Zealand for three months leave. Kippenberger was the ranking officer of the group, and with a high public profile due to his exploits in Crete and North Africa, he spent much of his leave in extensive speaking engagements. He became very rundown and was seriously ill in September, when he was originally expected to return to Egypt. He did not return to command the 5th Brigade until November. Italy At this stage of the war, the 2nd New Zealand Division was fighting in Italy as part of the British Eighth Army with the 5th Brigade poised to attack across the Sangro River in central Italy. On his arrival, Kippenberger conducted a survey of the terrain and recommended to Freyberg that the attack plan be modified to include an additional brigade, a recommendation Freyberg concurred with. The reorganised attack was successfully executed on the evening of 28 November with light casualties. The 2nd Division then attempted three times to capture the town of Orsogna. The second attack on the town of 7 December was the first to involve the 5th Brigade. Despite Kippenberger's brigade achieving all its objectives on the flank of the town, the attack was not successful. The failure of another brigade, tasked with capture of Orsogna itself, to achieve its goals left elements of the 5th Brigade exposed, and it had to partially withdraw. A further attack involving the 5th Brigade was mounted on 14 December, and this also failed, despite armoured support. Kippenberger found the close fighting in the mountainous terrain in Italy to be in marked contrast to the open campaign of the deserts of North Africa. Despite this, he remained the best of the brigadiers of the division and was not afraid to voice his concerns when given difficult orders by his superiors. When the commander of British XIII Corps, Lieutenant General Miles C. Dempsey, ordered what Kippenberger regarded to be wasteful attacks on ground in front of the 5th Brigade, he was not pleased and twice voiced his concerns. In early 1944, Freyberg was made commander of the New Zealand Corps, newly formed for the Battle of Monte Cassino, while Kippenberger was promoted to temporary major-general and made commander of the 2nd Division. This was the pinnacle of his military career. The division had moved into the line around Cassino, replacing the U.S. 36th Infantry Division, which had been attacking the strongly defended German