantry battalions were formed from 1939 to 1940 with New Zealand volunteers.
  The 25th Battalion was the eighth such unit raised for the 2NZEF and was formed on 15 May 1940 at Trentham Military Camp with personnel drawn largely from Wellington, Hawke's Bay and the Taranaki region. With an establishment of around 780 men, it was organised into four rifle companies, a headquarters company consisting of specialised personnel such as signals and a battalion headquarters. It was one of three infantry battalions that were part of what was initially known as the Third Echelon of the 2NZEF and which would later be designated the 6th Infantry Brigade, one of three infantry brigades of the 2nd New Zealand Division.
  Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Allan Wilder, who had served with the Wellington Mounted Rifles during the First World War, the battalion embarked for active service aboard the Cunard liner RMS Mauretania on 27 August 1940. After transferring to the Orient liner SS Ormonde at Bombay, the battalion arrived in the Middle East on 29 September and immediately commenced intensive training at Maadi Camp, the 2NZEF base near the town of Maadi, in Egypt.
caption: For a period in 1940, the 25th Battalion was based at Maadi Camp, seen here in 1941 with Cairo in the background
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