lvaces
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Joined: 4/14/2005
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Since Braxton Bragg was posted for voting a while ago, analyzing him now won't affect the voting much, but I can not resist trying it. Especially as his name seems to come up often in discussing other generals, as in people saying, "Well ... at least he wasn't as bad as Bragg."
Leadership - 2 (Poor) At Missionary Ridge Bragg presided over something almost unique in the Civil War, a Confederate army that lost heart and ran away. There is not much more that needs to be said, other than when J Johnston came in, these men proved they were still the hard fighters they had ever been. They just needed a different general.
Initiative - 6 (Great) Bragg is strong here. It is an interesting fact that tho he was on the defensive strategically, both his major battles of Stones River and Chickamauga saw him taking the fight to the enemy and attacking them. At Stones River he caught Rosecrans by surprise and at Chickamauga by choosing the offensive over the defensive was able to drive Rosecrans off in confusion (both the army and the man himself). Throw in that upon taking over the AoT in the first place, he quickly took his defeated army and was invading Kentucky with it, and you have all you need for a great initiative rating.
Tactics - 4 (Fair) Nothing special here, but not bad. The victory at Chickamauga gains him a 4 instead of a 3 (A lot of that victory was due to luck, but that is true for every victorious general. One might make the case that in rating generals, luck should be one of the most important rating categories).
Command - 3 (Average) At times Bragg showed flashes of almost brilliance, but he could never make anything important come of these moments of achievement. His inability to make anything of the Chickamauga victory, and even worse his decision to send Longstreet away from the Missionary Ridge position before Grant's attack dooms him to no more than an average 3 here.
Having now graded A Johnston, Bragg, and E Johnston, let's see how the 3 successive commanders of the Army of Tennessee compare by my ratings.
A Johnston
Initiative - 6
Leadership - 6
Tactics - 3
Command - 4
Average: 4.75
J Johnston
Initiative - 2
Leadership- 6
Tactics - 5
Command - 4
Average: 4.25
Bragg
Initiative - 6
Leadership - 2
Tactics - 4
Command - 3
Avarage: 3.75
So one might say that A Johnston gets a grade of Good minus, J Johnston gets an overall grade of Fair plus, and Bragg a grade of Fair minus.
< Message edited by lvaces -- 10/10/2006 8:56:06 PM >
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Braxton Bragg - A Rating Analysis - 
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