Top 100 Generals

 

Assaye? Talavera?   Like I said, they were both great men of their time. Personally I find it hard to seperate them. Though had Napoleon died in 1811 he would probably be top of my list.

yeah but they operated udner completely different circumstances in completely different environments. Wellington is flawless in that he never really lost a major battle but that's pretty much about it with him. he afterall worked against the second row of Napoleons soldeirs and generals and he did had the support of the Portuguese and the other Spanish armies which are usually belittled. Napoleon however, at his height, could draw upon a massive and veteran army but was encirceld by hostile empries and kingdoms and that he was able to take them out one after another in the short time he did speaks highly in his favour. to do so, he needed to take some risks, which made him his greatest victories and defeats alike. Napoleon in his double function as C-in-C and head of state needed to make a lot of far-reaching and difficult deciscions which could ahve cost him the war and his throne, Wellington was in a completely opposite situation, all he could possibly lose was the war in Spain, in that case he would have pulled off like Moroe to save the Army for England, he never really was under any pressure to act fast and decisive, that's why it took him so long to liberate Madrid and Spain as a whole compared to Napoleons 'lightning' campaigns in his prime. so therefore i woudl actually considder his position as head of state and havign all ressources of the nation at his disposal more of an additional higher handicap compared to a mere general who only has to care for his immediate theater and army.

i never really was a fan of Wellington for exactly this reason, i mean because he was constatnly compared to Napoleon which never felt right. of course they were contemproaries and had some similarities, left alone they fought each others eventually, but it just isn't right. you can't compare a war between ants and ww2 even if they are contemporary and took place at the same site. yet, i came to respect Wellington after reading the book on Assaye, as i was curious about the Marathas. at the end of the day however we need to realize that the Marathas weren't really a force to be reckoned with, they lacked the leadership and they weren't just comparable to a western army. Wellington was simply a flawless commander who made the best of his ressources, i think he was more comparable to Grant, because Grant too didn't had much actual warcraft skill but he knew how to administer a war effort udner given circumstances (he had of course more ressources and possibilites as both his enemies and vis a vis Wellington) and had the strategic hindsight and knew how to lead and win campaigns. the too was pretty flawless. everything needs to be seen under a certain light.