Honorverse Top Ten Tacticians, Strategists

BrightSoul wrote:I'll give it a go, in no particular order first... putting them in order would tax my post work brain too hard and delay me for hours.

Raoul Courvosier
Honor Harrington
Tom Theisman
Esther McQueen
Hamish Alexander
Javier Giscard
Lester Tourville
Michelle Henke
Aivars Terehkov
Judah Yanakov

-I bumped Sarnow for Henke, her actions in SoF demonstrated strategic thinking at a level we hadn't previously seen from her or many other characters.
-I wanted to put Abigail on but her sample set is too small.
-I'm torn between Aivars and Oversteegan, both are exceptional strategists but Aivar's SoS actions were nothing short of brilliant, building the squadron, scouting the system etc.
-I Really wanted to put Alfredo on this list and might even be convinced to bump Yanakov for him

PS, this ended up pretty close to in order.

...this is actually a really good list. And I can't believe I left off Javier, though that was probably an instinctive reaction by my brain to prevent me turning into a sobbing waterfall.

And as much as I love Augustus Khumalo - good God do I love Augustus Khumalo - his greatest asset as a tactician is knowing when to get the hell out of the way of his subordinates who can do it better than he can. What he's good at, he is very very good at (politics, administration, snogging Estelle, etc.) but tactics is not on that list.

One thing I really want to see is Allen Higgins in a situation not designed to punch him in the gut and spit on him. He's never had a chance to show readers what he can do, and I'd love to see him finally kick ass for a change instead of being stuck in a situation where he can do nothing but get out and add yet another memory to the list of "reasons Allen Higgins has godawful nightmares".

I'd push Theisman closer to the top. Admittedly, our sample size is small, but he's proven to be a superior strategist (winning the Havenite civil war against 7 or 8 opponents, as well as planning operations beatrice and thunderbolt).
The one real example of him in a tactical situation: at the 1.5 battle of grayson. (where they took blackbird)
In that situation, he makes a spur of the moment call that inflicts serious damage on a numerically superior force.

Oh, I also just thought of Duquesne base, where he stages a raid to retake seabring and hit two other star systems, as well as planning an excellent defense for the system.

roseandheather wrote:

BrightSoul wrote:I'll give it a go, in no particular order first... putting them in order would tax my post work brain too hard and delay me for hours.

Raoul Courvosier
Honor Harrington
Tom Theisman
Esther McQueen
Hamish Alexander
Javier Giscard
Lester Tourville
Michelle Henke
Aivars Terehkov
Judah Yanakov

-I bumped Sarnow for Henke, her actions in SoF demonstrated strategic thinking at a level we hadn't previously seen from her or many other characters.
-I wanted to put Abigail on but her sample set is too small.
-I'm torn between Aivars and Oversteegan, both are exceptional strategists but Aivar's SoS actions were nothing short of brilliant, building the squadron, scouting the system etc.
-I Really wanted to put Alfredo on this list and might even be convinced to bump Yanakov for him

PS, this ended up pretty close to in order.

...this is actually a really good list. And I can't believe I left off Javier, though that was probably an instinctive reaction by my brain to prevent me turning into a sobbing waterfall.

And as much as I love Augustus Khumalo - good God do I love Augustus Khumalo - his greatest asset as a tactician is knowing when to get the hell out of the way of his subordinates who can do it better than he can. What he's good at, he is very very good at (politics, administration, snogging Estelle, etc.) but tactics is not on that list.

One thing I really want to see is Allen Higgins in a situation not designed to punch him in the gut and spit on him. He's never had a chance to show readers what he can do, and I'd love to see him finally kick ass for a change instead of being stuck in a situation where he can do nothing but get out and add yet another memory to the list of "reasons Allen Higgins has godawful nightmares".

I was wondering why you left out your baby rose. But I just assumed you love him...but just don't have confidence in him. Which would kill him in bed you know!

