Napoleon may have been one of the greatest military strategist and it took a long time for anyone to be able to defeat him. But Alexis Surovov, one of Russia's greatest general never got the chance to fight him. He is one of the few generals never to have lost a single battle, and did defeat many of the Revolutionary French Armies. Overall, I believe that Alexis Surovov would had defeated Napoleon on Austerlitz or just about any battle.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
I think you mean Alexander Suvorov, R893, and I'm not sure even he would have been confident of winning ... he spoke of Napoleon to another officer: "That man had stolen my secret, the speed of my marches"
And he wrote to his nephew :
"The young Bonaparte, how he moves! He is a hero, a giant, a magician. He overcomes nature and he overcomes men. He turned the Alps as if they did not exist ... My God, how he moves!"
Yes, Alexander Surovov spoke greatly of Napoleon. But his final wish to the Tsar was a field command where he could go against Napoleon. He was undefeated, and commanded great respect. He defeated most of Napoleon's marshals, but nonetheless; I think that Surarovov would more than have defeated Napoleon or at least contain him.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Originally Posted by reve893
You mean Alexander Suvorov?
Hello? Died in 1800!!!!
!JFC~!!!
Yes he died in 1800, but Napoleon had shown tactical brilliance before that, and Surovov did fight against the revolutionary armies of France in Italy, and succeeded. He died soon, but my question is that if he hadn't died when he did, and had been able to command the Allied armies, would he had succeeded in beating the French or at least containing them.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
He (Suvorov) was 70 when he died . And how old would he have been during Austerlitz or Waterloo ?
If i only was so smart yesterday as my wife is today
Minding your own biz is great virtue, but situation awareness saves lives - Dok
Reve, Suvorov did defeat Joubert, who was a promising up and comer.
But how do you know he would have defeated Soult, Davout or Lannes, let alone Bonaparte? His most famous achievement was running away from Massena in the Alps!
5 yrs older and 15 yrs older, respectively
That´s what I meant . A talented warrior , but at 85 leading coalition warfare ...5 yrs older and 15 yrs older, respectively
BTW , name SUROVOV would fit him too , ´suroviy´ meaning in Russian something like ´tough´or ´rough´.
If i only was so smart yesterday as my wife is today
Minding your own biz is great virtue, but situation awareness saves lives - Dok
Line em up and musketry mows em down,preceded by the best cannoneers of the era.
The only reason he crossed the Alps, was the Austrian betrayal. It was a great achievement, regarding the fact that the French and his own allies turned against him, for his impressive victories in Italy. His techniques were more than impressive, he also drilled his armies more than the Prussians, who were devastated. I am pretty sure he would had been able to emply the massive Russian armies effectively at Austerlitz, and push Napoleon back. We must remember that he never lost a battle.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
I don't get it, Reve ... you say he wasn't beaten ... but wasn't he in charge of a big coalition army, decided to split it, the right wing got badly beaten by Massena at Zurich and he ran away with the rest, to end up sacked by the Czar for the whole debacle? He never commanded again.
Battle of Zurich : Marshal Massena : Napoleonic Wars : Napoleon Bonaparte : Archduke Charles
We must remember that this Massena was able to launch his offensive only after he defeated Suvarov deputies. The fault is not given to Suvarov but to his deputies for not showing the same brilliance he had. We must remember that one man can only do so much, the Propaganda of Revolutionary France made Napoleon look as the man who single-handily destroyed armies(Portraits by David). But in reality his strategies would not have been able to take place, if his deputies didn't know how to implement them.
We must remember that the Russian army was nothing but a peasant mass, with very little battle experience. Russian commanders were very bad, as seen in countless of battles. Yet Suvarov was able to achieve many results, in a very bad political situations.
Alexander Suvarov : Napoleonic Wars : Generals :
("unfortunately received very much of the blame")
Also during the battle of Massena, he was betrayed by the Austrians who stopped supplying his army. No army can achieve victory without logistics. His retreat is compared to that of Hannibal. He had no artillery or horses, but yet was only checked not defeated. He achieved an almost remarkable strategic retreat. Something Napoleon couldn't do in his Russian Campaign.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
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