Character evaluation of Bernard Law Montgomery

On the smoke-filled front lines of World War II, British officers and soldiers often saw a man wearing a military cap with the two cap badges of general and armored man. This man was British Field Marshal Montgomery. People have various speculations about why Montgomery wore such a hat. Some people think that he was deliberately seeking novelties, and some people think that he used it to show that he paid special attention to the use of armored troops. In fact, he wears such a hat out of a motive of practical value. He believed that for a commander-in-chief to have prestige and charisma in the army, he must be visible to lower-level officers and soldiers on the front line. Montgomery served as a platoon leader and captain's staff officer in World War I. He deeply regretted that he had never met the commander-in-chief. He believed that this was one of the important reasons for the low morale and low combat effectiveness of the British army. With this special military hat, army officers and soldiers can often see him. He said: "When officers and soldiers in various units see this hat, they will know that I am here, they will know that I am very concerned about what they are doing, and they will know that I am not just sitting in the safe rear and giving orders from above."

Montgomery was born on November 17, 1887 and died on March 25, 1976. He is a famous British military strategist and one of the outstanding leaders of the British Armed Forces during World War II. He was awarded the rank of Marshal in 1944. Graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy in 1908. Participated in the First World War from 1914 to 1918. In the early days of World War II, he served as the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and participated in the battles in France and Belgium. After the British retreated from Dunkirk, he served as commander of the 5th Army and the 12th Army and the commander of the Southeast Military Region in the UK. From August 1942, Montgomery served as commander of the British 8th Army in North Africa. During this period, he defeated the German army in the Battle of El Alamein, and then moved to Sicily and Italy. In January 1944, he was appointed commander of the Allied Army Group. The Army Group landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, and from August, fought in Belgium, the Netherlands and northern Germany. In 1945, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Occupation Forces in Germany. From 1946 to 1948, he served as Chief of Staff of the British Empire Army. From 1948 to 1951, he served as chairman of the Commander-in-Chief Committee of the Western Allied Defense Conference. From 1951 to 1958, he served as the First Deputy Supreme Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Armed Forces in Europe. He has been awarded various high-level British medals and foreign medals, such as the Soviet Union's "Victory" Medal, the American "Flag" Medal and the Soviet Union's First Class Suvorov Medal.

Montgomery had excellent military talents. When the German army invaded the Netherlands and Belgium, the British Expeditionary Force immediately rushed eastward. The 2nd Army, with Montgomery's 3rd Division as the vanguard, advanced to the line of the Deer River. Their forward movement progressed like clockwork, and when they reached the designated area on the night of October, they found that the Belgian 10th Division was still holding on to the defensive line assigned to them. Corps Commander Brooke arrived at the 3rd Division the next day and immediately took action at the "highest level" so that the front could be readjusted. But when they came to see Montgomery later, he found that the latter had already arranged things. Brooke wrote: "This episode highlighted Monty's talents. Certain arrangements had to be made, because the Germans could arrive at any time, and he did find a way to solve the problem. I remember saying this to him at the time Said: 'The poor Belgian commander had no idea he was holding a venomous snake in his arms. '" Montgomery was an outstanding troop trainer. When he served as commander of the 5th Army, he trained the entire army into a force that could fight in various weather conditions. He once said: "No matter rain, snow, ice, mud, good weather or bad weather, day or night, our army must fight better than the German army." He used foolproof principles to test his troops. Any first-level officer, whether in a regiment or a staff, who cannot withstand the stress of life must be relieved of duty.

After being transferred to the Southeast Military Region, he still adhered to these practices. Horrocks, who was commanding the 44th Division (Domestic Armed Forces) in Kent at the time, later recalled that the impact of Montgomery's arrival was "like the explosion of an atomic bomb in this rural corner of Britain". Every officer in the military region, regardless of age or rank, must run twice a week. Some officers said that long-distance running would kill them. Montgomery told them that death would be better. Ralph Arnold, who served as an intelligence officer at the Southeast Military District Headquarters at the time, recalled that all staff officers under the age of 45 had to formally march in formation every week carrying guns and ammunition on their backs, and had to run 10 miles cross-country in full gear. This investment brought great benefits to the troops during the war.

Montgomery was also an expert at running the army. After taking over command of the disorganized and demoralized 8th Army, he began to tackle three tasks that he believed required immediate attention: The first task was to establish his image within the army and restore the overall awareness of the army itself and the army. The trust of his senior officers; the second task was to establish a command system suitable for his character and combat theory; and the last was to deal with Rommel. Montgomery believed that the question was not whether Rommel attacked, but when and where. The battle recognized as imminent would be the first of his command and had to be won, decisively.

