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To the Immortal Memory
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As it's the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar
Who was the greater man? Nelson or Wellington and why? Oh I suppose you can vote for Napoleon if you're French (why they still think he was great is beyond me though!)
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Nelson cemented his reputation by dying youngish and at his peak, like James Dean. Wellington lived on to become a very conservative and not specially successful prime minister (though to be fair, getting to the post of PM at all is pretty successful). In that light you'd have to say Nelson, but the comparison between a young man and an old man isn't quite fair.
Napoleon changed France in a way neither man changed Britain; but from the British point of view he was loathed and feared almost as much as Hitler.
Wellington had one setback in India, although then he was following orders, since then, he never lost a battle, so for me, he's been the greatest military commander this country has ever had, on land, likewise, Nelson on the sea, we were lucky to have had them both at the same time. I don't think, because of the different enviromants, they
.... and The Immortality of Nelson remains........
yes in men but the role of marshall blucher and the prince of orange was hugely important at waterloo, especially blucher...in military terms both men were geniuses in their fields so the question is a impossible one to answer with certainty, nelson was unbelievably brave but also very reckless, he was more charismatic than wellington who in turn was a magnificent defensive general..but personally i would still pick nelson...jmho.
However, Wellington was the only person, who defeated and forced the Imperial Guard to run(this was before Blucher had joined the battle, although he was in sight).
He was also a superb tactician, taking large swathes of India and fighting probably the best overall military campaign ever in the Peninsula Wars, with some astonishing victories and strategems. What sets him apart from the others is that he chose the optimum place and time (wherever possible) for each battle and always weighed the loss of hid men's lives against the overall result. Also, he virtually invented logistics and supplies for an army as before his Indian campaign the army always forraged for food. He carried his own and bought the rest. He also stopped the worst ecesses of the soldiers - raping and pillaging - after the defeat of Naopoleon at Waterloo, the Parisian poulace was amazed the soldiers were well-behaved and paid - the French army had not! He expected everyone to obey what he said to the letter - which worked in war, but was disastrous in politics
Nelson was an opportunist, and a brilliant one, but he lacked the bigger picture understanding
A large part of the organisation of the Navy goes to Samuel Pepys - much less well regarded than he is due...
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