A Spectator's Notebook
IT IS ALWAYS sad when a great man decides to- leave the scene of his greatness. Field-Marshal Mont- gomery will surely rank as the greatest commander to have fought in Europe (or anywhere else) since Wellington. During his twenty years as a general officer the ultimate in military thought has advanced from the Maginot Line to the sputnik; it is a staggering example of his adaptability and freshness of mind that Monty has not only been completely at home with either, but has led the development of military thought throughout. Monty's outstanding charac- teristic as a soldier is, I think, his professionalism. There is a story that during a visit to Normandy a few years ago the Field-Marshal casually re- marked—people had been discussing General Bradley's book—that 'of course I could have finished the war in 1944, if I'd been allowed to. No possible doubt whatever.' And just to show that he meant what he said, he added impishly, 'Perhaps it's as well I wasn't. We'd have had a war with America.' It is fair to contemplate how many of qur present strategic ills stem from American failure to recognise at the time the highly professional judgment of this remarkable soldier.
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