Who Were The Greatest Commanders Between 1648-1789: Ranks 5th-1st

Dear Readers,

As you may or may not have heard, I am undertaking to rank the greatest army commanders of the Kabinettskriege age. You can find a full list of the potential candidates here.  These are the following categories upon which these generals are being judged:

A) Battle win-loss record, reckoned against total number of battles fought as commander.
B) Achievement and Sustainment of strategic/political aims
C) Charisma/inspiration of soldiers under their command
D) Scale of operations under their personal command
E) Display of originality/flexibility in thinking

This post will list the highest scoring members from the pool in the previous post, ranked from lowest (5th) to highest (1st). Without further adieu, here are the winners:

5. Maurice de Saxe, Marshal of France

A) 5/5 B) 3/5 C) 3/5 D) 4/5 E) 4/5                                                           Total: 19/25

The greatest French military mind between Turenne, Villars, and Napoleon, Maurice de Saxe showed incredible military wisdom in his repeated defeats of British and Allied forces in the War of Austrian Succession. The victor of Fontenoy, Lauffeldt, and Roucoux, A lifelong soldier, he served under Prinz Eugene of Savoy, as well as Peter I of Russia in the late stages of the Great Northern War. Maurice came to the attention of Europe when he commanded the successful surprise attack against the city of Prague in September of 1741.In addition to the successful field battles named above, de Saxe assisted in the capture of Brussels, Bergen-op-Zoom, and Maastricht. Among eighteenth century generals, de Saxe stands out for his ability to capitalize on his successes in the field with consequent gains in terms of territory and fortresses. Dying early, at the age of 54, one wonders that the outcome of the Seven Years' War in Europe might have been different if he had lived another ten years. Despite the passage of two hundred and fifty years, his memoirs remain a fascinating piece of military theory. De Saxe will forever be one of the more romantic figures of eighteenth-century warfare, his legacy untainted by the mistakes of later years.[2]    

4. Prince Eugene of Savoy

A) 4/5 B) 4/5 C) 3/5  D) 4.5/5 E) 4/5                                                         Total: 19.5/25

Prinz Eugen von Savoyen might be one of the first individuals in German Central Europe to achieve celebrity status in his own lifetime. He has an incredible song, and sat for an astounding number of portraits. Invariably, in these portraits, he is always pointing at something great that he did. On a more serious note, Prince Eugene was one of the most able soldiers of his age, successfully winning battles against the French, Ottomans, and Bavarians. He is closely associated with the Duke of Marlborough (below) and careful reader will note that Prince Eugene and Marlborough have tied in their score. Though Eugene was not always as successful as Marlborough, he had a far longer military career, facing more diverse opponents. His soldiers' laughed at his homosexuality, as camp songs from the era show, but fought well for him. He achieved notable victories at Hoechstaedt (Blenheim) in 1704 Turin in 1706, and Belgrade in 1717, although there were many others. Like many on this list, he suffers from the lack of a good modern biography in English, but those who read German can trace his campaigns though a massive multi-volume record of his correspondence which was published in late nineteenth-century.[2]

3. John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough

A) 5/5 B) 3/5 C) 3.5/5 D) 4/5 E) 4/5                                                        Total 19.5/25

Perhaps the greatest praise of Marlborough comes from another of the British "great captains," the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, he commented, "I always used to say that the presence of Napoleon at a battle was worth a reinforcement of 40,000 men. But I can conceive nothing greater than Marlborough at the head of an English army."[3]  Marlborough's achievements are manifold. Coming to prominence in the reign of James, he was able to adroitly transfer his loyalties to William and Mary during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The greatest test of his career was the grueling War of Spanish Succession, where Marlborough was the commander-in-chief of the effort against Louis XIV's France. While Marlborough's great battlefield victories are familiar to many: Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, the war was less successful in the strategic realm, Philip, Duke of Anjou, would still become King of Spain. Although the allies secured the assurance that Spain and France would not be unified into one Bourbon kingdom, the allied kingdoms of France and Spain would go on to injure England in the course of the eighteenth century, during the American War of Independence. Marlborough's repeated victories and confident planning won him the respect of his men, this is clear the letters and journals of soldiers who served with him, such as John Marshall Deane. Marlborough advanced the art of war tactically, and his predilection for firepower would do much to influence later armies of the Kabinettskriege age.[4]

