After reading all the recent messages...
Reinhard-Siegfried (h9407313@hkusua.hku.hk)
Fri, 04 Jul 1997 15:02:21 +0800
Hello,
On the games (after reading "Yang Wenli, Reinhard and yes the game"):
It seems that one can play with some kind of "hind-sight"
after reading the books or watching the series or somehow knowing the
story beforehand. But in this way, one only succeeds in cheating the
computer and oneself. On a real battlefield, things are not so simple.
(I played the game "Fields of Glory" concerning the 1815 Campaign in
Europe a few years ago. As I knew much more (from books, movies etc)
about Napoleon's enemies than Napoleon had known (in the real
campaign!), I easily won all the battles and "killed" all of Napoleon's
enemy commanders, say Wellington. But the thrills of a real campaign is
no more.)
On Yang, Reinhard and Generalship (after reading the same message):
1. I remember in the Season I Yang tells General Schenkopp that
Reinhard's greatness is that he creates a great strategic advantage
before marching to the battlefield, (so that) his opponents are already
half-beaten before the first gun-shot. In fact, Mr. Tanaka, the author
of the books, confirmed it in the books, commenting on Yang's last
campaign, "Even though Yang and his leutenants fight bravely against the
Reich, they cannot overturn the strategic advantage established by
Reinhard." It applies to the Campaign "Goetterdaemerung" as well, if
Reinhard follows Hildegard's advice, neglecting Yang's fleet and
marching onto Heinessenpolis with all the troops.
2. One can't prove or disprove whether Reinhard is a great soldier or
not by simply saying that his opponents are too stupid. That is the
mistake of the foolish nobles defeated by Reinhard in Season I. Napoleon
also came upon many stupid enemy commanders in his first campaign in
Italy. Yet no one could deny that he is one of the greatest soldiers in
history. If anyone wishes to see how well Reinhard fights (sometimes
against odds due to the incompetence of his then superiors) on a real
battlefield, he/she should read the "side-stories" of the LoGH. Of
course, I'm not claiming that Reinhard is perfect. No, he isn't. Nor is
Yang perfect. Reinhard is "tied" too much to his emotions towards his
sister Annerose, his friend Kircheis, and his arch-rival Yang. Yang is a
Mr. "Self-Contradiction" no matter he is wearing his uniform or not. But
as far as war is concerned, they know their enemies well. They know each
other well. Both are great soldiers. They are equal.
On the popularity of Yang in the list:
I don't think Yang is less popular than Reinhard in the list. Quite the
contrary. It hasn't nothing to do with race or (the d*mned talk of)
Western values vs Asian values. Kircheis explains, in Season I, why Yang
should be popular, when he reports to Reinhard on his mission to
Iserlohn, "He is the worst enemy one can have, because one never knows
what is in his mind but" (after a long pause) "he can be the best friend
one can have, for the same reason." Yang is a "common man" one can
befriend although he is a hero. It is different from the case of
Reinhard, who is the hero among the heroes in the LoGH, or more
precisely, the tragic hero among all the tragic heroes. One likes him
with awe.
Reinhard-Siegfried