Major General Montgomery (BR887) with HQ Objective General Montgomery’s experiences in the First World War taught him the importance of proper planning, and that soldiers must be well trained in modern warfare and led by confident officers who knew and had practised their craft. Between the wars Montgomery gained a reputation as an extremely good trainer. A small, hawkish man, his singleminded professionalism marked him out as an eccentric. Check out Major General Montgomery in the online store here...

At the start of the Second World War he was a 51 year-old Major-General, who had just assumed command of the 3rd (Ironsides) Division. ‘Monty’, as his troops came to call him, immediately set about training his division, weeding out officers he thought not up to the job in the process. His training on how to conduct rearguards and to march at night would be needed in the fighting ahead.

Monty’s division conducted a stout defence on the Dyle River on 15 and 16 May. When the British Expeditionary Force retreated, the 3rd Division successfully disengaged and fell back in good order to the Dendre River and then to the Escaut Canal. The 3rd Division gave their German pursuers a bloody nose at each river or canal they defended, suffering comparatively few casualties in return.

While many commanders were found wanting in the stress of the campaign, Monty exuded supreme confidence and relished the challenges that arose. When his corps commander, General Brooke was evacuated, Monty succeeded him as commander of II Corps and oversaw the embarkation of the corps from Dunkirk.

Back in England, Monty immediately set to work bringing his troops back to readiness, forming one of the few divisions capable of opposing a German invasion. In 1942 he was ordered to Egypt to take command of the Eighth Army for his most famous battle at El Alamein.

In Flames Of War Characteristics Major-General Montgomery is a Warrior and a Higher Command Pistol team rated as Confident Veteran. You may field Montgomery in any Rifle Company for +75 points. Montgomery achieved his successes without the aid of tanks or the French far to the south. A force fielding Montgomery may not contain A11 or A12 Tank Platoons or any allied French platoons. Learn the Tactics and Strategy of using Montgomery in Early-war here...

Special Rules Self-assured Montgomery had an unbounded belief in his ability to win, and persisted until he did. Montgomery always passes Company Morale Checks on a roll of 3+.

Brilliant Montgomery marched his entire division across the German front by night, reaching their new battle positions before dawn. Before deploying your force you may select one of the Rifle Platoons that would normally be deployed on table to be redeployed. This platoon is not deployed at the usual time. Instead, it is deployed at the same time as Independent teams.

Calm, Clear Brain Montgomery knew the value of timing and withdrew under cover of darkness and, unlike other British Generals, made good use of the night. If you are defending in a mission using the Defensive Battle special rule, you may elect, prior to your opponent’s deployment, to force the enemy to attack at dusk.

If you do this, the games starts in daylight. At the start of the British third turn, roll a die. On a score of 5+, night has fallen. If the roll is unsuccessful, the attacker rolls two dice at the start of their next turn, once again needing any score of 5+ for night to fall. If it is still daylight at the start of the defender’s fourth turn, they roll three dice, and so on increasing the number of dice by one each time until night falls on any roll of 5+.

When night falls, the Night Fighting rules on page 154 of the rulebook come into effect for the remainder of the game. Design by Evan Allen & Anton Ducrot Painted by James Brown

Want To Know More About Blitzkrieg?   Over the past few months we have added a massive range of articles about Blitzkrieg to the website, to make it easier for people to find a specific article we have put together this handy place. Find out more about Blitzkrieg and Early-war here...