2. Alexander Suvorov

A) 5/5 B) 3/5 C) 4/5 D) 4/5 E) 5/5                                                            Total: 21/25

Alexander Suvorov was, without question, the greatest Russian military mind to grace the eighteenth century. A sickly child, Suvorov spent his early years reading military history intensively, and at age 18, enlisted in the Semyonovsky Guard Regiment. Cutting his teeth in the campaigns against Frederick of Prussia in the Seven Years' War, Suvorov obtained a colonelcy at the age of 32, at the end of the Seven Years' War. His first independent commands saw victories over Polish rebels and the Ottoman Empire. Despite being outnumbered against the Ottomans, Suvorov led his men to victory time and again. Suvorov became famous for his initiative, which occasionally earned him censure. He led campaigns in Eastern Europe until his exile by Paul I of Russia in 1796. Suvorov, who was admired by Catherine, disagreed with Paul about military doctrine, particularly an infectious strain of Prusso-mania which had damaged the Russian fighitng ability. After three years of retirement, Suvorov returned to lead a lightening campaign in Italy in 1799. Though he never fought against Napoleon, Suvorov's victories in this campaign show that the armies of the Ancien Regime, when led by an able commander, were not impotent against the forces of Revolutionary France. Suvorov also gives modern readers a number of exceptionally pithy quotes, such as:

"What is hard in training will be easy in battle."
"Win with ability, not with numbers."
"Perish yourself, but rescue your comrade."

A great leader of men, Suvorov deserves to be considered as one of the foremost military minds in world history.[5]

1.  Frederick II Hohenzollern, "the Great"

A) 3/5 B) 4/5 C) 5/5 D) 5/5 E) 4.5/5                                                     Total: 21.5/25

Frederick's expression above no doubt mimic's the readers surprise to find him at the top of the list. In all seriousness, it has recently become very fashionable academically, and even in popular history, to look down on Frederick the Great's achievements. I cannot say that I agree with this trend, and while Frederick certainly should not be regarded as a starry-eyed Uebermensch, who single-handedly won the wars in which he took part, he is, in my opinion, the greatest captain of the Kabinettskriege age. Now for the justification: how did I arrive at the numbers above. You will note, Frederick scores rather low in the win/loss category. He won around half the battles which he commanded in the Seven Years' War, and all of the battles in the War of Austrian Succession. With this in mind, and with his impressive total number of battles as a commander, he receives an above average, but not exceptional A) criteria score. Frederick generally achieved his goals for the Prussian state: he seized and held Silesia for the duration of his reign, and also added West Prussia to Hohenzollern domains. Thus, he scores quite well in the B) criteria. The letters of Frederick's common soldiers, althought not some of his personal aides and officers during the later Seven Years' War, show devotion which exceeds most eighteenth-century commanders. This grants Frederick a perfect score in the C) category. In terms of forces under his command, Frederick's role as Roi-Connétable allowed him to wage war on multiple fronts, leaving defensive armies in secondary theaters, and bringing his royal army to bare on whatever enemy looked the most pressing. Finally, Frederick's system of flank attacks proved highly successful in the War of Austrian Succession and early Seven Years' War. Though Frederick's enemies adapted to meet this challenge, the king recognized this adaptation, and showed that he was as adept at defensive warfare as his foes. Though not as able on the battlefield as some of his contemporaries, Frederick's system of war allowed Prussia to survive and grow in the aftermath of the Seven Years' War. This achievement places him, in my opinion, at the pinnacle of Kabinettskriege era commanders.[6]


Do you agree with these rankings?

