 Three days later the battalion attacked a column of tanks and motorised infantry before ambushing a column at Menastir on 3 December . Later , notable actions were undertaken at Gazala and at Sidi Magreb where over 1 @,@ 000 Italians prisoners were captured . Following this , the battalion was deployed to Syria before returning to Egypt in June 1942 . Now officially under the command of a Māori for the first time — Lieutenant Colonel Eruera Love having taken over from Dyer in May — the Māoris took part in the 2nd New Zealand Division 's breakout from Minqar Qaim , undertaking a successful bayonet charge . At this time , the battalion 's skills with the bayonet earned them a reputation as " scalp hunters " among German commanders , including Rommel . 
