Napoleon Bonaparte runs the Gauntlet

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TotalBalance

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#1  Edited By TotalBalance

SCENARIO: At the beginning of the scenario each competitor including Napoleon is at 35 years of age, they will be given 5 years to train and drill their 100'000 troops as they see fit. For the sake of convenience we will assume all 100'000 men speak their commanders native tongue as to avoid communication problems. They have access to all the materials in the equipment section and can choose to bring what they want of what is available. For example just because 750 cannons are available does not mean the competitor must field all 750. Each competitor will have a notable battle that Napoleon will be allowed to study, the notable battle that the competitors will be allowed to study on Napoleon is the battle of Austerlitz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz. The competitors will fight on an open plain of the dimensions 50km by 50km, they will enter on opposite sides of the plain aware of the presence but not exact position of their enemy and may begin making tactical movements/deployments from there.

EQUIPMENT: Below is a list of what and how many men/horses/equipment each competitor will have access to, the number of units of each item is in brackets.

-5' 10" 175 pound man (100'000)

-1853 Enfield (90'000)

-Enfield ammunition (9'000'000)

-Bayonet (90'000)

-Armstrong 12 pounder gun (750)

-Armstrong ammunition (75'000)

-Horse (15'000)

-Sabre (100'000)

-Cuirass (5'000)

-Uniform (100'000)

-Turkey sandwich (300'000)

-Tent: (50'000)

-Fire kit (10'000)

-Water canteen (200'000)

COMPETITORS:

1. Dan Sickles: Sickles was a failure of a Union general whose overzealous deployment of his men at the battle of Gettysburg resulted in the nearly complete destruction of the units under his command. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg,_Second_Day#Peach_Orchard

2. James Abercrombie: James was a failed British general who although brilliant at logistics and organization was a very poor tactician. He was removed from the military after his disastrous attack on Fort Carillon. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carillon

3. George Washington: Known to be more of a politician than a military man he nonetheless commanded the revolutionary army throughout the liberation of the thirteen colonies. He made up for his lack of tactical skill with his powers of motivation. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brandywine

4.James Wolfe: James Wolfe was the man that won Canada for Britain, although he enjoyed numerical supremacy during most of his victories he was a competent military commander with a good record. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Plains_of_Abraham

5. Robert E. Lee: Lee was a general on the Confederate side during the American civil war. A West-point graduate who won numerous battles despite being outnumbered, Lee was a strong tactician who made good use of his men. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Bull_Run

6. Alexander the Great: One of the greatest commanders of antiquity, a brilliant tactician who established a massive empire over the course of his life. The fact that he is from antiquity means that he will have a much steeper learning curve than most of the other competitors. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gaugamela

7. Charlemagne: The Caesar of Europe, although frequently overlooked in history books Charlemagne was a tactical genius who conquered much of continental Europe and commanded respect from around the world. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pavia_(773)

8. Duke of Wellington: Napoleons arch-nemesis, the Iron Duke was an adept tactician who made excellent use of his knowledge of his enemies, he had a sterling military career and would later serve as Prime-Minister. Of all the competitors he knows Napoleon best. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo

9. Genghis Khan: Founder of the largest contiguous land empire in the history of the world. A brilliant strategic mind who left a trail of victory wherever his horde went, he could come out of battle victorious even when severely outnumbered. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Badger_Mouth

10. Sun Tzu: The man who wrote the book, although there is some debate as to who he really was we believe him to have been a highly successful general of the warring states period. Given that there are no battles he can be directly tied to, Napoleon will instead get a copy of The Art of War to analyze.

11. Gustavus Adolphus: The father of modern warfare, considered to be one of, if not the greatest military mind in the history of mankind. He transformed Sweden from a fledgling nation to an imperial power. Battle reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Breitenfeld_(1631)

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CONCLUSION: So how far does Napoleon get through this gauntlet of some of the finest military minds in human history, responses will hopefully be educated opinions of a medium to long post length. Vive le France!

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Hksaru

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#2  Edited By Hksaru

Honestly, Napoleon is kind of like Genghis Khan in that he can attribute his success primarily to the state of his nation when he rose to power. Basically - while they are undoubtedly competent leaders to say the least - Napoleon stormed Europe because of his massive recruitment to his French military which then dwarfed any other military in Europe; and Genghis' well-trained, innumerable horse archers, in addition to the relentlessness of his people, allowed him to storm... everyone. No fighting force could step to the horse archers until the Mamluks.

5 and 6 should be higher in the list imo and both have a chance to beat him

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TotalBalance

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#3  Edited By TotalBalance

@Hksaru said:

Honestly, Napoleon is kind of like Genghis Khan in that he can attribute his success primarily to the state of his nation when he rose to power. Basically - while they are undoubtedly competent leaders to say the least - Napoleon stormed Europe because of his massive recruitment to his French military which then dwarfed any other military in Europe; and Genghis' well-trained, innumerable horse archers, in addition to the relentlessness of his people, allowed him to storm... everyone. No fighting force could step to the horse archers until the Mamluks.

5 and 6 should be higher in the list imo and both have a chance to beat him

Austerlitz was definitely not a case of victory through numerical supremacy, His empire would not have been there without conscription yes, but in terms of skill on the battlefield there is no questioning that he is among the greatest. I was considering putting Lee higher but after Gettysburg he essentially never won a meaningful victory again so he gets to be #5. Alexander is where he is because he is from way back so he would have the hardest time adapting to and mastering modern military techniques and weapons.

Shout-out to the Confederacy and Lee:

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#4  Edited By TotalBalance

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