Thanks for Reading,


Alex Burns

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] To my knowledge, and I am no expert, there is no more recent biography of de Saxe in English than Jon Manchip White, Marshal of France: The Life and Times of Maurice, Comte de Saxe.
[2] The most recent biography in English is Nicholas Henderson, Prince Eugene of Savoy.
[3]Stanhope, Miscellanies, 81.
[4] See David Chandler's Marlborough as Military Commander,  and John Lynn's The Wars of Louis XIV.
[5] See: Phillip Longworth's The Art of Victory, and Christopher Duffy's, Eagles Over the Alps.  
[6] The two "must read" biographies of Frederick in English are: Duffy, Frederick the Great: A Military Life, and Tim Blanning,  Frederick the Great: King of Prussia. 

Who Were The Greatest Commanders Between 1648-1789: Ranks 10th-6th

Dear Reader,

As you may or may not have heard, I am undertaking to rank the greatest army commanders of the Kabinettskriege age. You can find a full list of the potential candidates here.  These are the following categories upon which these generals are being judged:

A) Battle win-loss record, reckoned against total number of battles fought as commander.
B) Achievement and Sustainment of strategic/political aims
C) Charisma/inspiration of soldiers under their command
D) Scale of operations under their personal command
E) Display of originality/flexibility in thinking

This post will list the highest scoring members from the pool in the previous post, ranked from lowest (10th) to highest (6th). Without further adieu, here are the winners:





10. Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
A) 3.75 B) 4/5 C) 3/5 D) 4/5 E) 3.25/5                                                                      Total: 18/25

Historian John Childs has described Turenne as, "arguably the greatest soldier of the seventeenth century." (Childs, Warfare in the Seventeenth Century, 225.) A general who cut his teeth in the bloody fighting of the Thirty Years' War, Turenne won battle after battle for Louis XIV in the latter half of the seventeenth century. The Dutch "rampjaar," or disaster year, of 1672, when the Dutch state nearly collapsed under external military force, was largely due to Turenne's successful military actions, He often emerged victorious against superior forces. He was largely responsible for the Louis XIV's successful rise to sole power, crushing the Parisian Fronde at the Battle of the Faubourg St Antoine. Turenne's victory over Conde at the same battle explains why Turenne. rather than Conde, made the cut. He led increasingly large armies, as Louis XIV solidified his hold on power. A warrior who was beloved of his men, Turenne was able to keep abreast of a number of developments in field and siege warfare.[1]




9. George Washington
A) 2.25/5 B) 5/5 C) 5/5 D) 3/5 E) 3/5                                                                    Total: 18.25/25

Never the greatest battlefield commander, George Washington nonetheless had a spectacular military career. His first independent commands met with disaster, and the capture of his entire force. However, like many of the men on this list, Washington learned from his mistakes, and went on to lead an ill-trained group of part-time soldiers through the steps of becoming a trained professional army. Did he have help? Certainly. But at the end of the day, if we blame him for the military failures of his command (Jamaica Pass,  Brandywine, Germantown, to name a few...) we should also credit him with his successes (Trenton, Princeton, Yorktown). He did defeat the military efforts of a powerful empire, earn the love and admiration of his soldiers, and go on to lead a new nation. Washington is emblematic of the results which can be achieved when an average commander is left in command long enough to gain considerable experience. That trust earns him his ranking.[2]




8. Leopold Joseph, Count von Daun
A) 4/5 B) 2/5 C) 3/5 D) 5/5 E) 3/5                                                                  Total: 18.35/25

