UK Deputy Defence Chief: The Iraq War, Russia's War with Ukraine and History's greatest Generals

Lieutenant General Sir Simon Mayall is a former British Army General, Assistant Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.

Seconded to the Sultan of Oman’s land forces in the 1980s, he went on to serve in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan. He was the Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq in the mid 2000s for which he was awarded an ‘Officer of the Legion of Merit’ by the United States. In 2007, he was appointed Assistant Chief of the General Staff and later became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.

In 2014 he was appointment was as the Prime Minister’s Security Envoy to Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government. The same year General Sir Simon was made a Knight Commanded of the Order of the British Empire for his four decades of service.

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:51 Early Life and Family History
03:22 Early memories of The Middle East
05:37 Imperial Exodus
06:59 Tribal, Ethnic and Religious Complexities of The Middle East
09:55 English Speaking Union
13:04 The Caliphate
13:52 Building Blocks of The Middle East
17:42 Studying to Fighting in The Middle East
21:23 Western Military Presence
25:51 Importance of understanding History
29:00 Manipulating History
30:41 Importance of Geography in War
33:38 Greatest Generals in History
33:52 Napoleon
34:10 History chooses The Greats
34:58 Studying Military History
36:08 German Generals of WWII
36:30 Wellington
36:45 Montgomery
37:08 History's Generals
38:55 Communication
39:36 Leadership - Nature Vs Nurture
42:15 Great Leadership
42:45 Admiral Nelson
44:21 Public Celebration of Military Leaders
45:51 US General Petraeus
46:50 Decision Making
47:23 Generals Vs Politicians
49:00 Charisma
49:50 Inspiring Loyalty from Soldiers
51:49 Power over Life and Death
54:47 National Service
58:15 Russia - Ukraine War
1:00:21 If Russia Wins in Ukraine
1:01:16 Crafting Historical Narratives
1:03:00 Understanding Opponents
1:04:30 Sun Tzu - Managing the Collapse of Opponents
1:06:00 Iraq Invasion
1:06:50 Mistakes in Iraq
1:08:30 Clausewitz and Sun Tzu
1:09:11 Modern Warfare
1:11:00 Russia and Ukraine
1:13:37 Robots Vs Soldiers - Future Wars
1:16:20 Negotiations in Ukraine?
1:19:14 Life Advice from a General

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