A speech by Montgomery addressing the 8th army
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- Опубліковано 17 кві 2009
- A speech by Montgomery addressing the "8th Army" in North Africa.
I understand that opinions are divided on Montgomery, and that he is a difficult historical character to fully understand and discuss. But please keep it civil!
Behave like responsible human beings and stop spreading undocumented claims. Use common sense and read a book or two. - Розваги
THANKS FOR SHARING!!! I write in 2020. When lectures stopped due to the coronavirus crisis in my country, I shared this video with my students: It can be done and it will done became our "motto " to cope with the quarantine, the switch to teaching on line, having to study in the middle of this bizarre situation...Now the semester has finished: I don't know whether they have learnt much civil law or not....but they do know who Monty is and, as a matter of fact, the last sentence written by one of them in the last google meet session we had was: it can be done and it will be done!!!😂
Great use of the speech! Happy that it has other uses in these troubling times.
"If we can't stay here alive then let us stay here dead."
Such a great line.
Sounds like a Spartan
Oh my God, his voice is just exactly same as what i've imagined ...
He said he would break out in 10 to 12 days,he did.He said he'd be in Paris on d day+90,he was.What more did you want from the guy?
The more I learn about Montgomery the more I am impressed, a difficult vain and eccentric man, but a professional who did care about his men, and despite the accent was not really an accepted part of the establishment.
It's funny how he sounds pretty much exactly like I thought he would.
I feel like the comparison of Montgomery to Rommel is like the comparison of Wellington to Napoleon. Both were amazing generals, and both did things very differently. Rommel was an aggressive, active leader, who seized upon any opportunity that presented itself (like Napoleon) while Montgomery would wait until his forces were in place, he knew his enemy and was certain of victory.
@roadwarrior3 To say that Rommel was better because Montgomery had better intelligence is silly. Intelligence, reconnaissance and logistics are all part of being a commander, especially at that level. Knowing your enemies' movements and intentions and countering them does not in any way make you a sub-par general, nor does making use of the resources at your disposal. If Monty had known Rommel's intentions and failed to capitalise *that* would make him "2nd tier", and maybe if Rommel had more support from back home he could have outfoxed him, but it's just as likely that Montgomery could have won even then, after all he had made good use of inferior forces before, in France.
Field Marshal Montgomery was a great man, exacting, precise and meticulous in every way.
This reaction came from the Netherlands (dec. 5th, 2010): Very memorable speech of a great figure in history. His typical voice, the short sentences, his optimistic views, the down-grading of the problems (and the enemy) worked as a shot of adrenalin for the soldiers. And had thundering success. Such a speech is (more than 70 years later) a fine example of how to inspire others, in getting a difficult task done successful. I like Great Britain. Good work to place this video on the internet.
My great grandfather listened to this.
Such a badass
a great man,he repaid Churchill,s confidence in himand turned the war round.The end of the beginning
My great uncle Stuart was a Major in one of Monty's tanks division. After Africa he took part in the invasion of Italy. His one regret was that the Yanks got their first, and with their connections in Italy, had all the black market trade sewn up and wouldnt cut any of the British officers in on the deals. Said an absolute packet was being made by them. A real character my uncle Stuart, and a great guy. Immaculate dresser til his dying day. Chin chin old boy!
Perfect upper class RP English pronounciation.
my grandad was in the 8th army in north africa but its a shame i never got to meet him he died before i was born.. R.I.P grandad and all others that fell in the world wars
I'll have to bring you up on this "Montgomery could never beat Rommel" thing.
The fact of the matter is that not only did Montgomery beat Rommel, Montgomery never lost to Rommel. Evem when they fought each other in France in 1940 when both were just divisional commanders and the Germans had all the advantages and Rommel didn't win.
If you think Rommel was a better general then that's fine, it's an arguable point, but you cant claim that something that did happen, never happened.
