Montgomery Takes Command

Brought to you by Great Stories from the Past, this is the story behind General Bernard Montgomery's appointment as the commander of the British 8th Army in Egypt in August 1942.

We go behind the scenes to reveal how he was chosen as the new commander. We follow his arrival in Egypt and the decisions he immediately made. This podcast includes the entire speech that he gave to troops on his arrival which was based upon the information provided to him by the 8th Army's Chief-of-Staff during a car journey from Alexandria to the Alamein front line. This speech has been recorded by a voice actor as there was never a recording of his original speech.

This speech is fascinating because it became responsible for much of the narrative and understanding of the desert campaign during the Second World War