Haane Manahi
Haane Manahi Second World War
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Awards | Distinguished Conduct Medal |
Haane Te Rauawa Manahi,
Born in
In June 1943, he returned to New Zealand on a three-month furlough but when this was completed, was not required to rejoin his battalion. Māori soldiers on furlough were made exempt from active duty. After his discharge from the New Zealand Military Forces in 1946, he was employed as a traffic inspector. After his death in a car crash in 1986, a committee was established to urge the New Zealand Government to make representations to Buckingham Palace for a posthumous award of the VC to Manahi. These efforts were ultimately unsuccessful due to the period of time that had elapsed since the end of the Second World War.
Early life
Haane Te Rauawa Manahi was the son of Manahi Ngākahawai Te Rauawa, a farm worker, and his wife Neti Mariana
Second World War
In November 1939, following the outbreak of the
In early May 1940, after Manahi and the rest of his fellow soldiers had two weeks of home leave prior to departing the country,
Greece and Crete
On 27 March 1941, Manahi's battalion, having spent two months in Egypt, arrived in
On Crete, the Allies dug in for the expected airborne attack by German paratroopers. The Māori Battalion was positioned near the town of
North Africa
By mid-June 1941, after a period of recuperation and leave, Manahi had returned to the Māori Battalion,[18] which had undergone a reorganisation following the campaign in Greece and Crete. It was now training for desert warfare and constructing defensive positions around the Baggush Box, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) west of El Alamein. During this time he participated in a divisional swimming competition, winning the freestyle 50 yards (46 m) race.[19][20] In November he, along with the rest of the division, participated in Operation Crusader. After crossing the Egyptian border into Libya, this involved near-constant fighting for well over a month, during which Manahi, with two others, captured and commandeered a German tank which had become stuck in B Company's trenches.[21] He drove the tank during an engagement with elements of the 21st Panzer Division on 26 November, helping capture an enemy field gun.[22] In early 1942, the New Zealanders were withdrawn to Syria for a period of rest and garrison duty.[23]
In late May 1942, the
By now, it was clear that the Germans were in retreat and the Allies pursued them into Libya and Tunisia. After a battle at
Takrouna
By April 1943, the 2nd New Zealand Division had advanced into mountainous country overlooking Enfidaville.
With two attempts to contact the battalion having failed, Manahi made his way down Takrouna to locate reinforcements and supplies. Ignoring an officer's advice that he abandon the ledge, he returned with a section from C Company as well as ammunition and stretcher-bearers. A further platoon arrived to help consolidate the position. The expected counter-attack commenced and was successfully beaten off. It was only then, after having been on Takrouna for 16 hours, that Manahi and what was left of his section withdrew, leaving the newly arrived platoon to hold the ledge.[31][32]
Despite reinforcements, a further counter-attack launched by Italian forces on 21 April dislodged the New Zealanders and control of the ledge was lost. Kippenberger ordered the Māori Battalion to send reinforcements to rectify the situation. Manahi was specifically requested to join the effort to recapture the ledge due to his knowledge of the terrain. He went with a group of volunteers to regain the lost position and, with artillery support, the attack was successful. By midday, the ledge was reoccupied by the New Zealanders but the village on the summit remained in the hands of the Italians. Later in the afternoon of 21 April, Manahi led an attacking party of seven soldiers which, working with a group from 21st Battalion, captured the village and took 300 prisoners. After the battle, and with Takrouna secure, he assisted with the recovery of the bodies of his dead comrades.[31][33][34]
Manahi's exploits quickly became known throughout the 2nd New Zealand Division, and within a few days of his actions, a nomination for the VC had been prepared by the commander of his battalion. Brigadier Ralph Harding, commander of 5th Infantry Brigade, endorsed the nomination as did four senior officers: Kippenberger,
The citation for the DCM read:
On the night of 19–20 April 1943 during the attack upon the Takrouna feature, Tunisia, Lance Sergeant Manahi was in command of a section. The objective of his platoon was the pinnacle, a platform of rock right on top of the feature. By morning the platoon was reduced in strength to ten by heavy mortar and small-arms fire and were pinned to the ground a short way up the feature. The platoon continued towards their objective, Lance Sergeant Manahi leading a party of three up the western side. During this advance, they encountered heavy machine-gun fire from posts on the slope and extensive sniping from the enemy actually on the pinnacle. In order to reach their objective, he and his party had to climb some 500 feet under heavy fire, the last 50 feet being almost sheer. He personally led the party after silencing several machine-gun posts and by climbing hand-over-fist they eventually reached the pinnacle. After a brief fight some sixty enemies, including an artillery observation officer, surrendered. They were then joined by the remainder of the platoon and the pinnacle was captured.
