Ngā Toa o te Koraha

Whai mai ana i te whakakohuki o Kariki me Kiriti, i āta tātai anō rātou i te Matua me te whakaharatau, whakarite ope tānga hoki, i a rātou i Ihipa. He āhua roa te wā e mahi pēnei ana rātou. I te mutunga o te tau 1941 tae noa ki te timatanga o 1943 ka whakaanga atu te Ope Taua Māori rātou ko the Matua o Aotaearoa katoa ki te Afrika Korps o Erwin Rommel, rātou ko ngā taua o Itari, i roto i te koraha whakatikotiko o Awherika ki te Raki - he taiao kakawa tērā, he wera tunutunu i ētahi wā, ā, he hōkiwai i ētahi atu wā a, he āwhā onepū me he rango makihoi.

Te Whakahau o Ripia

I te Whiringa ā Rangi 1941 i hūnuku whakateuru te Matua a Aotearoa ki Ripia hei whaiwāhi atu ki te Kōkiri "Crusader". Koinei te whiunga i te Ope Hōia Tuawaru o Ingarangi kia hikitia te whakapaeanga o te hoariri ki Tobruk. I āhua tutuki pai te Ope Hōia Haere Raro Tuarima (tae noa ki te Ope Taua Māori) ki Sollum, Bardia me Gazala. He tokomaha ngā mauhere i hopukina e rātou. Engari ahakoa tēnā i taupoki ngā Panzers o Rommel i te Ope HQ, ā, i rarahua hoki te Tuawhā me te Tuaono ki Sidi Rezegh me Belhamed. I pau ngā rawa o Rommel, kātahi ka whakatahi ki te uru, ka mutu nā tērā ka tukuna he wikitoria rautaki ki ngā Hoa Whenua.

Hiria

He paku whakatā anō ki Ihipa. Kātahi, i te marama o Hui-tanguru 1942, i tukuna te Matua o Aotearoa ki Hiria hei taupaepae ki tētahi whakaekenga pea o Tiamani ki te Rāwhiti Waenga mā Rūhia me Tāke - heoi he mōrearea tēnā kāore rawa i puta. I whakapau wā te Ope Taua Māori e whakaharatau ana, e hanga ana hoki i ngā huarahi me ngā maioro. I te 15 o Pipiri i whakahaua ngā tāngata o Aotearoa kia hoki atu ki te Koraha o te Uru nā te mea he huaki hou tā Tiamani e whakaweti ana i te wawaotanga o Ihipa. Ko te marama i mua o tēnā i whiwhi te Ope i tōna kaiārahi Māori tuatahi: ka taua a Rūtene-Kānara Eruera (Tiwi) Love i a Rūtene Kānara Humphrey Dyer.

Minqar Qaim to Munassib

Tere tonu te whakahaua anō ki te mura o te ahi ki Minqar Qaim i te 26 Pipiri 1942. Kāore i roa i karapotihia te Matua o Aotearoa e te Wahanga Panzer 21. Heoi anō nā tētahi horanga awhero kore i whakaorangia rātou. I tētahi huaki ohorere i waenga pō i whatia ngā aukati o Tiamani. Anō ko ngā matarere Māori i mua tonu i te ope. I whakatahi rātou 160 kms ki te haumaru o te Raina o Alamein.

Mō te toru mārama whai muri atu ka piki te kakari, ā, ka heke te kakari. I te rāhuitia te Ope Taua Māori i taua wā, nā reira i pare atu i te parekura i pā mai ki ngā Ope Tuawhā, Tuarima hoki ki Ruweisat Ridge i te marama o Hōngongoi. Engari ko tō rātou kaihautū - Rūtene-Kānara Love i mate ia nā ngā matā. Ka riro mā te Māori nei a Rūtene Kānara Fred Baker hei kaihautū. Ka mutu, i te marama o 26 Here-turi-kōkā me 3-4 Mahuru, i whakarewangia he huaki momoho i El Mreir me Munassib. He maha ngā aituā i utaina ki runga i te hoariri.