Besides, got my own list and niece to worry about. With a deadline of Saturday. Too close for me to have to report to her! Wish I could post some of their heated (and humorous, mostly) emails, but that would probably be an invasion of their privacy.

The lists are missing

unnamed Mesan #1
unnamed Mesan #2
unnamed Mesan #3

I suspect at maturity, not yet, perhaps not in the books we will ever see

Honor Harrington -- Abigail Hearns -- tie
3 x unnamed Mesans

quark wrote:
I'd push Theisman closer to the top. Admittedly, our sample size is small, but he's proven to be...
<unintentional snip>

So would I. How could Theisman not be in the top 5. But the competition for these 10 slots is stiff.

cthia wrote:A small snippet of my niece's email to me.
My sister is a bit irritated with me that my twelve year old niece is so upset with a group of eleven college students she recently met at her piano recital. They've been communicating about the top 10 tacticians in the Honorverse. And it is quite heated. They are arguing over position on the list and certain people not making the list. I admit, it is difficult to do. I'm too chicken to send her my list. She's so hot at the moment that she'd melt a geiger counter at ten paces! Choose your top ten, in descending order. Even someone not on the list. Only ten can be sent to Honorverse Tactician's Hall of Fame.

-Honor Harrington
-Lester Tourville
-Hamish Alexander
-Aivars Terekhov
-Javier Giscard
-Michelle Henke
-Sebastian D'Orville
-Theodosia Kuzak
-Mark Sarnow
-Augustus Khumalo
-Alice Truman
-Esther Mcqueen
-Yancey Parks
-Judah Yanakov
-Alfredo Yu
-Thomas Theisman
-Francis Yeargin

.

First, I have to ask: is this list "for all time", of those living during the stories starting with "Midshipwoman Harrington", or those presently alive at the end of A Rising Thunder?

I will assume the second case, and so exclude Edward Saganami and Ellen D'Orville but allow Raoul Courvosier, and Javier Giscard.

Anyway, my top ten. Another way to look at it, who would I want protecting my home system:

Honor Harrington
Hamish Alexander
Thomas Theisman
Aivars Terekhov
Alice Truman
Lester Tourville
Michelle Henke
Esther McQueen
Michael Oversteegen
Alfredo Yu

Honorable mentions go to Abigail Hearns and Helen Zilwiki, of course. They are too inexperienced for now, but when they reach flag rank...

I'll also suggest Naomi Kaplan as a candidate.

Now for the other list: The list of shame. Much more fun.

Pavel Young
Josef Byng
Crandall
Matthew Simonds
Elvis Santino
Massimo Filareta
Any SLN BF Flag Officer
Johan Coglin
Edward Pierre
Yuri Rollins

Well, its a start.

-- Bob G

cthia wrote:
I was wondering why you left out your baby rose. But I just assumed you love him...but just don't have confidence in him. Which would kill him in bed you know!

Which baby? Allen or Augustus?? Because trust me, if there is one area in which I have complete confidence in both of them, it's in bed... *cough*

Poor Augustus is not a gifted tactician, but he is a gifted administrator, which given his job is far more important. (And also gives Estelle an excellent excuse to... console him. Physically. )

And Allen... Allen has been ground underneath the universe's bootheel for far too long. That man needs an opportunity to kick military arse. I wonder if the SLN might oblige??

Some of the greatest Manticore and Alignment victories were created by senior SLN officers, so maybe they should be considered?

1) Honor Harington
2) Raoul Courvosier
3) Lester Tourville
4) Hamish Alexander
5) Shanon Foraker
6) Alfredo Yu
7) Chien-Lu Anderman
8) Javier Gicard
9) Mark Sarnow
10) Michael Oversteegen

Yes, in that order.
What I've seen in the other's list brought something to my mind.
Folks traits such as courage, leadership, or sheer awesomeness do not automatically translate into tactical acumen. Are there great tacticians not on this list? Sure, but this is the top ten.

Their rules are, top 10. Dead or alive.