The area was subjected to intense mortar fire from a considerable enemy force still holding Takrouna Village and the northern and western slopes of the feature and later to heavy and continuous shelling. The Platoon Sergeant was killed and other casualties reduced the party holding the pinnacle to Lance Sergeant Manahi and two Privates. An artillery observation officer who had arrived ordered him to withdraw but he and his men remained and held the feature. This action was confirmed by Brigade Headquarters as soon as communications were established. Late morning found the party short of ammunition, rations and water. Lance Sergeant Manahi himself returned to his Battalion at the foot of the feature and brought back supplies and reinforcements, the whole time being under fire. During the afternoon the enemy counter-attacked in force, some of them gaining a foothold. In the face of grenades and small-arms fire he personally led his men against the attackers. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting ensued but eventually, the attackers were driven off. Shortly after this, the party was relieved. The following morning urgent and immediate reinforcements were required as the enemy had once more gained a foothold and Lance Sergeant Manahi led one of two parties which attacked and drove back the enemy despite concentrated mortar and heavy machine-gun fire. All that day the feature was heavily shelled, mortared and subjected to continual machine-gun fire from in and about Takrouna. Late in the afternoon of 21 April, Lance Sergeant Manahi on his own initiative took two men and moved around the north-western side of the feature. In that area were several enemies machine-gun and mortar posts and two 25-pounder guns operated by the enemy. With cool determination Lance Sergeant Manahi led his party against them, stalking one post after another always under the shell and machine-gun fire. By his skill and daring, he compelled the surrender of the enemy in that area.
This courageous action undoubtedly led to the ultimate collapse of the enemy defence and the capture of the whole Takrouna feature with over 300 prisoners, two 25-pounder guns, several mortars and seventy-two machine guns. On the night of 21–22 April, Lance Sergeant Manahi remained on the feature assisting in the evacuation of the dead and wounded and refused to return to his Battalion until this task was completed. During that time the area was being heavily and continually shelled.
Throughout the action, Lance Sergeant Manahi showed the highest qualities of an infantry soldier. He made a supreme contribution to the capture and holding of a feature vital to the success of the operation.[38]
The decision to downgrade the VC recommendation to an award of the DCM was a disappointment to many in the 2nd New Zealand Division.[39] Even outside of the division there was some surprise; the British Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, who was present during the fighting at Takrouna and visited the site of the action afterwards, expressed his dismay at the downgrade of Manahi's award in his postwar memoirs.[33] Reports that Manahi's men had killed Italians attempting to surrender were thought by some historians to be a factor in the downgrading of his award.[40] The official history of the Māori Battalion, published in 1956, stated that the surrendering soldiers were "shot, bayonetted or thrown over a cliff" but only after an Italian grenade had been thrown into a building in which wounded New Zealanders were sheltering.[41] However, these reports may not have emerged until after the downgrading, and at the time the killings were alleged to have occurred, Manahi himself was reportedly dealing with an advance by Italian soldiers against the ledge.[40] Another factor in the downgrading may have been the recent VC nomination for Ngarimu, just three weeks earlier. The subsequent nomination of Manahi, a Māori like Ngarimu and from the same battalion, may have led to a perception that VCs were being too easily awarded.[42]
Return to New Zealand
The surrender of the Axis forces in Tunisia in May left the Allies in control of North Africa. The 2nd New Zealand Division withdrew to its base in Egypt and it was announced that 6,000 of its personnel would return to New Zealand for a three-month furlough. Manahi, as one of around 180 surviving original members of the Māori Battalion, was among those selected and shipped out on 15 June 1943.[43] He was not to return to the war; after many of those on furlough vocalised their displeasure at the prospect of going back to war while other able-bodied men had yet to serve in the military, the New Zealand Government decided to exempt certain long-serving personnel from a return to duty. Māori soldiers, such as Manahi, would be among those released from service.[44]
On returning to Rotorua, Manahi entered a woodworking course and then began working at the local hospital as a carpenter.[45] On 18 December 1945, he was presented with his DCM by Cyril Newall, the Governor-General of New Zealand, in a ceremony at the Auckland Town Hall.[46] He was later selected for the New Zealand Victory Contingent, destined for England to celebrate the Commonwealth's role in the war. As part of the contingent, he participated in the Victory Parade in London on 8 June 1946. This fulfilled his last military obligations, and he was discharged in August.[45]
Later life
Manahi settled back in Rotorua and returned to the workforce. Employed by the Ministry of Works, he became a traffic inspector which involved travelling around the Bay of Plenty.[47] By this time, he had become estranged from his wife, although the couple never divorced.[6] Manahi later had relationships with other women, and fathered another son with one of them.[47]
A keen sportsman, he became involved in swimming coaching as well as golf and fishing. When his estranged wife died in 1976, he moved away from Rotorua to nearby Maketu, on the coast. He still commuted to Rotorua to socialise at the local branch of the New Zealand Returned Servicemen's Association (RSA). Following his retirement in 1978, he spent even more time at the RSA in Rotorua.[47] On the evening of 29 March 1986, on the way home to Maketu from the RSA clubrooms, he was involved in a car crash. His car veered over the centre line of the road, hit an oncoming vehicle and flipped. The driver and passenger of the other vehicle went to Manahi's aid. He received severe chest and abdominal injuries and was rushed to Tauranga Hospital, where he died later in the evening. His tangi (funeral) was held at the marae (tribal meeting area) in his home village of Ohinemutu, and was attended by former soldiers of the Māori Battalion.[48] Survived by his two sons, he was buried at Muruika cemetery.[1]
