Today in History: Kiwis leading the way!

In true NZ-grit fashion with the kiwis leading the way, a New Zealand patrol of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) became the first Eighth Army unit to enter Tunisia.

 

New Zealanders were hand-picked for the LRDG due to their resilience, toughness (both physical and mental), and with many kiwis living on farms back in NZ they could fix the trucks and machines in good ol’ number-8 wire fashion. They were an invaluable asset. The LRDG, although formed before the SAS and then operated concurrently alongside the SAS during the war, were considered the brains to the SAS’s brawn in WWII.