Correction to Fact No. 4:. Montgomery built up a 2-to-1 advantage in manpower and tanks, and only parity in air power. The Afrika Korps was behind miles of minefields with an open field of fire (which is a major advantage). Certainty of victory in an attack normally required at least 3:1 odds in WW2. Rommel's position was quite defensible, and Montgomery beat him soundly. Incidentally, Alam Halfa battle, preceded El Alamein, pitted approx. equal forces. Montgomery defeated Rommel soundly.
Monty reinforced his position at El Alamein in both manpower and material but, weirdly, people claim he's a bad general because he strengthened his position and thus his chances of victory.
If there was one thing and one thing alone that proved Monty was, at the very least, a competant commander it was his decision to strengthen before he tried to attack and if there was one thing alone that proved Monty was a good general it was that he never allowed his enemy to dictate his battles.
Claude Auchinleck was the guy who fell back on the El Alamein position. He was the one who brought as many troops as he could to that place but he lost the confidence of Churchill.
Monty arrived (after the death of Strafer Gott), viewed the Auk's plans and decreed them too confusing. Brought in his own plans and beat Rommel at Alam Halfa, then at El Alamein and never looked back.
He was the one general of the war who never retreated or withdrew when in command of the whole army.
One forgotten fact, or one that anybody who thinks the Americans freed France after D-Day choose to ignore, is the fact that whilst the US Army were mopping up the Wehrmacht (regular German army) with great effect, Montgomery and his boys were facing the SS and the might of their panzers around Caen... it still disappoints me to hear them say he took his time taking the city. Also forgotten, the British offered the Americans their 'funnies' for mine clearance and 90 pounder guns to make Omaha B
The Amercans launched their funnies too far out to sea, the water was too rough for the design specs, nearly all of them sunk with all crews, but left the Americans with little or no armoured support to take their beach, this contributed to their difficulties at Omaha beach, as well as the defenders numbers and terrain.
The Americans didn't take St Lo any quicker, but we don't hear much about that.
I know. The problems with contemporary assessment of Monty is he is judged for 1) abrasive personality, 2) He's British, and 3) the movie "Patton".
Montgomery was quite probably the best ground commander in WW2; he basically beat the blitzkrieg.
Montgomery is more like a modern general, thorough, disciplined, leaves nothing to error, than many folks realize.
Pretty sure Market Garden is what hurts his reputation the most.
Market Garden still did better and with fewer casualties than any American campaign that same autumn. If people judge Montgomery on Market Garden then they should judge Patton on the Lorraine failure, Hodges on the Hurtgen Forest failure, Bradley on the Ardennes retreat and Eisenhower on the broad front disaster.
Etc.
@@rangergxi a plan that failed due to the failure of the 82nd Airborne to prioritize Nijmegen bridge on the 1st day and not Montgomery's strategy
Montgomery was the most successful allied commander on the western front in WW2. Nobody else even comes close really, certainly not the overrated Patton. Monty would never have taken 3 months to take Metz, like Patton did.
That's true. Withdrawal is an important part of strategy but Mongomery planned his campaigns so that he did need it. Even risky operations like Market Garden were launched from a strong, viable defensible base and with a good reserve which ensured that even if the plan went wrong in execution he would never be forced to pull back from his original position and could, more often than not, advance to a position further forward. It was one of his great strengths.
awesome video. Thanks heaps for sharing. :D
You would be surprised actually. Monty was a great tactician, without who, the desert war would have been lost to the Germans. Its a shame operation market garden was such a failure. God bless the poor men who died in that devastating war. PS Don't get me wrong, I agree Rommel was a strategic mastermind.
Market Garden as failed to meet its mission objective, but due to mistakes below him and a lack of support, but it wasnt a total failure as people make out, much territory was taken, many enemy killed when the allies had the numbers to lose and germany didnt, much equipment was lost and many were tied up in the conflict and extra troops allocated there afterwards. I dont think he was in command on the ground in this endevour either.
@roadwarrior3 Sorry but using intelligence to good effect is a sign of a good commander and not something Monty can be criticized or belittled for.
