In 1942, Prime Minister Winston Churchill appointed Montgomery commander of the 8th Army in the Western Desert. Montgomery rapidly restored the army’s flagging morale and ensured his men were properly supplied. For nearly two months, he continued to train and re-equip his soldiers.
‘I want to impose on everyone that the bad times are over, they are finished! Our mandate from the Prime Minister is to destroy the Axis forces in North Africa… It can be done, and it will be done!’
Montgomery promising his troops a swift victory, 1942
Montgomery effectively organised the defence of El Alamein against the German forces led by General Erwin Rommel. He countered both Italian and German attacks, before delivering the Allies their first major land victory of the war at the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.
This was a turning point in the North African campaign and indeed the Second World War.
Montgomery also played a crucial role in the Allied invasions of Sicily and then Salerno in Italy during 1943. This was in spite of disagreements with US Generals Patton and Bradley, who both viewed his previous successes jealously.