They were the two names most tied to the Western Allied victory, and they did not always get on. Dwight Eisenhower held the Allied coalition together as supreme commander; Bernard Montgomery commanded its armies in the field and never hid his belief that he should have had more. Partners in victory, rivals in temperament. Here they are, side by side.
Eisenhower: the man who held the alliance together
Dwight Eisenhower was not a battlefield general in the usual sense: his genius lay in making a vast coalition work. As Supreme Allied Commander he launched the3D-Day landings in 1944 and managed the egos, armies and governments of the alliance all the way to Germany, favouring a broad advance on a wide front4. He later served two terms as president of the United States.1
The Allied supreme command for the invasion of Europe in London on 1 February 1944: Eisenhower sits in the centre between Air Chief Marshal Tedder and General Montgomery, with Bradley, Ramsay, Leigh-Mallory and Bedell Smith behind. British official colour photograph. Public domain
Montgomery: the field commander who beat Rommel
Bernard Montgomery was the most celebrated British field commander of the war, the victor of El Alamein who led the Allied ground forces on D-Day.5 Careful and supremely confident, he repeatedly pressed Eisenhower for overall ground command6 and for a single concentrated thrust into Germany4, a confidence that won battles but strained the alliance.
Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery in 1944, wearing the beret and jumping jacket of the Parachute Regiment on his appointment as its Colonel Commandant. Photograph by Edward Malindine. Public domain
The verdict
They were not rivals for the same victory but partners in different roles, and the comparison is really about two kinds of leadership. Eisenhower was the greater commander in the largest sense, the man who held a fractious coalition together and carried it to victory; Montgomery was the finer battlefield general of the two, but his certainty and his demands made him as much a problem as an asset to his chief. The alliance needed both, and it needed Eisenhower to manage Montgomery.
The Allied pursuit across France and Belgium to the German border, 26 August to 10 September 1944, the advance on a wide front that fuelled the argument between the two men. Map from the US Army official history. Public domain
Each commander above has a full biography on this site, with its own sources. Judgements of who was "greater" are ours and openly a matter of debate; the facts and dates follow established histories. See our editorial approach.
Frequently asked questions
Did Eisenhower and Montgomery get along?
Not easily. They respected each other's abilities but clashed often, above all over who should command the ground forces and whether to advance on a broad front or a single thrust.
Who was in charge, Eisenhower or Montgomery?
Eisenhower. As Supreme Allied Commander he was Montgomery's superior and made the final strategic decisions, including overruling Montgomery's plan for a single concentrated thrust into Germany.
What were they famous for?
Eisenhower for commanding the D-Day invasion and leading the Western alliance to victory; Montgomery for beating Rommel at El Alamein and commanding the Allied ground forces in Normandy.
What did they disagree about?
Chiefly strategy after Normandy: Montgomery wanted overall ground command and a single powerful thrust, while Eisenhower preferred a broad advance across a wide front.
Who was the better general?
It depends on what you measure. Eisenhower was the greater coalition commander and strategist; Montgomery was the more accomplished field general in a set-piece battle.
Sources and notes
Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.
U.S. National Archives (American Originals), “D-day, 1944”↩
Forrest C. Pogue, The Supreme Command (United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations) (Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1954). ↩ ab
Carlo D'Este, Decision in Normandy: The Unwritten Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign (Collins, 1983). ↩
Carlo D'Este, Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life (Henry Holt, 2002). ↩
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