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He was born in London, England in 1887.
In August 1942, Winston Churchill appointed Montgomery commander of the British Eighth Army in the North African campaign. He successfully pushed back Erwin Rommel, forcing him to retreat from Egypt after the Second Battle of El Alamein.
Under the command of Eisenhower, he successfully led the Allied invasion of Sicily in 19431943 is the common year starting on Friday. Events January January 4 End of term for Culbert Olson, 29th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Earl Warren. January 11 The United States and United Kingdom give up territorial rights in China. January 1. 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 so far as coverage of the campaign was concerned.
After Sicily, Montgomery continued to command Eighth Army during the landings on the mainland of Italy itself. Shortly thereafter, he was recalled to the UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly to take part in planning Operation Overlord, the invasion of NormandyThis article concerns the former country of Normandy. For other uses, see Normandy (disambiguation). Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a former country (a Duchy) situated in northern France occupying the. Prior to the Normandy invasion, Montgomery assumed command of 21st Army GroupThe 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. However, when sufficient American forces, and commanded that formation for the rest of the war in Europe. After D-Day, and until Eisenhower came to France, and assumed command, Montgomery commanded all Allied ground forces. His performance during the NormandyThe Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. Sixty years later, the Normandy invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost landings was criticised by some, who considered his plans unimaginative and too rigid. The German Wehrmacht high command viewed him as a less dangerous threat as a commander than George Patton, considering him habit-ridden and overly cautious. He was most successful with well planned attacks with overwhelming forces, such as at El Alamein.
Throughout the war, Montgomery's tempestuous personality 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, one general said, "It looks like you're going a bridge too far."
On January 7, 1945 Montgomery held a press conference in which he claimed credit for the victory in the Battle of the Bulge. This caused some degree of controversy with the Americans who felt that Montgomery held back his forces too long.
He was created 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein in 1946.
His reputation was tarnished by evidence of racism with the 1999 revelation of previously secret papers from 1947-1948 when he held the position 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.
He died in 1976 and was interred in the Holy Cross Churchyard, Binstead , Hampshire.
See Also: Famous military commanders