usertron2020
Donor
<snip> Britain may have the best navy, but Frederick's Prussia has the best army.He outlasted all of continental Europe in his brilliant war of attrition
Yeah, and if Czarina Elizabeth hadn't died right when she did, but had lived three years longer, FTG would be remembered as a vainglorious fool who got his country chopped to pieces for biting off more than he could chew!
2. I would say the actual commanders matter more than a colorful field marshal.
While the American agents who were pushing for his appointment described Von Steuben as a "lieutenant general", he told Washington he had only been a colonel. Actually, he had been a captain.
Check out the Continental Army's performance at Monmouth compared to all previous battles. No longer did a British bayonet charge force an automatic American retreat.
Valley Forge more than any other wintering site for the Continental Army is not so memorialized because of their terrible suffering. Morristown was worse. It is remember because thanks to Steuben Washington's Army went into Valley Forge as the Continental Army and emerged as the United States Army.
3. Lafayette.
So the greatest military mind in the US was a guy who wasn't a legal drinker until France entered the war?
George Washington as a Military Commander
George Washington has a reputation for being a great military commander, but was he? From my view, positively, he was great at keeping his army intact and doing a lot with very little. Negatively he lost a lot of battles badly, New York, Brandywine to name a few.
Questions for thought:
Can Washington be blamed for defeats suffered early in the war? (1)
Can Washington’s success later in the war be attributed to him, or should the credit go to other men like Baron von Steuben? (2)
Who was the best overall commander on the colonial side Washington or Greene? (3)
1) Yes, as the commander he was responsible. But he was dealing with an impossible strategic situation with nothing at hand.
2) Washington, but Steuben's contributions to the army were of inordinate value.
3) Arnold...?