Statue of the Viscount Montgomery, London Statue of the Viscount Montgomery, London The statue of Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein is located outside the Ministry of Defence Main Building in Whitehall, London, United Kingdom. It was designed by Oscar Nemon and stands alongside statues of William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim and Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke. The bronze plinth's front reads: "Monty, Field Marshal, Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG GCB DSO, 1887–1976." The back reads: 1942–44, Commander, 8th Army North Africa & Italy<br> 1944–45, C in C, 21st Army Group, North West Europe<br> 1946–48, Chief of the Imperial General Staff<br> 1951–58, Deputy Supreme Commander,
British Army during the Second World War the end of the peninsula, when they were halted by a smaller Japanese force and the offensive was a total failure. In North Africa the Axis forces attacked in May, defeating the Allies in the Battle of Gazala in June and capturing Tobruk and 35,000 prisoners. The Eighth Army retreated over the Egyptian border, where the German advance was stopped in the First Battle of El Alamein. Claude Auchinleck, who had assumed command of the Eighth Army following the defeat at Gazala, was sacked and replaced by General Sir Harold Alexander, who became C-in-C Middle East, at the same time