Somehow I don't think we'll convince Louis about Monty, but I'll try and get some more facts into the discussion
A bit about the Desert War
Montgomery's plans for the Desert operations against the Afrika Korps were very cunning and well thought out. Rommel usually responded exactly as Montgomery expected him to and fell into the traps laid for him. The clever use of decoys, hidden reserves of men and material, and attacks on enemy infantry in lieu of armoured engagements took the Germans completely by surprise and they were rarely able to gain the initiative in Africa again. However Hitler only saw Africa as a buffer for attacks on Italy so was never actually committed to the theatre.
D-Day
Eisenhower arranged for Montgomery and Beddel-Smith to examine the original D-Day (Overlord) plan drawn up by Lt-Gen F. E. Morgan and C.O.S.S.A.C (Chief of Staff Allied Supreme Commander). Montgomery abruptly said the plan was 'impracticable' and Eisenhower asked him to submit an improved version. This subsequent plan was a VERY MUCH ammended plan. For example the original had the Commonwealth and US forces using fewer beaches and at the same time, rather than three + two separated beaches to allow faster movement inland. I suspect Ike's input may have been: "yeah that looks better, let's do it your way Monty". Of course as we all know Montgomery said they should attack on June 6th - and Ike agreed to that as well
The Caen Problem
The Allies went to great lengths to convince the Germans that the invasion would take place at the Pas de Calais and not Normandy. Therefore the Anglo-Canadian forces were expected to capture Caen on D-Day as they didn't expect German armoured forces (tanks etc) to be in that area. Unfortunetly for them, Rommel (under Von Rundstedt) had Command of Army Group B which had the job of protecting 'Fortress Europa'.
Rommel wanted armoured support close to the beaches to throw any invaders back into the sea. His superior the 71 year old Von Rundstedt wanted the armoured reserve
well back, out of range from Naval and Air attack. Hitler wasn't sure which way to go until April 1944 when he allowed Rommel reinforcements to move westwards to cover the Normandy beaches. These included the young but keen
Hitlerjugend and the experienced
Panzer Lehr Divisions being the first SS-Panzer Divisions to be placed under Command of Rommel. Rommel also received three more army divisions to cover Normandy.
The initial engagement: The 34 year old Kurt (Panzer) Meyer Commanded the Hitlerjugend Division and from his high position in an Abbey in Caen he could see the Canadian 9th Brigade and a regiment of tanks slowly advancing towards him as if the were on a peacetime training excercise. Meyer decided to let them keep coming into his ambush of hidden tanks and AT guns. In fact by this time the Canadians had already bypassed one of Meyers advanced panzergrenader units that had been ordered to hold fire until the trap was sprung. The Allies did not realise the full strength of the armoured forces in and around Caen, but were soon to find out - the hard way. And in the following four days of bitter fighting the Hitlerjugend Division had effectively brought the Anglo-Canadian advance to a halt on the outskirts of Caen.
Montgomery subsequently tried several operations to take Caen which could not simply be bypassed because the fanatical troops that held it would continue to be a thorn in the Allied side - literally. The operations were, in order: Perch, Epsom, Windsor, Charnwood, Jupiter, Goodwood, Spring, Bluecoat, Totalize, Tractable and then on to the 'Failaise Pocket' etc. These operations varied in their 'success', some being total failures. It is easy to blame Montgomery as he planned most (not all) of them, however there are several and varied reasons for the failures.
For example
'Charnwood' was the first time the Allies had used Strategic bombers in support of tactical land operations (better late than never). Following the raid it was realised the heavy 500 & 1,000 lb bombs simply improved the German defensive positions by providing more rubble and craters as well as hindering Allied advancement. And instead of attacking straight after the bombing the Allies waited until the morning by when the Germans had long recovered from the 'shock' and also constructed better defence positions. However the Allies managed to now hold the Eastern end of Caen. At least the Allies learnt they should use smaller bombs in higher quantities.
As for
'Goodwood', this plan was in fact proposed by General Miles Dempsey, and he was also responsible for its poor initial execution. He allowed the tanks to proceed to their advanced positions well ahead of the artillery and infantry support because they couldn't all cross the few bridges in good time. Then the tanks etc had to make their way through a mine field recently laid by the 51st Highland Division. These delays allerted the Germans to the attack and the were well prepared for it. The allied bombing was more effective but failed to destroy several German artillery positions on surrounding higher ground. It is true the operation didn't achieve the large break-out but they gained ground and there is no doubt it did keep the Germans on the coast occupied while the US Forces put their operation Cobra into effect - which was a success.
Montgomery had a habit of telling his men (and superiors) they were supposed to achieve objectives further than he himself expected. His intention was to encourage them to strive harder, and by some good management or luck achieve them. This method often worked in the fluid battles of Africa but in Europe the Germans had most of the advantages and rarely were these bonus gains achieved. Montgomery was a positive thinker and a great motivator but clearly he should have been more honest with his men (and Eisenhower) in this matter as it would cause more confusion as the war progressed.
I'll bypass the
'Falaise Pocket' as I feel poor communications between the Allies is more to blame than 'anyone' in particular. And so we'll proceed on to the favourite of 'Monty Bashers', operation
Market-Garden - soon
