Bernard Montgomery

Montgomery was known for his lack of social awareness and insensitivity: he was a self-assured leader, and bruised many egos in the Grand Alliance. But the soldiers loved Montgomery. With his gray sweater and tanker’s black beret, he had the image of a rebel, and chafed under unnecessary restrictions - at the same time, his asceticism and strict discipline earned him the moniker “the Spartan General”. Having been through the meatgrinder of the First World War, he took its lessons to heart, and cared about the troop morale, and preferred a systemic, low-risk strategy. When it came to beating the enemy, Montgomery liked to be “mathematically certain”, and waste no lives needlessly.