The Lonely Leader : Monty, 1944-45

by Alistair Horne, David Montgomery

General Montgomery lead the 8th Army to victory at El Alamein in 1942, and as Chief of Land Forces in the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944, he received Germany's surrender in 1945. Concentrating on the momentous events of Operation Overlord from June 1944, "The Lonely Leader" follows Monty's leadership of the Allied offensive to Luneburg Heath the following May. Monty is a figure renowned for his military professionalism, but Alistair Horne, in association with Montgomery's only son, also looks at the human face of a man regarded as rather Cromwellian, considering his style of command in the context of the tactics and politics of the period, not least his controversial dealings with Eisenhower. "Alistair Horne is one of the best writers of history in the English language" - C. P. Snow.

Genres: History, Biography, World War II, Nonfiction, Military History, Military Fiction, War

381 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Sir Alistair Allan Horne was an English journalist, biographer and historian of Europe, especially of 19th and 20th century France. He wrote more than 20 books on travel, history, and biography. He won the following awards: Hawthornden Prize, 1963, for The Price of Glory; Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Prize and Wolfson Literary Award, both 1978, both for A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962; French Légion d'Honneur, 1993, for work on French history;and Commander of the British Empire (CBE), 2003.

Reviews

[William J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informative biography of a thorny but effective leader in the Allied leadership of World War II. Field Marshal Montgomery is a very peculiar person and Alistair Horne and the Field Marshal's son, David bring those peculiarities to light. He maintained a very close relationship with his young liaison officers assigned to his headquarters yet had a very strained relationship with his own son and family to the point of not having contact with his own mother. I have been to the Imperial War Museum in London and listened to the tape of the Field Marshal explaining as my friend, Major Dave Dull, said, "how he won the war single handedly!" Narcissistic, at times obnoxious, rude and confident, Field Marshal Montgomery did make essential contributions to the success of the Allies in WWII. This is an interesting book and the author is usually fair and objective but unless one is really interested in the Field Marshal, one could skip this book.

[J.G. Cully · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many books about Field Marshal Montgomery. They have been critical of both his tactics and character, but have not covered his talents as a soldier and his achievements. This book, tells both sides. Of the odd character who never accepted that he could be wrong. But also the seasoned professional, exceptional trainer and motivator of men and a man who ultimately helped the allies win the war. It concentrates particularly on his operations from 1944 until the end of the war, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. An excellent read.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watching World War 2 documentaries and films over the years, I often thought that Montgomery looked slightly out of place, and even out of time. He didn't look big enough to be a soldier, and seemed to be struggling to take his place among the other generals and famous people who were with him in any picture or film. Listening to his voice, he sounded to be a stickler for detail, and very old fashioned, even for the 1940's. This book fills in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of him, and the period of the war that that it covers. My own perception of his part in the war was that he had turned things round in the desert - I had heard that this was the first significant defeat suffered by the axis powers - and had taken part in the invasion of France, then Germany - but sort of in the background. This book covers the second of those two operations. Before this though, we get a brief account of his army service - during service in World War 1 he suffered a serious injury which left him with a breathing problem, and could have been forgiven for retiring and becoming an armchair general, swelling the numbers who feature in every war or military operation in my lifetime. We see that the army, and his soldiers, take first place in his life, and this is felt by his son David, one of the co-authors of this book. Montgomery more or less severs the boy from any of his surviving relatives after the early death of his wife, and David's mother. He is entrusted to, or perhaps imposed upon depending on your point of view, head teachers, friends and just about anyone other than the people who would offer a contrary view of life than his father. The person in overall charge of the invasion of France in 1944, and operations subsequent to that, is General Eisenhower and Monty is in charge of the actual battles and soldiers, for want of a better expression. In what seemed like a strange move at the time, Monty elected to place himself quite near to the front line, and his accommodation was either in a caravan, or in a commandeered house or Chateau. He seemed reluctant, to say the least, to discuss or have meetings with senior officers in charge of the various divisions and regiments taking part in the invasion - preferring to use a cadre of young officers to deliver his orders and report on how they had gone down with the recipients. Unlike the condensed versions we get about the liberation of Europe by the allies, the real story is that it was very hard going for the allied soldiers involved, who were facing forces who were better trained, hardened by battles, better led and ( this is a bit hard to accept but probably true) more brave and committed than they were. This led to several setbacks for Monty - such as delays in gaining ground and achieving objectives. This seemed to have led to what were the main criticisms of him by his fellow officers - that the tactics he employed were wrong and, worse than that, he seemed incapable of admitting he was at fault, saying that everything was going to plan. This led to rifts between him and the top brass of all the allies involved and particularly the American Generals, and more particularly Patten. Monty was dismissive of all this feedback, and was very blunt about what he saw as the failings of the individual generals, and even Eisenhower. In the background, we see letters written to his son David as the campaign progresses - on occasion these resemble reports of the progress of the war rather than expressions of any sort of affection. I have to say that by the end of the book, I was unsure of whether Monty or his detractors were in the right as to the progress and speed of efforts which led to the German surrender in Europe - was it his plans that were faulty, or were the people who were to carry them out lacking in skill, courage and judgement? Either way, the book served to introduce, and offer a guide into the mind and methods of one, of Britain's most famous and effective soldiers. It will be seen that his son David bears no ill will towards his father for his treatment as a boy, and it is easy to imagine Monty taking the same pragmatic view. All of which makes for an absorbing read, perhaps even for readers who avoid books on war.

