previously unpublished DAK photos!

[Michael Emrys]

Oh, they were great at winning battles. Everyone concedes that (to a large degree; they also lost quite a few critical battles). It was just that winning wars seemed to elude them.

Michael

[Bigduke6]

Oh, no question the Bavarians made good mountain troops. (And beer, and automobiles, and, er...Lederhosen und Bretzel...anyway)

But unfortunately the historical record makes quite clear, if the Bavarians are on the Prussians' side, the Germans lose.

There of course was the Franco-Prussian war, the Bavarians and the Prussians were on the same side, and the German-speakers won. But of course Moltke the Elder was on the German side as well, and the French had Napoleon II, so of course the Germans won - might I even say despite the Bavarians?

And of course there was the War of the Third Coalition, Prussia got creamed in that war, and the Bavarians actually were on the winning side. But then, the guy in charge of the winners was...wait for it...Napoleon Bonaparte, so with a commander that good it seems the Bavarian factor was overcome.

But if you look at the other wars the Prussians were involved in, well, look at the record. Prussian military performance was excellent (but not perfect) w/o Bavarians, and rotten with Bavarians.

1740 - 1741 1st Silesian War, Prussia and Bavaria are different countries. Prussians win.

1744 - 1745 2nd Silesian War. Same setup, Prussians win again.

1754 - 1763 7 Years' War. Same setup, Prussia fights almost all of Europe, survives - again without Bavarian assistance.

1806 - One exception that proves the rule, Prussians lose, no Bavarians on either side.

1812-13, War of German Liberation, Prussians and Bavarians are on opposite sides. Prussians win big, help stomp Napoleon, even stick his career in a grave at Waterloo.

1850 - 1st Schleswig War, Prussians get more or less a draw. No Bavarians

1864-65 - 2nd Schleswig War. Prussians win big. No Bavarians.

1866 - Austro-Prussian War. Prussians win big. No Bavarians.

1870 - Franco-Prussian War. The exception that proves the rule, this is the only war in which the Bavarians and Prussians actually managed to win a war fighting on the same side.

1914 - 18 - Germany is united, Bavaria and Prussia are part of the same country. We know how that came out.

1939 - 1945 - Germany is even more united, Bavaria and Prussia still are part of the same country. We know how that came out.

2005 - Whenever - Bavaria and Prussia (after a healthy rest period in different countries, both calling themselves Germany) are once again part of the same nation, and once again they are in a war.

I can't look into the future, but based on what's gone before, that doesn't make me very optimistic about the Germans being on the winning side in Afghanistan.

Probably the problem is not that Bavarians are bad fighters, but rather, the end result when you have Bavarians and Prussians fighting on the same side, is almost uniformly bad.

[Lethaface]

lol how in earth did you find that out?

I still haven't got through 'on war' although I understand it's basic concepts; for someone to find out the mere correlation between Prussians and Bavarians 'whoring' together, you must have invested quite some time in war history. I think I can guess what you do for a living

Anyway; nice find!

Ahhh, now where's my Bavaria?

[MARS42]

I think your facts are o.k., but your conclusion would not withstand a scientific inspection! Believe me, i studied history at University!

By the way, your progosis for Afghanistan is interesting. I´m also not sure, that the NATO will succeed there. Not, if they don´t change their tactics and politics radically.

[Pvt. Ryan]

Perhaps it is time to lift the international ban on the weaponized version of the Bavarian Cream Pie.

[Other Means]

Originally Posted by Pvt. Ryan

Perhaps it is time to lift the international ban on the weaponized version of the Bavarian Cream Pie.

You monster.