El Alamein ki Tripoli

Ko El Alamein he teihana tereina ngarongaro. Engari ka tuhia ki ngā pukapuka hītori hei wāhi mō te kakari niwha o te pakanga koraha. I timata te huaki o te Ope Taua Tuawaru i te 23 Whiringa a Nuku 1942. Ka mutu, te rahi hoki o ngā matā pahū i ua ki runga i a Axis Force i taua rangi. Engari i whakaio rātou. Ko te kōkō tuarua i te 2 Whiringa-ā-Rangi i pā kino ki te Ope Taua Māori, 100 ngā aituā whara tae noa ki a Fred Baker (i whara ia). Ko tōna rūtene - a Meiha Irvine Hart - i aituā ia whai muri i taua rangi. Ā, ka riro mā Charles Bennett o Te Arawa te mana kaihautū. Heoi anō, nā te whatinga o ngā waonga o Rommel ki wāhi kē, i mate rātou kia whakatahi. Ka huri te tumu koraha ki tētahi whaiwhainga kōkirikiri. I te 23 Kohitātea 1942 i kuhu atu te Ope Taua Māori ki Tripoli, 2250km ki te taha uru o El Alamein. Koia rātou ko te rōpū tuarua o Aotearoa kia pērā.

Medenine and Tebaga Gap

I te rangi tuatahi o Poutū-te-Rangi i āwhina te Ope Taua Maōri kia pare atu i tētahi taupaepae pūkeke o Tiamani ki Tunisia. Ko te mahi whai muri i tēnā mō Aotearoa, tērā kia huri whakatemauī ki tuawhenua hei herepū i te Tebaga Gap, ā, kia whakaeke kaokao i a te Raina Mareth o te hoariri. Ko te whāinga tuatahi o te Ope ko Tongi 209 me he take puke i tapaina e te Māori ko Hikurangi. Nā te kaihautū a Kāpene Arapeta Awatere rātou i ārahi, arā ko C Company tērā. Nā rātou i herepū i a Hikurangi i te 26 Poutū-te-rangi. Ā, i whakaio rātou mō te roanga o te pō ahakoa ngā taupaepae awhero kore mai i ngā Panzer Grenadiers. I hinga a Tongi 209 i te rangi whai muri atu. He 231 ngā mauhere Tiamana. Tata ki te 100 ngā aituā whara o te Ope Taua Māori, tae noa ki ngā aituā 22. Ko tētahi i hinga ko Te Moananui-ā-Kiwa Ngārimu. Ka mutu nā tōna ārahitanga awe ka whakawhiwhia ia (murimate nei) ki te Ripeka o Wikitoria (VC).

Takrouna

Ka whakahua ana tēnei ingoa ka hoki mahara ki ētahi o ngā āpiti tino hūtoto rawa i roto i te pakanga koraha. Ko te pā maioro o Takrouna, he 200 mita nei te tāroaroa o te pari, e puritia ana e Tiamani me Itari, e aukati ana i te whiu a te Ope Taua Tuawaru ki Tunis. I te pō o 19/20 Paenga-whāwhā 1943 ko tētahi rōpū iti mai i B Company (ko Haehana Haane Manahi tō rātou kaihautū) i piki i te pari harapaki kia tae atu ai ki te taumata. I whai mai anō ētahi, ā, mutu ana te toru rangi e whawhai awhero kore ana, i hinga rawa ngā kaiwawao o Takrouna.

E toru rau ngā tāngata i mauheretia. Engari he 116 anō ngā tāngata o te Ope Taua Māori i hinga, i whara rānei. Ko tētahi ko Rūtene-Kānara Bennett, i whara ia i tētahi maina. I riro mā Meiha K A (Reta) Keiha tōna tūranga hei kaihautū. I whakawhiwhia a Manahi ki te mētara "Toanga Kahurangi" engari he maha ngā tāngata i whakaaro me whakawhiwhi kē ia ki te VC mō tōna ārahi i tētahi huaki e kīa nei e tētahi Rūtene-Tianara o Ingarangi: "koira tētahi o ngā mahi hōia tino hautoa rawa atu i kite nei ahau i te roanga atu o te pakanga".

O Rātou Kōrero