Chapter 27: Montgomery

  The headquarters of the British Eighth Army in El Alamein was a hive of activity, with large sand-table maps clearly showing the dispositions of the British and Axis forces. A dozen or more staff officers in uniform clustered around three generals in uniform at a table, constantly recording and reporting. Nearby several teleprinters were clacking away, with several female operators continuously sending and receiving messages. Others stood by the telephone switchboard, constantly taking notes. This was the nerve centre of our great British Empire's Nile River Army Corps, the brain of the North African British forces.

  Three officers in military uniform, two of them were lieutenant generals and one was a full general. The full general was short and lean, but his eyes would occasionally flash with an intimidating light. This was the commander of our Eighth Army Group, the world-renowned General Bernard Law Montgomery.

  Montgomery's story is also a long one. Montgomery was an unusual child from the start. His father was a bishop, basically serving God day and night. His mother managed all the household chores since he was young, with many brothers, she didn't have time to take care of each one individually. Any disobedient child would be treated with whips and slaps, Montgomery and his other brothers suffered greatly from oppression since they were young.

  As the saying goes, where there is oppression, there is resistance. Xiaoming's active resistance to his mother's violent rule has little effect, and every time he ends up defeated. However, it also allows Xiaoming to develop a spirit of not being afraid of difficulties and persevering to the end from a young age. Talking about this makes me sigh, it seems that family education is very important.

  Xiao Meng classmate has always thought that whatever his mother said must not be done. So Xiao Meng's academic performance is very heartbreaking. Except for his father's religious knowledge, all of Xiao Meng's other courses are basically failing.

  Xiao Meng's classmates thought he would take over his father's business and become a pastor in the future. However, Xiao Meng unexpectedly chose to attend a military academy, a dark path. And Xiao Meng, who had been poor at studying since childhood, miraculously got accepted into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK. Even his mother was amazed, thinking that Xiao Meng must be an alien from Mars.

  It's actually very hard to get into a military academy. Churchill failed the entrance exam twice, while Little Mong passed it in one go, which can't be described as anything but a miracle from God.

  Monger was a golden character, different from the usual. He quickly became the leader of his classmates, of course, as the troublemaker's leading sheep. However, Monger's old man was a respected regional bishop, who soon settled Monger's bad record in military school. In the end, Monger graduated from military school with excellent results and became an officer of the British Empire.

  After graduating, Montgomery went directly to India, where he truly became a soldier. Away from his family and having to rely on himself in all matters. Montgomery had no choice but to work hard, studying diligently all military knowledge, in order to be able to use and manage the transportation tools of the regiment, he memorized the field service regulations by heart, and also gained an in-depth understanding of mules (at that time mainly relying on mules for transportation of war materials). At the same time, in order to communicate with Indian soldiers, he studied hard the Urdu and Pashto languages of India. Montgomery's pursuit of success and his unyielding determination finally made him stand out among his peers.

  The First World War broke out, and Meng Ge, who was already a deputy regimental commander, was sent to the front line to serve as a small platoon leader. His relationship with his comrades also played a big role in this. Unfortunately, on that battlefield where soldiers were treated as consumable goods, Meng Ge experienced what real war was like for the first time. Millions of troops clashed, and casualties mounted into tens of thousands every day. Most of the officers who fought alongside Meng Ge died in battle, and Meng Ge himself suffered severe injuries. He returned to Britain to recover from his wounds.

  Most of the junior officers who survived in such a battlefield were promoted. M?ng K? was no exception, and he was promoted from wartime lieutenant to captain (wartime ranks are generally not continued after the war). After recovering from his injuries, M?ng K? was transferred to a division-level command organ, directly entering the division-level command organ from being a platoon leader. This can also be considered as M?ng K?'s good luck.

  Montgomery was thoughtful, quick in reaction, calm and unruffled in the face of events, methodical in his work, and able to endure hardship. He enjoyed the confidence of both brigade commanders and Mackenzie, who recommended him for a brevet promotion and a higher staff appointment.

  No matter whether it was an opportunity or a challenge, Mongo never gave up. His unbeatable character, the controlling gene inherited from his mother, and his unwavering faith in God became the reasons for his success. By the end of World War I, Mongo had become one of the unremarkable British middle-ranking officers.

  In the 20 years between World War I and World War II, Monger successfully crossed the threshold of a regimental officer to become a general. Interestingly, Monger, like his old rival Rommel, had also served as an instructor at the military academy, and both men were Scorpios.

  On the eve of World War II, Montgomery was appointed to command the 3rd Infantry Division. The 3rd Division was a Regular Army division and one of the best in Britain, which also included the 9th Infantry Brigade that he had commanded earlier. Montgomery knew well that war was imminent and this division would definitely be at the forefront of the British army, so commanding it was a great pleasure.

  To be honest, the lower-level officers and soldiers actually had a lot of affection for Mènggē. Mènggē treated his subordinates very well, providing them with abundant food and supplies, and not interfering with their private lives in daily life. However, he was extremely strict with them on military matters. This approach happened to cater to the tastes of the lower-level soldiers and officers, so they all obeyed Mènggē's orders without question.

