 Throughout the course of the war , 3 @,@ 600 men served in the battalion . Of these , 649 were killed or died of wounds while another 1 @,@ 712 were wounded . Another 29 died as a result of service following discharge , while two were killed by accident during training in New Zealand . The Māori Battalion 's service against the Germans in North Africa earned them a distinguished reputation . Such was the respect that Allied commanders had for the Māori Battalion that they were frequently used as a spearhead unit . Bernard Freyberg , the General Officer Commanding of the 2NZEF , commented , " No infantry had a more distinguished record , or saw more fighting , or , alas , had such heavy casualties , as the Maori Battalion . " The battalion 's reputation was also acknowledged by their opponents . Some sources state that the Afrika Korps commander , Erwin Rommel remarked , " Give me the Maori Battalion and I will conquer the world " . Although , other sources attribute this comment to Rommel 's former chief of staff , General Siegfried Westphal , who met with the former Māori Battalion chaplain , Reverend Canon W. T. <unk> , during an Afrika Korps reunion dinner in Mainz , Germany , in 1972 . 
