emperorpenguin said:
'tis off topic but....
Crecy and Agincourt were no more shockingly incompetent than Isandhlwana or New Orleans :wink:
I don't think many people would share your view that Wellington was better than Napoleon. Don't forget that the latter was very ill with early signs of stomach cancer and had the Prussians not arrived (or even according to Napoleon as recounted in exile, had Ney not wasted the cavalry) then most historians feel Napoleon would have won.
Isandhlwana was an ambush, conducted by native troops with intimate knowledge of the terrain, against a column in marching order, in terrain well-suited to ambushing. That said, the British column should have had proper scouts in place and should have detected the ambush...
I can't comment on New Orleans, as I'm completely ignorant of the details of the battle. I gather it was a battle in the War of 1812, and a British defeat, but aside from that I don't know what happened.
For both of the defeats you mentioned, though, we have a victory to make up for them. Isandhlwana is balanced up by Rorke's Drift, and New Orleans by the burning of Washington DC...
As for Napoleon vs Wellington, Napoleon used the same column tactic against every opponent, and Waterloo, his greatest performance, was a defeat. Wellington never lost a battle in his career and won against odds that would have made other generals quake. Assaye was the most spectacular of these, were a small British composed almost entirely of local troops defeated the vast Mahratta Confederation army, complete with elephants. Wellington's defence of Portugal and the Battle of Talevera (someone tell me if I spelled that right) were also remarkable.
Incidentally, according to my readings, Waterloo was about sewn up by the time the Prussians turned up, and the French Imperial Guard had already been sent in to attack the British line before they arrived. This always signalled the last gasp for a French battle, since the Imperial Guard were held in reserve until they were most needed, in the manner of the Roman Triarii.
thanks mate... 
