Henrey Bradley
Amateur Historian, AdventurerUpdated 11mo

Who is the most underrated military commander in History?

The man that changed the game entirely, who wielded such influence that
his ideas are still imitated by modern militaries around the world. You
should know his name, there are grand statues erected and majestic
paintings adorning hallowed walls, all echoing this genius whose battles
and legendary finale campaign are still studied to this day.

The father of light infantry warfare, the master of infantry doctrine,
the young Scottish officer who took one look at Napoleonic military
doctrine, and decided soldiers standing around in neat lines, and
marching around battlefields in columns containing thousands of
soldiers, was bloody stupid.

He stands alone in his glory.


Your quality will be known among your enemies, before ever you meet them.

General Sir John Moore, 1761–1809.

As a talented young Scottish officer, Moore fought in a campaign called
the Penobscot Expedition in 1779, against the early United States. This
was an invaluable experience, Moore fought and defeated the US marines,
he admired their green uniforms that offered a degree of camouflage, and
Moore noticed that soldiers fighting in uneven terrain, naturally used
cover and moved in a manner that avoided standing in the open, and
falling victim to easy shots.

John Moore, then a Lieutenant, led his small detachment of professional
British soldiers, to demolish all that challenged his small force. The
United States sent a large army to remove the isolated British force,
but after a few days fighting, the US army was shockingly routed and
most of the US fleet was lost.

Over his career, Sir John Moore would introduce many groundbreaking
advances to military doctrine, ideas that forever changed light infantry warfare and have been adopted by militaries across the world;
‘open-order tactics and mobility in place of rigid drills and ponderous movement; camouflage and concealment in place of serried ranks of red
coats; individual marksmanship in place of massed musket fire; and
intelligence and self-reliance in place of blind obedience instilled by
the fear of brutal punishment.’

Moore is regarded as the greatest trainer of soldiers, in British
military history. He is the man who laid the very foundations upon which
all modern light infantry warfare is built upon, a new type of soldier,
John Moore’s Rifleman.

"Moore's contribution to the British Army was not only that matchless
Light Infantry who have ever since enshrined his training, but also the
belief that the perfect soldier can only be made by evoking all that is
finest in man - physical, mental and spiritual". - Sir Arthur Bryant.

Amusingly, while Moore was building a revolutionary Rifleman training
centre, it is said that when new buildings were being constructed at the
camp and the architect asked him where the paths should go, he told him
to; “Wait some months and see where the men walk, then put the paths there.”

That's not all, John Moore also revolutionised Defensive Fortifications, building and designing arguably the finest small Forts known as -
Martello Towers.

The year is 1794 and two Royal Navy warships engaged a small primitive
tower fort on the Genoese island of Corsica, after bombarding the little
fort for a while, the tower showed minimal damage and continued with
much irritation, to fight back.

Finally, General James Moore decided to lead an infantry detachment to neutralise the tower, the experienced officer led his small force of well-trained marines with great skill, fought a gruelling 3-day battle,
whereby he was forced to move a large-calibre cannon over difficult
terrain to position it within effective range. His cannon breached the
little tower and Moore’s troops finally overwhelmed the defenders, and destroyed the Tower.


Being a rather fiendish gentleman, General Moore took inspiration from
this engagement with the tower, he immediately returned to Britain and
started designing the ultimate Tower Forts. Moore’s great towers would eventually be built by the hundreds across the British Empire, most
still stand today, due to the immense difficulty required in destroying
them. Compared to the little tower that tested Moore on that rocky
island, Moore’s Martello Towers were far more heavily fortified, with multiple floors and more effective infantry defences, and most of his
Towers were built in pairs, with interlocking fire.

Today, General Moore’s Martello Towers stand guard around the world, he
named them for the Genoese Island Bay, where he fought a fierce little
Tower.

At the Battle of Alexandria, General Moore commanded the British left,
his elite force that included the Gloucestershire Regiment and the Black
Watch Highlanders fought like demons battling amongst ruins. General
Moore patrolled the front lines, shouting orders and reacting to the
swirling mayhem of that dusty battlefield with his tactical genius. His exemplary leadership led his outnumbered force to hold their position
and defeat a more numerous foe.


The Gloucestershire Regiment greatly distinguished themselves when they
were surrounded by two French units. When the front and rear ranks were simultaneously engaged, the Glosters received the order; "Front rank
stay as you are, Rear rank about turn" — They fought with great skill
front and rear, defeating the French against the odds. Meanwhile,
General Moore oversaw the Blackwatch while they captured the standard of Bonaparte's ‘invincibles’.

I have long argued that General John Moore was potentially the finest
Officer of his generation, he built the army that Wellington used to
defeat Napoleon, his military doctrine has survived the test of time,
and his tower forts stand guard around the world, as resolute monuments
to the giant, John Moore.

General Sir John Moore died, knowing that he had achieved his most
iconic victory, after his epic retreat to Corunna across Spain, while
being repeatedly attacked, his command fought a stunning series of
devastating rearguard actions, ambushing and annihilating entire French
units. Eventually, Moore reached Corunna with his decent sized army
intact, he then turned around with his back to the sea and pulled off a tactical marvel at the Battle of Corunna. Sadly, this relatively young
gifted General died alongside some 900 of his command, who fought with
great bravely, routing a much larger French army, which lost more than
2000 soldiers just at Corunna.

I’ve always considered John Moore a forgotten giant, I’ve written short stories about his life and no doubt many of my regular readers can
recall me prattling on about how Sir John Moore’s life was incredible,
how his intelligence led him to achieve lasting greatness, in his short
time. Moore would have beaten Napoleon, possibly harder than Wellington…
And yes, I’m still shilling for the Gloucestershire Regiment.

Napoleon said of John Moore: 'His talents and firmness alone saved the
British army [in Spain] from destruction; he was a brave soldier, an
excellent officer, and a man of talent. He made a few mistakes, which
were probably inseparable from the difficulties with which he was
surrounded.'

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