Bernard Montgomery was a prominent and successful British general who was a commander in World War II. He was born in London in 1887. He went to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, after which he was commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
He also participated in the First World War. In fact, he was shot through the lung by a sniper during the battle of Ypres. His wound was so grave that a grave was prepared for him (pun not intended... or was it?). However, he made a full recovery. He saw out the rest of the First World War as a staff officer. Because of this, he was able to observe the tactics of many first-class generals during the war. Instead of admiring them, he was disgusted--he was quoted to have said, "The frightful casualties appalled me. The so called 'good fighting generals' of the war appeared to me to be those who had a fearful disregard for human life."
When Britain joined World War II, Montgomery was a commander of the 3rd Division. After being sent to France, he predicted that the operation would be a disaster, and trained his troops in tactical retreat. This was essential to the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.
In 1942, Montgomery was appointed commander of the 8th Army. He effectively boosted the morale of his troops, and trained and resupplied them. Furthermore, he promised that the British would achieve a swift victory. True to his word, Montgomery countered both Italian and German attacks at Al Alamein, and delivered the first major land victory of the war at the Second Battle of El Alamain in 1942. Many consider this a turning point in the Second World War.
In 1944, Montgomery commanded all the ground forces taking part in the invasion of Normandy. His skillful planning led him to yet another victory. However, the same year would mark one of Montgomery's largest losses--the invasion of the Low Countries and the Ruhr. Because of the large number of armored German units in the area, Allied forces suffered severe losses.
However, he redeemed himself at the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. Using his smart tactics, he was eventually able to turn the tide of the battle. After crossing the Rhine in 1945, he eventually accepted the surrender of all German forces on May 4th, 1945.
Even though Montgomery was famously known for his lack of tact and diplomacy in regards to others, he played a crucial part in the war. After the war, he was named 1st Viscount of Alamain and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. He continued to be an unbearable man for the rest of his life. Despite his complex character, Montgomery remains one of the most well-known World War II generals and one of Britain's greatest commanders.
Fun Facts
1. Montgomery's soldiers nicknamed him "Monty", but never called him that in person.
2. Monty's rivalry with German general Rommel was so fierce that he even named his dog after him.
3. Monty's other dog is named Hitler.
4. When he won a bet with General Smith regarding the date of a battle won, he asked for an American bomber as his private escort. Even though General Smith entered the bet as a joke, he was forced to abide by Monty's terms by General Eisenhower.
5. In his personal memoir, he criticized many wartime colleagues, including Eisenhower, who was then President of the United States.
6. Monty Python was very likely named after him.
7. When asked to name three great generals, he replied, "The other two would be Alexander the Great and Napoleon."
Source:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bernard-Law-Montgomery-1st-Viscount-Montgomery
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/bernard-montgomery
This is such an interesting post with so many different components (I especially enjoyed the fun facts section). I laughed at the pun you made about Montgomery's wound being so grave that he was prepared a grave. It's amazing how he survived and continued to fight on. I was doing more research on why Montgomery named his fox terrier Hitler, and I found out that some articles even censure the name. For instance, in a Daily Mail article published in 2012, a photo of Montgomery with his dogs Hitler and Rommel is captioned, "Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery plays with Rommel his spaniel (right) and a friendly fox terrier in the final months of the Second World War." I'm sure the writer was knowledgeable about the names of both of Montgomery's dogs, but made the stylistic choice to not include the fox terrier's name. Still, Rommel is also named after one of Montgomery's German arch-enemies: Erwin Rommel. I think that Montgomery's choice to name his dogs after his arch-enemies shows a lot about his straightforward personality, and although I think he's quite likeable, it's interesting to note that his fellow soldiers and generals thought otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSources:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9720907/Monty-at-war-rare-photographs-of-Field-Marshal-Winston-and-Rommel-the-dog-emerge.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2242728/Field-Marshal-Montgomery-relaxing-Rommel-pet-dog-laughing-George-Formby.html
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/bernard-montgomery
I thought your title stands true, for he does seem to have been "an interesting man". I too found your post to be quite enjoyable. It was both entertaining and informative with the pun as Stella mentioned and the fun fact section. Additionally, I found the way you structured/organized your post to be especially effective and overall easy to follow and understand. The main take away seems to be Montgomery was a very decorated man in his prime and during WW2. Apparently he was even able to become the Imperial General Staff (Britain's top military position) and deputy to Eisenhower at NATO.
ReplyDeleteSource:
https://www.history.com/topics/british-history/bernard-law-montgomery