Addai67 wrote...
(husband)
Yes Loghain in some ways is actually somewhat convential by military history standards. That is to say there is an adage that generals tend to "fight the war of the previous generation rather than the one that is before them".
So in World War II you have generals trying to use a trench warfare mentality, in Vietnam with asymetrical warfare you ones that try to do an attrition warfare like WWII and so on.
To that degree Loghain isn't alone, except real life tends to force you to adjust your paradigm and methods and he seems slower than most to adjust. This would however tend to downgrade his "best general ever" rating. A truely great general can see new possiblities, adjust and exploit them, like Sun Tzu, Rommel, Patton, Napolean, Alexander the Great etc.
You are talking about outdated tactics and strategies that could no longer fit in more modern periods. You're right of course, but I don't see how this has anything to do with Loghain. We were not discussing his tactics. We were discussing the murky political situation where Ferelden was faced with 2 fronts and a possible third that, in Loghain's mind, was potentially the most dangerous. And how he, while factually wrong, had good or at least valid reasons to think so.
So I really don't see "new possibilities to adjust to and exploit" in this situation (he did try to get all mages to fight and was very nearly succesful, so that's a plus). We don't really know what tactics he employed (we do know he was crushing the Bannorn in several battles, including one where he was ambushed). And I don't see how his general strategy, which might not have been perfect, could have been improved much considering everything. His major failure, imo, was political, in the sense of uniting the bannorn against him. His other major mistake is thinking that the Orlesians were the immediate threat.
However, that too is not a belief without some basis. We know from Riordan that the majority of the horde was spotted heading to the West and not the North, until after the Landsmeet (and from what I see, their advance is very slow. It's only after the Landsmeet that the Blight surges to Denerim). Much of the southern lands / Bannorn were fighting against Loghain (and what were they thinking?), so he could not have helped them even if he wanted to. And based on our experience in the deep roads, the majority of the horde was still underground with the archdemon, until it revealed itself. Loghain underestimates the Blight, yes, due to ignorance and lack of information. On the otherhand, he knows that there are 4 legions of chevaliers on the borders, possibly waiting for even more. 4 legions is quite a lot considering how Orlais sent 2 at the River Dane in order to reassert Orlesian rule in all of Ferelden.
So all in all, while he was mistaken, it's a line of thinking with some basis on one hand and caused by a lack of information on the other (that could not have been helped unless he sent scouts to the deep roads, which he couldn't due to Orzammar's instability). It might be easy to judge him, but I think he did the best he could in the context he was in, considering his bad luck (Uldred failing, Endrin dying) and his lack of political prudence.
But I don't think anyone was saying Loghain was the best general ever. However considering how in TST, Loghain mastered both conventional and guerrilla warfare (night elves), which is something seldom achieved, I would find it hard to argue that he isn't a good general. Far from being perfect of course. But I don't think its his military prowess that should be put in question as much. It's rather his political failure that I find more blatant.
Modifié par KnightofPhoenix, 13 octobre 2010 - 11:43 .
Retour en haut
:innocent:
