Top 10 British Commanders of World War II

A veteran of World War I and the Irish War of Independence, Bernard Montgomery was a great general of the British Army. He entered the Second World War as a divisional commander within the British Expeditionary Force, defending France. He then took command of II Corps during the evacuation at Dunkirk. After several Corps appointments, he was placed in command of South-Eastern Command before being dispatched to Egypt to take command of the Eighth Army following the death of William Gott.

Montgomery won the Second Battle of El Alamein and played a crucial role in completing the North African Campaign. He then led the Eighth Army during the Battle of Sicily and the subsequent invasion of Italy. Later, he was transferred back to the United Kingdom to take command of the 21st Army Group, leading all Allied ground forces during Operation Overlord. After the conclusion of this campaign, he continued to lead the 21st Army Group throughout the remainder of the 1944-1945 North West Europe Campaign.

Mountbatten was the Supreme Allied Commander of SEAC. Under him were such famous generals as William Slim and Joseph Stilwell.

Dowding was a leader in World War I of an RFC Squadron and later commanded during the Battle of Britain. He is deservedly credited with saving Britain from defeat.

Commander of the "Forgotten Army," Uncle Bill turned a lost war in Burma into a British victory over the Japanese despite the lack of support from the British government. He commanded an army composed of men of different nationalities. He's also a pretty cool guy. Even his own men called him Uncle Bill. He certainly is the best British commander of WWII.

A truly inspiring general who turned a disaster into a colossal military victory, yet possessed none of the character flaws that plagued Monty.

A strong advocate of area bombing, Portal took over as head of the RAF after the Battle of Britain. He continually launched air raids against Germany, especially targeting civilian populations.

Harris assisted Charles Portal in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany.

Brooke commanded the II Corps of the British Expeditionary Force at the Battle of France. He later served as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

Brooke was a Corps Commander in the BEF and later became Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

Claude Auchinleck organized the Home Guard to protect against Operation Sea Lion. His quick response to the Iraq revolt impressed Churchill, who appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the North African forces. However, frequent disagreements with British command, coupled with significant loss of territory to Rommel, forced him to be reassigned back to India. He fared better in this theater, successfully mobilizing Indian forces against the Burma invasion.

It is often forgotten that Claude Auchinleck was sent to Narvik early in the war to sort out the mess and command the evacuation of the British troops from Norway. His most vital task was appointing himself to command the Eighth Army because nobody else was good enough. He withdrew the Eighth Army from the shambles at Mersa Matruh, created the defensive position at El Alamein, and defeated Rommel in the First Battle of El Alamein. Given the circumstances, he was arguably one of the very few field commanders who could have achieved that feat at that stage of the war.

A World War I hero, Viscount Gort played a major role in mobilizing and arming the British forces during the Phony War. He took command of the British Expeditionary Force during the German invasion of France, and despite courageous fighting, was overwhelmed by German military tactics. When his troops were trapped in Dunkirk, he disobeyed orders from French and British command to attack and instead decided to evacuate, a decision that saved the lives of over 300,000 soldiers.

Gort commanded the Army during the Battle of France and safely managed the evacuation of his forces from Dunkirk. He also took over the stewardship of Malta as Governor in 1942, at the most crucial point of one of history's most critical and often overlooked battles.

Possibly the best naval commander in the Royal Navy during the war, Cunningham made do with antiquated ships to salvage dire situations. He was responsible for overseeing Taranto (1940), where the Italian Regia Marina was dealt a crippling blow that stopped them from being a serious threat to British Mediterranean interests.

Of all the Desert Generals on all sides, O'Connor was as good as any of them. His capture by the Germans meant that he never became the household name that he deserved.

O'Connor defeated the Italians despite being outnumbered five to one. I've heard he was one of Montgomery's favorites.

O'Connor was the brilliant tactician who inspired Rommel.

Keith Park was the man who commanded the RAF cover of the evacuation of Dunkirk and later commanded in the Battle of Britain, the most crucial battle of the war. Unfortunately, due to political squabbling, his name was written out of the official history of the battle, but he was the actual field commander who led the RAF in the battle. Later in the war, he defeated the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Malta, relieving the Siege of Malta. Thereafter, he played a crucial role in the invasion of Sicily and Italy. He was, by far, the RAF's most successful Fighter Commander of the war.

Ramsay was the organizer and commander of the evacuation at Dunkirk and, later in the war, the organizer and commander of the entire flotilla that landed the Allied armies on the beaches of Normandy.

Roy Urquhart was the man in charge of the 1st British Airborne Division in Arnhem, the Netherlands, during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. The operation was a colossal military disaster due to the ground army advancing from Belgium getting behind schedule. Of the 10,000 men that landed in Arnhem, Urquhart managed to save 2,000 and guide them to the other side of the Rhine River, where they regrouped with the just-arriving ground army. In 1945, he received the Dutch Bronze Lion for his bravery at Arnhem.

Before Arnhem, he served in the North African campaign.