In Monty: The Lonely Leader, 1944-1945 Alistair Horne, one of England's most brilliant military historians, has collaborated with Montgomery's only son to provide a candid and fascinating intimate profile of the legendary general. A controversial and enigmatic Allied leader during World War II, Bernard Law Montgomery is probably best known for his victory over Rommel at El Alamein in North Africa, for which he was later knighted, and for the major role he played in the subsequent invasions of Italy, France, and Germany. For this study Horne and David Montgomery have focused primarily in the last twelve months of the war, beginning with the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and ending with Germany's surrender the following May. The authors followed Montgomery's route across Europe, visiting every spot where he located his headquarters. They talked to the surviving members of the small group of young aides who served under Monty; they drew on previously unpublished letters and diaries; and they referred to the writings of Monty's peers and to official reports. Finally they analyze Monty's military decisions, criticisms that he was overly cautious and slow, and the arrogance and prickly personality that so alienated many of his American and British colleagues. . Monty: The Lonely Leader, 1944-1945 goes a long way toward explaining not only Monty's approach to war but why and when it succeeded or failed.