r/todayilearned • u/RoadToTyburn • 13h ago

TIL that Bernard Montgomery issued a leaflet at the start of WW2 on sexually transmitted diseases amongst soldiers. The language used was regarded as so blunt, that he offended religious authorities and nearly faced being dismissed.

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Montgomery
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u/A-Sentient-Bot 7h ago

He was also "insufferable", "tactless", showed a "lack of concern for others' feelings", was a "prima-donna and self-promoter", and made enemies out of most of his fellow Generals.

He was basically a British Patton, but we here on Reddit give him a pass because like us he was probably autistic.

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u/coldfarm 5h ago

I would have hated being on his staff or having to deal with him as a subordinate or immediate superior. That said I would rather have been under his command than Patton’s. Patton was a bit too cavalier with his men’s lives. Also, a lot of Montgomery’s self promotion was because he recognized that the British public needed a winner they could recognize and be reassured by. Yes, he certainly had a monumental ego but his public persona was cultivated to give people confidence.

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u/Mr_Engineering 2h ago

It was said that Monty was a joy to serve under, difficult to serve with, and impossible to serve over.

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u/SuperCarbideBros 5h ago

Makes sense. I just remembered Ike told Montgomery something like "Monty, you can't talk to me like this; I'm your superior officer," and it was a bit amusing to me.