Abstract
The goal of this article is to shed light on the role, and views,
of the well known British military commander Bernard Law
Montgomery in suppressing the great revolt, which erupted in
Palestine (1936-1939). He was the commander of the 8th Division,
which undertook the responsibility of crushing the revolt in
northern Palestine, in the period Oct. 1938-_]un.1939. In this
article, we shall study several letters and reports written by
Montgomery himself at that time. These letters and reports are
being kept in the Public Record Office (P.R.O) in London, in the
War Office (W.O) files. He wrote, almost personally and
privately, in an open and unusual frankness to Chief imperial
General Staff (G.I.G.S) or his Deputy (Deputy C.I.G.S). This
openness is very difficult to be found in other related official
letters. They may help us to know about some restricted issues,
and they may show us how Montgomery conceived and
comprehended the events of the revolt.
The issues tackled by Montgomery could be categorized into
three central issues, first: his understanding and evaluation of the
revolt; second: his views on the performance of the army; third:
his review and criticism to the police services. In this article, we
shall discuss and examine what was written by Montgomery,
using, as far as possible, the documentary material available to us
on this subject.