How to achieve a British "victory" in the war of 1812?

Awful lot of great man syndrome; the obvious "stick your arm in a bucket of water; now pull it out; that's how important you are" metaphor comes to mind.

The problem with invincible generals is that everyone thought Burgoyne, Prevost, Ross, and Pakenham were world-beaters at one point, as well.

When the plots turn on deus ex machina to the nth degree, ye olde suspensione ofe disbeliefe gets a bit ... unbelievable.

I mean, it is possible to be dealt a winning hand - take your pick of what you want - but it is pretty damn unlikely.

Generally, one has to work for it...

Best,

Well that didn't take long.:rolleyes:

I would like to say that I am surprised by your response, but no I'm not.:(

Its not as if some other characters get a little over hyped, Andy Jackson were looking at you!

If a scenario written by a decorated paratrooper and a graduate of the Command & General Staff College and the Army War College is unacceptable to you then I seriously doubt that anything any of us will say is going to make any difference.

He is a noted lecturer and historian of the era, having written three other books on the subject.

And cannot be considered by any means a Brit-Wanker, as evidenced by this lecture at Fort Ticonderoga, you can get the full version on the c-span site.

To be honest in some parts I thought the US of A did a little too well.
With the suddenly being able to cast, equip and move heavy field guns, and only failing at 2nd Saratoga due to the duplicity of the state militias, that bit was way too deus ex machine!!!
 
Would be nice to get through one discussion on this subject without the usual sniping, it seems that any mention of alternate events that may have the British doing better against the US are pretty much heresy to some people. Does make it hard to have a straight forward conversation on the subject and tends to put me off bothering to make any serious contribution knowing it would probably be in for the usual condescendingly superior reaction.

The idea of Wellington getting involved in the War of 1812 is an interesting one, not only because he was certainly superior to the other British Commanders present but what effect it would of had on Napoleons little jaunt through Belgium.
 
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Sior

Banned
Just having Brock live would make a profound effect on the subsequent British efforts.
 

Saphroneth

Banned
Just having Brock live would make a profound effect on the subsequent British efforts.

...I do apologize for the possible derail, but after writing a minimum of a thousand words on a Pokemon AU every day since last October... I imagined a young man with a Steelix and a Geodude thrashing Perry's fleet.
Please allow me to savour that image for a moment.



Right.
Anyway, yes, while great-man theory is not always the be-all and end-all it's perfectly valid to point out that a trained, experienced general/admiral can be worth a lot.
 
...I do apologize for the possible derail, but after writing a minimum of a thousand words on a Pokemon AU every day since last October... I imagined a young man with a Steelix and a Geodude thrashing Perry's fleet.
Please allow me to savour that image for a moment.



Right.
Anyway, yes, while great-man theory is not always the be-all and end-all it's perfectly valid to point out that a trained, experienced general/admiral can be worth a lot.

You ideas of Pokémon Napoleonic Wars intrigue me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

I would agree regarding the idea that the right person in the right place can make all the difference. Someone different leading the troops on either side can tip the balance in various ways.
 

Saphroneth

Banned
You ideas of Pokémon Napoleonic Wars intrigue me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

I would agree regarding the idea that the right person in the right place can make all the difference. Someone different leading the troops on either side can tip the balance in various ways.
It's not PokeNapoleonic Wars that I've been writing, alas, but merely a Pokemon anime peggy sue.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/AshesOfThePast

Trumpet blowing engaged.



Trumpet blowing over with...
To take the extreme case of great man theory, no Alexander the Great would not have led to an identical Macedonian empire or an identical set of Diadochi wars. And the Napoleonic Wars were not named after Napoleon because he was a swell-looking guy in the paintings.
 
It's not PokeNapoleonic Wars that I've been writing, alas, but merely a Pokemon anime peggy sue.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/AshesOfThePast

Trumpet blowing engaged.



Trumpet blowing over with...
To take the extreme case of great man theory, no Alexander the Great would not have led to an identical Macedonian empire or an identical set of Diadochi wars. And the Napoleonic Wars were not named after Napoleon because he was a swell-looking guy in the paintings.

You wrote that?! :eek:

I'm an idiot for never noticing the author name of the top-rated Pokemon fanfiction. :eek:
 
It's not PokeNapoleonic Wars that I've been writing, alas, but merely a Pokemon anime peggy sue.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/AshesOfThePast

Trumpet blowing engaged.



Trumpet blowing over with...
To take the extreme case of great man theory, no Alexander the Great would not have led to an identical Macedonian empire or an identical set of Diadochi wars. And the Napoleonic Wars were not named after Napoleon because he was a swell-looking guy in the paintings.

Wait, you wrote Ashes of The Past? Colour me impressed and I now know why there was so many British-isms in that fic now...


Aye, I do go along with a good portion of the Great Man theory. Just one person can make a great change after all.
 
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