"Generals in the Texas Independence" Topic

Not an expert.

But driving around the battlefields on my last vacation it seemed that all the major commanders were not good. If Santa Anna was just a D level commander the world might be a different place.

Am I reading this wrong?

Well, you're not wrong – Sam Houston to give him credit realized that as long as he had an army he had a chance, hence the "Runaway Scarpe" made sense; one wonders how things might have turned out if Urrea had had overall command instead of Santa Anna

I wouldn't rate Santa Anna as a D general. Prior to the Texan Revolution he had performed well against a number of opponents. He also won at the Alamo and Goliad. He was excellent at raising armies. However, he was not as great as he thought he was. He was no "Napoleon of the West" as he liked to be called. I would rate him a C level general who at times could rise up to a B.

Grattan54 … Si, Plus!

I agree Santa Anna had too large an ego. But Houston was lucky at San Jacinto. (Both men were probably better politicians than generals.)

I think, too, that with the very small armies and the low level of training -- remember SA had a lot of raw recruits too -- small factors could have a huge effect. In a game we'd call that luck.

i was saying Santa Anna wasn't even a D in Texas. I don't know much about him even now

it almost seems like, all he had to do was not get captured and he wins

Houston's tactics were very good. He kept retreating forcing Santa Anna to go after him. As he did Santa Anna had to leave garrisons behind and detach other troops which weaken is forces forces.He started the campaign with 6,000 and he had what some 1,500 at San Jancito?

Houston was also retreating onto his supply base -- via steamboat from New Orleans -- and also east Texas is more wooded and less cavalry-friendly. But there is evidence that Houston's army forced his hand both as to when and where to fight.

San Jacinto was a lucky win. Timing was everything and not under Houston's control. Both sides were receiving re-enforcements, both required rest and recovery. What happened was the equivalent of naval battles in WWII in which a carrier is caught refueling its planes -- which it HAS to do at some point.