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,
First Army (Italy) Second Battle of El Alamein and after the Operation Torch landings, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was forced to make one of the longest retreats in history. He withdrew from the "Western Desert" of Egypt and Libya and established a defence on the French-built Mareth Line in southern Tunisia. After occupying the Mareth Line, Rommel took command of the newly created Army Group Africa and turned over the "German-Italian Panzer Army" (formerly "Panzer Army Africa") to Italian General Giovanni Messe. The army was once again renamed and on February 23, 1943, Messe took command of the "Italian First Army." As part