The Manahi VC Committee
The situation regarding Manahi's VC recommendation for his actions at Takrouna still rankled with many members of the Māori Battalion but while he was alive, Manahi's modesty and unwillingness to bring any attention to himself meant that he was not interested in pursuing reconsideration of the award. Following his death, the Manahi VC Committee was established by his former comrades and iwi to lobby for an upgrade to his award.[49]
The committee, which felt the downgrade of Manahi's proposed VC award to a DCM was due to him being a Māori, lobbied the New Zealand Government to make representations to
Further agitation by the committee for an official approach to be made to the Queen resulted in a formal application to the Government in late 1993. This was rejected, one reason cited being the alleged conduct of the Māori soldiers towards Italian prisoners at Takrouna. This provoked the committee to collect more evidence in support of its case, including rebuttal evidence regarding the treatment of the Italians.[52] It also stressed the point that the Manahi case was one of rectifying an error made by the military authorities to downgrade the VC to a DCM. It was not a matter of an attempt to see a soldier awarded a medal he had been overlooked for, as was alleged by military historian Christopher Pugsley.[53] Finally, in 1997, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jenny Shipley, formally broached the subject with Buckingham Palace. The feedback indicated the elapsed time since the events of Takrouna was a barrier to awarding Manahi a VC.[50]
The campaign to seek redress for Manahi continued and in 2000, his iwi, Te Arawa, lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal[54] and was supported in doing so by the New Zealand RSA. Te Arawa alleged the failure of the New Zealand Government to give full consideration of the award of a VC to Manahi constituted a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi, which required the government to act in good faith regarding grievances of Māori.[55] In December 2005 the tribunal reported that there was no breach of the treaty. While not making any formal conclusions or recommendations, the tribunal suggested that the Manahi VC Committee work with the New Zealand Government in making an approach to Buckingham Palace.[55]
In October 2006, after further dialogue with Buckingham Palace, the New Zealand Minister of Defence, Phil Goff, announced that Manahi's bravery at Takrouna would be recognised by the presentation of an altar cloth for use at St. Faith's Church at Ohinemutu, a personal letter from the Queen acknowledging his gallantry, and a ceremonial sword. The award was presented by Prince Andrew to Manahi's sons, Rauawa and Geoffrey, at a ceremony in Rotorua on 17 March 2007.[56][57] The sword was later presented to the Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, along with a patu (war club) in memory of Haane Manahi.[58]
Notes
- ^ a b Bennett, Norman (2000). "Manahi, Haane Te Rauawa". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture & Heritage. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 17.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 27.
- ^ Pugsley 2014, p. 22.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 33.
- ^ a b Moon 2010, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 33–35.
- ^ Pugsley 2014, pp. 47–48.
- ^ Cody 1956, pp. 28–30.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 40–42.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 47.
- ^ Cody 1956, p. 44.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 53.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 55.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 57.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 65.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 67–68.
- ^ Cody 1956, p. 134.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 70.
- ^ Cody 1956, pp. 151–152.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 73.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 77.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 79.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 81–82.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 86.
- ^ Gardiner 1992, pp. 120–122.
- ^ Cody 1956, pp. 297–304.
- ^ a b Gardiner 1992, pp. 122–124.
- ^ Cody 1956, pp. 304–306.
- ^ a b Harper & Richardson 2016, pp. 266–267.
- ^ Cody 1956, pp. 306–308.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 115.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 119.
- ^ "No. 36102". The London Gazette. 22 July 1943. p. 3314.
- ^ "Cenotaph record: Haane Manahi". Online Cenotaph. Auckland Museum. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 120.
- ^ a b Moon 2010, p. 100.
- ^ Cody 1956, p. 305.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 123.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 109–110.
- ^ McGibbon 2000, p. 189.
- ^ a b Moon 2010, pp. 128–130.
- ^ "Gallant Deeds". Auckland Star. Vol. LXXVI, no. 300. 19 December 1945. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Moon 2010, pp. 130–131.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 132–133.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 135.
- ^ a b Harper & Richardson 2016, pp. 268–269.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 136.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 137–138.
- ^ Moon 2010, p. 140.
- ^ Moon 2010, pp. 141–142.
- ^ a b "The Preliminary Report on the Haane Manahi Victoria Cross Claim" (PDF). Waitangi Tribunal. 2005. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ Harper & Richardson 2016, p. 270.
- New Zealand Herald. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ "Haane Te Rauawa Manahi". NZ History Online. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
References
- Cody, J. F. (1956). 28 Maori Battalion. OCLC 10848095.
- Gardiner, Wira (1992). Te Mura O Te Ahi: The Story of the Maori Battalion. Auckland, New Zealand: Reed Books. ISBN 978-0-7900-0267-5.
- ISBN 978-1-77554-050-2.
- ISBN 978-0-19-558376-2.
- Moon, Paul (2010). Victoria Cross at Takrouna: The Haane Manahi Story. Wellington, New Zealand: Huia Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86969-420-3.
- ISBN 978-0-143-57189-6.
External links
- Media related to Haane Manahi at Wikimedia Commons