#bernardmontgomery

Bernard Montgomery

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) was one of Britain's top commnaders in the Second World War (1939-45). He famously defeated Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) at the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa in November 1942. Known for his cautious thoroughness and eccentric uniform, the national hero was also involved in the invasion of Italy, the Normandy landings, and the race to the Rhine.

Early Life

Bernard Law Montgomery was born on 17 November 1887 in Kennington, London. Bernard's father, Henry, was an Irish Protestant clergyman, and his grandfather had been a dean of Canterbury. Bernard's mother, Maud, was the daughter of the writer Dean Farrar. With eight siblings, Bernard had plenty of time to escape parental supervision and get up to mischief. He recalled his mother often repeatedly saying "Go and find out what Bernard is doing and tell him to stop it" (Memoirs, 17). As Bernard's father was appointed bishop of Tasmania, the family moved there in 1889, Bernard only returning to England in 1901. Graduating from the Sandhurst military academy in 1908, Bernard joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment where he served in India, which included several years on the volatile North West Frontier. He served his country in Europe in the First World War (1914-18), receiving the Distinguished Service Order at the First Battle of Ypres but suffering an injury that had him sent home to a hospital in England. Montgomery reached the rank of brigade major and during the rest of the contfict, he served the Chiefs of Staff, far from the madness of the trenches.

Second Battle of El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein (Oct-Nov 1942) was a major battle in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaigns of the Second World War (1939-45). The British Eighth Army led by General Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) won a decisive victory against Axis forces commanded by General Erwin Rommel (1891-1944), effectively ending German-Italian ambitions in the region.

General Montgomery in a Grant Tank

G.J. Keating - Imperial War Museums (Public Domain)

The Importance of North Africa

During WWII, North Africa became a major theatre of the conflict as Britain sought to keep control of the Suez Canal and protect vital shipping routes in the Mediterranean. In the early years of the war, this was the only place where Britain could fight a land war against the Axis powers of Germany and Italy and so hopefully gain much-needed victories that would encourage the British people after the debacle of the Dunkirk Evacuation and the horrors of the London Blitz. The fighting in North Africa became known as the Western Desert Campaigns (June 1940 to January 1943).

With Operation Compass (December 1940 to February 1941), British and British Empire troops pushed Italy's poorly equipped army out of Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya). From February, the Axis presence in North Africa was considerably boosted by the arrival of German troops, the elite Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK) with superior armour, weapons, and training compared to both the Italians and the Allies. Things improved further for the Axis powers when General Rommel took command in North Africa. Rommel won a series of victories in March and April 1941, the Allies survived the siege of Tobruk (April to December 1941), but then Rommel won the Battle of Gazala (May-June 1942) when he smashed through the Allied Gazala Line of defences and finally captured Tobruk in June 1942. Rommel was promoted to the rank of field marshal, and with the British Eighth Army in full retreat, he was determined to take the great prizes of Alexandria and the Suez Canal. He gained another victory at the Battle of Mersa Matruh, but with his army at the very limit of its endurance and supply lines, Rommel was held back at the First Battle of El Alamein (1-27 July 1942). Rommel's army remained a real threat to Egypt and Britain's oil interests in the Middle East. The outcome of these pendulum campaigns, where both sides repeatedly won and lost vast swathes of territory, would finally be decided in one giant, set-piece encounter, the Second Battle of El Alamein.

WWII North Africa Campaign, 1940-1943

Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND)

Bernard Montgomery

Le maréchal Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) était l'un des principaux commandants britanniques de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (1939-45). Il battit notamment Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) lors de la deuxième bataille d'El Alamein, en Afrique du Nord, en novembre 1942. Connu pour sa rigueur prudente et son uniforme excentrique, le héros national participa également à l'invasion de l'Italie, au débarquement de Normandie et à la course vers le Rhin.

Seconde Bataille d'El-Alamein

La seconde bataille d'El Alamein (octobre-novembre 1942) fut une importante bataille en Afrique du Nord pendant la Guerre du désert de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (1939-45). La Huitième armée britannique dirigée par le général Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) remporta une victoire décisive sur les forces de l'Axe commandées par le général Erwin Rommel (1891-1944), mettant ainsi fin aux ambitions germano-italiennes dans la région.