  The war broke out suddenly, and the German blitzkrieg stunned the Allies at once. However, when facing the Third Division of Mongolia, they were unexpectedly held back by these people. In the face of the German attack, Mongolia only gave a command "Let the division commander hold on" in his sleep, and then continued to sleep soundly. The staff listened and was amazed.

  After Monty woke up, he ordered the troops to counterattack again. In this counterattack battle, the Grenadier Guards and the Royal North Irish Rifles performed extremely well. Under the increasingly disturbing situation of the entire Allied army, the Third Division stood like a rock in the turbulent torrent, unmoving. However, due to the exposure of the southern flank, Montgomery had no choice but to order a retreat towards the Dender River. Under the cover of artillery fire, the entire division disengaged from the enemy with ease.

  Here's the translation:

  The British retreat was also quite famous for its speed. They abandoned all their ammunition and supplies, fleeing in a hurry. At this time, Montgomery's Third Division did not do so, and during this period, food supply became difficult, with the entire British Expeditionary Force only getting half of their rations. However, Montgomery refused to let his soldiers go hungry. He ordered his quartermaster to requisition grain and cattle from local village heads. Since his division was marching with a herd of cattle, they had "live ration beef" and never lacked meat. He set up slaughterhouses and bakeries, and also seized an abandoned ammunition train, so the Third Division never lacked food or supplies. Meanwhile, other units could only watch Montgomery's troops eat and drink heartily every day.

  At this time, a large gap appeared in the defensive line of the British army's retreat. The Germans were likely to break through here, which would have disastrous consequences. At that time, only Monty's Third Division was still intact and resisting the German forces nearby. The battlefield commander had no choice but to give Monty an order to leave the front line and plug the gap. If this command had been proposed by a student of the Staff College, everyone would have thought he was crazy. Because there were also large numbers of German troops in front of the Third Division, if the Third Division withdrew, the Germans might pursue and attack, putting the division in a very dangerous situation. Moreover, the Third Division had to cross the battlefield from the front line to the designated location, marching 50 miles overnight, which was simply impossible. Everyone did not think Monty could do this, and they were already preparing for a breakout after being surrounded.

  But miracles always surrounded Mongke. Within a few hours, not only did he break free from the Germans' entanglement, but also marched 50 kilometers overnight to block the German army at the pass. By dawn, trenches had even been dug. When headquarters received the news, they were all excited and praised Mongke's good work. The British commander wrote in his diary: "I found that he has completed an almost impossible task as usual."

  It was then that Montgomery truly entered the eyes of Britain's upper echelons, particularly Prime Minister Churchill. As a result, Montgomery was appointed commander of the Second Army, while still a Major General. Under his command, troops covered the main force's retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk.

  At this time, Churchill's " Dynamo" operation had been fully implemented. Thousands of military and civilian ships of all sizes began to evacuate the multinational forces in Dunkirk. While Montgomery commanded his troops to cover everyone's retreat until the organized troops retreated, Montgomery then led his troops onto the British-bound steamship.

  Due to Monty's outstanding performance on the French battlefield, it caused dissatisfaction in the Ministry of War. It was also because everyone had lost battles, and you were the only one who showed up, that was your fault. So Monty returned to the Third Division to take up the promising career as division commander again. At that time, almost all of the British heavy weapons were still on the battlefield in Dunkirk. The entire army could barely gather enough vehicles and supplies to equip a single division. Under Churchill's intervention, Monty was armed first. It was also at this time that Monty's relationship with Churchill began to become somewhat unclear.

  Just as Montgomery was preparing to launch a counterattack against France, news arrived that France had surrendered. Montgomery's desire for revenge was suddenly doused with cold water. However, Churchill did not neglect him and within a year or so, Montgomery rose from being a Major-General commanding an infantry division to become the Commander of Southern Command in England, with the rank of Lieutenant-General. His main responsibility was to prepare defences against possible German landings.

  In 1942, the North African campaign was a rollercoaster ride. General Ritchie, who had been entrusted with great expectations by the British War Office, lost face for the department in a crushing defeat at the hands of Rommel despite having the upper hand. As Cairo seemed about to fall, Churchill became anxious and openly clashed with senior officials from the War Office, directly ordering the dismissal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East from the War Cabinet and summoning Montgomery to take command of the Eighth Army in North Africa.

  However, the War Office was not to be underestimated and strongly resisted the order to send Montgomery to North Africa. The two sides immediately clashed, with neither side having a small amount of power, and finally had to give in a bit. The appointment of General 'Gott' as commander of the Eighth Army was made by the War Office. But Montgomery was sent to the Eighth Army to take charge of the operation against Rommel.

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  Getting up early to write is really painful, but who let the pipe go to sleep before 11 pm last night. If this continues, the pipe will probably die of suffocation, but for the sake of friends who love World War II and German tanks, the pipe will work hard.