Was Montgomery really a genius with zero battle defeat or he owe his success to Ultra to intelligence?

Question

How about the legendary Patton?

Answer 1

Montgomery made a very good start at the Battle of El Alamein when he fooled the Germans that the main thrust would come on the south of the frontline and eventually made the breakthrough in the north along the coast by moving his divisions to the weakest point.
The German defensive positions were very well prepared and stopped the Allied tanks for over a week but Montgomery found the right place to apply pressure and once the German line broke it was a pursuit to Benghazi and eventual total victory after the Americans landed in the west to catch the Germans in a trap.
He was a very popular general with the soldiers and this probably helped morale.
In Normandy he was not so successful as the plan was to take Caen on the second day of the invasion but this failed due to good defence by the Germans.
As a result of this failure the progress in Normandy was much slower than expected but the plan was changed to make the Germans throw all their armour against Momtgomery's forces which eventually reduced the German forces facing the Americans allowing them to break through and with the British and Canadians catch thousands of Germans at Falaise.
After that it was a race for Montgomery through Northern France and Belgium to Holland , the fastest advance by allied armour in the war.
Meanwhile Patton was advancing through central France where the Germans were disorganised and having to fight battles against the French Reisitance.
Montgomery's biggest mistake was to try to cross the Rhine at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. This only failed due to the unexpected presence of a Panzer division which was refitting there.
If it had succeded in may have shortened the war by some months. As it was the Rhine was not crossed until January.

Answer 2

Montgomery wasn't undefeated. His Operation Market-Garden was a fiasco from the start. Montgomery and Patton were both very intelligent men who understood warfare. They were also both blessed with being in the right place at the right time with the right supplies/troops. Montgomery would have been defeated by Rommel in the early N. Africa campaigns like his predecessors. Patton was put into command in Europe as American forces had expanded through most of the hedgerows and German forces were pulling back. Both men were able to showcase their considerable talents and ability to organize, direct, and lead armies.

Answer 3

Montgomery was not a genius. He was an aristocratic, overbearing, egomaniac. His one major victory at El Alamein was largely the result of efforts by his predecessor and his staff. In fact if he'd been a bit better at his job it would have been a greater victory than it was.

Any other campaign he commanded was a disappointment. But, in true egocentric fashion any failure was either dismissed as "part of the plan" or simply ignored.

Operation Goodwood was a complete flop in terms of achieving any useful gains. He lost a huge number of troops and tanks, then later claimed he had planned all along to engage in a battle of attrition to draw German forces away from the US assault.

Operation Market Garden, while bold, was horribly flawed and unforgiveably complicated. It was really doomed to failure from the beginning.

Monty was good with the press, that's about it.

Answer 4

Although I'm British, it appears that he may have been a pain to deal with. But he did it with a genuine condescending attitude towards Eisenhower which is a part of being British, actually. As a leader, he came along when we desperately needed someone. Like all great generals (including Patton) he had a healthy ego, which may have influenced some poor decisions on strategy.

Answer 5

They are both overrated.First of all,Montgomery didn't have zero defeats.He would never liberate Caen without the help of USAF and his catastrophic decisions at operation Market Garden cost allies around 25 000 casualties.They both weren't much of a commander and would never have any success if they didn't have gigantic resources and intelligence to support them.They are no match for any of great German generals for example,not to mention Rommel.

Answer 6

Monty was an egotistical jerk who was more concerned with his press than his troops!