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Episodes and Stories 5
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Freyberg VC Crisis of Command
Episode 2When war erupted in 1939, New Zealand promised Britain she would send a complete army division to help in the struggle against the Nazis. Yet there were only 600 full-time Kiwi soldiers. Freyberg's task would be to raise the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force and lead it into battle - in Greece and on Crete. -
Freyberg VC Call to Arms
Episode 1At the turn of the century Bernard Freyberg was an average pupil at Wellington College. Yet within a few years he would be a national hero, and darling of Britain's smart set. This first episode traces Freyberg's astonishing rise to prominence. -
Freyberg VC The Salamander
Episode 3After the twin disasters of Greece and Crete, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force regrouped in Egypt. Soon the Kiwis would be thrown into some of their most devastating battles, the desert campaign against Rommel's panzers. At times the fate of the whole division would hang in the balance. -
Freyberg VC Into the Mire
Episode 4After their costly victory over Rommel in North Africa, the New Zealanders were moved to another front, in the rain and mud of Italy. Freyberg was placed in command of one of the most difficult operations of the war - the attempt to break through the German line at Cassino. His actions sparked an international controversy that has raged for nearly half a century. -
Freyberg VC Final Honours
Episode 5After the fall of Rome, the spotlight shifted away from the war in Italy, but the New Zealanders still had more than a year of heavy fighting ahead of them, against some of the toughest troops in the world. Even when Germany surrendered, the Kiwis were still in danger. Now they faced an enormous force of communist partisans, and Freyberg's task would be to avoid sparking a new war between East and West.
