The Connection between Generalship and Age - Assignment Example

One is likely to think that Fuller still believes that being a young person between the ages of thirty and forty-nine and a General at the same is a military virtue in and of itself.

Great military ideas are actually extremely simple. ...

Greatness lies in the freedom of the intellect and spirit

at moments of pressure and crisis, and in the willingness

to take risks

        Delbruck 1900 p. 1

Most of the attributes described above are best exhibited by persons who are not only young at heart but persons who are also young physically. For example, all these attributes and more were exhibited by George Washington. At the time he became a General, he fell within the age bracket that Fuller sets in his appendix. In fact, it seems to be the case that his youth really helped him attain military success. It is on record that he exhibited certain actions that may best be described as the consequence of the ‘hot blood’ of a young person. Washington went to the Second Continental Congress dressed in a military uniform. This was an indication of his preparedness for war (Rasmussen and Tilton, 1999. P. 294). It was this mindset that he became a general. Although he lost many of his battles, George Washington never surrendered in the course of any. In spite of the fact that Fuller does not generally directly postulate that being as young as Washington was a military virtue in and of itself, using Washington as a case study, it seems to be the truth.

The General-ship of Alexander, the Great is indeed another example that may prove that military success and age are closely knit. As the son and successor of a great politician and king, Phillip II of Macedonia, the course of Alexander’s life seems to have been set since he was much younger. He became the ruler of his land when he was just twenty years old. When he became king, he also inherited the army. Alexander, the Great is said to have never lost a battle (Roisman and Worthington, Chapter 9, p. 192). He was known for his use of bold tactics, cavalry strategies, terrain, and the effective deployment of his loyal troops (Morko 1996, p. 122). One may also not be wrong to assume that there could be a quantum of wisdom that comes with being as young as Alexander. But that assumption will be wrong because not all young people may be as wise as Alexander if they had the same opportunity or if they had been in a position similar to Alexander’s. However, one may want to take a U-turn because the story of Alexander, the Great is similar to that of Napoleon. Like Alexander, the Great; Napolean Bonaparte exhibited strong traits of military acumen even from a tender age.

Even if Fuller may not have directly laid claims to his supposition that being young is in and of itself a military virtue, apparently evidence that can be deduced not just from his appendix but from real life show that that is in fact the truth. However, the fact that it is true with some people doesn’t mean that it is true with all.