George Washington named Britain's greatest ever foe

[frigidmagi]

telegraph

The American was voted the winner in a contest run by the National Army Museum to identify the country's most outstanding military opponent.

He was one of a shortlist of five leaders who topped a public poll and on Saturday was selected as the ultimate winner by an audience of around 70 guests at a special event at the museum, in Chelsea, west London.

In second place was Michael Collins, the Irish leader, ahead of Napoleon Bonaparte, Erwin Rommel and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

At the event, each contender had their case made by a historian giving a 40 minute presentation. The audience, who had paid to attend the day, then voted in a secret ballot after all five presentations had been made.

Dr Stephen Brumwell, who had championed Washington, said: "As British officers conceded, he was a worthy opponent."

The shortlist of five were selected from an initial list of 20 candidates, drawn up by the museum's curators.

To qualify, each commander had to come from the 17th century onwards – the period covered by the museum's collection – and had to have led an army in the field against the British, thus excluding political enemies, like Adolf Hitler.

The contest was designed to not only identify Britain's most outstanding opponent, but also to draw attention to some lesser-known adversaries.

Most of the 20 fought in various colonial wars, such as Ntshingwayo kaMahole, the Zulu leader and victor of Isandlwana, one of the British army's greatest military defeats, and Tipu Sultan, known as the "Tiger of Mysore", who resisted British expansion in India.

Alongside Rommel, the only Second World War leader was Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Japanese commander who oversaw the fall of Singapore. The one woman on the list was Rani of Jhansi, who fought British forces in nineteenth century India.

The online poll was launched in the middle of February, and around St Patrick's Day – March 17 – there was a surge in support for Michael Collins, although several people pointed out on the museum's website that, technically, the guerrilla leader never led an army on a battlefield.
He took a strong lead, but the contest was later featured in the Turkish media, leading to wave of support for Atatürk, who ended up winning with more than 3,000 votes – 40 per cent of those cast.

The museum selected the format – of an online poll followed by a closed vote – to filter out tactical voting, reducing the risk that a candidate could win thanks to orchestrated "block" voting – along national lines – rather than on the specific criteria of their performance in battle against the British. The eventual winner, George Washington, came fourth in the online poll, with less than two per cent of the vote.

The top five:
George Washington (1732-99) – 45 per cent of the vote in the final round
Guided the American rebels to victory over the British in the War of Independence. Often outmanoeuvred by British generals with larger armies, his leadership enabled him to hold together an army of secessionists from 13 different states and keep it in the field – and ultimately prevail – during the protracted struggle.

Stephen Brumwell, author and specialist on eighteenth century North America, said: "Washington scores highly as an enemy of Britain on three key grounds: the immense scale of damage he inflicts upon Britain's Army and Empire – the most jarring defeat that either endured; his ability to not only provide inspirational battlefield leadership but to work with civilians who were crucial to sustain the war-effort; and the kind of man he was. As British officers conceded, he was a worthy opponent."

Michael Collins (1890-1922) – 21 per cent
Helped transform the Irish Republican Army into a powerful force which fought the British to a standstill in the Irish War of Independence, securing the separation of most of the island of Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom.

Under him, the force waged a guerrilla campaign, mounting attacks and ambushes on barracks, police stations and convoys before quickly withdrawing. His tactics made much of Ireland ungovernable – with an army that never exceeded 3,000 active volunteers at any given time.
Gabriel Doherty, lecturer at University College Cork, said: "He was much more than just a great military leader. He had many different hats and his political and administrative skills tend to be a lot more overlooked."

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) – 18 per cent
Emerged from the turmoil and terror of revolution to become France's greatest military commander, conquering much of Europe. His greatest victories were against other countries, but his final campaign, culminating in the Battle of Waterloo, tested the Duke of Wellington to the limit.

Alan Forrest, professor of modern history at the University of York, said: "Napoleon was, of course, a supremely gifted general and military tactician, and he also had an unerring gift for propaganda and self-promotion. He recognised in Britain his most implacable opponent, and concentrated all his resources – political and economic as well as military in his attempt to defeat him."

Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) – 10 per cent
A decorated veteran of the First World War, he led the German "Blitzkrieg" of France in the Second World War before making his name battling British forces in North Africa, where he earned the nickname "Desert Fox". His skill at handling armoured formations enabled his "Afrikakorps" to consistently outmatch his opponents, often against heavy odds.

Dale Clarke, a reservist officer in the Royal Artillery, author and technical adviser on historical films and television shows, said: "A myth may have grown up around Rommel but there is an underlying truth that he was a superb leader who knew that in war you have to instantly grasp the initiative and keep your men moving forward. He is still the ultimate enemy, because of his sheer tenacity and skill."

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) – 6 per cent
Fought a tenacious defensive campaign at Gallipoli in 1915 which forced the Allied invasion force to withdraw. Displayed great leadership and tactical acumen, reacting immediately to the landing at Anzac Cove to launch successful counter-attacks, preventing his opponents from securing high ground.

We Won! We Won! We Won! Whhhhhooooooo! *waves flag*

[Josh]

Pretty damn respectable competition too.

It's kind of funny, because Washington was obsessed with his good name so this sort of thing would have delighted him to no end. What's really ironic is that he destroyed all of his correspondence as much as possible for security reasons (so it is said) and as a consequence he's the only Founder who doesn't get deconstructed with the same thoroughness that the likes of Jefferson, Franklin, or Hamilton get.

[Charon]

I was sort of surprised that Napoleon came in third, but I guess considering that the two above him actually ended up beating the English it makes sense (Ataturk won too, during the Turkish War of Independence, but I don't think the British were counting that because frankly they were tangentially involved in that one).

Cool to see that we won though.

[LadyTevar]

We won. Because Washington was just that Good.

[Josh]

Washington was an interesting character. He didn't tend to do so well in stand-up fights, but he quickly figured out what it would take to win or at least not lose the revolution- preserve a standing force that could contest the continent.

Once he had that calculation in mind he really carried out his end masterfully by jabbing where the opportunities allowed while managing to avoid getting sucked into the fight that would see the Continental Army shattered beyond repair. Now, he was helped by the fact that even when they beat him the British military was pretty damned lethargic about pursuit. If they had seriously gone after him, especially in the early going, there's a good chance that we'd have ended up a Commonwealth state. The revolution was really a very damn close run thing.

What I always found most impressive about Washington was that while he did desire the leadership role to establish his good name, which was the outstanding social dream of the day, once he got it he was ready to be done and quit. They basically had to politely blackmail him into presiding over the Constitutional Convention and later on to accept the presidency. Once he was there, he resisted Hamilton's outright impertinent efforts to turn the executive office into a constitutional monarchy (down to using monarchist addresses) and ditched out after two terms so he could get back to Mount Vernon.

People can bitch about the Cult of the Founders and the reverence they get, and I don't like any mindless adulation myself, but Washington really was a major case of the right guy at the right time. He wasn't a saint by any stretch, but I'll bet you he did a lot more for a lot more people than most of the folks in the canon anyway.