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Losing a battle means that the other guy was a better general, not that the loser was a bad one, and the scale of the defeat does not mean an equivalent lack of military ability. After all, Napoleon lost at Waterloo. So for a true stinker at matters military, may I promote the claims of one Quintus Marcius Philippus, general during the Third Macedonian war; a man who was actually and undeservedly successful? This is a leader who took his army - including elephants - on a journey through the narrow mountain paths of the Olympus range - a march from which when committed there was no turning back. Philippus eventually brought his men down into Macedonia , exhausted and starving, into a narrow valley with no chance of escape or resupply. The head of the valley could have been blocked by a few hundred men, especially as there was a large defensible temple ideally situated for that purpose. Thus the Roman army was led into a position where it must surrender or starve. As it was a strong, well-equipped army army, it was only put in this position with great difficulty, and the huge self-restraint required to ignore several more militarily feasible options. Had Philip V still being running Macedon, it would have been game over. However, his son Persues decided that the only logical reason that the Romans would have made such a crazily suicidal move was if they had outflanked him elsewhere, so he pulled his army back to defend the capital. So, by literally incredible stupidity, Philippus gave Rome the bridgehead in Macedonia that they needed to win the war. It is yet not too late for his amazing lack of talent to be recognized.

Hi all It is my great pleasure to announce the imminent-ish arrival of my latest offering. The publication date is set for 30 September 2015. Available soon in all good bookshops! Oh, and at Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Patricians-Emperors-Rulers-Western-Empire/dp/1848844123/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1424458626&sr=8-5&keywords=patricians+and+emperors http://www.amazon.com/Patricians-Emperors-Rulers-Western-Empire/dp/1848844123/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424458863&sr=8-1&keywords=patricians+and+emperors+hughes Interesting that the title is slightly wrong!