Reply To: Dominic Lieven Napoelonic Lecture

[vtsaogames]

While working on a 4X6 mat for Castiglione 1796, listened to the first lecture. Marvelous stuff, especially his take on geo-strategy. Thanks for posting, will be coming back here for the other lectures.

 

Further, listened to Dr. Stoker’s lecture about ACW grand strategy and policy, quite interesting. He’s not as polished a speaker as Lieven.

 

I differ with him on two issues. While Little Mac was certainly better as general-in-chief than Halleck, I can’t imagine him letting someone else run the Army of the Potomac while he sat in D.C. Add in how incredibly insubordinate he was. Lincoln would put up with considerable rudeness and insult in the pursuit of results, but when McClellan deigned to make policy he dug his own grave. But yes, Halleck was a bust as field commander and as general-in-chief. Also, who would have led the Army of the Potomac? Franklin? Sumner? It took until Meade before they found someone who would not be bamboozled by Lee, and Grant before they found someone who would keep Lee’s feet to the fire.

 

And Vicksburg: while I don’t think the loss of Vicksburg was in itself the death knell of the Confederacy, it allowed the produce of the Old Northwest to flow down the river and be exported from the Union-held port of New Orleans, taking a lot of the economic pressure off an important Union region and tamping down the impact of copperhead sentiment, which was strong enough there.

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