Monty was typical of most General Officers in WW II, but he had one more trait that many of the others did not have...Monty was an egotistical, stiff necked, vain prick.
Allied body count was nothing for him. He always knew there were more men that could be forced into the grinder.
I look forward to reading this book.
Some say Monty could be diagnosed as on the Aspergers Syndrome spectrum. Find it interesting you mention him having no concern about causalities. I read, except for Operaton Market-Garden, he was noted for being too slow making sure all the pieces were in place before he began a set piece battle to avoid causalities. The British would not tolerate another slaughter as they saw in WW I.
It was the same under British commander Haig in WWI. He kept feeding men into meat grinder charges that never accomplished a thing. The Somme and Passchendaele are two examples.
And Monty was an abject failure when it came to campaigns. Luckily for him, the Americans were there to clean up his messes.
America’s view of Gen. Montgomery is colored by his unflattering portrayal in a lot of movies and books. In fact, he was a very skilled commander, well-liked and able, unless his ego got in the way, which it often did.
The same can be said of George Patton, whom we tend to idolize.
That said, Market Garden was as unmitigated a disaster for Montgomery as Gallipoli was for Churchill.
That is contrary to what I've read. The British were extremely conscious of casualties after their WWI experience and Monty was careful not to run up the butcher's bill. It's one reason he was so liked by his men.