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Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:11:26


Major General Smedley Butler
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First frain: what are the three planning levels?
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:16:20


Genghis 
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Tactical, Strategic, Operation

Second Question :
Who is the best MILITARY leader in history? From a purely military standpoint.
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:20:24


Major General Smedley Butler
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You don't ask the questions here, I ask the questions here!
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:20:47


Жұқтыру
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Well, there are several who never lost a battle - Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck is my pick. Outnumbered, yet the only German general to take over British land. Jan Žižka, Aleksandr Suvorov are pretty cool, too.

Edited 9/24/2015 03:22:45
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:24:43


Major General Smedley Butler
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I'd say ----------------. Without him Europe would be speaking German.

Edited 9/24/2015 03:27:32
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:26:07


Genghis 
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The correct answer was a tie between Clausewitz, Hannibal, Napoleon and Rommel. Any were acceptable.
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:27:09


Major General Smedley Butler
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So a guessing question about your opinion?
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:28:38


Major General Smedley Butler
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I'll do the next question: what is a double envelopment?
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:37:02


d1plons 
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When the post is delivered twice, because the mailman's high

Edited 9/24/2015 03:37:44
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:46:56


Thomas 633
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When you use two envelopes, cos your high.
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 03:53:44


Жұқтыру
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From a purely military standpoint.

The correct answer was a tie between Clausewitz, Hannibal, Napoleon and Rommel. Any were acceptable.


No, since they had a loss-win ratio over 0.
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 04:00:46


Genghis 
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Their military victories are so dramatic, intelligent and innovative that their losses still look like victories due to the sheer weight of their victories.

I'd imagine your list of generals would be meaningless if they had lost a battle or 2. A truly great general can lose a battle and still be great. A truly great nation can lose a war but still be great.
Those who are falsely great would lose a battle and no longer be great.
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 04:06:39


Moth
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What about Sun Tzu? Surely his teachings in the Art of War are enough to take some notice even from you.

Edited 9/24/2015 04:08:55
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 04:09:00


Жұқтыру
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Their military victories are so dramatic, intelligent and innovative that their losses still look like victories due to the sheer weight of their victories.


--Wow, you saved that poor child from all those forces alone, there must have been thousands - how did you do it?

--Well, I'll tell somebody else after I kill you.

--Wow, you are so kind, my goodness, so generous! Please, go ahead and kill me, I would be honoured to be a victim of your kindness.

Napoleone did not look fantastic when he was invading Russia. Reaching Moskva was a: ineffective, b: they lost 50% of their troops by then, the French weren't celebrating, and Rommell didn't look so great at El Alamein. I know not your ancient folk, but here's someone you should now: Alexandros the Great - coincidentally someone else who has never had a recorded loss.

Go look up what I said, Suvorov and Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, they were very often outnumbered, but they never lost. This frain is very opinionated, and you should never ask opinionated frains.

Go look my mates up, it's not just that they fought few and minor battles, they fought many big and major battles.
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 04:11:47


Genghis 
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Art of War is overworked. Plus, now that it's leaked into s mainstream thing it's not cool anymore (not trying to be a hipster here, but people think it's "cool" to read the Art of War, when in reality it was only cool to read it because it was good but obscure in the modern world).

Besides, I do not know the name of any battles Sun Wu commanded. You can right doctrine all day, but actually completing it is a whole different thing. Clausewitz and Rommel take the cake there.

That said, Sun Wu is definitely a smart guy who knows what he was saying. He deserves the credit he can get in an age where he's fading in obscurity.

Edited 9/24/2015 04:12:57
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 04:16:55


Genghis 
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Alexander is worked up more than he really was. His reason for victory was companion cavalry and his Corp of engineers. Both were key to his success. Persians were very dumb and couldn't handle it.

I know who Suvorov is. .. that said, let's look at Dresden, Eylau and Austerlitz and see how great and historic Napoleon's victories were. Now, if you were to ask me 3 battles Suv won, i could come up with nothing because Napoleon is noteworthy, Suv is just another General Winter.

I will say Alexander was very smart though. Taught by Aristotle, and to have that corps of engineers. .. he was ahead of his time there.

Edited 9/24/2015 04:18:12
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 04:17:00


Moth
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Sun Tzu did indeed fight in battles. How do you think he was able to write what he did if he didn't command? And just because its mainstream doesn't mean that the truth and value of the works can be discredited. Some of the people you mentioned would have read works such as Sun Tzu's.

Edited 9/24/2015 04:17:14
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 04:17:23


Dublin Warrior 
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Sun Tzu, real or mythical... either way, he's my pick.
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 04:38:39


Жұқтыру
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I know who Suvorov is. .. that said, let's look at Dresden, Eylau and Austerlitz and see how great and historic Napoleon's victories were. Now, if you were to ask me 3 battles Suv won, i could come up with nothing because Napoleon is noteworthy, Suv is just another General Winter.

I will say Alexander was very smart though. Taught by Aristotle, and to have that corps of engineers. .. he was ahead of his time there.


Look at Napoleone's invasion of Russia - like the English like to say "that's your Waterloo" (also a disaster, along with the whole 100 days), the French say "c'est le Bérézine" (that's disaster), from Berezina battle. Certainly not glamourous, nor pretty much everything that came afterwards. And the point is not your military competency - the point is, can you name any battles that he (or Alexandros) lost?

Statistically and objectively speaking, the ones I named are undeniably the best generals in history.

Edited 9/24/2015 04:39:22
Military Frains.: 2015-09-24 05:05:35


Genghis 
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Winning a series of victories does not necessarily alter history, and is not necessarily that "great".
Statistics never tell the story in military. Mexico had 1.5x or so more soldiers than America in US-Mexico war. But, u.s. still won. Their generals weren't necessarily good, it was just because they were superior technologically and through morale.

Rome won a near endless chain of victories in the First Punic War. But the history defining moments were in the Second Punic War. Even them Carthage took many losses, but the victories and the true, earnest skill of their commanders laid them down in history.

I'd consider Egypt more disastrous than Russia. But that's because i know what"swamp-ass" is like, and because there was almost no reason to take Egypt. But that's more subjective.

The point is not how few defeats they had, it's how Pyyrhic those defeats were to the enemy. And every defeat of Napoleon was Pyrrhic. Except maybe for parts of Moscow. But as i said, General Winter.
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