World War II For Dummies by Keith D. Dickson

Author:Keith D. Dickson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley

Field Marshal Montgomery

Bernard Law Montgomery (1887–1976) served in France and Belgium during World War I. At the outbreak of World War II, Montgomery was a Major General commanding a division. His division was sent to France in 1940, and in the debacle that followed, was evacuated from Dunkirk. In 1941, Montgomery oversaw preparations for the defense of Britain against a German invasion. In August 1942, Montgomery took command of the Eighth Army in Egypt. On October 23, leaving nothing to chance, Montgomery initiated a carefully planned attack against General Erwin Rommel’s Axis forces at El Alamein in northern Egypt and won the first Allied victory against the German army. While still in pursuit of Rommel’s defeated columns across Libya, he became Sir Bernard Montgomery and was promoted to full General. In 1943, Montgomery (or “Monty” as his troops called him) led the Eighth Army in Sicily and the initial campaign in Italy. In preparation for the invasion of France, he was ordered back to Britain in 1944 to serve as commander of all land forces under General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander. He became a Field Marshal, the highest rank in the British Army.

Montgomery had no doubt that he was the finest general in the Allied armies. He never shook his initial impression that American soldiers and leaders were hopeless amateurs, an opinion he usually did not hesitate to express. These two characteristics often made him hard to get along with. He was a superb motivator and organizer with a colorful personality that inspired his men. He loved his soldiers and looked after their welfare, never needlessly exposing them to danger. But he lacked the spark of brilliance on the battlefield that other Allied officers possessed. The battles he fought were usually successful because he took no chances, and he was content to wait until everything went in his favor. At his best, Montgomery could usually force an enemy from a position, but he could not find the means to prevent the enemy from reforming and defending another position. Yet this approach suited his style of war — to move head-on but limited in scope and goals. Montgomery had a supreme, sometimes misplaced, confidence in his plans and preparations. This fault led to several major setbacks for the Allies in the later stages of the war.

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