Though disparaged by Frederick the Great, Leopold Joseph von Daun earned his place within the ranks of the great commanders of the Kabinettskriege era. He commanded one of the largest armies in the field during the course of the Seven Years' War, and defeated Frederick while holding army level command for the first time at Kolin in 1757. His victory at Breslau was overshadowed by the defeat of other generals at Leuthen. He and Frederick met again at Hochkirch in 1758, when Daun approved and executed Franz Lacy's plan to attack the Prussian camp in dispersed columns. This was highly successful, and Daun also captured a smaller Prussian army at Maxen the following year.  Daun's ability was placed under heavy strain in the later Seven Years' War, after he was wounded at the defeat of Torgau in 1760. Eventually, Frederick was able to maneuver and fight Austrian forces out of Silesia, leading to Daun's relatively low B) score. Despite this, Daun remained one of the few Austrian commanders who could defeat Frederick II consistently on the battlefield. [3]




7. Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
A) 4/5 B) 4/5 C) 3.5/5 D) 3.5/5 E) 3/5                                                         Total: 18.5/25

Thanks to his life-long friendship with his brother-in-law, Frederick II, King of Prussia, Ferdinand was able to dialogue on military matters with not only Frederick but many of the other respected military minds of the age. If only for his winter campaign of 1758, Ferdinand deserves to be placed on this list. Taking command of a dispirited recently surrendered force, Ferdinand was able to regain the strategic initiative and place the war back in the balance. Though occasionally defeated by the French, who possessed their own excellent leader in the form of the Duc de Broglie, Ferdinand steadily pushed back larger French armies and made a name for himself. Ferdinand had a unique challenge of leading a coalition force of Hessian, Brunswick, British, Hanoverian, and Prussian forces. He is, in my opinion, the most successful leader of disparate coalition forces to date. Though he did not advance the art of war, in theory, he was a highly successful practitioner of Frederick II's search for the decisive battle. The victory at Minden, his brainchild, is one of the greatest battlefield achievements of the Kabinettskriege era.[4]

6. Nader Sah Afsar, Shah of Persia

A) 5/5 B) 1/5 C) 3.75/5 D) 4/5 E) 5/5                                                   Total: 18.75/25

An unsung great commander of the Kabinettskriege age, Nadir Shah was truly an exceptional commander. Nadir won the vast majority of the battles which he commanded, as a result of unorthodox tactical system he employed. Starting from a local commander with a few hundred warriors, he built a army of men who employed linear tactics and firepower, rather than missile cavalry, to achieve its goals. In every way the heart of the force were Nadir's Jazareychi, who used heavy muskets weighing close to 40 pounds, and firing a 94 caliber ball, much more on the order of European wall guns. Nadir's use of firepower, mixed with cavalry on the wings of his formations allowed him to conquer an impressive empire, stretching from an Armenia to Pakistan. At the time of his death in 1747, Nadir led the largest army in the world, numbering 375,000 men. His murder by his officers led the the swift collapse of his empire, leading to a number of historians to compare him with Alexander the Great. This swift collapse accounts for his score in criteria B), his assassination by ambitious officers and brutality in later years account for C). In most other aspects, Nadir Shah was one of the most respected commanders of the age, and was  admired by philosphes and military theorists throughout Europe and the world.[5]

So, with that, we have completed the next five. Do you agree with my rankings? Have I left someone out? Let me know if the comments below.

Thanks for Reading,


Alex


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] There is disturbingly little to read on Turenne in English. Jean Bérenger's 1987, Turenne, remains a good biography for French speakers.
[2] Not surprisingly, Washington has generated an incredible amount of scholarly attention. I enjoy Edward Lengel's, General George Washington: A Military Life, and the relevant portions of Jon Ferling's Almost a Miracle. 
[3] With a lack of biographical material in English, see Christopher Duffy's, By Force of Arms. 
[4] In English, readers will find that Reginald Savory's, His Britannic Majesty's Army in Germany is old but intriguing. German readers will enjoy Mediger and Klingbiel's, Herzog Ferdinand von Braunschweig-Lüneburg und die alliierte Armee im Siebenjährigen Krieg. 
[5] For military details of Nader's life, see Michael Axworthy, The Sword of Persia.

