Episode Details

Bernard Montgomery won the Battle of El Alamein — the first major British land victory of World War II — and spent the rest of the war making every American general wish he had not. He was meticulous, cautious, and so insufferably arrogant that even his admirers found him difficult. Eisenhower once said that Montgomery was so good at planning battles that it was worth putting up with him — but only just.

This episode traces Montgomery from his harsh Irish childhood through the North Africa triumph, the D-Day planning, the Market Garden failure, and the personality that made him the most effective and most disliked Allied commander.

• Montgomery's cold childhood, his mother's emotional abuse, and the military career that became his substitute family
• El Alamein — the meticulous planning and the victory that restored British military pride
• The D-Day role, the Normandy breakout disputes, and the Market Garden gamble that failed
• The American allies he alienated and why his tactical genius could not compensate for his personality