Monty

The reputation of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery as an outstanding general has only been reinforced by the attempts to belittle his achievement. Those who criticize him for being over-cautious have forgotten the situation which he inherited. Shortly before he took command of the Eighth Army, Mr. Aneurin Bevan stated in the House of Commons that the Army had lost confidence in British generals, and suggested that some of the foreign generals then in England, Poles and Czechs, should be given command.

Monty restored the morale of the Eighth Army by never risking defeat, and by his ruthlessness in dismissing subordinate commanders who had blundered. A friend of mine in the War Office said, “Officers who were posted to the War Office after serving under Monty in North Africa were like men from a different planet.” A colonel in the Brigade of Guards said to me, “I never liked Monty, but it’s plain foolish to belittle him as a general. I was less impressed by his victories in North Africa where his Army outnumbered and outgunned Rommel, than by his performance on the retreat to Dunkirk. That rearguard action was a model.”

SL

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Sir Arnold Lunn

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The reputation of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery as an outstanding general has only been reinforced by the attempts to belittle his achievement. Those who criticize him for being over-cautious have forgotten the situation which he inherited. Shortly before he took command of the Eighth Army, Mr. Aneurin Bevan stated in the House of Commons that the Army had lost confidence in British generals, and suggested that some of the foreign generals then in England, Poles and Czechs, should be given command.

Monty restored the morale of the Eighth Army by never risking defeat, and by his ruthlessness in dismissing subordinate commanders who had blundered. A friend of mine in the War Office said, “Officers who were posted to the War Office after serving under Monty in North Africa were like men from a different planet.” A colonel in the Brigade of Guards said to me, “I never liked Monty, but it’s plain foolish to belittle him as a general. I was less impressed by his victories in North Africa where his Army outnumbered and outgunned Rommel, than by his performance on the retreat to Dunkirk. That rearguard action was a model.”