Editing Bernard Montgomery (section)

===1920s and Ireland===
After the First World War, Montgomery commanded the 17th (Service) Battalion of the [[Royal Fusiliers]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31585|page=12398|supp=y|date=3 October 1919}}</ref> a battalion in the [[British Army of the Rhine]], before reverting to his substantive rank of [[captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] ([[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]]) in November 1919.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31799|page=2406|supp=y|date=27 February 1920}}</ref> He had not at first been selected for the [[Staff College, Camberley|Staff College in Camberley]], Surrey (his only hope of ever achieving high command). But at a tennis party in [[Cologne]], he was able to persuade the [[Commander-in-chief]] (C-in-C) of the British Army of Occupation, [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet|Sir William Robertson]], to add his name to the list.<ref>{{harvnb|Montgomery|1958|p=35}}</ref>

After graduating from the Staff College, he was appointed brigade major in the [[17th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|17th Infantry Brigade]] in January 1921.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32207|page=760|supp=y|date=26 January 1921}}</ref> The brigade was stationed in [[County Cork]], Ireland, carrying out counter-guerilla operations during the final stages of the [[Irish War of Independence]].<ref name=heath214/>

Montgomery came to the conclusion that the conflict could not be won without harsh measures, and that self-government for Ireland was the only feasible solution; in 1923, after the establishment of the [[Irish Free State]] and during the [[Irish Civil War]], Montgomery wrote to [[Colonel (British Army)|Colonel]] [[Arthur Percival|Arthur Ernest Percival]] of the [[Essex Regiment]]:

{{Blockquote|Personally, my whole attention was given to defeating the rebels but it never bothered me a bit how many houses were burnt. I think I regarded all civilians as [[Sinn Féin|'Shinners']] and I never had any dealings with any of them. My own view is that to win a war of this sort, you must be ruthless. [[Oliver Cromwell]], or the Germans, would have settled it in a very short time. Nowadays public opinion precludes such methods, the nation would never allow it, and the politicians would lose their jobs if they sanctioned it. That being so, I consider that [[David Lloyd George|Lloyd George]] was right in what he did, if we had gone on we could probably have squashed the rebellion as a temporary measure, but it would have broken out again like an ulcer the moment we removed the troops. I think the rebels would probably have refused battles, and hidden their arms etc. until we had gone. The only way therefore was to give them some form of self government, and let them squash the rebellion themselves, they are the only people who could really stamp it out.<ref name="sheehan">{{cite book|last=Sheehan|first=William|title=British Voices from the Irish War of Independence 1918–1921|year=2005|isbn=978-1-905172-37-5|pages=151–152|publisher=Collins }}</ref>}}

In one noteworthy incident on 2 May 1922, Montgomery led a force of 60 soldiers and 4 armoured cars to the town of [[Macroom]] to search for four British officers who were missing in the area. While he had hoped the show of force would assist in finding the men, he was under strict orders not to attack the IRA. On arriving in the town square in front of Macroom Castle, he summoned the IRA commander, Charlie Browne, to parley. At the castle gates Montgomery spoke to Browne, explaining what would happen should the officers not be released. Once finished, Browne responded with his own ultimatum to Montgomery to "leave town within 10 minutes". Browne then turned heels and returned to the Castle. At this point another IRA officer, Pat O'Sullivan, whistled to Montgomery drawing his attention to scores of IRA volunteers who had quietly taken up firing positions all around the square—surrounding Montgomery's forces. Realising his precarious position, Montgomery led his troops out of the town, a decision which raised hostile questions in the House of Commons but was later approved by Montgomery's own superiors. Unknown to Montgomery at this time, the four missing officers had already been executed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2022/0505/1296130-1922-macroom-castle-monty-british-army-ira/|title=The story behind Monty's Macroom Castle standoff with the IRA|date=5 May 2022|via=www.rte.ie |first1=Andy |last1=Bielenberg |first2=John|last2=Borgonovo}}</ref>

In May 1923, Montgomery was posted to the [[49th (West Riding) Infantry Division]], a [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] (TA) formation.<ref name=heath214/> He returned to the 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1925 as a [[company commander]]<ref name=heath214/> and was promoted to major in July 1925.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33083|page=5972|date=11 September 1925}}</ref> From January 1926 to January 1929 he served as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General at the Staff College, Camberley, in the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33128|page=691|date=29 January 1926}}</ref>