Besides which, by your argument I can belittle Rommel's victories in Sonnenblume or at Gazala because he had better intelligence than the British at the time - because the Italian's were intercepting British Radio transmissions & the detailed reports an US liason officer with the 8th Army was sending to Washington were being intercepted by the Axis.
didnt know he had a speech impediment
Monty- "If we are attacked, There will be no retreat! If we cannot stay here alive, Then we shall stay here dead!". Monty was the man who broke Rommel and sent the Axis forces in N.Africa into mutiny, It was the end of the Axis campains there generals in Africa,Russia were betraying orders, El Alamein, Stalingrad the turning point of the war.
indeed, Montgomery saw the plan was going to fail and trained his men to counter exactly what the germans were going to do, withdrawing from the Dyle line, but we have to give credit to Cunningham and O'Connor who managed to defeat the overwhelming italian forces in North Africa before Montgomery
Are there any post war interviews with Monty? Thanks, in case you know.
ua-cam.com/video/H1dz3pqbRaw/v-deo.html
Montgomery had a better speech that Ike..just sayin
does any one know how to find images of solders in this army , my grandfather was a communcator his pictures we had were stolen would love to see some if thier are some on record. richard oscislawki
@RupertEricshin dont forget the Operation Queen which was another American defeat & cost similar casualties to the Hurtgen forest campaign..
Love you just man speeches
Field Marshal Montgomery was the Finest Commander of the Western Forces. If he had been given overall command after D-Day, he would have still defeated the Wehrmacht in Western Europe. The Ardennes would never have been allowed to happen. Most importantly, Monty would have saved British, French and American lives in the process. The Mighty Red Army broke the hearts of the German Forces in the East. In the West? There were only TWO real total warriors....FM Bernard Law Montgomery and Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, GCB, OBE, AFC
O'Connor?
sounds a bit like John Cleese
indeed, but would withdrawal always be the wrong thing to do, look at Stalingrad, withdrawal is a part of strategy, albeit one which seems to have the air of defeat around it
"Czechoslovakia who had the best Czech army in all of Europe" erm er... I don't know any other country who would have a Czech army , apart from Czechoslovakia :)
The dog fight did last for 10 days as forecasted by monty
correction, its to disunite our neighbours, and make sure that the maneouvering takes place politically,with endless alleigances and inconclusive wars adressing the balance of power, British foreign policy for the last five hundred years
firstly, the aftermath of war involves the occupation of a nation militarily, and its exploitation by the invading nation, British foreign policy was meant to defend the weak, not JUST make plans and empty threats
@TheShorelessC the war was already over in the first world war britain had already won they arrived in the last couple of months left in the war.
Oh dear Monty, sort your beret out chap, you're a Field Marshal. Front rim just above the brow, beret slanted up so back rim is resting on the back top of the head. Right side is pushed down over the ear. It really is just basic soldiering. A good and proper beret is the only thing that separates us from the animals and the French.
From someone who studies war. I have to totally disagree with you, Superior manpower and material is down to tactical genius. Montgomery refused to go to battle unless he had a 12:1 advantage on the enemy, which from a tactical point of view because the enemy wont be able to engage all your units because they are being over run- I bid your farewell.
Excellent General, terrible at pronouncing the letter “R”
Montgomery was a 2nd tier general compared to Rommel. Montgomery knew Rommel's ENTIRE Order of Battle in every battle he engaged Rommel from British Intelligence which broke nearly all of the German's Enigma Machine Army Codes. While Rommel's Army Intelligence did often break British Army codes, Rommel's awareness of Montgomery's plans was nowhere near as thorough as Montgomery's awareness of Rommel's plans. Montgomery's "genius" is pure crap. INTELLIGENCE .. INTELLIGENCE ... INTELLIGENCE
When I listen to his hauty upper class accent and supercilious attitude, I'm glad I wasn't one of the poor buggers whom he sent to their death. Give me Rommel any day !