Who Were The Greatest Commanders Between 1648-1789: Ranks 15th-11th

Dear Reader,

As you may or may not have heard, I am undertaking to rank the greatest army commanders of the Kabinettskriege age. You can find a full list of the potential candidates here.  These are the following categories upon which these generals are being judged:

A) Battle win-loss record, reckoned against total number of battles fought as commander.
B) Achievement and Sustainment of strategic/political aims
C) Charisma/inspiration of soldiers under their command
D) Scale of operations under their personal command
E) Display of originality/flexibility in thinking

This post will list the highest scoring members from the pool in the previous post, ranked from lowest (15th) to highest (11th). Without further adieu, here are the winners:

15. Peter I, Tsar of Russia, "the Great"
A) 2.25/5 B) 5/5 C) 2/5 D) 4/5 E) 3.5/5                                                                    Total: 16.75

A revolutionary monarch, more than a battlefield commander, Peter I is nonetheless noteworthy, taking up the 10th spot on our list. Although he was defeated at Narva (admittedly, after he had left the battlefield) Peter defeated Karl XII at Poltava, a battlefield encounter which decisively ended chances of Swedish victory in the Great Northern War. As a military leader, he expanded his realm with great speed, giving Russia a port on both the Baltic and the Black Sea. He cared about his men, and according to a least one chronicler, his last sickness was brought on by a heroic swim to help save his soldiers on a floundering naval vessel. Despite his force of personality, many of the reforms he enacted were a result of more soldiers more experienced in the technical art of war, brought in from German-speaking lands. Despite not being tactically innovative for his time, he did overhaul the Russian way of war, bringing them into modern military practice. Peter spent nearly his entire life in uniform, from his "toy regiments," all the way to becoming commander-in-chief of a green-coated, modern, Russian army.[1]






14. Franz Moritz von Lacy
A) 3/5 B) 3/5 C) 2.5/5 D) 4/5 E) 5/5                                                                          Total: 17.5/25

Franz Moritz von Lacy, the son of Russian (Irish) general Peter von Lacy, was the consummate professional soldier of the eighteenth century. His independent commands came late in the Kabinettskriege era, commanding a force briefly in the Seven Years' War, during the successful relief of the besieged fortress of Olmütz in Moravia. He had a chance to truly prove himself during the War of Bavarian Succession in 1777, when his mastery of positional warfare brought Frederick II to a standstill. Despite not retaking Silesia for Maria Theresa int the Seven Years' War, Lacy was a highly competent soldier, and would carry out reforms which made the Austrian private soldier the equal of the Prussian in the 1770s. A quiet, and rather bookish man, Lacy was never intensely popular with his troops, but they trusted his sound judgment. A master of logistics, Lacy took to commanding the huge armies of the War of Bavarian succession with relative ease, indeed, with more ease than Frederick II. Finally, Lacy's careful planning was behind the greatest Austrian victory of the Seven Years' War, the approach by separate columns and surprise attack at Hochkirch. His attack by converging tactical columns would change the face of warfare, and be utilized by figures like George Washington. [2]




13. Karl X Gustav, King of Sweden
 A) 3/5 B) 4/5 C) 2.5/5 D) 3/5 E) 5/5                                                                       Total:17.5/25

"Who?" you hear yourself saying. A forgotten Swedish national treasure, this bad boy often gets lost in the press to flip from Gustav II Adolph right to Karl XII. He also has a pretty cool anti-tank weapon named after him. Karl X Gustav commanded Swedish armies in the 1550s, during the Second Northern War. In this conflict, he initiated a expansion of Swedish territory, including the parts of Southern Sweden which make up the modern state of Sweden today. In this conflict, he prosecuted a successful campaign against the Poles, starting a period of Polish history called "the Deluge." Though he commanded fairly small armies by later standards, he used with them great originality, most famously in his "March Across the Belts," when he led an army across the frozen Baltic Sea into Denmark, despite the terror and protest of many of his generals. The scheme went off swimmingly (errrrr, not, no soldiers drowned) and Denmark signed a peace treaty which created the modern boundaries of Sweden. He did lose the Swedish colony in Delaware though, so that's a bummer. His achievements would later be squandered by his glorious though ineffective grandson, Karl XII.[3]





