To some, the best Allied general of the war; to others, a butcher who carelessly threw away
lives. Among historians of the Second World War, General Montgomery remains a complex
and frequently debated figure. But who was this man? And what did he do to earn his reputation?
In this video, we tell his story, and ask the question: was he really as good as some say?
Bernard Montgomery was brought up in an environment we would now call abusive.
This gave the young man a propensity for violence, which, alongside his aristocratic roots, made
joining the Army a sensible choice of career. In 1908, he graduated from the British Army officers’
school at Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Warwickshire Regiment as a second lieutenant.
At the outbreak of war with Germany, Captain Montgomery was sent to France.
Here, he became something of a hero for leading his men in a bayonet charge against an enemy
trench during the First Battle for Ypres. A sniper put a round straight through his chest,
and a rifleman put another one through his knee, but his men succeeded in taking the trench.
Montgomery was in a bad way. The hospital staff tending his wounds didn’t think he would make it,
and a grave plot and headstone were prepared. Perhaps in anticipation of his death,
he was awarded a DSO for “Gallant leading.”
But the headstone would have to wait. Montgomery made a full recovery and was redeployed to France
in 1916. Since his old command had been filled, he was sent to the 33rd Division’s headquarters
as a staff officer. He served here during both the Battles of the Somme and Passchendaele.
At the Somme, British and French forces took 20,000 casualties in the first hour and a further
27,000 by the end of the day. Montgomery couldn’t believe it, and later said:
“The frightful casualties appalled me. The so-called ‘good fighting generals’
of the war appeared to me to be those who had a complete disregard for human life.”
This experience fundamentally shifted Montgomery’s approach to war.
He lost faith in the celebrated generals of the time and disregarded their tactics as wasteful
of men’s lives. He firmly believed he knew a better way and was suspicious of
the motives of anyone who disagreed—a trait he would keep his whole life.
Another one of Montgomery’s key personal traits was extreme single-mindedness.
This was demonstrated during the Anglo-Irish War and Irish Civil War fought during the
1920s. Montgomery became infamous for his blunt and violent approach to counter-insurgency.
In his own words, “It never bothered me a bit how many houses were burnt.
I think I regarded all civilians as [rebels] and I never had any dealings with any of them.
My own view is that to win a war of this sort, you must be ruthless.”
Over the next two decades, Montgomery steadily picked up promotions and was deployed to both
India and Palestine on counter-insurgency operations. By July 1939, he was back in
Britain and in command of the 3rd Infantry Division, just in time for World War Two.
Montgomery’s 3rd Division went to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force
but, like the rest of the force, did not engage the Axis right away.
While the other commanders got busy building fortifications and digging trenches,
Montgomery intensively drilled and exercised his men in preparation for offensive warfare.
He made them navigate at night without lights and got other units to simulate attacks. These field
exercises could sometimes last several days, and they quickly furnished the 3rd Division with a
reputation for agility envied by many in the BEF. When the Wehrmacht invaded for real,
the BEF wasn’t directly engaged, instead finding itself propping up the Belgians as
their force crumbled during the retreat into France. Hard training had prepared the men,
and the 3rd Division was evacuated alongside the rest of the BEF at Dunkirk.
Montgomery, however, was not happy. He felt hamstrung by his superiors, who he believed
were inept, and even risked his career by sending angry letters about them to the War Office.
Perhaps his tenacity gave Churchill a favourable impression, as Montgomery’s
next big posting was to North Africa. He was to command the 8th Army in the Western Desert.
He arrived in August 1942 and quickly burst into action.
In his first meeting, he ordered all plans for retreat to be burned, and said,
“I have cancelled the plan for withdrawal. If we are attacked, then there will be no retreat.
If we cannot stay here alive, then we will stay here dead.”
He then requested reinforcements from Britain and began a long buildup of troops and supplies.
These men were meticulously trained in desert warfare and nighttime
operations. On several occasions, the Axis Montgomery’s growing force. At
the Battle of Alam el Halfa, the Allies beat back a flanking manoeuvre by Rommel.
But instead of counterattacking, Montgomery let the Axis escape. He had decided that
no attack would be launched until his buildup was complete, even if an opportunity presented
itself. Other generals called him out as slow and unable to adapt, but Montgomery
didn’t listen. He was certain he knew the right way, and no one was going to change his mind.
