Grading Generals: Great article, Dennis

» Brian Tubbs - Great article, Dennis

Forgive me for joining this discussion so long after the article was originally published. I'm a latecomer to your site. This was an excellent article, as are the others on this site that I've read as well.

I'd like to open up a new question on this very good discussion. Can a "great" general lose most of his battles?

As a Revolutionary War buff, I'm thinking of the forgotten and underrated Nathanael Greene. From a battle win-loss standpoint, Greene didn't fare too well against General Lord Cornwallis. But in the grand strategic scheme, Greene had Cornwallis chasing him around the countryside, just the way he (Greene) wanted. Eventually, the battered and exhausted Cornwallis withdrew to Yorktown, and then Greene notified his superior (Gen. Washington), and the rest is history.

-- posted by Brian Tubbs