57 Bernard Montgomery Facts: All About The British Field Marshal!

Wars are the most difficult phases for a civilization causing destruction, loss of life and property, and reduced chances of development.

But people with extraordinary strength and courage know how to excel even at the most difficult times. To flare up in a war, the soldiers matter the most.

As the world witnessed two of the greatest wars in the history of the modern world during World War I and World II,  Great Britain had one common leader in both the wars who played an influential role in their victory, the British field marshal, Bernard Montgomery. Bernard Montgomery to date remains as the undisputed and unbeatable war hero.

Montgomery began his life in Northern Ireland where he was one of nine siblings born to Reverend Henry Montgomery and Maud Montgomery. Montgomery spent his early years at the ancestral home of his family. Only with his courage, Montgomery succeeded in gaining admission at the Royal Military College and later at Royal Military Academy.

After the war, Montgomery was made commander of the British occupation forces and served on the Allied Control Council.

Bernard Montgomery Battles And Wars Facts

In 1887, Bernard Law Montgomery was born in London. He was the fourth child of his father out of nine.

His grandfather, Sir Robert Montogomery was the official of the British Indian empire. Viscount Bernard is most remembered for his triumph at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942, which made him the most well-known British commander of World War II. 'Monty' was his nickname.

In his early years, still, at the nascent year of his career, he was commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He got his commission while he was attending the RMC Sandhurst.

During the First Battle of Ypres in 1914, a sniper shot him through the lung while he was participating in the First World War (1914-18). His injury was so serious that a cemetery was dug for him.

He was successful in making a quick recovery from his injuries. He remained a staff officer for the remaining war and participated in the Battles of the Somme and Battle of Passchendaele.

Battle of Dunkirk- During World War II, as General of the British Army's Third Division, he assisted with evacuating the British Expeditionary Force to Dunkirk and then became Commander of the Eighth Army in Egypt.

Battle of El Alamein- Bernard Law Montgomery was assigned to the rank of commander of the Eighth Army by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1942. The unit was stationed in the Western Desert.

There the commander was successful in putting up a staunch defense of EL Alamein.

The fight here was between his unit and the German soldiers under General E Rommel. During his quest to lead the allies to the most important victory on the land in October 1942 against the Italian and German forces during the Battle of El Alamein.

This was a watershed moment in his campaign in North Africa as well as World War II as a whole. He ended the second world war by earning himself the rank of field marshal.

Sicily and Italy- During 1943, Bernard Law Montgomery was also a key figure in the Allied assaults in Italy. These assaults during World War II were made on the Italian towns of Sicily and Salerno. Despite clashes with US Lieutenant General Bradley and Lieutenant General Patton, both of whom were envious of his earlier achievements, he remained successful.

Invasion of Normandy by the Allied Forces- Montgomery commanded the forces on the ground during World War II which was involved in the fabled Allied attack on Normandy in June 1944.

Irrespective of the setbacks the forces suffered, his deft plotting entangled and defeated Falaise Pocket's company of German soldiers. He also launched Operation Market Garden in order to invade the towns of Low and Ruhr but the operation could not achieve the desired success.

As a result of the huge numbers of German forces located in the area, Montgomery's plan failed, resulting in catastrophic losses.

But he more than made up for the setback by displaying his exemplary leadership in December 1944 when the Battle of Bulge was being raged.

He successfully changed the tide of the conflict by bolstering the defense put up by the American forces with 30 Corps and enabling the reserve soldiers to be deployed. The British forces and allied troops led by henry Montgomery entered Germany after overcoming the defenses put up at the Rhine Crossings in March 1945.

As a leader of the Allied Forces, Montgomery led the surrender of the German Army in the Netherlands, Denmark as well as Northern Germany.

Bernard Montgomery Facts About His Grave

Montgomery died in 1976, at the age of 88, at his residence at Islington Mill in Islington, Hampshire, of unclear causes.

His body was interred at Holy Cross churchyard in Binsted, Hampshire, after a burial at St George's Chapel in Windsor. David Montgomery, second Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1928–2020), his only child, and two grandchildren survive him.

Betty Carver, his wife, died in 1937. His Garter banner is currently on display in St Mary's, Warwick, after previously hanging in Windsor's St. George's Chapel. Outside the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, there is a memorial statue of the field marshal, Bernard Montgomery.

Bernard Montogomery Facts About His Retirement

Montgomery served as the 1st Viscount of Alamein and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in Western Germany after the war. From 1946 to 1948, Montgomery served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff, succeeding Alanbrooke.

He was the leader of the Western European Union's permanent defense organization from 1948 to 1951. He was named deputy commander of NATO's Supreme Headquarters in 1951 and Montgomery served there for seven years. He finally retired in 1958 at the age of 71.

But as his life went on, Sir Robert Montgomery was embroiled in a number of controversies including his support for the heinous practice of Apartheid in South Africa, criticism of the US Army in Vietnam as well as staunch opposition to legislation related to legalizing homosexuality.

Bernard Montgomery Facts On Betting Book

Post his retirement, Bernard Montgomery wrote various books on the basis of his memoirs where he could be seen critical about the role played by his contemporaries in the war.

In 1958, he released a personal memoir that was extremely provocative, and he received harsh criticism from several comrades, notably Dwight Eisenhower, who was the US President at that time.

'El Alamein' was published in 1948, 'The Recollections of Field Marshal Montgomery' was published in 1958, and 'Normandy to the Baltic' was published in 1968, all based on his memoirs.

During World War II, he publicly chastised Eisenhower and other Allied officers for their bad leadership, resulting in the severance of friendships and the formation of adversaries. He was one of the few of his peers who were never elevated to an earldom, possibly due to his lack of political subtlety.

He was never assigned a supreme commander or occupied a high political post.

Despite his complicated personality, Montgomery is amongst the most respected generals of World War II and is also counted amongst some of the best leaders in the history of the British Army.

One unusual claim to fame is that he gave his name to the comedy troupe 'Monty Python,' who claim that they chose 'Monty' as a sarcastic tribute to the famed Second World War commander.