Bernard Montgomery

**Bernard Law Montgomery** is a British Field Marshal, the highest-ranking commander in the British Government-in-Exile and since 1944 First Minister of the British Preservation Junta, which governs the Union of South Africa.

## Biography

A soldier of the First Weltkrieg, Montgomery held several commands throughout the war, initially serving as a junior officer in 1914 before being seriously wounded by a sniper. He returned to service in late 1915 as a general staff officer, and participated in several major battles including Arras and Passchendaele. The war eventually ended in Britain's defeat and the fateful "peace with honour", after which Montgomery was relegated back to his original rank as a captain.

As Britain's economy tanked in the years immediately after the war, Montgomery searched around for a way to further his career. He was soon assigned to counter-insurgency operations in Ireland, but abruptly was wrenched away from these duties as war broke out on Britain itself; the British Revolution had begun. Montgomery soon distinguished himself as an able commander amidst the chaos and disorganised retreats of the British government south. By the time the government in 1925 abandoned the Home Isles for Canada, he had risen to prominence and reached the rank of colonel through various hasty promotions.

Through the 1930s, Montgomery continued to distinguish himself, being promoted to the rank of brigadier in 1930 and then to major-general in 1935. In 1938 he impressed the British Chief of the General Staff Harold Alexander with an amphibious landing exercise and was subsequently elevated to lieutenant-general. He emerged as a foremost strategist in the ambitious plans to "reclaim the birthright" and reinvade Great Britain, and become one of its most ardent supporters, which earned him the favour of senior Cabinet Minister Winston Churchill. When Churchill was elected Prime Minister in 1942, Montgomery not unrelatedly was promoted to the position of full general, completing the soldier's impressive ascent through the ranks.

All Britain's schemes were unexpectedly scuppered in early 1944 when the United Socialist States declared war on their northern neighbour, whilst it was engrossed in preparations for the naval invasion of the British Isles. Desperately throwing together defences in the hopes that the Russian Republic might come to Canada's aid despite their involvement in the Second Weltkrieg, Montgomery eventually came to realise the futility of this struggle. For the second time, the British government was evacuated in a much more chaotic process than the last. More than a few high-ranking officers and politicians were left behind, captured or killed - Montgomery himself missed the embarkation of the main Royal Navy fleet to command the rearguard defence of British Columbia, and ended up catching a light cruiser that had been delayed by repairs.

Montgomery arrived in Sydney to find the bulk of the Royal Navy fleet had been refused the right to disembark: Australasia was in the process of seriously reconsidering its role in the increasingly decrepit Entente. After learning that the main talks were taking place on the *HMS Ark Royal*, Montgomery attempted to get a pass onboard but was initially denied. Once news of his arrival spread however he was rushed aboard, as one of the highest ranking officers to have escaped the Fall of Canada. Montgomery thus played a major part in the drafting up of the Ark Royal Accords, and was one of the key signatories of the document which reformed the Entente into the Commonwealth of Nations.

### South Africa and the British Preservation Junta

Part of the Ark Royal Accords freed Australasia of any obligations to accommodate the British Government-in-Exile, which instead headed for South Africa, the only other major territory still under British control. Once there it quickly became apparent that the South Africans weren't much more thrilled over this arrangement then the Australasians had been. To ensure the survival of British hegemony over the territory, by Royal Decree a military administration was formed to govern South Africa "for the duration of the current emergency". General Montgomery was selected to lead this government by Churchill, and in June 1944 he assumed the position of First Minister of the British Preservation Junta, simultaneously being promoted to field marshal and becoming commander-in-chief of the British army in the country.