While Churchill pressed him for quick and decisive action, Montgomery continued planning and buildup.
It took him two months to get ready, during which time he visited every single unit he commanded,
and then he launched his offensive. It was the Second Battle of El Alamein, and Montgomery’s
forces crushed those of Rommel’s Afrika Korps. The buildup of equipment meant Montgomery had nearly
double the infantry, tanks, armoured cars, and artillery and he used this advantage to pressure
Axis forces selectively, keeping them on the back foot. The operation was a resounding success.
El Alamein catapulted Montgomery into the limelight, swelling his ego.
The 8th Army was then prepared for the invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaign,
otherwise known as Operation Husky. Montgomery flat-out refused to agree
to General Eisenhower’s first plan, as he thought it dispersed Allied forces too broadly.
The plan was changed, but now General Patton’s US II Corps had to cover the 8th Army’s flank.
Montgomery, yet again, had placed himself at the centre of the operation, forcing Patton
to play a supporting role. The hard-driving cavalryman would never forgive him for this,
and the two men developed animosity for each other, bordering on hatred.
Patton, an expert at mobile warfare, hated Montgomery’s methodical nature
and infantry-focussed plans. He also thought the Brit was stuck up, describing him as a
“Little Limey prick.” Montgomery thought Patton took unnecessary risks and wasted men’s lives.
He also thought the American was boisterous and an interloper in what should have been
a European war. Both were loved by their men, for entirely different reasons.
Montgomery initially led the 8th Army into Italy but was ordered back to
Britain in December 1943 to help plan the Normandy Landings. He was glad to leave,
as he hated working alongside the Americans.
Montgomery’s master plan for Normandy envisioned a 90-day battle centred on the capture of Caen
in northern France. The overall plan was successful, but historians remain divided
over Montogomery’s efficacy. During the Battle for Caen, which comprised Operation Goodwood,
Montgomery continually attacked veteran German panzer units with his generally inexperienced
British and Canadian forces but held back from a decisive assault. This allowed American units
to flank the Germans and eventually seize the entire region. Many argue that this was
Montgomery’s plan all along: to hold the Germans in place while US forces advanced. Others suggest
Montgomery attacked and got in over his head, then stuck it out until his position was rescued.
Each of the seven British divisions fighting in Normandy suffered 75% casualties during the push.
This was within War Office expectations but has led many to believe Montgomery was overcautious
and reliant on German attrition. Regardless, Operation Goodwood was talked up by Montgomery,
and it got him fired as Land Forces Commander. This decision was political: three-quarters of
the Allied soldiers in Europe were American, and Montgomery was not popular in the US.
He later convinced General Eisenhower to greenlight his invasion plan of the Low
Countries, codenamed Operation Market Garden. Now infamous as one of the Allies’ greatest failures,
Market Garden’s planners failed to supply their men with proper equipment and did not detect
the presence of two SS Panzer divisions. This contributed to staggering losses.
But Montgomery claimed the operation was 90% successful
and blamed its failure on Canadian troops who weren’t under his command.
After Market Garden, Montgomery retained command of the British 21st Army in Europe.
His ego, however, was causing problems. He tried to take credit for winning the Battle of
the Bulge, but publically retracted his statement after an outcry from Eisenhower. American generals
felt he directed American men into the bloodiest battles, thereby sparing the British soldiers
and ensuring his countrymen were always present for victories. But he was acting on orders
from on high. Churchill feared that a loss of manpower in Europe would spell the end of the
British Empire. Lieutenant General Sir Charles Gardner, who had served on Montgomery’s staff,
said, “The Americans are beginning to feel that the British Empire is being run by Monty.”
More than once, his single-mindedness and abrasiveness nearly scuttled Allied plans,
but he also delivered spectacular victories for Britain. He loved the limelight, perhaps too much,
yet his men also loved him and would have followed him anywhere. His tactics
fiercely opposed American doctrine, but they worked. Even Churchill didn’t know entirely
what to make of him, describing Montgomery as “in defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable.”
But what do you think? Was Montgomery as good a fighter as he was a planner?
Was his success down to luck, skill, or have we been taken in by good publicity?
Was he as good, or as bad, as people claim? Let us know in the comments!