#great generals

[juchewave]

Happy Day of DNF, comrades! Let us hold the sacred flame of DNF in our hearts for all eternity, and allow its warmth to flow through the comradeship of our nation and motivate our every undertaking forever! Let this be our guiding force for victory!

[jeannereames]

What do you think was Alexander greatest skill in the military field?

Alexander's Greatest Military Skill (and Philip too)

I am not alone in pointing to his almost uncanny ability to “read the mind” of his opponent. The best generals are mini-psychologists. Yes, a good, disciplined army matters. State-of-the-art military equipment matters. Numbers matter too.

But ALL of these advantages can be undercut if the general doesn’t understand their opponent.

Alexander went into Persia understanding the Persian “war machine.” He knew what the Persians could bring to bear, how they deployed, and how they thought: what they were willing to risk and what they weren’t. A good general may downplay risks when addressing the soldiers, but NEVER to him/herself. Similarly, he understood the Greeks, Thracians, and Illyrians during the campaigns of his first two years.

He didn’t really hit trouble until Baktria and Sogdiana…when he stopped understanding how the locals perceived things. It wasn’t until he figured it out (they wanted a permeable border and recognized kin-ties, so he married into a ruling family), that he was able to march out into India and leave the area pacified behind him (more or less). Once in India, with improved intelligence, he once again showed his ability to out-think Poros.

So yeah, Alexander’s greatest military skill was understanding his opponent, both large scale (strategy) and small scale (tactics for a particular battle). He designed frighteningly apt strategies against (almost) everybody.

That said, while he understood the Persian war marchine, he didn’t really understand the Persian POLITICAL machine, and when he burned Persepolis (almost certainly a staged event, not a drunken frat party gone wrong) to appease his Greek audience, he shot himself in the foot and all-but-permanently alienated the Persian aristocracy. I believe he was working on fixing that, but died before he could succeed—assuming he ever really understood the sheer scope of his error. I’m not sure he did, but Alexander was a smart cookie, so maybe. I can’t decide because he died too soon.

Yet Persepolis was a mistake I don’t think his father would have made. Whether we can chalk that up to Alexander's young age, or just a different mental space, I’m not sure. But Philip was the superior politician—even young. When we look at what he achieved in his first five years, it’s extraordinary. Of course, he became a shrewd politician in order to stay alive—something Alexander didn’t face.

Needs make the king?

Philip was also visionary when it came to military invention. He completely revamped the Macedonian army. He understood the importance of combined arms (probably from his time in Thebes), and the need for Macedon to develop a viable infantry…then took it a step farther with the pike (sarissa) that was twice the length of a Greek spear. He recognized armament had been lessening to eliminate weight, and used the pike length to continue that trend, reducing shield size. (The aspis, or hoplite shield, is freakin’ heavy!) He also kept a “linking,” more heavily armed and more mobile unit in the Pezhetairoi (=Hypaspists). AND he repurposed the famous Thessalian rhomboid cavalry unit, cutting it in half to create “spear heads” because (unlike the Thessalians) his cavalry only needed to go in one direction: forward. (The value of the rhomboid was to allow Thessalian cavalry units to change direction on a dime by changing the “point.”) Philip invented the “hammer and anvil” which he then used to devastating effect. For that, his cavalry just needed to HIT, not retreat.

Alexander never really changed those tactics. Instead, he—first—continued his father’s “de-noble-ing” of the army by further advancing leaders based on ability, not birth. Philip started it with both the Pezhetairoi (=Hypaspists) and the creation of the Foot. After Gaugamela, Alexander promoted lower officers on ability, not birth. He didn’t dare touch the TOP offices, which continued to be based on birth, but below that…oh, yeah. Advancement democratized (or maybe meritocratized). We can also probably give Alexander superior use of artillery, but I’m not sure how much that’s innovation and how much simple tactical brilliance.

What Alexander did better than Daddy was anticipate his enemy. There’s a lot of talk that Philip handed Alexander a crack army and Alexander got lucky. Yes, Philip did hand Alexander a crack army, but Alexander had to know how to USE it. Philip lost battles. Not a lot, but he did lose some. Alexander didn’t. (We can debate the Marakanda debacle, but that defeat isn’t usually chalked up to him because he wasn’t present.) Where Alexander tended to fail was at the larger, political level.

So the gift Alexander had over Philip was the ability to assess the enemy better, and employ superior tactics (and strategy). Philip, by contrast, excelled his son in political savvy and military innovation.

That’s my assessment of BOTH kings.

[juchewave]

Let's all forever follow the revolutionary wake of Great General GeorgeNotFound like a loyal school of fish through the wide and turbulent river!

[juchewave]

return of the gogchat... thank you, great general. thank you

[juchewave]

Comrades, the strategic situation is difficult. The enemy has aimed a bayonet at the heart of our Revolution in the form of slanderous, bloodthirsty lies against the Great Leaders.

Great Marshal DreamWasTaken, Great General GeorgeNotFound, and Great Chairman Sapnap - you are humbly implored to use the nuclear deterrent against these treacherous rats and secure our nation against aggression once and for all. We will forever uphold our oath of loyalty, even as we stand one against a hundred! To die in the fight under your command is our greatest honor!

[juchewave]

D A Y O F T H E S U N - 1 N O V E M B E R 1 9 9 6

Happy (belated) Day of the Sun, comrades!

Great General GeorgeNotFound, a very happy birthday to you! For 28 glorious years, you have cast your brilliance on this world. You have forged a path through our hearts, and bestowed meaning upon our lives. Live ten thousand years, Honorable Leader! We cannot survive without you!

[juchewave]

Great Marshal DreamWasTaken, we salute you!

Your shining honor, your ceaseless integrity, and your bravery in battle all serve as examples we must strive to embody. Time and time again, you have stood as a strong fortress and defended the people against all odds. Wherever you meet the enemy, we will stand firmly behind you, forever following the road of loyalty, even if we stand one against a hundred!