Nigel Hamilton, in his book The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery, wrote about Montgomery’s concerns of the hopeless preparations being undertaken for the cross channel invasion. His concern was that no overall ground force commander had been appointed. Nigel Hamilton wrote what Monty’s feelings were about this in May 1943, more than a year before the invasion took place:

"A cross-Channel operation is being envisaged," he complained to the Director of Military Operations at the War Office; "various planning staffs are at work; no outline has been produced by the Commander who is to take charge of the operation, because no Commander has been appointed. The staff of the Commander have been appointed and they are busily engaged in planning; but none of them have fought in this war and they know nothing about the battle end of the problem," he protested. "A further point is that the Commander, when appointed, has got to create his fighting machine and train his forces for the battle. This takes time, and it is not being done.

"There seems to be no one person in England who knows what is wanted, who says so quite clearly, and who has such prestige and fighting experience that everyone will accept his opinion and get on with it. Until such a person is appointed to "take hold" of the Army in England, we will do no good.

"At present there are too many people in England who think they know what is wanted; but they all disagree with each other; and they have got the basic set-up wrong; and they bellyache about nonessentials; they do not really know what are the essentials" — at which Monty listed the essentials of modern war as he saw them: namely the need to win air superiority; the necessity for good and simple army planning; the seizing and retaining of the tactical initiative once ashore; targeting the vital hinges in the enemy's defensive layout; regrouping, if necessary, to capture or outflank those hinges; and appointing only commanders with terrific "drive" and energy.

….

Only General Marshall in Washington had the necessary vision and commitment to the cross-Channel attack to bring back to England an experienced field commander at the end of the Sicilian campaign — Omar Bradley.

Tag words: Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Monty; General Marshall; Omar Bradley; Forrest Pogue; Operation Overlord; Eisenhower; Patton; Dominick Graham; Shelford Bidwell; Coalitions, Politicians and Generals; General Alexander; Sicily; Oliver Leese; Carlo d’Este; A Genius for War; Ernie Pyle; GI General; The Soldier’s General; Operation Cobra; Falaise Gap;

Was there fake media in January 1945? Was it Montgomery that said what sent the Americans into a blind rage, or was it Nazi disinformation (and so long ago)? What Monty really said, did it cause the Americans to meltdown because it was false, or because it was true? Is it harder to get along when you’re winning than when you’re losing? Luckily for you I’ve got all of the answers.

Tag words: Montgomery; Battle of the Bulge; Bradley; Patton; Churchill; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; SHAEF; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Ardennes; Eisenhower; Carlo d’Este; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; Chester Wilmot; BBC;

A good commander surrounds himself with the most talented people to make it easier to achieve his mission. The goals that Eisenhower and Monty wanted to achieve were very different and are reflected in the men they chose to surround themselves with. Monty’s Chief of Staff was "Freddie" de Guingand. He’d filled that role in the 8th Army when Monty first took command of it on 15thAugust 1942. He was a staff officer when Monty arrived and was not certain he would. Out with the old, in with the new. Fortunately there was a history between them. Monty knew and respected him going back to 1922. Nigel Hamilton in The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery, gives this little detail of de Guingand that was, in December 1944, going to save Monty’s skin:

De Guingand was a man few could dislike, with tremendous joie de vivre, an immensely fertile mind — and a natural charm which Monty did not, himself, possess.

Tag words: Eisenhower; "Freddie" de Guingand; Monty; Montgomery; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Carlo d’Este; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Battle of the Bulge; Bradley; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; Lt. Cdr. Harry C. Butcher; Bedell Smith; Marshall; Churchill; Roosevelt;