Montgomery Mission Command

Field Marshal Montgomery applied mission command principles to defeat one of the greatest German generals and a master of tank warfare, Erwin Rommel at El Alamein. The aim of this essay is to analyze how Field Marshal Montgomery achieved success at El Alamein by applying four of the six principles of mission command. To accomplish this, I will examine Montgomery’s role in building cohesive teams through mutual trust, providing a clear commander’s intent, accepting prudent risk and creating shared understanding. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery was born in 1887, went to St. Paul’s School then underwent military training at Sandhurst. He commissioned in 1908, aged 21 years. During World War I, Montgomery displayed excellent

On the other hand, however, Montgomery was a difficult man to work with. He was arrogant, hardheaded and lacked social grace. He liked things done his way and did not tolerate anybody questioning his orders. These negative qualities, however, did not affect the outcome of the battle since Montgomery’s experience and mastery of war tactics enabled him to prepare a solid plan that resulted in success. For this plan to work, Montgomery had to communicate his intent clearly to subordinates and make sure every soldier knew exactly what they were to

He introduced himself and explained the purpose for which the Eighth Army was fighting, how they would win and the part each soldier was to play in defeating Rommel’s Axis forces. Montgomery made extensive plans for the final show-down against Rommel. In his final order for the offensive, codenamed ‘Lightfoot’, he planned for three simultaneous attacks to be made. In the north, XXX Corps would penetrate enemy lines and form a bridgehead beyond the main Axis defense zone, then assist X Corps to pass through. In the south, XIII Corps would penetrate the enemy positions near Munassib and pass the 7th Armored division toward Jebel Kalakh. Finally, XIII Corps would use the 1st French Brigade to secure the Qaret el Himeimat and the El Taqa plateau. Montgomery, a skilled tactician, carefully planned each step of the operation and ensured that orders were passed all the way down to the last soldier. He, however, did not allow subordinates to use disciplined initiative to modify the plan to fit the situation. He insisted on the original plan and even used threats when forces seemed to be making little progress. With coercion, Allied forces eventually succeeded in penetrating German defenses but with heavy