Washington Named Britain's Greatest Foe

[Faeelin]

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.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/9204961/George-Washington-named-Britains-greatest-ever-foe.html

I laughed, but then I remembered that unlike the other contenders, he actually won, and killed soldiers in the British army in their sleep on Christmas.

[Viking]

I'd like to vote for Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. I'm sorry but wiping out the largest army Britain has ever assembled under a unified command on a single battlefield before the invention of Radio turning the entire country into a colony for 350 years must top anything that colonial rebels, continental dominators or foreign defenders of home turf.

[mongers]

I wonder what the maximum number of men Michael Collins commanded in the field against the British whilst they were still enemies ? 

I wouldn't be surprised to find it was little more than a strengthened company of 'infantry'.

[Ideologue]

I guess Guillaume actually counts as British?

And yeah, Michael Collins?  Whatever.

[Admiral Yi]

Should be either Rommel or Yamashita.

The one outstanding battlefield defeat of the British during the American Revolution Washington didn't attend.

[jimmy olsen]

I'd like to vote for Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. I'm sorry but wiping out the largest army Britain has ever assembled under a unified command on a single battlefield before the invention of Radio turning the entire country into a colony for 350 years must top anything that colonial rebels, continental dominators or foreign defenders of home turf.

How do we know those numbers are anywhere near accurate?

[Ideologue]

Should be either Rommel or Yamashita.

The one outstanding battlefield defeat of the British during the American Revolution Washington didn't attend.

Yorktown doesn't count as a battlefield defeat?

[mongers]

Should be either Rommel or Yamashita.

The one outstanding battlefield defeat of the British during the American Revolution Washington didn't attend.

Yes, I'd agree, the first two between them nearly succeeded in cutting the whole empire in two.

Washington along with other commanders in a wider political and economic crisis between motherland and colony/ies. 

[Admiral Yi]

Yorktown doesn't count as a battlefield defeat?

It was a siege.  The outcome of Yorktown (once Cornwallis had marched there) was decided by the Battle of the Chesapeake.

[Kleves]

Yorktown doesn't count as a battlefield defeat?

Tactical surrender.

[Malthus]

No love for Willie the Bastard? 

Ah, never mind. Damn the fine print! 

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.

[Viking]

I'd like to vote for Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. I'm sorry but wiping out the largest army Britain has ever assembled under a unified command on a single battlefield before the invention of Radio turning the entire country into a colony for 350 years must top anything that colonial rebels, continental dominators or foreign defenders of home turf.

How do we know those numbers are anywhere near accurate?

We don't need to know that. With the exception of Townton every single other army ever assembled is at least a full order of magnitude smaller than the Iceni Horde. Even with Townton the largest estimates of the forces of both sides remains smaller than most estimates of the iceni horde.

[Viking]

Should be either Rommel or Yamashita.

The one outstanding battlefield defeat of the British during the American Revolution Washington didn't attend.

Yorktown doesn't count as a battlefield defeat?

Yes, but not to Washington, it was a defeat at the hands of Rochambeau.

[Faeelin]

I don't get why Washington's role at Yorktown is being discounted. Without Rochambeau it wouldn't have worked, but without Washington's army there wouldn't have been a siege.

Washington realized he didn't have to win decisive battles to win the war; he just had to make it not worth it for the British.

[CountDeMoney]

I can think of at least two Boers that deserve ranking over Rommel or Attaturk.

But yeah, good for ol' Georgie, who still doesn't get enough nearly enough credit for his generalship.