MONTGOMERY B. L.: (1887-1976) British Field Marshal of World War II. A.L.S., Montgomery of Alamein, two pages, 4to ...

MONTGOMERY B. L.: (1887-1976) British Field Marshal of World War II. A.L.S., Montgomery of Alamein, two pages, 4to, Chateau de Courance, Milly, Seine-et-Oise, France, 16th May 1954, to Lieutenant Jeffrey Hernu ('My dear Jeffrey'). Montgomery states that he was glad to hear his correspondent's news and continues 'The 1st Bn of my Regt leaves Korea in June or July and goes to MELF [Middle East Land Forces]. I believe they go to Shandur Camp, somewhere between Fayid and Suez', adding that he will be in Turkey in October and plans to fly down and see them. Montgomery further informs Hernu that 'CPX FOUR took place last month and was an enormous success'. Accompanied by the original envelope hand addressed by Montgomery. VG Jeffrey Hernu (1932-2007) British Major who served as ADC to Montgomery when he was NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1951-58. On the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) European headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Montgomery became Dwight Eisenhower's deputy and continued to serve under his successors, Generals Matthew Ridgway and Al Gruenther, until his retirement in 1958. Montgomery frequently clashed with Ridgway and the latter's interference with Monty's CPX exercises was not appreciated. In a history of his eight NATO CPX exercises Montgomery chronicled that Ridgway had 'started to try and tinker with the strategic setting'. The Field Marshal had recommended the cancellation of CPX Three, with an indoor exercise in its place. Monty's opinion of - and relations with - Ridgway deteriorated still further as a result, particularly when Monty's conception of CPX Four (which he describes as an 'enormous success' in the present letter), planned for April 1954, was also compromised by Ridgway, who objected to the controversial scenario: a withdrawal by Allied troops to the Rhine, followed by a battle in which some penetrations across the river were made by the Russians, in order 'that SHAPE should be exercised'. This exercise was also therefore cancelled, to be replaced by an indoor exercise.