before the conclusion of the campaign in Sicily, preparations had commenced for the Allied invasion of Italy. Once again a series of dispersed landings was contemplated, based on the expectation that Italy would soon surrender and the Germans would withdraw from Italy. The Eighth Army had a supporting role, conducting Operation Baytown, a landing on the southern tip of Italy, while the US Fifth Army made the main assault, Operation Avalanche, at Salerno. Neither Montgomery nor de Guingand was in favour of the plan, with de Guingand arguing that Baytown should be cancelled. As they feared, the Germans did resist and as the weather deteriorated in October, the Eighth Army's advance ultimately came to a halt on the Winter Line. North West Europe Operation Overlord When Montgomery departed from the Eighth Army on 3 December 1943 to assume command of the 21st Army Group in Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, he took several officers with him. These included de Guingand, Graham, Williams and Brigadier George Richards. It was not the normal practice in the British Army for generals to take staff with them from one assignment to the next but Montgomery judged correctly that his fame as the victor of the Battle of El Alamein would overcome any objections. De Guingand and Graham were granted the acting rank of major-general on 15 January 1944, with de Guingand's promotion backdated to 1 December 1943. At 21st Army Group, de Guingand replaced Major-General William Morgan, who went to the Italy as Alexander's chief of staff. There were comments in London clubs to the effect that "the Gentlemen are out and the Players are just going in to bat." De Guingand arrived in the UK on 1 January and went over the Overlord plan with Smith the following day. The two were impressed by the amount of work that had been done by the staff of the Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander designate (COSSAC), Lieutenant-General Frederick Morgan, but they had concerns regarding the size of the assault, its narrow frontage and the speed of the build up. Taken together, these factors made it unlikely that the port of Cherbourg would be captured in less than two weeks but changing the plan to address these factors would require more aircraft, ships and landing craft; securing them would impose a delay. De Guingand and Smith arranged for a presentation to