[ British Army, Sicilian Campaign, 1943. ] Two duplicated documents: 'Lecture by Maj-Gen V. Evelegh, C.B., O.B.E. on 78 Div's Part in the Sicilian Campaign' and 'Notes on Observations made in SICILY' by Lieut-Col. D. E. P. Hodgson.

Both items in good condition, lightly-aged and worn. Both scarce: no copy of either traced, either on OCLC WorldCat or on COPAC, and no copies in the Imperial War Museum collection. From the papers of military historian Barrie Pitt, author of 'Crucible of War'. ONE: ' 'Lecture by Maj-Gen V. Evelegh, C.B., O.B.E. on 78 Div's Part in the Sicilian Campaign'. Two pages each on a separate leaf, the first 8vo and the second half an 8vo page. Stapled together. Sixteen numbered sections under the following headings: 'General', 'Topography', 'The Enemy', 'Inf Tactics', 'Arty Lessons', 'Demolitions', 'Mines and Mine Lifting', 'ADM', 'Air Attack'. Begins: '78 Div were sent over to SICILY after the campaign had been in progress for some weeks and were employed as the spear head of the attack for the capture of CENTURIPE feature which eventually broke the German resistance SOUTH of Mt ETNA. After this they advanced through ADERNO and BRONTE, and together with the American 7th Army captured the key town of RANDAZZO.' The last point reads: 'Enemy air attack was very limited, but the few occasions on which his fighter bombers did attack 78 Div they almost invariably went for the gun areas. These did little harm to the guns, but the tracer bullets quite often set fire to the vegetation with the result that a number of vehs were destroyed by fire. Up to date no satisfactory method of preventing this has been devised; the only real possible one seemed to be to keep the driver in the veh during a raid, whic was not very satisfactory from his point of view.' TWO: 'SUBJECT: - Notes on Observations made in SICILY'. Headed 'SECRET | 10/G'. Facsimile of Hodgson's signature ('Lt Col | GS | 6 Armd Div.'). Written 'IN THE FIELD | 9 Oct 43 | DEPH/LCH.' 2pp., 8vo. Contains notes 'made by CRE during a recent visit to ITALY'. Divided into four parts: 'Demolitions and Mines' (with subsections 'Bridge Demolitions'; 'Cliff Face or Culvert Demolitions), 'Tactical', 'Rd Movement' and 'Adm'.