Montgomery, Bernard Law

Montgomery, Bernard Law (1887–1976).British field marshal. One of the best‐known and controversial commanders of World War II, Montgomery—or Monty as he was better known—commanded Allied armies in two of the decisive battles of the war, El Alamein and Normandy. A Sandhurst graduate, he entered the British army in 1908, and served with distinction in World War I. Between the wars Montgomery was among the few army officers who grasped the need for new ideas, new equipment and new techniques. He was an unorthodox individualist.

In August 1942, with the legendary Gen. Erwin Rommel almost at the gates of Cairo and the oil fields of the Middle East, the almost unknown Montgomery took command of the British Eighth Army and defeated the Axis forces at the Battle of El Alamein, the foundation of Monty's fame, October 23–November 4, 1942.

A small, wiry man with hawk‐like features, a neatly‐trimmed moustache, and a jaunty black beret, he was boastful and blunt. Critics have called him an egomaniac, overrated, and worse. His “finest hour” came both before and during the invasion of Normandy in which he commanded all Allied ground forces from June to August 1944. He became the lightning rod for criticism when temporary stalemate followed D‐Day. Relations with Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower soured; exuding infallibility, Montgomery was his own worst enemy, and the myth took root that he had failed in Normandy. In practice, his generalship displayed far greater flexibility than he ever acknowledged. Original intention or not, Montgomery succeeded in keeping German armored divisions tied down on the British and Canadian front, thus assisting the American breakout on the right flank in July.

Differences continued to mar Monty's relationship with Ike following the Allied victory in Normandy, with the newly created field marshal advocating a single, con centrated blow to end the war in 1944, and the Supreme Commander's decision to adopt a broad‐broad strategy. In September 1944, Montgomery launched Operation Market‐Garden, the largest airborne and glider operation in history. The attempt to seize a bridgehead over the Rhine at Arnhem failed.

In the Battle of the Bulge, Eisenhower placed all American troops north of the German thrust under Montgomery's command, a courageous decision that was contrary to the advice of Gen. Omar N. Bradley. Fighting desperately to stop the German counteroffensive, subordinate American commanders welcomed Montgomery's arrival. At a press conference after the battle, Monty praised the fighting qualities of the American soldier, but left the impression he had saved the American high command from disaster. He noted in his Memoirs, “I should have held my tongue.” Britain hailed Montgomery as another Wellington and he was made viscount of Alamein in 1946. He served as deputy commander of NATO forces, 1951–58.
[See also France, Liberation of; Germany, Battle for; Italy, Invasion and Conquest of; Sicily, Invasion of; World War II: Military and Diplomatic Course.]

Bibliography

Nigel Hamilton , Monty, 3 vols., 1981–86.
Carlo D’Este , Decision in Normandy, 1983.
Richard Overy , Why The Allies Won, 1996.

Colin F. Baxter