 Beginning at 5 : 30 am , the New Zealand Rifle Brigade advanced from its starting positions east of the town , aiming to surround it and link up on the far side . By late morning , the linkup had been achieved and other elements of the New Zealand Division moved further west into the Mormal Forest , leaving the Rifle Brigade to capture the town itself . After mopping up outlying outposts , the New Zealanders moved up to the ramparts of the town , but were held back by machine @-@ gun fire . Late in the afternoon , a scouting party located an unguarded section of the walls and the brigade 's 4th Battalion managed to climb the ramparts and move into the town , quickly seizing it . The capture of Le Quesnoy was the last major engagement of the war for the New Zealanders . 
