A Bloody Road Home

Book excerpt: 'This is a story worth telling and deserves to be read by all New Zealanders.' --Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand A Bloody Road Home is the story of 2 New Zealand Division in World War Two. Commanded by the New Zealand-raised and educated Lieutenant General Sir Bernard 'Tiny' Freyberg, in six years of war it became one of the finest fighting divisions in the British and Commonwealth Armies. The first ever single-volume history of the Division, A Bloody Road Home is a story of trial and error, failure and success. Told in the words of the officers and soldiers who served, it charts the Division's formation in Egypt through to the campaigns of Greece, Crete and North Africa. From the battle for Tobruk to the advance on Tunis; to the onslaught up the spine of Italy from Orsogna via Monte Cassino, Florence; and to the final encounter at Trieste in 1945, no stone is left unturned. Acclaimed military historian Christopher Pugsley skilfully examines the Division's operations at a tactical and leadership level - according both praise and blame - and relays the experiences of everyday soldiers in their own words, to powerful effect. A magnificent story of New Zealand endeavour and achievement, and a landmark text in every sense of the word, A Bloody Road Home is an exacting revision of accepted history and a celebration of the men who so bravely served.