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rock3t-boy t1_j8fwes3 wrote

What was the greatest military comeback of all time?

For example, during the Korean War, when the South Koreans were squeezed all the way to just Busan, then proceeded to occupy 90% of the Korean peninsula over the next few months. Or the turnaround the Soviets had during WW2 when they retook all their land from Germany, and even ended up pushing into Berlin.

Basically, what is the war equivalent of the Patriots 28-3 comeback in the Super Bowl?

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GSilky t1_j8rtoi9 wrote

Frederick the Great had several of these. I would also say the Russians pushing Napoleon back to France.

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rock3t-boy t1_j8vm9tp wrote

Just checked out the 1812 French invasion of Russia. An incredible comeback indeed, even if they did retreat quickly on purpose at times. Again, Russian winters are insurmountable (unless you're Finland lol).

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GSilky t1_j8zxeef wrote

Alexander II would have been the talk of the age if he didn't have to share it with Napoleon.

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quantdave t1_j8hr8tu wrote

Napoleon's 1815 return springs to mind, expanding his realm from little Elba to the whole of France before meeting his Waterloo. I'd say though that the greatest or at least most lasting comebacks from defeat or conquest haven't been military at all, they've involved the subject population absorbing its conquerors and largely continuing as if nothing had happened (an exaggeration, of course) - I'm thinking Mongol or Manchu-ruled China, western Europe's Romano-Celtic peoples after the 5th century, etc.: make love, not war, perhaps.

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