In line with this creed and these considerations, he visited as many troops as he could during his first days in office. But before he himself left the army, his spirit had already spread to the army. Montgomery later wrote: "I introduced myself to them and said that I wished to meet and talk with you. As they knew, I had issued some orders and continued to issue orders. The order 'Never Retreat' meant It means a basic change in the operational policy. They must understand what my policy is, because they will handle the specific staff work. If the battle is to be carried out on the spot, then all transports, ammunition, water, etc. must be withdrawn to the rear. Rations, etc. must be stored in the front area. In order to make the "Never Retreat" order possible, the 8th Army needs more troops in the rear, and the Nile Delta is guarded by a large number of troops, but the defense of the Egyptian city must pass here. Fight at El Alamein to achieve..." Important speeches and orders like this quickly spread around the front lines. Perhaps the rumor played as much of a role as his physical presence. Isn't it a leadership art of a leader to let people spread the kind of rumors that are most beneficial to one's career?

Montgomery took steps to eliminate those he diagnosed as "deadwood" and brought in some young and capable men through promotions or transfers from Britain. He transferred Oliver Leith from the British to take over the 30th Army in the north, Horrocks to take over the 13th Army in the south, and Brigadier General Kirkman as artillery commander. He originally planned to transfer Miles Dempsey to command the planned new armored corps, but Alexander persuaded him that it would be too much to transfer three new corps commanders at once, so he gave up a better option. Let Lumsden, a desert veteran who once commanded the 1st Armored Division, be the commander of the new Armored Corps. But this is by no means a purposeless purge. History shows that Montgomery was an expert at selecting his subordinates. During World War II, no army group staff organization could possibly compare with Montgomery's.

Montgomery was a "military genius" in the eyes of the British. In World War II, he commanded many major battles, the most notable of which was the Battle of El Alamein. He led the 8th Army to completely defeat the Afrika Korps commanded by the famous German general Rommel, known as the "Desert Fox" , won a decisive victory in the North African campaign. During this battle, Montgomery personally directed a live drama of deceiving the enemy, which was "the most exciting so far in the desert war".

Montgomery's plan to deceive the enemy was codenamed "Bertram". The first is to forge a huge accumulation of ammunition and other combat supplies in a forward area. The second is to use fake vehicles to simulate the movement of tanks and other vehicles, so that the enemy gradually becomes accustomed to the accumulation of large numbers of troops on combat positions. But at night, the fake combat vehicles already "in position" were replaced with real combat vehicles of the assault division, and the artillery and tanks on the combat positions were replaced with special camouflage called "visors" or "man-eaters". Cover up. As early as a month before the general offensive, slender trenches were dug for the infantry participating in the assault for them to lie down during the day, and these trenches were disguised as if they were part of the terrain. At the same time, in order to show that the main attack may come from the south, fake water pumping stations, water points and reservoirs were also laid there. The daily progress of the construction indicates that the water pipes will not be completed until early November. In addition, communications detachments were deployed to simulate radio communications for the main attack to the south, and new roads were signposted. In order to make the disguise seamless, only lower-level officers were informed of what was going to happen, and they were told in batches according to rank. On the last day approaching the launch of the offensive, the message reached the ordinary soldiers, and all vacations and activities in the city were stopped. These measures fooled the cunning Rommel and played an important role in ensuring the victory of the battle.

After the Allied forces landed in Normandy in June 1944, Montgomery attracted the main force of the enemy to his side, sacrificing his own honor to ensure the smooth breakthrough of the US military and the development of the offensive in depth. However, due to the tenacious resistance of the enemy's main force, the British army paid a heavy price and made slow progress. Some troops even had to switch to defense. For this reason, newspapers from all walks of life in the United States claimed that the American army defeated the German army and that the British army was incompetent. The British also called on Montgomery to change her strategy to attack the Germans and save the British's face. Under the pressure of strong public opinion, Churchill could not remain calm and asked Montgomery what the reason was. Montgomery did not mind all of this and acted in accordance with the Allied plans as usual, ensuring the victory of the Battle of Normandy. Here, Montgomery gave up an easy victory, but assumed an extremely heavy responsibility. He knew that none of this was for personal honor.

For a century and a half, there was actually no one in the British army who was as proficient in military affairs and had outstanding military exploits as Montgomery. Despite his many weaknesses and shortcomings, people have every reason to admit that he is worthy of being Wellington's heir.