Churchill and the Montgomery Myth

Churchill and the Montgomery Myth PDF Author: R. W. Thompson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1590773977
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
This is perhaps the most revealing case history of the politics of modern warfare ever set down. It is a story of a time when image making and public relations took precedence over strategy at the cost of thousands of lives. It is the story of the distortion of history and the promulgation of questionable glory. By August 1942, disaster had struck Great Britain in every theater of war, Singapore had fallen; Crete was gone; the Egyptians were hammering at Egypt. The British Navy and Air Force were being repulsed, and Churchill wrote: “I should have then vanished from the scene and the harvest would have been ascribed to my belated disappearance.” The shadow of becoming a second class power was already falling on Britain, and Churchill and his generals were about to be eclipsed by Roosevelt and the strength of America. Churchill was desperate for victory and a glamorous hero. General Auchinleck, commander of Britain’s Eighth Army, had already fought a successful battle at El Alamein. But Churchill needed something more theatrically effective than what Auchinleck could provide. SO he set the propaganda machinery working to obliterate that victory. Auchinleck was sacked and replaced by Montgomery. Although Rommel was by this time a very sick man with a weakened army, the myth of the Desert Fox was revived as well. And the second Battle of El Alamein, the one recorded in the history books, was launched. Every man played his part well, including the public relations staff, General Montgomery’s personal photographers, the moving picture teams, and those who fell in battle. This is a fascinating book, not just for buffs of military history, but for anyone concerned with how a war is really run in an age of propaganda.

Churchill and the Montgomery Myth

Churchill and the Montgomery Myth PDF Author: R. W. Thompson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1590773977
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is perhaps the most revealing case history of the politics of modern warfare ever set down. It is a story of a time when image making and public relations took precedence over strategy at the cost of thousands of lives. It is the story of the distortion of history and the promulgation of questionable glory. By August 1942, disaster had struck Great Britain in every theater of war, Singapore had fallen; Crete was gone; the Egyptians were hammering at Egypt. The British Navy and Air Force were being repulsed, and Churchill wrote: “I should have then vanished from the scene and the harvest would have been ascribed to my belated disappearance.” The shadow of becoming a second class power was already falling on Britain, and Churchill and his generals were about to be eclipsed by Roosevelt and the strength of America. Churchill was desperate for victory and a glamorous hero. General Auchinleck, commander of Britain’s Eighth Army, had already fought a successful battle at El Alamein. But Churchill needed something more theatrically effective than what Auchinleck could provide. SO he set the propaganda machinery working to obliterate that victory. Auchinleck was sacked and replaced by Montgomery. Although Rommel was by this time a very sick man with a weakened army, the myth of the Desert Fox was revived as well. And the second Battle of El Alamein, the one recorded in the history books, was launched. Every man played his part well, including the public relations staff, General Montgomery’s personal photographers, the moving picture teams, and those who fell in battle. This is a fascinating book, not just for buffs of military history, but for anyone concerned with how a war is really run in an age of propaganda.

Blood, Sweat and Arrogance

Blood, Sweat and Arrogance PDF Author: Gordon Corrigan
Publisher: Orion
ISBN: 9780304367382
Category : Churchill, Winston
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Gordon Corrigan's Mud, Blood and Poppycock overturned the myths that surround the First World War. Now he challenges our assumptions about the Second World War in this brilliant, caustic narrative that exposes just how close Britain came to losing. He reveals how Winston Churchill bears a heavy responsibility for the state of our forces in 1939, and how his interference in military operations caused a string of disasters. The reputations of some of our most famous generals are also overturned: above all, Montgomery, whose post-war stature owes more to his skill with a pen than talent for command. But this is not just a story of personalities. Gordon Corrigan investigates how the British, who had the biggest and best army in the world in 1918, managed to forget everything they had learned in just twenty years. The British invented the tank, but in 1940 it was the Germans who showed the world how to use them. After we avoided defeat, but the slimmest of margins, it was a very long haul to defeat Hitler's army, and one in which the Russians would ultimately bear the heaviest burden.

The Montgomery Legend

The Montgomery Legend PDF Author: R. W. THOMPSON
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9781032045344
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book, first published in 1967, examines the foundations and the substance of the Montgomery Legend. The public needed a Hero as Britain's time on the ropes ended, and it was also politically necessary, lest Britain be swamped by the power of its allies.

The Montgomery Legend

The Montgomery Legend PDF Author: R.W. Thompson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000458903
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
This book, first published in 1967, examines the foundations and the substance of the Montgomery Legend. His appearance upon the scene in the Western Desert coincided with a change in warfare as ‘ironmongery replaced generalship’, as General Fuller observed, and with Montgomery’s victories came a British need for a Champion for all to see. The public needed a Hero as Britain’s time on the ropes ended, and it was also politically necessary, lest Britain be swamped by the power of its allies.

Master of the Battlefield

Master of the Battlefield PDF Author: Nigel Hamilton
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 968

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Book Description
Master of the Battlefield charts the biography of Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery from his decisive victory at El Alamein through the Battle of Normandy. It details the most complex, full years of Montgomery's career, following the time he became a household name after his North African campaign, and including his battles in Sicily and Italy, and the final Allied conquest in France in 1944. Based on Montgomery's secret diaries, letters and vast collections of private papers, which have remained confidential and inaccessible until now, this is the authorized biography of Montgomery in his most important years as commander. - Jacket flap.

Churchill's Bestiary

Churchill's Bestiary PDF Author: Piers Brendon
Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books
ISBN: 1789290511
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 439

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Book Description
In this fascinating and unique biography, Dr Piers Brendon looks deeper into Churchill's love of the animal kingdom, and at how animals played such a large part in his everyday life.

The Era of World War II

The Era of World War II PDF Author: Roy S. Barnard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description


Special Bibliography

Special Bibliography PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Military art and science
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Operation Crusader and the Desert War in British History and Memory

Operation Crusader and the Desert War in British History and Memory PDF Author: Alexander Joffe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350132896
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
Shortlisted for the 2021 Society for Army Historical Research's Templer Medal Operation Crusader, launched in November 1941, was the third and final British attempt to relieve the siege of Tobruk and break the German and Italian forces in North Africa. After tough initial fighting, the British made important gains, only to be countered by a stunning breakthrough overseen personally by Lt. General Erwin Rommel. As the British situation teetered, the commander of the 8th Army, Lt. General Alan Cunningham, was relieved of duty by his superior, General Claude Auchinleck. This decision changed the direction of the battle and perhaps the war itself. Why and how Cunningham was relieved has been the subject of commentary and speculation since it occurred. Using newly discovered evidence, Alexander Joffe rethinks the events that brought about the sudden relief of the operation's commanding officer, including insubordination. The book then discusses how narratives regarding the operation were created, were incorporated into British and Commonwealth official and unofficial historical writing about the war, and contributed to British historical memory. Based on a decade of archival work, the book presents a new and detailed analysis of a consequential battle and, importantly, of how its history was written and received in the context of post-war Britain.

Great Warrior Leaders/thinkers

Great Warrior Leaders/thinkers PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aeronautics, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description