 The battalion returned to Egypt with the 5th Infantry Brigade in late @-@ May and underwent a period of refit and retraining , during which the bulk of the original unit was given three months leave and returned to New Zealand . Following the evacuation to hospital of Lieutenant Colonel Kingi Keiha , there were no suitable senior Māori officers available and he was replaced as commanding officer by Lieutenant Colonel Monty Fairbrother on 11 September . Having taken no part in the Allied invasion of Sicily in July – August , the 2nd New Zealand Division was committed to battle again in late 1943 as part of Eighth Army during the Italian Campaign . The Māori Battalion subsequently arrived in Italy on 22 October , landing at Taranto . 5th Infantry Brigade undertook a period of training in close @-@ country tactics , remaining in camp at Taranto until 18 November when it was ordered to move north 250 miles ( 400 km ) to join the Eighth Army . 
