The 28th Maori Battalion's involvement in the Battles of Monte Cassino in 1944 has been commemorated in Italy overnight.
A number of veterans returned to Italy for the commemoration and a group of Maori Battalion veterans on a private tour are also there.
New Zealand forces, including the Maori Battalion, were heavily involved in two of the four battles in February and March of 1944.
The 28th Maori Battalion waiting to move up into the front lines from Gambettola, Italy on 19 October 1944. Photo: AAP / Alexander Turnbull Library / George Frederick Kaye
Professor of War Studies at Massey University Glyn Harper said the battalion was involved in fierce fighting in the town, particularly around the railway station, but they were left isolated and unprotected.
He said they were driven out by a German tank and infantry attack and it was a failure, but the battalion had done everything possible to hold the objectives under the circumstances.
Professor Harper said the Maori Battalion suffered many casualties in the first battle.