12. William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
A) 4/5 B) 2/5 C) 3.5/5 D) 3/5 E) 5/5                                                                  Total: 17.75/25

William Howe remains a controversial figure among historians, not least because he lost his dog to the Continental army. Many scholars second-guess the generals' decisions, and blame him for British failure in the revolutionary war. These criticisms may well have some merit, as his score for B) denotes. As a military commander on the battlefield, Howe achieved some notable results. From 1775-1778, the span of his military career in America, he personally commanded British troops against American rebels 10 times and was victorious on the battlefield 7 of them. This is a significant achievement. In particular, his recovery of the situation at Germantown, and his flanking movements at Brandywine and Long Island show tactical acumen. He was well beloved by his men, particularly his light infantry forces, for which he had a special affection. As commander-in-chief of British troops in North America, Howe commanded a wide array of forces and did not always coordinate them to full effect. In particular, his lack of support for General Burgoyne's army may have led to British failure in the War for Independence. On the other hand, Howe's instance that the British army operate in open order allowed British forces to perform to a very high standard in the early American War of Independence. An educated man, Howe wrote a treatise on light infantry tactics. His numerous and successful record in battle, as well as the doctrinal emphasis which allowed the British to achieve some success in the Revolutionary War, earn him his place in this ranking.[4]

11. Prinz Henri von Preussen (Prince Henry of Prussia) 

A) 3/5 B) 5/5 C) 3/5 D) 2/5 E) 4.9/5                                                                     Total: 17.9/25

Ahh, Henri. He was never going to be at the top of the list, but when Frederick II of Prussia is your older brother, sometimes it's hard to get out of the shadow. Many Prussian officers looked to Henri as a greater commander than Frederick, especially near the end of the Seven Years' War. Henri's victory at the Battle of Freiberg in October of 1762 greatly assisted the Prussian position at the negotiating table, formed part of a wider Prussian resurgence later in the Seven Years' War. Taken together, and considering his lack of command role in other battles, this explains his A) and B) score respectively. In terms of inspiration, he was a controversial figure.  Henri was more open about his sexual orientation as a gay man than his more enigmatic brother. Henri was an educated man, and encouraged young officers to learn French, "lest they be considered some sort of Germanic beast."[5] Many Prussian officers greatly admired Henri, who took over the mantle of a humane, educating force in the Prussian army after the death of FM Schwerin. In the dark days of 1761, Prussian officers hoped that Henri might offer some sort of way out of the seemingly impossible military situation. He never commanded more than a  theatre of operations, and Frederick often sent him lower quality troops, reserving the best regiments for his personal command. However, at Freiberg, Henri embraced the new Austrian method of attack in column, as demonstrated at Hochkirch. His educated and innovative mind greatly assisted the Prussian prosecution of the Seven Years' War.[6]

What do you think of the line-up so far? Do you agree that these men deserve the place they have earned in the rankings? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for Reading,

Alex Burns

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]See Christopher Duffy's Russia's Military Way to the West, and James Cracraft's The Revolution of Peter the Great. 
[4] To this date, Lacy has no biography. See relevant portions of Christopher Duffy's By Force of Arms. 
[3] Since Karl X Gustav has no English language biography, I will recommend: Michael Robert's, The Swedish Imperial Experience, Robert I. Frost, The Northern Wars, and Paul Douglas Lockhart, Sweden in the Seventeenth Century. 
[4] See Ira Gruber's, The Howe Brothers and the American Revolution, and Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy's, The Men who Lost America.

[5] Duffy, Military Experience in the Age of Reason, 10.

[6] Sadly, the best biography in English remains Chester Easum's older, Prince Henry of Prussia: Brother of Frederick the Great.