[Tony Styles · Rating 5 out of 5]

The finest British C in C since Waterloo…

A quite exceptional read. In many places unputdownable. For me it’s not an understatement to say that Monty’s generalship restored European freedom in the battle that started with the day that historians agree was the most important day of the 20th Century, D-Day. The American Generals all lacked battlefield experience and this to their eternal discredit, explains their blasé ‘d attitude towards the lives of their men. Richard Winters kindly called Monty, ‘…a soldier’s soldier.’ Could that be said of the American commanders…? I don’t think so; Patton’s slapping of a shell shocked GI goes a long way towards proving that fact. American historians, Ambrose for one, writing in hindsight would disagree no doubt but it’s a plain fact that America’s industrial might made the difference in the Second World War, not their battlefield leadership. Monty, like all of us suffered from that omnipresent affliction, human frailty. Monty was a soldier, not a politician; and we know how far we have ever been able to trust our elected officials don’t we…? My grandfather, a Normandy Veteran from the rank and file loved him. Monty’s soldiers knew he was looking out for them. For me this explains his natural cautiousness which was put to the ultimate test in the key attritional phase of the battle of Normandy, tying up the cream of the German Panzer divisions at Caen, thus affording the green American divisions the easier breakout role. Monty was the professional soldier par excellence. Alistair Horne tells the story of the lonely leader, essential reading for any student of the final phase of the war in Europe 1944. 5 stars.

[Jemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of my late father's books. I wasn't going to bother with this one but I noticed it covers the time Hamilton's biography doesn't. Indeed, it covers Monty's early life quite thoroughly, so arguably has more claim to the title "Full Monty".

This biography adds interesting angles to various issues from the D-Day landings to Monty's sexuality. More convincing in its points about the former than the latter too. The landings probably should've been wider but denials Monty was gay by his team are not entirely reliable.

What is clear is that he was a troubled man, interestingly eccentric and although better than many more typically clubbable officers, not as infallible as he believed. Essentially he sufferd from excessive praise lavished on him by a Britain short on victorious generals.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading an awful lot about Monty and his wartime career for my Masters degree. This is different from the run of the mill biographies in that his son, David, contributes to the picture of his father. This makes a difference to the biography and is supported by the insights provided by the historian Alastair Horne. I don't always agree with Horne's views but where would we be if everyone agreed with everything they read?

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The portion of this book that focuses on Normandy (which is the majority) is excellent. The remainder of the war is covered in less depth than I'd like given the various controversies surround Monty's behavior and choices during that period.

[Michael Romo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of the book certainly lives up to the life of Montgomery. An interesting read.