William the Conqueror.
Posted on 04/15/2012 11:48:38 AM PDT by AnotherUnixGeek
The American was voted the winner in a contest run by the National Army Museum to identify the country's most outstanding military opponent.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Washington was a good leader who learned as he went but the General who simply whipped the British was Andrew Jackson.
Washington was a good leader who learned as he went but the General who simply whipped the British was Andrew Jackson.
What about Islam?
William the Conqueror.
Washington was a fairly good general, but putting him above the like of Napoleon or Paul Lettow Vorbeck seems to be blowing his accomplishments out of proportion.
Poor William of Orange. You successfully invaded Britain in 1688 and took the throne, but no one remembers you.
Washington may have lost more battles than he won, yet he won his war. For all his accomplishments, Napoleon met his Waterloo, and Paul von Lettow Vorbeck fought for a losing cause.
We would never have won without French help both on the sea and land.
Some of the picks reek of political correctness, but the overall theme is great.
George Washingtn gets the #1 slot because he went on to be the indespensible leader for founding the greatest nation-state on earth. Napoleon was a better general, but his work was not as decisive historically in the long run.
Our Nations victory had nothing to do with military prowess. It was Divine Provenience! GW humbly admitted it as such.
We are at the point of revolution against the Communists at this moment.
I have faith in G_d, to be just, as he has never been anything else.
Islam is taking them down for the count and they are too PC to even mention it.
Yes, but for this list they’d have to count all the immigrants and then award them collective “general” status. Maybe soon they’ll do a “most successful parasitic invaders” list...
I don’t recall Washington ever attacking Britain. Adolph Hitler on the other hand....
Firing on the King's soldiers was an attack on Britain. You have to remember that Washington was actually fighting on British soil under the laws of the day.
It wasn't until after he won that it became American soil.
True enough, but you have to look at the criteria they are using. They are not ranking on the ability of generals, but on their success against the British army. Napoleon only personally led an army against the British once, and he lost that one. Washington led many times and won more than he lost.
But he didnt have to fight to get it...
Presumably this is only land opponents, otherwise I’d root for this guy...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Ruyter
And, he's number one on their list because (among the list of possibilities), HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO BEAT THEM! Ha!
And yes, without the French muskets, men (esp. the military engineers) and ships (esp. the blockade which gave us Yorktown), we would NOT have beaten the Brits. BUT, without the General's leadership, innovation (think Trenton and Princeton), courage, wisdom and perseverance, we would not have won even with all the Frenchmen in the world under arms.
And, his game-day coaching abilities on the battlefield improved much after '77.
The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list...
I’d say Napoleon gave them a run for their money. As did Joan of Arc, and any number of German generals from either World War.
Our Nations victory had nothing to do with military prowess. It was Divine Provenience! GW humbly admitted it as such.
Divine Providence was the greatest factor.
The War of 1812 is more proof of that.
The Continental Army used new and effective tactics against the British.
The military cannot be denied it’s role.
I forget which Frenchman it was who said, that if Washington stepped down after finishing his term as President, he would be the greatest man in the world. He did, and he was.
That was what King George III told the painter Benjamin West.
Washington was not the only one who beat them.
Andrew Jackson beat the heck out of them. Although the war was technically over, the Battle of New Orleans had to have given them an attitude adjustment.
It’s interesting that this same group voted Michael Collins #2 after GW. It makes me proud to be an Irish American!!
According to my father, the source of the quote was actually King George III.
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But, to augment your point, Jackson--as a 13 y/o--showed incredible bravery during the RevWar as a runner between the lines with messages. He was tough and courageous even as a lad...
Washington's great accomplishment was seeing the big picture, and holding everybody together: the politicians and the soldiers. And he had a great skill for living to fight another day.
I wonder if the British ever regretted not making him a royal officer.
A small residual force from the Continental Army remained at West Point and some frontier outposts until Congress created the United States Army by their resolution of June 3, 1784.
He was tough and courageous even as a lad...
Didn’t a British Officer beat Andrew Jackson when he was a young boy running messages? I know he was hurt somehow.
That’s right.
You are right. Washington was truly the “First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen”, but don’t underestimate what Jackson did either.
He was a terrific general, defeating the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend in a brilliant action. He also captured Pensacola, hanged the British heads of the territory and took Florida from Spain. He also was Florida’s first governor.
I have read that his defeat of the British at New Orleans was the worst defeat the British Army ever suffered and the troops there were supposed to be among their best.
A British officer cut him on the hand and face after Jackson refused to clean his boots. Jackson also blamed the British for the death of his Brother and Mother, rightly so too.
Jackson really knew how to hate. His hatred of the British is probably one reason he hanged the British agents in Pensacola. He also hated the ones he blamed for the death of his wife.
The Indians claim his hatred was responsible for the trail of tears but I wonder. He adopted an Indian baby who was found among all the slain after Horseshoe Bend.
He was one tough man. The Trail of Tears was tragic.
I have my own idea of why Jackson adopted the Indian baby.
Remember Jackson was orphaned at age 13 and was left completely alone to fend for him self. I think when he saw the baby his heart went out to him because he remembered his own suffering.
Remember Jackson was orphaned at age 13 and was left completely alone to fend for him self. I think when he saw the baby his heart went out to him because he remembered his own suffering.
Do you know what happened to the boy?
I can’t remember for certain but it sticks in my mind that he lived to maybe 18 or so and died of one of the many fevers that were prevalent at the time.
He was buried at the Hermitage.
Long Live George Washington!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydFJS-O2FwQ
Long Live George Washington!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydFJS-O2FwQ
Really?.
Try visiting Northern Ireland and the West of Scotland.
Proud of an IRA terrorist?.
At least Washington was an honourable soldier, who fought in the field as an honourable enemy does.
Actually the war of 1812 was a sideshow to the British.
The Peninsular War against France took priority.
“the General who simply whipped the British was Andrew Jackson.”
1 instance does not count. Not against an entire war.
People underestimate Washington. Unlike virtually all the others, he had almost no cards in his hands.
This was a seat-of-your-pants operation. The war started with almost no organization - that includes the obvious, as well as training or materiel. Washington had basically nothing to work with.
Add to that he wanted to temper himself and the whole movement so nothing might turn into a nightmare like the highly overrated French Revolution would be, the proletariat simply mobbing the the nobility system.
Washington basically tried to confer with Congress and defer to them, never wanting to overstep. While begging for help in money, provisions, and training.
Once Washington had had enough seeing the Cabal, he took greater initiative on his own without worrying so much about Congress.
He managed all this brilliantly. And ultimately, he got what he wanted - defeat of the King without total breakdown and chaos and counter-tyranny at home.
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