Bernard Law Montgomery Biography and Timeline

Birth of Bernard Law Montgomery

Born at St Mark's Vicarage, Kennington, London.

Education

Enters Sandhurst

Lieutenant

Appointed Lieutenant to a battalion at Shorncliffe, part of 10th Brigade

Retreat from Mons Service

Serves with 1st Royal Warwickshire Regiment during the retreat from Mons as the BEF falls back through France.

Role range: 1914-1918

Health of Bernard Law Montgomery

Shot through the right lung by a sniper at Meteren and severely wounded.

Meteren Action before Wounding

Leads men forward near Meteren before being shot through the lung by a sniper.

Role range: 1914-1918

Distinguished Service Order Awarded

Receives the Distinguished Service Order for his conduct during the opening campaign in France.

Platoon Commander

Appointed Platoon Commander

Platoon Commander

Appointed Platoon Commander

Role range: 1914-1918

91st Infantry Brigade Staff Appointment

Serves as brigade major of 91st Infantry Brigade while training New Army formations.

Role range: 1914-1918

New Army Brigade Training Programme

Helps train New Army units while serving on the staff of 91st Infantry Brigade.

Role range: 1914-1918

Somme Staff Service

Performs brigade staff duties during the Somme campaign and observes the heavy cost of offensive operations.

Role range: 1914-1918

Brigade-Major

Appointed Brigade-Major in the Western Front in France

Western Front

Appointed Brigade-Major in the Western Front in France

Brigade-Major

Appointed Brigade-Major in the Western Front in France

Role range: 1914-1918

Western Front

Appointed Brigade-Major in the Western Front in France

Role range: 1914-1918

Passchendaele Staff Service

Serves as a staff officer during the Passchendaele campaign and studies the problems of artillery and infantry coordination.

Role range: 1914-1918

Hundred Days Staff Planning

Contributes to staff work during the Allied offensives that drive German forces back in the final months of the war.

Role range: 1914-1918

Armistice Ends Western Front Service

Ends wartime staff service when the Armistice stops fighting on the Western Front.

Role range: 1914-1918

Chief of Staff

Appointed Chief of Staff of a Division, aged 31

Major

Appointed Major

Chief of Staff

Appointed Chief of Staff of a Division, aged 31

Role range: 1914-1918

Major

Appointed Major

Role range: 1914-1918

British Army of the Rhine Battalion Command

Commands a Royal Fusiliers battalion serving with the British Army of the Rhine after the First World War.

Brigadier General

Appointed Brigadier-Major to the 17th Infantry Brigade in Cork

Staff College Camberley Course

Attends the Staff College at Camberley to prepare for higher staff and command appointments.

Seventeenth Infantry Brigade Cork Appointment

Becomes brigade major of 17th Infantry Brigade at Victoria Barracks during the Irish conflict.

Cork Counter-Insurgency Orders Prepared

Produces detailed operational orders intended to improve the brigade's effectiveness during counter-insurgency operations.

Royal Warwickshire Company Training Programme

Takes command of a company of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and introduces a structured six-month training programme.

Instructor

Appointed Instructor at the Staff College

Staff College Instructor Appointment

Returns to Camberley as an instructor and develops his reputation as a demanding trainer of officers.

Infantry Training Manual Work Begins

Joins War Office work on revising infantry training doctrine and battlefield methods.

Selected by the War Office to re-write the

Selected by the War Office to re-write the manual of Infantry Training

First Royal Warwickshire Command Assumed

Takes command of 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment after promotion to lieutenant-colonel.

Ninth Infantry Brigade Command

Returns to Britain and takes command of 9th Infantry Brigade with temporary brigadier rank.

Eighth Infantry Division Palestine Command

Takes command of 8th Infantry Division in Palestine after promotion to major-general.

Combined Operations Landing Exercise

Organises an amphibious combined-operations exercise that demonstrates his emphasis on realistic training.

Commander of 3rd Division

Appointed Commander of the 3rd Division

Commander of 3rd Division

Appointed Commander of the 3rd Division

Role range: 1939-1945

Mobilization

Full mobilization of the 3rd Division is ordered

Role range: 1939-1945