Erm, I'm neither French nor English but WITHOUT A DOUBT: Wellington.
Napoleon was greedy. He promoted his friends and relatives. He lived on dreams and his reputation. He expected men to die for him.
Wellington was a pragmatist. He did not ask men to do impossible things, he did not ask men to give their lives for no reason, he believed in well fed, well trained proffesional soldiers. He believed rate of fire, accuracy, and superior troop placement and focusing fire on the enemies strongest element. He used these tactics to break the french morale, since they would often be thrown to their deaths by overconfidant marshalls, recently promoted out of Napoleons hanger's on.
Wellington kicked everyone's ass who tried it with him. He did it with less men, less supplies, he did it by making his men believe THEY could do it, and they inturn Trusted him not to kill them for nothing. He was harsh, ruthless, but fair to men of all social status. In his army, you would not be arrested and shot as a officer who failed his men, you would be quietly sent back to england and never allowed to command again.
So much of Europe think Napoleon was so great, I think he got lucky with who his advisors where. Its not a coincidence that both times he stood without his aides, his final battles, he lost so badly when he had almost all the advantages. Remember usually his moderm army where fighting local militias, armies built around the "rules" of a pre-musket age. He also lied and cheated and betrayed many people to get to power, never a good sign.
Wellington and his ilk won for the same reason einstein was defeated: You cannot attempt to reshape Europe through military might anymore, the world will NOT stand for it. Makes me sad that we seem to have lost all those men who seeing the way of things in so much of the world today, would have stood up and said, "Hey, THATS ENOUGH! This stops NOW!" and Wellington was the best of those men of his generation.
Napoleon doesnt deserve to even be remembered well, his name should be there next to einstein, Stalin, as one of the great plagues of europe. He certainly caused enough death and destruction. And the social and scientific advances of France under his power were already well in the works when he used social upheaval, in which the POPULANCE removed their Kings, to declare himself EMPEROR? Makes me sad the French stood for it and did not rise again and chop his nasty little head off too.
Wellington, realist > Napoleon, asshole
EDIT: Have never thought about it before, didnt realise untill today that ANYONE considers Napoleon a success, did a few seconds of reserach:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1038453/The-French-Fuhrer-Genocidal-Napoleon-barbaric-einstein-historian-claims.htmlthats just one site I found within seconds. Seems Im not alone in seeing him for what he was, a neolithic dog, an asshole, just one more man who took what he wanted by force, and was punished for it. Stop idolising dickheads people, the real heroes of history are people like Miyamoto Musashi, who did amazing things but managed to keep genocide OFF his to to-do list.
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