Who were the greatest military leaders?

[Fishboy]

Greatest military leaders?

Audie Murphy took a battlefield commission in the same platoon he served in, and the men of that platoon accepted and followed him....... enough said. That is leadership and respect, which go hand in hand. Give me a better example of a leader.

[rgrokelley]

Give me a better example of a leader.

Techno viking!

[Invictus]

1) Small unit leader: Col. Bob Howard (Ret.)
His combat record speaks for itself.

2). General Officer: Gen. George Washington
The many obstacles he overcame, both politically and militarily, with very limited resources are pretty incredible. He, for the most part, identified able (and in some cases excellent) subordinate commanders. This was critical because he didn't have the ability to provide guidance once they were set on their way, he had to trust them to execute or develop the situation as they saw fit.

It really is amazing, considering all the opportunities he had to fail, that we won our Independence.

He should be, in my opinion, the very first American on the list. Maybe not the first person, but the first American.

[DrD]

Thank you! And, thank you to those that pm'd and/or emailed me additional names and thoughts. :D

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July.

Shana

[rgrokelley]

Washington: Good politician not much of a battle field guy, Ft. Necessity was the standard not the exception. If you go down that road then Roosevelt should be in.

FT. Neccessity was his first combat action. Basically he was a butter bar starting a non-declared war. Later, he did stuff that was downright amazing.

Trenton, 1776 - In the 18th century no one attacked at night, or in the winter, or on Christmas. Winter is when you go into quarters and wait for spring. Washington had lost just about everything at that point and time. He lost New York, some jackass burned down NYC and he got blamed and Congress ordered him to keep a quarter of his army in a fortification, that fell in minutes and they all got captured. So he is looking like a big time loser. His men's enlistments are up in a matter of days, and they are calling it quits. If this was any lesser man, we would be speaking English today. :?

However Washington pulled off Trenton, by doing what no one normally does. He conquered an enemy, in the winter, after doing a incredible night movement, and he didn't lose a single man. The follow up victory against British Regulars at Princeton convinced the country that Washington was the man for the job. His army increased in size, and France decided to start supporting us covertly.


Germantown, 1777. After one of the worst defeats of the war, and one of the bloodiest battles, at Brandywine, Washington had lost the capital of the United States and he lost a huge amount of his army to wounds or capture. Less than a month later Washington decided to attack the British garrison at Germantown, by doing a surprise attack, and after doing a massive night movement. It was Trenton, 2.0, but he had a much larger army. Though the attack on Germantown did not achieve the desired goals, the audacity of Washington made the French King decide that the Americans may actually win this war. That, combined with the victory at Saratoga, made France declare war on England, making it a world war.

Yorktown, 1781. Keeping the British confused, and thinking that he was still conducting a siege of NYC, Washington did a secret movement of his army from New York to Virginia. They combined with the French along the way and totally surprised Cornwallis in Virginia. This move amazed just about everyone and pretty much sealed Cornwallis’s fate.

When Washington won the war George III said he would be a petty .. When the King was told that Washington was planning on resigning and turning over power to the Congress, George III said that “if he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.”

[Jim]

Like Ranger O'Kelly, I, too am a fan of Washington. He held the Army together through several tough times. Congress did everything to protect their own interests. In the final analysis, he is, in fact, the father of the country.

[DrD]

but if you said I could be commanded in battle by Washington or Gates I would take Gates.

Really? Why?

Shana

[rgrokelley]

Briton had all but quit by Yorktown.

If this is quitting, I’d hate to see what a busy year was like. Notice that if you were in Greene, or Cornwallis’s army, you are fighting a major pitched battle every 30 days, and walking to get to the next one.

Yorktown surrender is in October 1781

January 1781 - Major Battle, the Battle of Cowpens. Cornwallis decides to divide his forces and go after both Greene and Morgan. Morgan totally crushes Tarleton and then heads towards Greene.

February 1781 - Cornwallis pursues Greene in "The Race for the Dan", both armies conduct major fights over every stream crossing. Greene beats Cornwallis into Virginia. Cornwallis regroups in North Carolina. The Royal Navy captures St. Eustatius island, ending the covert flow of supplies from France to the U.S. The British begin a counter-insurgency to destroy Marion, Sumpter, Davie and Pickens. Britain conducts direct action, using Indian allies in the New York frontier.

