May 13-14, 1952
MONTGOMERY’S HUMILIATION: According to reliable sources, the controversy arising from the speech given last Friday (May 11) by British Field Marshal Montgomery in Athens, when he stated his view that Greece should reduce the size of its defense forces, has been settled, at least for the time being, following a long conversation between Lord Montgomery and the US Ambassador in Athens, Mr John Peurifoy, at the British Embassy. According to the same sources, confirmed by an official American source, their conversation centered on the impressions and the repercussions of the statements made by Montgomery, who is the deputy leader of the Atlantic forces. Montgomery expressed his deepest sorrow that his statements had caused such concern, and emphasized that he never imagined that he would have caused such difficulties for the work being done by Americans in Greece. (…) He stressed that he was willing to make any statement that the US Embassy in Athens might deem appropriate in order to make it clear that he had never spoken out in favor of reducing the number of fighting men in the Greek army under current conditions. An announcement by Montgomery then followed (…) in which he clarified certain points in his speech.
