Favorite 19th Century Commander (excluding ACW, and in 1816-1914 period)

[Leman]

Nobody's mentioned poor old Gablenz yet. A not bad general in an army populated by some very meagre generals.

[cameronian]

I did but it was in a parallel thread on TMP

[KTravlos]

Gablenz is good but I give the point to Chanzy simply because of the worse material he had to deal with.

[profjohn]

I'm kicking myself.... I forgot Raglan! One retirement project I have is to have a serious look at some of his decision making in the Crimea. My guess is that it is high time for some revisionism there.

[FierceKitty]

I'm kicking myself.... I forgot Raglan! One retirement project I have is to have a serious look at some of his decision making in the Crimea. My guess is that it is high time for some revisionism there.

Reclassify from "inept" to "idiotic"?

[Leman]

But ladies do like prettily embroidered handkerchiefs - oh dear, too much Hollywood I fear.

[profjohn]

Ouch that's harsh. But in the late stages of the Alma with the Russians in full retreat Raglan urged Arnaud to press on after them down the now undefended road to Sebastopol. Had the combined allied forces conducted that pursuit then Sebastopol would have fallen and the war - as far as the declared local objective was concerned - would have been won after one battle. Raglan the national hero and remembered  as THE great Victorian general!

[FierceKitty]

Every history of that war I've read makes it clear that he was the greatest enemy the British part of that army had. Only Tango over at TMP would treat this as an ongoing debate.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

All I can say about Raglan is that he was somewhat armless.

Don't look for the coat, I'm not wearing one. 

IanS

[profjohn]

I like that 'armless' and he already had a trick up his sleeve. Anyway - he never lost a battle where he was c-in-c on the field. He wasn't responsible for the catastrophic logistics and it was convenient that he died so that those who had failed could blame him. He's also the only general I've heard of who watched his own army advance from behind enemy lines. That if nothing else recommends him.