"General Washington’s Strengths and Weaknesses" Topic

"Was George Washington a great general? It sounds like a preposterous question. After all, he won the Revolutionary War.

But like anyone, the general had his strengths and weaknesses.

"Washington was a great strategic leader who was very good at seeing the big picture and playing the long game," says Adrienne Harrison, PhD, senior historian at Battlefield Leadership and a former assistant professor of American history at the U.S. Military Academy. "But tactically, he was terrible, and he never got better as the war went on."

Fortunately, says Harrison, Washington would come to realize he didn't need to win every battle to win the war. In fact, he actually lost more battles than he won…"

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Armand

Pretty good analysis.

Strategically Yes, Tactically……..

What American general won more battles?

Well, NOT Nathaniel Greene!

But with every loss, the enemy grew weaker, more indecisive, and stumbled closer to final defeat.

In a long, grinding war, I'll take George and Nate every time!

TVAG

Thanks

Armand

A determined and resilient commander, perhaps – as the events of 1776-1778 show- who made the most of the material available.

Is it really fair to say that "tactically he was terrible." I would argue that the errors of Long Island and Brandywine Creek can be exaggerated. On each occasion he saved his army to fight again and showed a remarkable ability to stave off disaster, mitigate the errors of subordinates and to bounce back.

And unless I am mistaken, the Thirteen Colonies are not governed from the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Ireland

Did Trenton, 2nd Trenton and Princeton display tactical ineptitude?
I think not.

Yes, Frederick the Great admired the Trenton-Princeton campaign. "When he was good, he was very very good . . ."

(smile)

Armand