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. 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. 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.
Even outside the division, there was some astonishment; British Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks, who had been present during the fighting at Takrouna and visited the site afterward, expressed his disappointment with the reduction in Manahi's award. Some historians believed that reports suggesting Manahi's men had killed Italians attempting to surrender were a factor in this downgrade. The official history of the Māori Battalion, published in 1956, claimed that wounded New Zealanders were "shot, bayoneted or thrown off a cliff" but only after an Italian grenade was thrown into their shelter.