page_title: Oliver Leese
section_title: North Africa and Sicily
hierarchical_section_title: Oliver Leese / Second World War / North Africa and Sicily
caption_attribution_description: English: British Generals in the Desert General Montgomery with his three Corps Commanders, left to right&#160;: Lieut. General Leese, G.O.C. 30 Corps. Lieut. General Lumsden, G.O.C. 10 Corps. General Montgomery. Lieut. General Horrocks, G.O.C. 13 Corps.
context_page_description: Lieutenant General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, KCB, CBE, DSO was a senior British Army officer who saw distinguished active service during both the world wars. He is most notable during the Second World War for commanding XXX Corps in North Africa and Sicily, serving under General Sir Bernard Montgomery, before going on to command the Eighth Army in the Italian Campaign throughout most of 1944.
context_section_description: In September 1942 he was sent at the request of the British Eighth Army commander, Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery, to North Africa to assume command, as an acting lieutenant general, of the Eighth Army's XXX Corps. Montgomery had formed a good opinion of Leese when he had instructed him at the Staff College, Camberley in 1927 and 1928 and had also been impressed by his work at GHQ in France. Leese commanded XXX Corps for the rest of the campaign which ended with the Axis surrender in May 1943 in Tunisia. He was mentioned in despatches for his services in North Africa. XXX Corps then took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 before returning to the United Kingdom after the Sicily campaign, which ended in August, to prepare for the planned invasion of Northwest Europe, scheduled for the spring of 1944. Leese was promoted to temporary lieutenant general in September.
caption: Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery pictured in North Africa sometime in late 1942 with his three corps commanders, from left to right: Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese, GOC XXX Corps, Lieutenant General Herbert Lumsden, GOC X Corps, Lieutenant General Montgomery, Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks, GOC XIII Corps
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