Bernard Law MONTGOMERY, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887-1976)

Autograph Letter Signed (“B.L. Montgomery”) to “My dear Kirkie” [General Sir Sidney Kirkman] sending some notes [not present] outlining his policy in the months following the German surrender.
2 pages small 4to, Tac Headquarters, 21 Army Group, 27 June 1945. 
“I enclose you a copy of some notes I have made on the general situation.
These will give you the policy on which I propose to work.
Para 22 is important. The immediate problem is to get through the winter and we must have a sound plan to ensure we do so. If we can get through the winter I believe we shall be well away in solving the whole problem.
We can discuss the notes tomorrow. I will arrive at your Corps strip in my light aeroplane at 11 A.M. I would like to see David Strangeways (your Colonel “1”) sometime before lunch.”
The end of the war in Europe brought with it another sort of work for Montgomery. In charge of the British zone in Germany, he had to deal with German prisoners of war, a shortage of medical supplies for civilian and ex-military wounded Germans, roughly one million refugees from the Russian sector, and a scarcity of effective transport which brought with it a scarcity of food. Getting through the winter, even though it may have been some months away, was a very obvious priority.
David Strangeways, mentioned here, was a very interesting character. His speciality was military deception – disseminating false information, leaving false trails, and he eventually played a key role in developing Operation Fortitude which was designed to mislead the enemy as to the intended place for the D-Day landings.
The letter has a small, neat filing hole at the top left, not touching the text.

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