One of our hosts would like to point out that the 52nd Lowland Division is well represented in this photograph. 👀 Montgomery - man of the hour (and according to his memoirs, and most of the newspapers, man of the Year). @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Love this picture. This week's News of the War brings the Generalissimos to a close - Badoglio, Zhukov, Rommel, Montgomery, Tojo, and Patton. linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Good relationships, built on great reputations - tho' Montgomery wasn't exactly a dab hand at either.

This is SOoooo much better than Where's Wally. Can you see Montgomery, here? Hear how his exploits were reported in the newspapers, it's all in this week's News of the War linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Some great stories this week, as @andyaitch.bsky.social and @merrynwalters.uk go wide on Montgomery - it wasn't all about Alamein, y'know. Was he a legend in his own lunchbreak? Difficult? Awkward? Self-centred? Kind-hearted? Generous? Opinions welcome...

Headlines from the frontlines though, innit. Montgomery doing his thing - cover to cover in the News of the War. @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

We start, as we always do, by breaking our own rules. News of the War, 1939 - 1945 ... and yet here's Montgomery, waaaaay before he was Monty. Phwooooar. You get it all, here, in the News of the War. linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

🚨 Heeeeeere's Monty! Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein - the one and only, bringing this six-part series on The Generalissimos to an end. What a man. What a myth. What a moment. @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk

This Friday, the last on our generalissimos series… the big dog himself. Monty had a pretty high opinion of himself, but what did the people reading the papers think? Join @merrynwalters.uk and @andyaitch.bsky.social this Friday, wherever you get your podcasts linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Even when it's all over, the man's still making headlines - so how was he reported? What did journalists make of him? And more to the point - did our boys think too MUCH of Rommel, and was that an ongoing problem?! Find out in the #NewsoftheWar - linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Ah, there we go - the legend himself, our boy Neil Ritchie. In a caravan. Next to Rommel - who's in a pickle. Following the exploits of our boys in North Africa, it's all happening in the #NewsoftheWar linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

But that soon changes, as the Desert War begins. And yet - who is the REAL Desert Fox? How did he get that name? All is revealed in this week's episode of the #NewsoftheWar @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk

Not hard to follow his exploits, mind. Rommel soon becomes a name to know in military circles - though to start with, he's not as well-known over the breakfast table.

From his earliest non-mention mentions between the lines in the British newspapers, to the cover-to-cover coverage he gets later on during the Second World War - Rommel's a character. linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

🚨 Welcome to the News of the War! In this, the fifth in our 6-part series on Generalissimos, it's the turn of Erwin Rommel - the Desert Fox himself. @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk

🚨 New episode out tomorrow 🚨 It’s celebrity pop star generalissimo time… der große Käse Join us on tomorrow a @merrynwalters.uk and @andyaitch.bsky.social look at what the newspapers were saying about the desert bogey man. linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Post-war, of course, Patton steps onto the silver screen and makes an unforgettable impression. Gotta love the 'muricans. Winning World War Two since 1939. This, ladies 'n gennlemen, is the Generalissimos. #newsofthewar @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Utter scandal in the #NewsoftheWar — the infamous "slapping incidents." Patton nearly slapped himself clean out of a command, and the British press followed every twist with barely-disguised glee.

Genius, glory-hound, or just a man in the wrong era for his mouth? And what did he REALLY think of Montgomery?! Find out how the newspapers covered George S. Patton, before, during and after the war — this week's episode of the Generalissimos.

Leading from the front, getting behind his men – Patton had his own way of doing things. British newspaper editors weren't always quite sure what to do with him. linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Does he get the stamp of approval in the broadsheets? Is opinion divided? Post-war, the man became a legend in his own lunchbreak. During the war, the #newsofthewar had a number of opinions about Patton. @merrynwalters.uk @andyaitch.bsky.social

You can rely on us to track down the stories that matter. Hard to believe it, but yes, that’s Patton –kitting out the US Tank Corps. Looks like he’s auditioning for Thunderbirds. Check out this week's episode of #Newsofthewar linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

Old Blood and Guts. Great nickname, terrible reputation among the men supplying said blood — allegedly not his own, mind. Patton started out as he meant to go on, making a splash at the Olympics. linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

🚨 It's Patton Day! 🚨 TThis week's Generalissimo needs no introduction — or does he? General George S. Patton, Old Blood and Guts himself. But with ivory-handled pistols and a slap-happy attitud', how did the British papers clock him in 1939-45? @merrynwalters.uk @andyaitch.bsky.social

🚨 NEW EPISODE OUT TOMORROW 🚨 Our latest episode from the Generalissimos series is out tomorrow, wherever you get your podcasts. This week it’s Ol’ Blood n Guts himself - General George S Patton. @merrynwalters.uk @andyaitch.bsky.social linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

And then of course, there's the post-victory rounds with Montgomery to peruse - it's all in this week's News of the War! @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

All the newspapers covered the campaign in depth, but the scale and scope of Soviet/German conflict has to be read twice to be believed. Still, the newspapers had a good 'ol go at it ... linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar

1945: Zhukov accepts the German surrender in Berlin and becomes a household name in the West – for a while. Victory looms, and Stalin’s paranoia kicked in. How did the Allied press report the rise and (temporary) fall of the USSR’s greatest general?

... 'Ruthless' was the kindest adjective British editors reached for. Zhukov drove his men hard and his enemies harder. Stalingrad, Kursk, Bagration, Berlin… and the Georgian Highway, of course. @andyaitch.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk

December 1941: The world reels from Pearl Harbor, Zhukov launches a massive Siberian-reinforced counterattack. First major defeat for the Nazi war machine – and the papers took notice. Nothing funny about that ... and yet ... linktr.ee/NewsOfTheWar