We all know that Napoleon was the greatest general in history, but what about soft power...

We all know that Napoleon was the greatest general in history, but what about soft power? The pen is mightier than a sword and all of that. Who was the most skilled individual in the art of diplomacy?

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Talleyrand and Metternich

>We all know that Napoleon was the greatest general in history
By what metric exactly?
War and diplomacy are fundamentally and inexorably collaborative enterprises, focusing on individuals is stupid, the UK didn't have a Napoleon or a Talleyrand but defeated France militarily and diplomatically.

Wrong

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>the UK didn't have a Napoleon or a Talleyrand but defeated France militarily and diplomatically.

Only because, although they didn't have a Napoleon or a Talleyrand, they did have a Russia, a Prussia, a Spain and an Austria

Otto von Bismarck

>Didn't organize a concert of Europe that led to half a century of peace.
Yeah, na.

augustus

>Didn't organize a concert of Europe that only delayed and worsened the fuckery that was to inevitably come because 'muh reactionary monarchies'
FTFY

Fpbp

Talleyrand was shit, he sold out his country for financial gain and personal vendetta.

By just about all metrics lad. The difficulties he faced and overcame is more than just about any general of his period. Even in defeat he was formidable, as the six days campaign demonstrate. Wellesley agreed with this assessment.
>Britain defeated France
This is your mind on anglo propaganda. The breaking points were at Liepzig, the Surrender of Paris, the Russian retreat, and the Prussian reinforcement at Waterloo. The peninsular campaign, while a poorly handled by Napoleon, was a periphery to the happenings in Germany and the east.

To add to this I'd argue that Bernadotte was more important to Napoleon's defeat than Wellington.

>The pen is mightier than a sword and all of that
It's isn't. Delete this garbage thread

absolutely embarrassing dumb post

Oh suck my dick. Wellington held him for almost an entire day. Napoleon lost his cavalry to British squares and the Old Guard to British musket fire. Bernadotte and even Blucher don't come close.

>Bernadotte
Lol who?

Some would say that the pen and the sword is much the same thing.

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that's because we defeated them diplomatically

Pretty sure Austria and Prussia were at war with France before Britain even was

Everyone is going to say Talleyrand, Metternich, and that other fag whose name I can't remember

Whoever caused the USA, France and Spain to separate their peace desires in the American Revolutionary War and tried to feed as much land to them as possible to ensure that they would become a strong trading partner and not have hostile relations with the UK in the future.
This would let the UK dominate in the 1800s and then the USA become powerful enough that the UK is basically guaranteed to be tied to future relevance from the proliferation of English speakers.

...

Bismarck, Camillo Benso, Jewssinger, Richelieu?

>Richelieu
that's the one