I was recently invited to participate on the Deadliest Warrior TV show which airs on the Spike Network.
The show pits a warrior and his army against another famous warrior of the same era and through computer technology attempts to determine who the winner would be. The show I was involved with had George Washington and his army fighting against Napoleon Bonaparte and his forces.
In the early stages of the show, certain experts travelled to a remote area where they fired cannons used by Washington and cannons fired by Napoleons warriors---the efficiency of each cannon was evaluated and the data was entered in a computer to determine who had the best artillery. The same was accomplished with the firing of muskets and long rifles.
Typical tactics and maneuvers of the two armies were looked at and their attention to the principles of war and a lengthy string of other important elements associated with warfare were evaluated by computer. While I was not privy to the details of the information gathered and evaluated, I was certainly impressed with the broad range and depth of questions and answers that were placed under consideration.
My role on the show was to answer a few questions associated with leadership, intelligence, battlefield management, terrain, weather, training and other issues important to attaining victory on the field of battle. Most of the questions presented to me were anecdotal in nature and did not fit a computer program very well. Just how my answers will be weighted and considered is a mystery to me.
All in all it was a very interesting day and I met some very knowledgeable people, all friendly, and all accomplished in their fields of endeavor.
If you are interested in this facet of history you might consider watching this series and this particular show which will air in the April/May 2011 time frame.
