Bernard Law Montgomery

Field Marshal The Right Honourable Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO (17 November 1887–24 March 1976) was a British Army officer, most noted for his involvement in World War II and often referred to as "Monty". Download high resolution version (549x700, 68 KB)http://www. ... Download high resolution version (549x700, 68 KB)http://www. ... Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ... The Right Honourable (abbreviated The Rt Hon. ... A garter is one of the Orders most recognisable insignia. ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... Source: Veterans Affairs Canada The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and other formerly Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... November 17 is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ...

Early life and World War I service

Montgomery was born in London in 1887. After graduating from St Paul's School and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, he joined the 1st Battalion, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1908, first seeing service in India. The First World War began in August 1914 and he moved to France with his regiment that month. He saw service during the retreat from Mons and was severely wounded during the First Battle of Ypres on 13 October 1914 while taking part in an attack against the German-held village of Meteren. He was awarded the DSO for his actions. After recovering in early 1915, he was promoted to Brigade Major and returned to the Western Front in early 1916, taking part in, among others, the Battle of the Somme. He participated in a number of other engagements throughout the war, eventually finishing the war, after a number of other appointments, as General Staff Officer 1, ranked as a colonel, in the 47th (2nd London) Division. St. ... St Pauls School is a British public school, located in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. ... The Royal Military College can refer to: Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, Canada Royal Military College, Duntroon in Campbell, Canberra, Australia Royal Military College, Sandhurst in Camberley, Surrey, United Kingdom [(Royal Military College, Sungei Besi, Selangor, Malaysia)] This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists... Sandhurst is the name of several villages in the UK, the most famous being the one in Berkshire near Camberley. ... Cap badge of the regiment The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, for most of its history known as The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, was an infantry regiment of the British Army. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Battle of Mons was the British Expeditionary Forces first major combat of the First World War. ... The First Battle of Ypres was the last major battle of the first year (1914) of World War I. This battle and the Battle of the Yser marked the end of the Race to the Sea where the Germans tried to reach the French Channel ports of Calais and Dunkerque... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ... Source: Veterans Affairs Canada The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and other formerly Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... 1915 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1916 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The 1916 Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War, with more than one million casualties. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Colonel Colonel is a military rank, usually the highest below general grades, and just above Lieutenant Colonel. ... The British 47th (1/2nd London) Division was a first_line Territorial Force division. ...

In 1921 Montgomery was appointed as a staff officer to a brigade stationed in Cork, the most bitterly contested region in the Anglo-Irish War. A cousin of Montgomery's had been killed by the IRA in 1920 and his family estate was located in County Donegal, an area also affected by the conflict. He did not try and exact revenge however and his methods were never as brutal as those of his contemporary in Cork, Arthur Percival. On his arrival in Cork he urged units of his brigade that their "behaviour must be beyond reproach" although later, after futile attempts to locate and destroy IRA units, he stated that it "never bothered me a bit how many houses were burnt". Despite this he earned the respect of his enemies and the IRA officer Tom Barry said that he "behaved with great correctness". Montgomery increasingly came to see the conflict as one that could not be won, and withdrawal of British forces as the only feasible solution. In 1923 Montgomery wrote that "the only way way therefore was to give them (the Irish) some form of self-government and let them squash the rebellion themselves". 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... County Cork (Contae Chorcaí in Irish) is the most southwesterly and the largest of the modern counties of Ireland. ... An Irish War of Independence memorial in Dublin The Anglo-Irish War (also known as the Irish War of Independence) was a guerilla campaign mounted against the British government in Ireland by the Irish Republican Army under the proclaimed legitimacy of the First Dáil, the extra-legal Irish parliament... The West Cork Flying Column during the War of Independence. ... 1920 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... For other uses, see Donegal (disambiguation) Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall) is a county in the northwest of Ireland. ... Cork (Corcaigh in Irish) is the second city of the Republic of Ireland. ... Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival December 26, 1887 – January 31, 1966. ... Thomas (Tom) Barry (July 1, 1897-July 2, 1980) was an Irish guerrilla leader and revolutionary. ... 1923 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

