Defence and attack are both important.
If its Monty that is on peoples minds then forget about him being a great attacking general. He still was a very good general. Given the right resources and freedom of movement, he could produce an excellent WW1 style attack, keeping his forces well balanced.
When distracted and movement was restricted, he didn't do so well. eg later actions in the desert war, Sicily, Caen, failing to capture Antwerp quickly, Arnhem etc.
Even with the break-through at El Alamain, Rommel was never worried about Monty chasing him and cutting him off. He knew Monty would not take the risk. Don't forget, Monty had overwhelming force.
He did some good work at the Battle of the Bulge in attack to help break the German forces but Patton really was the star there. Of course, Monty tried to take the credit.
He did some great planning work for the D-Day landings.
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