Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-07-14
BY JOHN GUNTHER.

, GEN. MONTGOMERY'S HEAD
QUARTERS, BEFORE SICILIAN
OPERATIONS (By Cable).-The
most colorful and most aggres-
stve general the war has pro-
duced this side of the ocean gave
me an hour of friendly converse
tion today. Gen. Sir Bernard l..
Montgomery, commander in
chief Of the British 9Th Army,
talked about himself, his ideas
on warfare and his leadership of
the remarkable army he helped
to create and which he COM
rnands with such fair and faith.
We talked in the generals tenn
porary headquarters, then had tea.
MY first thought was this man, who
chased Marshal Erwin Rommel from
Ell Alamein to the Mareth Line and
beyond, has the brightest, most
luminous, most piercing blue eyes
I've ever seen. I came with letter
of introduction from Wendell Willkie
and Gen. Montgomery asked after
him cordially.
The general had not heard about
or seen Mr.. WILKES book, "One
World" and he was staggered to
learn of its prodigious success and
that he was the hero of the first
chapter, so to speak. Part of the
conversation was what you might
call literary. Gen. Montgomery has
been asked by various publishers to
write the full, true account of the
African war. He keeps a complete
day-by-day diary.
Keeps Diary Under Lock.
eft is safe under lock and key,
no one knows where" he added.
asked the general what his
feeling about the war was just now
and he replied the main thing to
say was that the whole tenor of the
war had changed because the Ger
mans were now on the defensive.
I'VE are calling the turn now, not
they" he asserted. They're good
fighters when they have the ini-
tiative. They are not so good when
the initiative is taken away. But
do not underestimate the German
Army. Don't go wrong on that
score. Don't go wrong. They are
still strong, very strong
What lessons learned from the
African battle can be applied to flu
ture campaigns?' I asked.
Gen. Montgomery replied, First,
concentrate your forces; second,
knit your ground and air forces to-
gether. That's it. Knit ground and
air together. Knit them together
absolutely"
Thinks Nazis Made Error.
Then the general gave brief retro
spect of his victories in Africa. His
feeling was that the Germans made
a great mistake in not quitting
Tunisia and cutting their losses i'm
mediately after he pierced the
Mareth Line.
Gen. Montgomery likes to person.
lily his army with himself and uses
phrases suGh as When the enemy
attacked me-" The German dis
indignation at the end was caused
mostly by the breakdown in COM
munications, he thinks. Marshal
Rommel, he said, made one bad mis-
take in id-January by standing
at Buerat when a stand at Tarhuna-
HONS would have been much more
to Gen. Montgomerys disadvantage.
How I'd like to talk with Rommel
after the war is over" the general
exclaimed. How interesting it
would be to trace over the maps and
ask Rommel why he had done thus
and so and tell him why I'd done
what I did"
Questioned Messe.
When Italian Marshal Messe sur
rendered Gen. Montgomery asked
Messe if he had expected him to
make his big attack in the darkness
instead of waiting IA days for the
full moon. Gen. Montgomery had
never attacked in complete darkness
before.
Marshal Messe replied, General,
I expected you to wait those IA days
until YOU did 1--we full moon" In
recollection of this Gen. Montgom-
cry grinned. j,
Gen. Montgomery has the greatest
respect for Marshal Rommel and
thought he might have been Ill
during the last part of the cam
paign. You can't fight If you're
not fit" he said.
I asked the general how he him
self kept fit. He replied he refused
absolutely to do any work after
dinner and always went to bed at
$50. then thought or read in bed.
AS is well known, the general doesn't
drink or smoke. He explained this
was not caused by any moral attl-
tude. He simply didn't like the
taste of alcohol or tobacco. He re-
fuses to let anybody smoke near
him. and he seemed considerably
astonished when I mentioned this
was an attribute he shared with
Adolf Hitler.
I asked the general how he had
forged the 9th Army into such a
wonderful fighting machine.
Winner Is Popular.
IAN army is a tool, a weapon, ="
he replied. "It must be tempered,
sllarpened and then welded. The
major point is its morale, which is
built on confidence. Troops like
their commanders when they are
winning" He added, with a dry
laugh, 80 do politicians"
Gen. Montgomery always circu-
lstes among his troops, talks to
them freely and tells them the exact
details of the battle to come. They
know everything that is humanity
possible has been done to ensure
victory before the fight begins. AS a
result, their attitude toward Gen.
Montgomery is little short of
idolatrous.
The general told me he had two
rules which govern his own be-
havior: First, never worry; second,
never bother with details. Details
should be left to the staff, he said;
that is what staff is for.
AS to an army his rules number
three: First, no failure can be con-
ceived or tolerated. The idea that