After the First World War ended, many promising young officers who had gained higher brevet rank during the war were reduced to their substantive ranks, and Montgomery returned to the 1st Royal Warwickshires in 1925 as a company commander, or captain. Montgomery now had to rise up the ranks once more. He married Elizabeth Carver in 1927 and eventually became Lieutenant-Colonel of the 1st Royal Warwickshires battalion in 1931, seeing service in Palestine, Egypt, and India. He was promoted to Colonel and became an instructor at the Indian Army Staff College in Quetta, India. Montgomery did, as was usual, maintain links with the Royal Warwickshires, taking up the honorary position of Colonel-of-the-Regiment in 1947. He became commanding officer of the 9th Brigade in 1937. The year also saw tragedy for him when his wife, Elizabeth Carver, died after contracting an illness. He was promoted to Major-General the following year, taking command of the 8th Division in Palestine. In the US military, brevet refers to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank. ... 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Captain is both a nautical term and a military rank. ... 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... The Indian Army in the time of the British Raj (1857–1947) See Indian Army for the post-independence (and post-partition) army of the Republic of India. ... Quetta is the capital of the province Balochistan in Pakistan. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... See: British 8th Division (World War I) British 8th Infantry Division This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

World War II

Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, two days after Hitler had invaded Poland. At the time, Montgomery had only just recently taken command of the 3rd Division and he and his division deployed to Belgium as part of the British Expeditionary Force. The Germans began their invasion of the Low Countries on 8 May 1940 and the BEF eventually withdrew to Dunkirk where Operation Dynamo -- the evacuation of the BEF and French forces to Britain -- began on 26 May. Montgomery was placed in command of II Corps during the evacuation and he was part of over 330,000 British and French troops that were successfully evacuated from Dunkirk by the time the operation ended on 4 June. September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... Polish September Campaign Conflict World War II Date 1 September - 6 October 1939 Place Poland Result Decisive German and Soviet victory The Polish September Campaign — also known as Polish-German War of 1939, in Poland often as Wojna obronna 1939 roku (Defensive War of 1939), in Germany as Polish Campaign... The British 3rd Infantry Division was part of the ill_fated British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk early in World War II. It was the first British division to land at Sword beach on D-Day. ... The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939 - 1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Boer War in case Britain ever needed to... The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Dunkirk is the English name for the city of Dunkerque in northern France: see Dunkirk, France. ... During [[World War II]], Operation Dynamo was the name given to the evacuation from Dunkirk conducted from 27 May to 4 June 1940. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... The British II Corps was formed in both World War I and World War II. During WWII its first assignment was to the British Expeditionary Force. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ...

North Africa and Italy

He was promoted Lieutenant-General shortly after his return to Britain, and after a number of appointments, Prime Minister Winston Churchill appointed Montgomery commander of the British Eighth Army in the North African campaign in August 1942. He successfully pushed back Erwin Rommel, forcing him to retreat from Egypt after the Second Battle of El Alamein. The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations in World War II, fighting in the campaigns in North Africa and Italy. ... This article is about the year. ... Field Marshal Erwin Rommel Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel (   listen?) (November 15, 1891 – October 14, 1944) was one of the most distinguished German Field Marshals and commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps in World War II. He is also known by his nickname The Desert Fox (Wüstenfuchs,   listen?), for the... The Battle of Alamein, or more correctly the Second Battle of El Alamein, marked a significant turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The battle lasted from October 23 to November 3, 1942. ...

Montgomery successfully led the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 under the command of Eisenhower. A feature of the Sicily campaign was Montgomery's clash of personality with the American officer leading Seventh Army, General George Patton. Both had enormous egos and desired to be the centre of attention when it came to coverage of the campaign. Sicily (Sicilia in Italian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 sq. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ... The Seventh United States Army, also known as USAREUR, is the main American force in Europe. ... General George Smith Patton Jr. ...

