Montgomery, Bernard Law, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein

Montgomery, Bernard Law, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (b. 17 Nov. 1887, d. 23 Mar. 1976). British field marshal Born in London, but brought up in Tasmania until 1901, he attended St Paul's School (London), and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1908, and served in India, before seeing action in Belgium and France during World War I. He became a staff officer in the 1920s, and trained soldiers until he was posted to India and Palestine in the 1930s. He commanded the II, V, and XII Corps in England at various points in 1939–41, but he rose to prominence when in August 1942, at Alan Brooke's behest, he succeeded Auchinleck as Commander of the 8th Army in the North African campaigns. Though his predecessor had already halted the German advance, his success at the second Battle of Alamein was a much-needed boost for British morale and transformed him into a popular hero. Following this, Montgomery was involved in Allied planning for the attack on Sicily in June 1943, although subsequently the Italian campaign was subject to the control of the US military leadership, with whom he generally had an uneasy relationship. In 1944, he commanded the British armies in Normandy with mixed success, and his operation ‘Goodwood’ involving the use of British troops near Caen, was widely criticized.

Against Eisenhower's insistence on a gradual advance via a broad front in France, he lobbied unsuccessfully for a concentrated, narrow push towards Berlin. Neglecting most advice he did manage to implement a scheme for an airborne assault on Arnhem (September 1944) to capture a bridgehead over the Rhine ahead of the Allied advance, which proved to be disastrous and resulted in heavy loss of life. He had more success commanding Allied troops against the German Ardennes offensive of December 1944. He formally received the surrender of the German forces in northern Germany on 4 May 1945. After the war, he held a number of senior posts, and was Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1946–8. As Deputy Supreme Commander of NATO (1951–8), he had an important role in the new organization's strategic planning. Despite his mixed military record, he was able to arouse intense personal loyalty from his troops, while his public image of invincibility at a time of war was, perhaps, at least as important as his achievements in themselves.