Monty on Top

To Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery last week went Supreme Commander "Ike" Eisenhower's praises. The doughty little Briton had taken over swiftly, had acted swiftly .to bring the weight of the U.S. First and Ninth Armies, the British Second and Canadian First Armies to bear on Rundstedt's north flank. In Washington, President Roosevelt explained that the switch in command was a regular field operation, made necessary when the German thrust split Lieut. General Omar Nelson Bradley's Twelfth Army group.

"Monty" was in fine fettle. At his headquarters he received the press for his first conference in several months. Monty had something to say--in fact, a rambling hour's worth.

The enemy, Monty said, had been "Headed off." Then he had been "sealed off." Now he was being "written off." How had this been wrought? Said Monty:

"When Rundstedt put in his hard blow and parted the American Army, it was automatic that the battle area must be untidy. Therefore, the first thing I did was to busy myself in getting the battle area tidy--getting it sorted out.

"I got reserves into the right place and got balanced--and you know what happened. ... It looked to me as if Rundstedt was trying to do a big left hook to the River Meuse. There was not much there--there was damn little there--so I collected here and there, pulled in divisions and formed an army corps under that very fine American General Collins [Major General J. Lawton Collins]."

Come, come. "It took a knock. I said 'Dear me, this can't go on. It's being swallowed up in the battle.' I managed to form the corps again. Once more pressure was such that it began to disappear in a defensive battle.

"I said, 'Come, come,' and formed it again and it was put in offensively by General Hodges after we had consulted together, and that is his present job."

What had turned the trick?

". . . The good fighting qualities of the American soldier. I take my hat off to . . . such men. ... I salute the brave fighting men of America--I never want to fight alongside better soldiers. ... I have tried to feel that I am almost an American soldier myself."

There was much yet to be done. What would do it? "Allied teamwork."

As a U.S. football coach might to his high-school charges, Monty spoke:

"It is teamwork that pulls you through. . . . Let us rally round the captain of the team and so help to win the match. . . . Let me tell you that the captain of our team is General Eisenhower. I am absolutely devoted to Ike. ... It grieves me when I see uncomplimentary articles about him in the British press. ... He needs our fullest support. . . . And so I would ask all of you" ... to stop that sort of thing. . . .

"Ike is a very great friend of mine. My own airplane was damaged the other day. I cried to Ike, 'Can you lend me another plane?' He sent me his own at once--wonderful."

What about the Germans? Said Monty:

"I used to think that Rommel was good. . . . Rundstedt is the best German general I have come up against. ... I would very much like to get myself into Rundstedt's brain for a couple of minutes."

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