Montgomery continued to command Eighth Army during the landings on the mainland of Italy itself. Shortly thereafter he was recalled to the UK to take part in planning Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. Montgomery assumed command of 21st Army Group before the Normandy invasion and commanded that formation for the rest of the war in Europe. The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... The British 21st Army Group was an important Allied force in the European Theatre of World War II. Commanded by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery it initially controlled all ground forces in Operation Overlord. ...

Normandy

During the D-Day invasion, and for several months afterwards, Montgomery commanded all allied ground forces: British, Canadian and American. British troops became bogged down in the northern sector of his command outside the French town of Caen. Montgomery's original plan had him taking Caen within days of the invasion, but it actually took him many weeks to capture this crucial town. This provoked criticism from some Americans but Montgomery had deliberately placed his experienced British and Canadian troops up against the bulk of the armor, including most of the Waffen SS Panzer divisions that were present on the Western Front. Many of the US troops, in contrast, were straight off the boat from training in America, having just completed an Atlantic crossing to be then landed on the Omaha and Utah beaches. Montgomery's persistence, intentionally or not, did manage to pin down the bulk of the German armour around Caen, allowing U.S. General George Patton's 3rd American Army to sweep West then North, capturing many retreating German troops at the 'Falaise Gap'. The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allied forces as part of the larger conflict of World War II. Sixty years later, the Normandy invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord, remains the largest sea borne invasion in history, involving almost three... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS (lit Armed Protective Squadron) was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel. ... General George Smith Patton Jr. ... During World War II, the Falaise pocket (also known as the Chambois pocket, Chambois-Montcormel pocket, Falaise-Chambois pocket) was the area between the four cities of Trun-Argentan-Vimoutiers-Chambois near Falaise, France, in which United States 12th Army Group encircled and destroyed the German Seventh Army. ...

Montgomery's performance during the Normandy landings was criticised by many who considered his plans unimaginative and too rigid (which is strange considering the D-Day ground invasion plan was largely of his devising); he was, however, among the few Allied officers aware of Ultra throughout World War II (The British did not give Americans the decoding secrets until 1943) and would have been in possesion of high-level intelligence not known to his critics. Often he would receive decoded German signals before the intended recipent did. The German Wehrmacht high command viewed him as a less dangerous threat as a commander than Patton, considering him habit-ridden and overly cautious. He was most successful with well planned attacks with overwhelming forces, such as at El Alamein. Montgomery's defenders put his caution down that fact that he commanded, for the most part, British and Canadian forces. He was acutely aware that these forces were limited in number and not easily replaced. He could not afford to sacrifice them needlessly. His American counterparts, Bradley and Patton, in contrast, could call upon almost inexhaustible supplies of manpower from the States. The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allied forces as part of the larger conflict of World War II. Sixty years later, the Normandy invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord, remains the largest sea borne invasion in history, involving almost three... Ultra (sometimes capitalised ULTRA) was the name used by the British for intelligence resulting from decryption of German communications in World War II. The term eventually became the standard designation in both Britain and the United States for all intelligence from high-level cryptanalytic sources. ... Wehrmacht   listen? was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... El Alamein is a town in northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea coast. ...

Removal as Ground Forces Commander

Eventually the preponderance of American troops in the European theatre made it a political impossibility for the Ground Forces Commander to be British. Eisenhower himself took over Ground Forces Command while continuing as Supreme Commander, with Montgomery reverting to command of 21st Army Group. Montgomery bitterly resented this change, even though it had been agreed before the D-Day invasion. Winston Churchill had Montgomery promoted to Field Marshal by way of compensation. The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, FRS (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ...

