Operation Victory

The epic inside story of the victory in Africa and Europe by Montgomery's Chief-of-Staff.

From El Alamein to Sicily, continuing to D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, all the way to the conclusion of the war in Europe, Major-General Sir Francis de Guingand served alongside Montgomery through all his major campaigns. Together they forged a partnership that was a vital element in the extraordinary success of the Allied armies.

Indeed, Montgomery wrote of his debt to de Guingand after the war stating, "Anything I have been able to achieve during the late war could not have been done if he had not been at my side." Americans too held him in the highest regard, General Omar Bradley wrote in A Soldier's Story, "Somewhere in almost every critical Allied decision of the war in Europe, you will find the anonymous but masterful handiwork of this British soldier."

Operation Victory is de Guingand's masterful book charting his journey through the Second World War. Yet, it is not simply a re-telling of the battles that he fought with the Eighth Army and the 21st Army Group, it also provides a unique insight into what it takes to get those armies equipped and in place to achieve those famous victories. De Guingand also shines a perceptive light on the numerous commanders who led their armies to victory, exploring how their leadership ensured that the Allies emerged triumphant.

"A fascinating and immensely readable story of the overthrow of Germany. Unquestionably, it is the best book of the war so far, and because of de Guingand's obvious and renowned honesty it will be the historian's standard reference as a critical analysis of Montgomery as a man and of his methods as the tactical conqueror of the Wehrmacht." The Sunday Times

"Will not be superseded - no investigation of documents can ever replace his personal evidence. ... An illuminating and important book. It could not be more exciting than it is." The Times

"New light on current controversies." The Daily Telegraph

"His frankness, wit, and lucidity are grand entertainment." The Observer

"The book is dominated by the personality of Montgomery with whom De Guingand formed a partnership which will live in military history ... a first-class book." The Evening Standard

"The finest British Staff officer of his generation... His book is of first-rate importance." The Guardian

"The very best kind of military history." The Yorkshire Post

"Pulls aside the still-drawn curtains of secret war history." The Daily Express

"A generous contributor to victory." The Evening News

"The searchlight of a first-class military mind." The Daily Graphic

"A first-hand impression of great periods of British Military history." The Nottingham Journal

"This is a memorable book. It has a devastating simplicity that is content with the truth and conveys its very accent. A certain vividness of apprehension combined with invincible simplicity and common sense make almost everything he writes significant and rather exciting." The Spectator

"A thoroughly readable mixture of anecdote and military commentary. Classic narrative." New Statesman

"Will remain a military classic in its revelation of the mind and will of a commander." Time And Tide

"It takes rank as history with that wealth of personal anecdotage which first-hand history demands. It makes excellent reading, clear, concise, good-tempered and discreet." The Listener