Greatest Conqueror Ever

[Heresson]

The greatest conqueror ever

Here it is!

[Alexander's Horse]

The Poles were the first to desert Napoleon's grande armee in Russia.

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
How does one compare the epic marches of Alexander with those of Napoleon? Napoleon abandoned his army in Russia. Alexander led his force all the way to India and back before 300 bc. Even if there had been no fighting it would still have been one of the greatest marches of all time.

Napoleon conquered an area the size of Alexander's Empire...and unlike Alexander, who conquered a whole lot fo sand and nothing, Napoleon conquered, you know, a heavily populated continent.

[Ned]

Lonestar, but he threw it all away in Russia.

[Ned]

How can Napolean be considered great when his disaster in Russia ranks up there with Andrianople. Napoleon deserves to be compared with Valens, not with Caesar.

[Heresson]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
The Poles were the first to desert Napoleon's grande armee in Russia.

Are You mad? Polish army was the LAST to desert him.

[Heresson]

It was dumb, though. Thanks to it we got divided again


btw., anyone wants to vote for my conquest frog?

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by Lonestar


Napoleon conquered an area the size of Alexander's Empire...and unlike Alexander, who conquered a whole lot fo sand and nothing, Napoleon conquered, you know, a heavily populated continent.

Exhibit A of American ignorance of geography.

You dunce

[UberCryxic]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
How does one compare the epic marches of Alexander with those of Napoleon? Napoleon abandoned his army in Russia. Alexander led his force all the way to India and back before 300 bc. Even if there had been no fighting it would still have been one of the greatest marches of all time.

Why would you say something like this? Napoleon's forces marched way over 1,000 miles in his 1805-1807 stint that saw the defeat of Austria, Prussia, and Russia (and if we're counting the return trip and the Spanish campaign of late 1808 and early 1809 then there's a lot of mileage there buddy). Honestly now why anyone would truncate the MARCHING aspect of Napoleonic warfare is ridiculous. The French could march 30 miles a day.

"Exhibit A of American ignorance of geography."

Be as cynical as you will, but I don't think he was ignorant. Depending on the system used to measure how much one "conquered", it can be proved that Napoleon conquered more than Alexander. In fact, there are sources that claim Napoleon has conquered the most. I don't agree with the system, however. To me, Genghis Khan has conquered the most ever. Here is what can be used, deviously, to justify Napoleon as #1: if one includes any territory that Napoleon gained but didn't hold indefinitely (ie. continuously), then it's easily provable that Napoleon was the greatest conqueror ever. Also, if we include Napoleon's "allies", the puppet states like Austria and Prussia, as French "territory" (which they officially weren't, but if we were to), the case becomes even clearer. You're looking at the LOUISANA TERRITORY, ALL OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE, AND EGYPT as part of the conquest list. If this were the case then Alexander and Genghis Khan would be reduced to tears. Like I said, it all depends on the way we analyze it. Personally, this system is ridiculous and clearly biased. I don't think Napoleon is the greatest conqueror in terms of square miles, but there are many aspects to being a "great conqueror" besides how much land you can grab.

To Molly: Yea I love Napoleon. But I also love Alexander nearly as much. Napoleon faced the most experienced commanders in Europe at the time and constantly defeated them. If you are going to speak of incompetence, then Darius should be your prime example! The Persian millitary employed such a quixotic system during the campaigns that it undercut practicality and viability.

[joncha]

[UberCryxic]

Originally posted by Ned
How can Napolean be considered great when his disaster in Russia ranks up there with Andrianople. Napoleon deserves to be compared with Valens, not with Caesar.

Not really....last I checked Adrianople was a battle, and Napoleon didn't lose any battle in Russia. You also can't compare it with the disastrous T'umu campaign of 1449 because there the Mongols actually destroyed the Chinese. In the Russian campaigns, the Russian army didn't do much to hurt the French (except the scorched-earth policy). A combination of a hostile populace, poor harvests/roads, and wretched weather did the Grand Army in quite nicely.....

[UberCryxic]

Not really....last I checked Adrianople was a battle, and Napoleon didn't lose any battle in Russia. You also can't compare it with the disastrous T'umu campaign of 1449 because there the Mongols actually destroyed the Chinese. In the Russian campaigns, the Russian army didn't do much to hurt the French (except the scorched-earth policy). A combination of a hostile populace, poor harvests/roads, and wretched weather did the Grand Army in quite nicely.....

[Ned]

UberCryxic, sure there are differences in details between Andrianople and Russia, but both had the same effect: decimation of the Empire's field army, from which both Empires never fully recovered. They are also similar in that both events could have been avoided if the respective Emperors had been just a little more cautious.

Also compare the Athenians loosing its field army at Syracuse. That whole adventure was unnecessary and Athens never fully recovered.

[Heresson]

Listen to the wisdom of Protagoras: two contradictory sentences can be both right
If a conqueror is someone who wins battles and conquers lands, Napoleon was indeed a great conqueror, and no need to prove that. If, however, we consider only pernament control over some territory as a conquest, Napoleon was not a great conqueror, because at the end of his reign France lost everything He conquered and what was conquered shortly before...
99999999999999999
is a great number indeed,
but
99999999999999999
-
100000000000000000
is less than zero

[:) Smiley]

Who was at the top of the list in the Civ1 scoring screen? I remember Dan Qualye being at the bottom...