Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery became a national hero overnight with his victory at EI Alamein, but his triumphant final battle culminating in the surrender of all German forces in May 1945 made him a world figure.

This highly readable and entertaining book delves into the secrets of Monty's last and greatest campaign. Conscious of both his own prestige and that of his country, he turned his Army's intended 'flanking' role into a race against the Russians for the key ports of Hamburg and Bremen and domination of the Baltic.

As we all know, it was a race he won with untold consequences for the shape of Europe in the postwar years.