What was the name of the country where Wheeler had never been and agreed that he would take a job on the condition that he be permitted to take part in the invasion of Italy first?
Serving with the Eighth Army, Wheeler was present in North Africa when the Axis armies pushed the Allies back to El Alamein. He was also part of the Allied counter-push, taking part in the Second Battle of El Alamein and the advance on Axis-held Tripoli. On the way he became concerned that the archaeological sites of North Africa were being threatened both by the fighting and the occupying forces. After the British secured control of Libya, Wheeler visited Tripoli and Leptis Magna, where he found that Roman remains had been damaged and vandalised by British troops; he brought about reforms to prevent this, lecturing to the troops on the importance of preserving archaeology, making many monuments out-of-bounds, and ensuring that the Royal Air Force changed its plans to construct a radar station in the midst of a Roman settlement. Aware that the British were planning to invade and occupy the Italian island of Sicily, he insisted that measures be introduced to preserve the historic and archaeological monuments on the island.Promoted to the rank of brigadier, after the German surrender in North Africa, Wheeler was sent to Algiers where he was part of the staff committee planning the invasion of Italy. There, he learned that the India Office had requested that the army relieve him of his duties to permit him to be appointed Director General of Archaeology in India. Although he had never been to the country, he agreed that he would take the job on the condition that he be permitted to take part in the invasion of Italy first. As intended, Wheeler and his 12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade then took part in the invasion of Sicily and then mainland Italy, where they were ordered to use their anti-aircraft guns to protect the British 10th Corps. As the Allies advanced north through Italy, Wheeler spent time in Naples and then Capri, where he met various aristocrats who had anti-fascist sympathies.Wheeler left Italy in November 1943 and returned to London. There, he resigned as the director of the London Museum and focused on organising the Institute of Archaeology, preparing it for its adoption of a new director, V. Gordon Childe, after the war. He also resigned as director of the Society of Antiquaries, but was appointed the group's representative to the newly formed Council for British Archaeology. He developed a relationship with a woman named Kim Collingridge, and asked her to marry him. As she was a devout Roman Catholic, he officially converted to the religion, something which shocked many of his friends, who believed that he was being dishonest because he did not genuinely believe in the doctrines of the faith. He then set sail for Bombay aboard a transport ship, the City of Exeter, in February 1944.
India