Quote Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh View Post
I've always wondered at the odd mix of tactical qualities Washington had. In a set-piece battle or standard attack he was no better than average, not particularly prone to mistakes but also not proof against being out manuevered or out-generaled. Yet at the same time he was a virtuoso in extracting an army from a debacle. He could retreat effectively under fire with a routing or half-broken force and pull it off time and again -- even though many of the professionals out there assert that this is the most difficult thing to do in all of warfare.
On the other hand, I got the impression that being at least average or not particularly prone to mistakes went quite far in the French and Indian war. In larger encounters usually both sides made their part of mistakes or had their disadvantages.