Monty and the Canadian Army by John A. English

Monty and the Canadian Army

John A. English

University of Toronto Press · Paperback · October 20, 2023

General Bernard Law Montgomery, affectionately known as "Monty," exerted an influence on the Canadian Army more lasting than that of any other Second World War commander.

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Who it’s for
John A. English traces how Montgomery’s methods shaped Canadian Army training, command, and professional culture.
Genres
Canadian Military History, World War II: European Theater, Military Lives
Published
University of Toronto Press, October 20, 2023

About this book

General Bernard Law Montgomery, affectionately known as "Monty," exerted an influence on the Canadian Army more lasting than that of any other Second World War commander. In 1942 he assumed responsibility for the exercise and training of Canadian formations in England, and by the end of the war Canada’s field army was second to none in the practical exercise of combined arms.

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In Monty and the Canadian Army, John A. English analyses the way Montgomery’s operational influence continued to permeate the Canadian Army. For years, the Canadian Army remained a highly professional force largely because it was commanded at almost every lower level by "Monty men" steeped in the Montgomery method. The era of the Canadian Army headed by such men ceased with the integration and unification of Canada’s armed forces in 1964. The embrace of Montgomery by Canadian soldiers stands in marked contrast to largely negative perceptions held by Americans. Monty and the Canadian Army aims to correct such perceptions, which are mostly superficial and more often than not wrong, and addresses the anomaly of how this gifted general, one of the greatest field commanders of the Second World War, managed to win over other North American troops.

Montgomery’s Army

John A. English traces how Montgomery’s methods shaped Canadian Army training, command, and professional culture.

Come here for

  • Montgomery’s influence on Canadian Army training and command
  • The legacy of “Monty men” through 1964

Expect

  • An analysis of Montgomery’s operational influence
  • A contrast between Canadian and American perceptions

Where it sits

Canadian Military History63%
Military Lives48%
World War II: European Theater36%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Military Lives
  • European History
  • World War II History
  • Canadian Military History
Authors
John A. English
Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Published
October 20, 2023
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
Military Lives