Hollow Heroes : An Unvarnished Look at the Wartime Careers of Churchill, Montgomery and Mountbatten

The book reveals the truths behind the conventional images of three of Great Britain's primary military leaders during and immediately after the Second World War. In each case there was a totally different side to each man, which demonstrates that a great deal of their reputation was built on contrived results, deception and dishonesty. It examines the influence and impediment of “class” on the performance of the British Army in World War II, and quotes the views of the Americans that far too often there was an unwillingness among the British to base officer promotion on effectiveness rather than on social background; conforming was more important than performing, as anyone who has served in the British Army’s ranks would agree. At the same time, Montgomery feared and was jealous of Patton, whose rate of advance was nearly always twice that of Monty’s. The services of Field Marshals Wavell and Auchinleck, two of Britain’s finest commanders of the war, were largely lost to Britain because of Churchill’s consistent interfering in field matters and his need to contrive almost anything to remain in power after he had been responsible for the fall of Singapore. This book includes the bizarre case of Major-General Dorman-Smith, one of Britain’s most brilliant original thinkers, who without reason was sacked by Churchill. Dorman-Smith was the tactician who had produced Britain’s victory over Rommel at the first battle of Alamein, but his crime seems have been overachievement; an unforgivable sin in some eyes. Mountbatten’s fumbling in India is also realistically portrayed in these pages, putting paid to the “man for the century’s” overly embellished reputation. "This book reveals the truths behind the conventional images of three of Great Britain's primary military leaders during and immediately after the Second World War. In each case there was a totally different side to each man than commonly shown to the public, which demonstrates that a great deal of their collective wartime reputation was built on contrived results, deception, and dishonesty. This book first examines the influence and impediment of "class" on the performance of the British Army in "World War II, and quotes the views of the Americans that far too often there was an unwillingness among the British to base officer promotion on effectiveness rather than performing, as anyone who has served in the British Army's ranks would agree. At the same time, Montgomery, even while vying with Rommel, feared and was more jealous of Patton, whose rate of advance was nearly always twice that of Monty's. The services of Field Marshals Wavell and Auchinleck, two of Britain's finest commanders of the war, were largely lost to Britain because of Churchill's constant interfering in field matters and his need to contrive almost anything to remain in power after he had been responsible for the fall of Singapore. With the Japanese running rings around the Empire's outposts in the East, and the Germans defeating each British army in the West, the PM began to rely on rhetoric rather than results, until the true savior of his reputation -- the United States -- entered the fray. This book includes the bizarre case of Major General Dorman-Smith, one of Britain's most brilliant original thinkers, who without reason was sacked by Churchill. Dorman-Smith was the tactician who had produced Britain's victory over Rommel at the first battle of Alamein, but his crime seems to have been overachievement; an unforgivable sin in some eyes"--Jacket These revealing portraits of Churchill, Montgomery, and Mountbatten expose the truth about the most famous British figures in WWII history. Hollow Heroes separates fact from fiction regarding three of Great Britain's most revered World War II–era military leaders—Winston Churchill, Bernard Montgomery, and Louis Mountbatten—revealing that their reputations were largely built on deception and dishonesty. Examining the influence of class in the British Army, historian Michael Arnold notes that officer promotion was based more on social background than effectiveness. Field Marshall Montgomery feared and envied Gen. Patton, whose rate of advance was nearly always twice that of Monty's. Meanwhile, the services of Field Marshals Wavell and Auchinleck, two of Britain's finest commanders, were largely lost to Britain because of Churchill's interfering in field matters and his contrivances to remain in power after Singapore was lost on his watch. Adm. Mountbatten's fumbling in India is also realistically portrayed, exposing the “man for the century's” overly embellished reputation.