March 1781 - Major battle, the Battle for Guilford Courthouse. Cornwallis and Greene fight one of the most intense fights of their lives. Both end up using all their troops, with no reserves. Both literally fight each other to a standstill. Greene withdraws ten miles to keep an eye on Cornwallis. Cornwallis withdraws to (what is now) Fayetteville. In Virginia Benedict Arnold and General Phillips raid and capture the peninsula region near Williamsburg. Spanish troops attack Pensacola and fight the British in what is now Alabama, Georgia and Florida. British troops drive Marion from his safe area of Snow Island.

April 1781 - Major battle, the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill. Cornwallis moves to link up with Phillips and then he was planning to drive back into North Carolina. Greene heads into South Carolina and attacks the major supply depot at Camden. Greene loses, like he does almost every battle he fought in the Carolinas, but with each victory the British lose more men and have to withdraw. Arnold captures Petersburg, VA, a major supply base for Greene’s army.

May 1781 - Longest siege of the war, Siege of Fort Ninety-Six. Greene lays siege to this important supply base, but is unable to capture. A British relief force marches from Charleston forcing Greene to withdraw.

June 1781 – Major battle, Battle of Augusta, GA. Greene captures the major supply base of Augusta after laying siege to two forts. British troops raid into western Virginia. Jefferson is almost captured by Tarleton.

July 1781 – Major battle, Battle of Green Springs, VA. Cornwallis lures Lafayette into a trap outside Williamsburg. The Americans are defeated, allowing Cornwallis to move his troops across the James River. Greene lays siege to Orangeburgh, and then sends his cavalry commanders out to harass British lines. Major battle, the Battle of Shubrick’s Plantation, SC. Guerillas attack a British force at the plantation, but are defeated with large casualties. This battle divides the partisans, and Marion and Lee refuse to fight with Sumter ever again. British guerilla David Fanning captures the North Carolina governor and sends him to Wilmington in chains.

August 1781 – British raiders move freely through the Carolina backcountry, capturing and executing as many Patriot leaders as possible. Patriot Colonel Isaac Hayne is captured by the British and put on trial. He is executed in Charleston for breaking his parole. In retaliation Marion conducts an ambush behind British lines, killing over 100 dragoons at Parker’s Ferry. British Major Craig raids out of Wilmington all the way to New Berne, NC, in something that resembled Sherman’s March to the Sea. Craig burns dozens of plantations and rounds up as many prisoners as he can catch.

September 1781 – Major battle, the Battle of Groton Heights, CT. The British invade and burn New London, CT then attack the fortification at Groton Heights. Major Battle – the Battle of Eutaw Springs, SC. In one of the bloodiest battles of the war Greene attacks British general Stewart but is defeated when his men stop to loot the British camp. Major Battle – Battle of Lindley’s Mill, NC. Patriot General Butler attempts to stop the raiding by Loyalist Colonel Fanning. Fanning fights Butler in a delaying action, that has both armies withdrawing from the field. Siege of Yorktown begins.

[rgrokelley]

Yes and 34 years later the Battle for New Orleans would be fought after the peace treaty had been signed ending the War of 1812. A couple more days and there may have been a battle for Mobile.
The British government will to fight had all but sputtered out. Parliament was turning against the war. The British people were getting tired of it. The 'Do Not Lose' tactic was in full effect. How many major engagements did we have during the 'Vietnamation' part of the Vietnam War. Men died battles were fought but we were getting out. Our government had already decided we were done. Maybe an annihilation of Washington’s army would have turned British moral around but otherwise it had all but been decided.

Prior to Yorktown the King and Parliament still thought they had a pretty good chance to win. Now, I would agree with you, after Yorktown, that the British had decided to "hold" in the colonies and no longer do any offensive actions. Prior to Yorktown the British were winning everywhere. They had taken the entire south, they owned New York City (largest harbor in America), they were seizing Carribbean islands (where all the real money was), they had a major foothold in India (where the other "real money" was) and they had begun to rebuild their navy from the crap it had been pre-1775.

The war was being negotiated to its end. Britain's main goal was to destroy France and her interests. If they could conquer the U.S. then it would be icing on the cake. In the Gentleman’s Magazine of 1781 it wrote of the division of the country upon a cease-fire. The New England States to the Connecticut River would go to the United States. Connecticut to the Delaware River, to include New York and New Jersey, some of Massachusetts and Connecticut, would go to England. From the Delaware River to the northern border of South Carolina would go to the United States, while South Carolina to Eastern Florida would go to England. West Florida would be given to Spain.

Yorktown, and Washington's plan, was to end that.

[panthersix]

Well, the Spanish ended up with Southern Florida anyway.....