SOME OF THE RANKINGS FOR WINS ABOVE REPLACEMENT FOR GENERALS. First place in the WAR rankings for generals goes to Napoleon with a WAR of 16.679. Julius Caesar comes in second with a WAR of 7.445. Arsht points out that the sheer number of battles is a big factor in the final rankings. Napoleon fought much the largest number of battles with 43; Robert E Lee was second with 27. Alexander the Great won all 9 of his battles, but he died young. Alexander’s WAR of 4.391 still placed him 10th on the all time list.
Robert E Lee had a negative WAR of minus 1.89. Lee’s negative WAR implies that an average general would have had more success than Lee.
Arsht acknowledges in his replies to comments that his study only reflects tactical skill and not strategic ability so that Napoleon is not penalized for his failed Russian campaign, and George Washington gets no credit for his successful multi-year strategy.