Montgomery's tempestuous personality and tactlessness throughout the war nearly led to fissures in the Allied high command. The most notable of these led to adoption by Eisenhower of his strategy of a single thrust to the Ruhr, which manifested itself in Operation Market Garden. Operation Market Garden led to the defeat of the 1st Airborne Division outside Arnhem. When first shown the plans the British Lieutenant General Frederick Browning said, "I think we might be going a bridge too far." Map of the Ruhr Area The Ruhr Area (German Ruhrgebiet or, colloquially, Ruhrpott) is a metropolitan area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, consisting of a number of large industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. ... Operation Market-Garden was an Allied military operation in World War II, which took place in September 1944. ... The British 1st Airborne Division was a military unit that fought in World War II. It suffered terrible casualties, especially in Operation Market Garden. ... Sir Frederick Arthur Montague Browning, KBE, CB, DSO (December 20, 1896 - March 14, 1965) was a British military officer. ... A Bridge Too Far is a book by Cornelius Ryan, published in 1974, which tells the story of Operation Market Garden, a failed Allied attempt to force a break in German lines at Arnhem in the occupied Netherlands during World War II. The book was filmed under the same title...

Montgomery was capable of inspiring great loyalty among his staff. These men defended him with great passion even after the war, as the British historian Richard Holmes discovered when he was critical of Montgomery. Professor Edward Richard Holmes CBE (born March 29, 1946) is a noted military historian, particularly well-known through his many television appearances. ...

On January 7, 1945 Montgomery held a press conference in which he downplayed the role of the American generals in the Allied victory at the Battle of the Bulge. This caused some degree of controversy, and resentment from Americans who felt that Montgomery held back his forces too long. January 7 is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the film based on this event, see Battle of the Bulge. ...

Later life and controversy

After the war, Montgomery was created 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein in 1946. His reputation was tarnished over two decades after his death by evidence of racism with the 1999 revelation of previously secret papers from 1947-1948 when he held the position of Chief of the Imperial General Staff. During that period he was strictly enjoined to silence about his views, which were contrary to British policy, and agents were assigned to vet his public appearances for compliance. 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... A Black person drinks out of a water foutain designated for black people in 1939 at a streetcar terminal. ... Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) was the title of the professional head of the British Army from 1908 to 1964. ...

Montgomery died in 1976 and was interred in the Holy Cross Churchyard, Binstead, Hampshire. His portrait (by Frank O. Salisbury, 1945) is in the National Portrait Gallery. 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Hampshire (abbr. ... Frank O. Salisbury (1874-1962) was an English artist and portrait painter. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... At least three art galleries are named National Portrait Gallery: National Portrait Gallery, Australia National Portrait Gallery, London National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

See Also

• Famous military commanders

See also: Military History Antiquity Cyrus the Great (King of Persia who conquered Babylon) Artaphernes (Persian general) Sun Tzu (Legendary chinese general) Themistocles (Athenian admiral during the Persian Wars) Miltiades (Athenian general during the Persian Wars) Callimachus (Athenian general during the Persian Wars) Leonidas (Spartan king and general during the...

Quotations

"The U.S. has broken the second rule of war. That is, don't go fighting with your land army on the mainland of Asia. Rule One is don't march on Moscow. I developed these two rules myself."

(spoken of the US approach to the Vietnam War) Quoted in Chalfont's Montgomery of Alamein.

US,Us or us may stand for the United States of America us, the oblique case form of the English language pronoun we. ... The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a 1957 to 1975 conflict primarily between the Communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN) and anti-communist Republic of Vietnam (RVN) that directly involved an array of pro-North and pro-South forces, most notably the CommunistNational Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet...

Lord Alanbrooke Field Marshal Sir Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, Baron Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO (July 23, 1883 - June 17, 1963) was a British Field Marshal during World War II. He also served as Lord High Constable during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. ... Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) was the title of the professional head of the British Army from 1908 to 1964. ... Field Marshal Sir William Slim (pictured here as a Major General) Field Marshal William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim (6 August 1897 - 14 December 1970), British military commander and 13th Governor-General of Australia, was born near Bristol, Gloucestershire. ... Viscount Montgomery of Alamein is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ...