Item GRANT 2/3/1-13 - Letters to Grant from Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese, 1943-1944, on Allied operations in Italy

Letters to Charles John Cecil Grant from Lt Gen Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Bt, during World War Two, describing military operations in Italy whilst Leese was commanding 8 Army, notably Operation DIADEM, including the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino, 11-18 May 1944, and the successful attack by Allied forces on the Hitler Line (Winter Line), 14 May 1944; operations leading to the occupation of Rome by the US 5 Army, 4 Jun 1944, and a description of the city itself; the secret move of 8 Army forces across the Apennines to the Adriatic sector (Operation OLIVE) in order to commence the Gothic Line Offensive, Aug-Sep 1944, and an outline of how the Polish, Canadian, British and Indian forces broke through into the Po Valley, 20 Sep 1944. An earlier letter briefly describes the part played by Leese and 30 Corps at the Battle of El Alamein, Egypt, Oct-Nov 1942, and the advance following the battle. 13 items.