Who's Britain’s "Greatest Enemy Commander"?

[The Bread Guy]

American revolutionary leader George Washington has been voted the greatest enemy commander to face Britain, lauded for his spirit of endurance against the odds and the enormous impact of his victory.

In a contest organised by the National Army Museum, Washington triumphed over Irish independence hero Michael Collins, France's Napoleon Bonaparte, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.

Making the case for Washington, historian Stephen Brumwell said the American War of Independence (1775-83) was "the worst defeat for the British Empire ever."

"His personal leadership was crucial," he said.

Washington was a courageous and inspirational battlefield commander who led from the front but also had the skills to deal with his political counterparts in Congress and with his French allies, Brumwell said. Above all, he never gave up even when the war was going against him.

"His army was always under strength, hungry, badly supplied. He shared the dangers of his men. Anyone other than Washington would have given up the fight. He came to personify the cause, and the scale of his victory was immense."

Almost 8,000 people voted in an online poll which produced a shortlist of five men, whose merits were debated by guest speakers at a weekend event at the museum before a final ballot of attendees ....

Reuters, 15 Apr 12

This from the U.K.'s National Army Museum:

George Washington has been voted Britain’s Greatest Enemy Commander in the National Army Museum’s nationwide poll.

After months of fierce online voting, in which Napoleon, Rommel, Collins, Atatürk and Washington have all vied for the top spot, the deciding votes were cast at the Museum’s speaker day on Saturday 14 April. Washington won with 30 votes, beating off his nearest rival by 16 votes.

Voting results:

    George Washington - 30 votes
    Michael Collins - 14 votes
    Napoleon Bonaparte - 12 votes
    Erwin Rommel - 7 votes
    Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - 4 votes

The final vote concluded a hard-fought contest launched by the Museum back in February, which asked the public to vote online for their top foe. From its launch on 13 February to its close on 31 March, the online voting site attracted almost 8,000 votes and over 300,000 web hits.

The top five commanders, as determined by the online poll, then went forward to be represented at the all-day speaker event, where guests voted George Washington as the ultimate foe.

The poll was created to highlight the achievements of Britain’s most celebrated enemies and to draw attention to some of our lesser-known adversaries. In assembling the shortlist the main criterion was that each commander must have led an army against British forces in the field of battle (which saw the exclusion of some political enemies, like Adolf Hitler) and that they must fall within the Museum’s historical remit (from the 17th century onwards). The final selection demonstrates the global nature of the British Army's deployments throughout the centuries ....

 

[jeffb]

So by extension does this mean that General Sir Henry Clinton was the worst British Commander of all time?

 

[Old Sweat]

What about William the Conqueror?

This seems like a fairly shallow survey, with Rommel included. He did well largely because he was up against a number of people who demonstrated my first characteristic of the British Army, the ability to win battles despite the best efforts of its senior officers.

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

How about Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck?

Granted the outcome of his battles had limited strategic impact.

 

[Lance Wiebe]

Washington is probably the most recognizable name to many people.
Kind of a bogus contest, I think, I also wonder why it would make the news.