I te 2 o Mei 1940, i muri i te toru marama o te whakangungu, rere tinana matua o 681 nga tangata o te Ope Taua o Māori i Te Ūpoko o te Ika ki te Echelon 2 o 2NZEF runga i te papai Ōseni rongonui Aquitania. I muri i te piri e te tahi atu kaipuke hōia ki ngā whanga o Ahitereiria, kātahi ka tere atu mo Ihipa, ki te wahi i whakapumautia kua Echelon 1 o Aotearoa tona turanga. Otiia i runga i te 15 o Mei, e wha nga ra i muri i mahue o Fremantle, i nga kaipuke ki a Awherika ki te Tonga - I pēnei ai nā ko Itari e pā ana ki ki te whakapuaki i tepakanga i runga i te Hoa, a pea aukatia te Moana Whero.
Kiroto te mutunga o Maehe 1941 te Ope Taua Māori, wahi o te NZ Division 5 Brigade, ka tonoa ki te wawao i te raki Kariki ki te whakaekenga a te Tiamana taea i roto i Bulgaria me Tararā. A, no te timata i taua ino i te 6 no Eperera, Commonwealth me ope Kariki i tere whakaeke kaokaotia. Ko te Ope Taua Māori i kite tuatahi mahi i Olympus Pass i runga i te 15 o, i te, i patua e wha nga tangata.
Kātahi ka patiko ngā hoki ki te wawao i te Aho o Thermopylae, engari i te 21 o Āperira 1941, ka whakatauria te whakahau o Ingarangi kia whakarere ia Kariki. Te nuinga o te Ope Taua Māori i whakatahia mai i Atena ki Kariti i runga i te Glengyle i te 24. Mahue ratou i muri 10 mate, e 81 herehere o te whawhai. (A hi◊o atoa i te rātaka pakanga Battalion mo April 1941.)
Ko te pakanga mo Crete
Rererangi Tiamana i roto i te rangi
Heketau Tiamana, i runga i Kariti
Haere mai ratou i te rangi - i te 20 Haratua 1941 mano o Tiamana Heketau me gliders hōia ka pokia ki Kariti i te kotahi o nga patupatu mahino a te ao-ake tuatahi. E rua nga ra i muri, kia rite ki ngā hoariri ringihia i, ka mau ki te Ope Taua Māori i roto i te wahi i te tamataraa kawea Allied ki te ketia hoki te mana o te papa rererangi o Maleme matua. Whakamahia ratou i te bayonet ki te whai pai i roto i te whakaeke po spirited, engari i takoha ki te te unu i rite awatea ka whakatata, mahue 33 kua mate i muri.
Kia Mau