During the Northwest Europe campaign in World War II, British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery - seeking to limit casualties, sustain morale and secure Britain a high profile in postwar Europe - developed a cautious, firepower-heavy approach that concentrated his 21st Army Group at points of German weakness but may have missed opportunities to achieve a decisive breakthrough. Stephen Ashley Hart argues that Montgomery's technique was an appropriate response to the circumstances and that the field marshal, as well as his two army commanders, British General Miles Dempsey and Canadian General Harry Crerar, executed the campaign more effectively than some historians have suggested.

Stephen Ashley Hart is a senior lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.