ochoin deach | 17 Mar 2012 6:15 p.m. PST |
I'm reading a rather good book on the Zulu Wars ( one of my "interesting but I'll never game it" periods) and I was struck by the promise of Redvers Buller. Courageous, decisive, magnetic personality: pretty impressive military leader. But by the Boer War he was so out of his depth, it was a tragedy. What happened? Age, I'd guess. There are plenty of others who stayed in the business too long: most notably Napoleon? Who would you nominate as a general who should have retired before his reputation suffered? |
Yesthatphil | 17 Mar 2012 6:49 p.m. PST |
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FoxtrotPapaRomeo | 17 Mar 2012 7:13 p.m. PST |
the Kodak moment
damn the world has changed and I don't know how to deal with it. It's not just an age thing (think Churchill, who continued to deliver or maybe he was just lucky) but more a complacency that as I have always been right, I will always be right. Think Napoleon in Russia. Think the Aztecs who didn't realise the dangers of the Spanish. |
21eRegt | 17 Mar 2012 8:45 p.m. PST |
Custer Benedict Arnold Not a general, but von Richthofen should have taken the desk job. |
ochoin deach | 18 Mar 2012 2:15 a.m. PST |
Richthofen with a desk job:
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Mooseworks8 | 18 Mar 2012 4:48 a.m. PST |
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Gennorm | 18 Mar 2012 4:55 a.m. PST |
Some typified the 'Peter Principle' like many of the French generals in 1870. Others didn't know when to quit or weren't able/allowed to: Pompey Crassus Bonaparte Ney Custer |
jdginaz | 18 Mar 2012 6:13 a.m. PST |
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bsrlee | 18 Mar 2012 8:23 a.m. PST |
Poor old Bullers, he petitioned to NOT be made commander in South Africa, as he stated at the time, he was a very good No.2 but didn't have the qualities he felt were needed to be top commander, which he then went on to prove. Very popular with the troops in the field, he didn't have the dash or the willingness to sacrifice units, and ended up in a terrible mess. At least he had the honesty to admit his inadequacy to begin with, he was just over ruled & then sacrificed by those who 'knew better'. Nicias the Athenian campaigned against the Syracusan Expedition during the Peloponesian War in the Athenian Assembly, then was stuck with the job of Commander because he had shown such detailed knowledge of the situation – not helped at all by the fact that Alcibiades who was supposed to be his co-commander ran off in disgrace. Nicias was just a very conventional citizen comander, well out of his depth and just the wrong person for the job. |
Florida Tory | 18 Mar 2012 12:41 p.m. PST |
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Sane Max | 18 Mar 2012 12:43 p.m. PST |
By all accounts Burnside was a perfectly good Divisional Commander. Pat |
Yesthatphil | 18 Mar 2012 1:43 p.m. PST |
Yes, Petain should definitely not made a come back! |
Dynaman8789 | 19 Mar 2012 11:10 a.m. PST |
The general in Korea who died in a jeep accident, hate to speak badly of the dead (yeah they are all dead, but he died right when he was past his prime) but he was out of his element by that point. |
Altius | 19 Mar 2012 11:18 a.m. PST |
Santa Anna. Did ok as a junior officer and later as a politician, but not so good as a general. |
Bullethead | 22 Mar 2012 7:39 a.m. PST |
McArthur. There is an old adage that military strategists plan for the future by re-fighting the last war (sorry to paraphrase). I think most of those mentioned in this list fell to this temptation. Bullethead |