Photograph of Generals Leese & Wilson, at British 8th Army HQ by AFUP Photographer - 30 April 1944

Mignano? Italy: British Army Film Unit. Very Good. 30 April 1944. First Edition. Photograph. 1 pages; Silver-print photograph [18 x 22.5 cm], taken 30 April 1944 during the British Eighth Army's campaign in Italy on the eve of the fourth (and final) battle for Monte Cassino. Excellent condition, with a typewritten (mimeographed) label mounted to the white verso, otherwise blank. The label specifies the date and that the photograph is a British Army Film Unit Photo "(14201)" -- (probably taken by the AFUP unit 5). THe presence of this label confirms that this is a vintage photographic print, originating in 1944. Two British Generals are shown studying a map spread over the bonnet of the Commander's staff car, to which is mounted a 48-star U.S. flag -- (a leftover from Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had preceeded General Wilson as the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean?). On the left is the Commander of the Eighth Army, Lieut. Gen. Leese [Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet -- 1894-1978]. On the right is General "Jumbo" Wilson, the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, [Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson -- 1881-1964]. The two Generals have good reason to consult a map as they conferred. In the early months of the year 1944, the U.S. Fifth Army had made three unsuccessful attempts to break through the German Positions in Italy -- [which the Allies called the "Winter Line"]. Ater these failures, the Eighth Army was covertly switched from the Adriatic coast in April 1944 to concentrate all forces -- (with the exception of the V Corps) -- on the western side of the Apennine Mountains alongside the U.S. Fifth Army -- in order to mount a major offensive. This offensive is known now as the fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. General Leese's British forces had largely used cover of darkness to move their large numbers -- they left behind painted wooden dummy tanks and vehicles in their abandoned positions. The U.S. forces had also embraced subterfuge using amphibious assault training, faked road signposts and dummy radio signal traffic. The deceptions were coming to a head at the moment our photograph was taken. And in this deception, the Allied action must be counted as a successs; on the second day of the final battle for Cassino, German General Kesselring estimated the Allies had six divisions facing his four on the Cassino front. In fact, there were thirteen. Earlier in 1944, the Allies determined that the historic hilltop Abbey at Monte Cassino (established circa 529 AD) was being used by the Germans as an observation post, and perhaps more. On February 15th, American bombers dropped 1400 tons of high explosives on the Abbey. To say that the bombing raid had been controversial is an understatement. Although the resulting damage was considerable, it was determined that the raid failed to achieve its objective, as German paratroopers subsequently occupied the rubble and established excellent defensive positions amid the ruins. The German defences at Monte Cassino had been assaulted by Allied troops four times from January 1944 up through a final assault 18 days after our photograph was taken, this fourth assault was undertaken with the assistance of soldiers from the Polish II Corps. On the 18th of May, the Polish and British flags were raised over the abandoned ruins of the Abbey. Subsequently the German Senger Line collapsed on 25 May. The campaign was costly... the capture of Monte Cassino resulted in 55,000 Allied casualties; German losses were estimated at around 20,000 killed and wounded. The Eighth Army broke into central Italy and the U.S. Fifth Army entered Rome in early June. General Wilson's Wikipedia page includes another photograph of Generals Wilson and Leese together, in a less strategic pose, taken the same day: 30 April 1944. General Leese is wearing the same khaki v-neck sweater and the same open-collared shirt. Wikipedia has a photograph depicting General Leese receiving his knighthood in the field from King George VI on 26 July 1944. [He had succeeded to his Baronetcy upon his father's death early in 1937]. General Wilson was created a Baron by George VI in 1946, after he had been appointed aide-de-camp to the King. .