MONTGOMERY AND OPERATION OVERLORD Operation Overlord was the code name given to the anticipated landings in North-West Europe in 1944. General Sir Bernard Montgomery was recalled from his command of the Eighth Army in Italy to prepare for it, as was General Eisenhower from overall command in the Mediterranean. Most of the planning for Overlord had already been done by a team headed by the British Lieutenant General Frederick Morgan, but it was not Montgomery’s plan and so when Montgomery arrived he roundly condemned it and its author. Morgan had drawn up the plans based on the time-frame he had been given – the invasion would happen in early May 1944 and there would only be enough landing craft to land three divisions and one airborne division in the first wave. Both Eisenhower and Montgomery considered that three divisions would not be sufficient to guarantee that a landing, once made, could be held, and persuaded the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the British and US professional heads of their services) that the invasion must be delayed until June to give time for more landing craft to be built and for five divisions and three airborne divisions to land on five beaches rather than three. Morgan had no great difficulty in adjusting his plans to incorporate these amendments, although Montgomery always claimed that the planning had been his.
Excellent Gordon!