Competent political general

[briantk]

Can anyone nominate politically appointed officer with little or no military background, but in the end proved to be good military officer?
My nominee is John A. Logan, aka "Black Jack" Logan, Copperhead who fought for the Union Army in the west.
Narses, Armenian eunuch who served for Justinian, succeeded after Belisarius' dismissal and continued Justinian's campaign with great success.

[California Joe]

That's kind of hard to draw the distinction. George Washington was a Colonel in the Virginia Militia but his only action turned out rather badly in the F&I War. He was a politically motivated appointee as head of the Continental Army. So he had the background but no one could have predicted how he ended up...He damn near saved the entire Revolution by sheer force of will.

U.S. Grant. He definitely had a military background but he didn't exactly have much to recommend him before Lincoln gave him a job. Certainly didn't have the pedigree of Robert E. Lee.

[Stainless Steel Rat]

On the Southern side of the Civil War, both Nathan Bedford Forrest and Patrick Cleburne were unskilled military men who rose to high rank and great reputation.

Would love to hear from countries other than the US.

[mas-36]

I nominate General Nathanael Greene, one of my favorites. Started the war as a lowly militia man with no formal training. He taught himself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathanael_Greene

[Templar@Large]

People hear me ! The greatest Political Genreal in History by far is Julius Caesar. Have always wondered what this world would be like if He had`nt been killed. The Man had skills , Both Political and Military ......

[Templar@Large]

People hear me ! The greatest Political Genreal in History by far is Julius Caesar. Have always wondered what this world would be like if He had`nt been killed. The Man had skills , Both Political and Military ......

[The Saint]

Union Brigadier-General Joshua Chamberlain, a college professor before the Civil War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Chamberlain

[Solomin]

Union Brigadier-General Joshua Chamberlain, a college professor before the Civil War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Chamberlain

Yep, beat me to it.

[California Joe]

^ Excellent choice.

[usmcprincipal]

An excellent historical novel by Michael Shaara is "The Killer Angels", which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. The central character in the book is Chamberlain.

It's a book well worth reading....

[California Joe]

I've read that. I really like that book.

[Hollis]

I've read that. I really like that book.


2X here too, I thought it was well written. My favorite CW author is Bruce Catton, along with Michael Shaara, they demonstrated a very good feel for the time.

[Laconian]

I would certainly put Eisenhower in this category. Although a career, professional soldier he never commanded in combat and prior to getting command of Operation Torch, had been an O-5, Lt. Colonel concerned about getting his full Colonel. Many felt he was promoted way above his abilities early on. He led by compromise, hook and crook the Allied campaigns in N. Africa, Italy and NW Europe.

On a smaller scale, **** Winters of E Co. 506 IN fame comes to mind.

[The Saint]

Lazare Hoche, an Army Sergeant before the French Revolution in 1789, who became one of ablest generals of the young Republic. He was commanding an Army Corps when he died in 1797 (at 29) from tuberculosis.

[usmcprincipal]

My immediate memory of Alexander Haig is limited to the day President Reagan was shot and I'm not really certain about his status as a competent general officer, but his rise to power is astounding.

In 1967 he was a Lieutenant-Colonel and battalion commander and by 1974 he was a four-star general and the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.

[The Saint]

T.E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia.
His military training before WW1 was a spell with UOTC in Oxford. Until 1916, he was a young Captain in the Arab Bureau in Cairo, which dealt with intelligence and political matters, hardly a training in modern guerilla warfare.

[Power_serj]

Wow, no one said General Eisenhower. He was an alright president. His domestic policy,wwell....heh.


EDIT: Oops, I just read the first post. Nevermind this post.

[California Joe]

You didn't read the 13th post either did you.

[Buckeye67]

You didn't read the 13th post either did you.

Oh, there you go with that "read > comprehend > post" nonsense again. :p

Re: Washington, while his first command during the F&I War didn't go well at all (lol understatement), he did distinguish himself on Braddock's campaign to retake the Ohio country in 1755. While the Battle of the Monongahela was a disaster for the british - Washington redeemed his repuation. He had two horses shot out from underneath him during the battle and four bullets passed through his coat (with him sustaining no injuries at all). The indians came to believe that he was protected by the Great Spirit.

He was regarded as a hero in Virginia afterwards.

[06USMC02]

Second on Joshua Chamberlain. A real ass-kicker with no formal military training.

[Rudolph]

Jan Smuts. Boer War general with no training who ended up leading SA and British forces in WW1 and served on the Imperial War Council for both wars, while also later being South African Prime Minister.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showpost.php?p=2926186&postcount=19