In Skorzeny´s memoirs it is mentioned that Monty and Eisenhower would have had a bet of 5$ in 1943 on that by December 1944 Europe would be free of nazis, Eisenhower for and Monty against the bet. Anyone has knowledge of this? or is this just another rumour?
Without the book in front of me I cannot give exact names on this one: Monty had a similar bet with a US general in North Africa that he (Monty) would reach such-and-such town by a certain date. The wager was for use of a "personal" B-17 for Monty if he won. The US general involved thought it was just a 'gentleman's' wager....that is for bragging rights, nothing more. Monty won this bet and demanded his B-17 (with crew). The US general (along with a number of other high ranking US and British generals) thought this the act of a rude cad and lost any personal respect he had for Monty as a result. So, it is very possible.....
Thanx T.A.! Actually I thought Monty got the plane for a present for winning Tunis ...but that does make some sense after all...
Bedell Smith was the one who wagered the B-17 and lost. Monty said his troops would capture Sfax before April 15,1943. Sfax fell on April 10, and much to the annoyance of Eisenhower, Monty cabled twice to collect on the debt. Eventually, the debt was paid, but came with a rebuke from Brooke. The well known Eisenhower-Montgomery bet was that the war would be over by Christmas and was for 5 Pounds. The wager was made on October 11, 1943, and duly recorded. The slip of paper the wager was written on went up for auction in 2010. Edit - corrected dates go Sfax, the month was April, not September.
Have not found that out. Bedell Smith was under the impression the bet was a joke, and did not take it seriously.
It is a measure of Monty's emotional development that every time he said he was joking, everyone thought he was serious, and every time he was serious, everyone thought he was joking. It explains a lot of why he had problems dealing with so many silly little issues.