“We could have bagged the whole German army. I wish Ike were more of a gambler, but he is certainly a lion compared to Montgomery. Monty is a tired little fart. War requires the taking of risks and he won’t take them.”
- General George S Patton
American General George S Patton writing in his diary about English military leader in WW2, Field Marshall Montgomery, following the Battle of the Bulge.
Montgomery’s delay and caution in commencing the counter-attack, and in counter-attacking at the wrong spot, had allowed the Germans to pull their tanks out of the Bulge and back to the Rhine, and allowed the German troops to retreat, rather than cutting them off, thereby allowing them to fight another day. Montgomery incensed Patton, Bradley and Eisenhower further by declaring at a press conference that American soldiers fought well when given the proper leadership, ie. himself. According to Robert MacDougal in "Leaders in Dangerous Times: Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D Eisenhower”, “Not only had Monty not directed the battle, he had simply gotten in everyone’s way and made a mess of the counterattack.”
General George S patton
Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery
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