Iroh turns out to be a surprisingly mediocre war leader when you look at his actions.
First of all, it is the Siege of Ba Sing Se. The siege of a city comparable in size to the largest island in the Fire Nation. A city that includes not only urban development but also villages and fields surrounded by a wall and providing the inner city with food autonomy. City that earthbenders can endlessly rebuild thanks to their abilities while waging an extremely effective sapper war. In general, the solution to such a problem obviously requires serious intellectual work from the general. Is Iroh capable of such work?
There are two testimonies about how this siege was conducted:
Iroh: If the city is as magnificent as its wall, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. I hope you all may see it someday, if we don't burn it to the ground first!
"General Iroh and his army led a siege on the great Earth Kingdom capital for 600 days. After losing countless men in the siege, and with no end to the battle in sight, General Iroh ordered his men to retreat, an act deemed cowardly by Iroh’s brother, Fire Lord Ozai."
In total, we get a picture of an extremely mediocre general who simply threw his soldiers into the fire of war until his own son was among the victims of this meat grinder. After losing his son, Iroh immediately surrendered and led the remaining troops away, although he had already achieved success in the form of a breach in the outer wall, which meant he had the opportunity to deprive the inner city of provisions and, as a result, finally begin an effective siege.
And Iroh's departure also says a lot about him as a military man. Every warrior he led who died were someone's children or father. And he led them to this siege. So why did he kill so many people? Only to lose his son and leave, making all the sacrifices in vain! No wonder his abdication of the throne in favor of Ozai was so easy. No Fire Nation soldier could consider Iroh a worthy general after such a performance.
Azula is right in her own way when she scolds Iroh for not staying and taking the city. He thus betrayed all his soldiers, dead and alive, because his personal tragedy is above all else. And shouldn't the loss of a relative or loved one in war, on the contrary, embitter and make one even more eager to defeat the enemy? By the way, for some reason, Azula's criticism is often associated with Ozai's influence, but:
Young Azula: Oh yes he is! He found out his son died and he just fell apart! A real general would stay and burn Ba Sing Se to the ground, not lose the battle and come home crying. - Azula is literally quoting Iroh himself here!
And what is characteristic is that Azula herself continued to fight right up until the moment when she was bound by chains. And this despite the fact that, like Iroh, she was in a terrible psychological state. So yes, unlike Iroh, Azula demonstrated the character of a true warrior.
And what's most terrifying is the reason for the whole enterprise:
Iroh: Who would have thought after all these years, I’d return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace.
Iroh: Many times, I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace. But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror…instead, we are the Earth Kings personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing.
Iroh: When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se.
All that moved Iroh was his personal selfish dream. His personal belief in the existence of some special destiny that given him from above for the realization of his personal ambitions. It was to be his personal triumph, and it became his personal shame.
And what is characteristic is that his second assault on Ba Sing Se is also not very original. It is literally another direct assault by using superior firepower. The Earth Kingdom Army was disbanded. The city was guarded only by Fire Nation garrison. Having finished with this garrison, he could already calmly burn the flags. Iroh broke through the wall thanks to the power-up from the Comet, and there were no other serious obstacles in his path.
As for Iroh's motives, he again defines them through his personal destiny:
Iroh: Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation, so the Earth Kingdom can be free again.
Let's just compare Iroh to Azula.
There are a few important things to note right away. Azula, like Iroh, move to Ba Sing Se not on the orders of her Lord, but on a personal initiative. Also, she did not have a military rank or position, respectively relying only on the authority of her title and her father.
Her first attempt at pinning the walls of Ba Sing Se is already out of the ordinary. Use a huge drill in order to punch a hole in the wall of the city and immediately deliver the soldiers behind the walls. The idea is not bad, although even this size drill was definitely not enough to transport the required number of soldiers:
And the single instance of the machine makes this attempt more of an interesting experiment than a real invasion. Tellingly, the loss of the Fire Nation in this trial attack is zero. Azula herself fought to protect Drill and, characteristically, did not react in any way to her friend's desire to stay away from the dirty fight that had begun.
The second run for Azula was successful. And here the radical difference between Azula and Iroh is manifested. Azula knows how to radically change tactics. Why fight against impregnable walls when you can take the city from the inside?
Azula recruits the Ba Sing Se secret police. Ba Sing Se is taken and Fire Nation troops enter the city.
Losses are again equal to zero. The Fire Nation didn't lose anyone. Ba Sing Se didn't lose anyone.
The tactics here are no longer military, but espionage and diplomatic. This is another key difference between Azula and Iroh. Iroh invariably invades Ba Sing Se only as a general. Azula takes on Ba Sing Se as a spy and diplomat. She finds the right contacts within the enemy elite. She encourages the enemy elite to defect to her side. And through the management of this elite, she establishes a puppet regime in the city.
And finally, Azula's motives, her most important difference from General Iroh:
Azula: For a hundred years the Fire Nation has hammered away at Ba Sing Se from the outside. But now we are on the inside, and we can take it by ourselves.
Azula: I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together.
Azula: We've done it, Zuko. It's taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se.
Azula conquers Ba Sing Se not for herself and not for her personal destiny. She does it for her Nation. She does not consider the capture of Ba Sing Se her personal success, for her it is the result of a collective effort for herself and her friends and brother. This glory is not for her alone, but for the entire Fire Nation. Simply put, unlike Iroh, Azula is a patriot.
You can also pay attention to this scene:
Bujing: The Earth Kingdom defenses are concentrated here. A dangerous battalion of their strongest earthbenders and fiercest warriors. So I am recommending the forty-first division.
Elder general: But the forty-first is entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?
Bujing: I don't. They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait than fresh meat?
Young Zuko: You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?
Iroh: Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out. And there were dire consequences.
In this scene, it is Zuko and Iroh who show themselves to be frankly incompetent military leaders.
- An entire division, that is, about 10,000 people against a battalion, that is, a maximum of 1,000 people. Even if it is the elite against the recruits, it will be an long and difficult battle for the warriors from the Earth Kingdom.
- 10,000 recruits are not required to win, they are required to tie the enemy down in battle, and with their tenfold numerical superiority, this will not be difficult at all.
- An attack from the rear will save most of the lives of these newcomers, since it will allow them to completely surround and defeat the enemy or force them to surrender in short time.
In fact, the tactic of luring by weakness is as old as the world. And what is characteristic is that this tactic really works. And what can Iroh say about tactics? Does he even know any tactics other than throwing corpses of his soldiers at the enemy? After all, it is really interesting that while Azulon and Iroh were running the war, the Fire Nation could not achieve a single impressive victory on the continent. For decades, an endless meat grinder dragged on without visible breakthroughs. But as soon as Ozai and Azula got down to business, the Earth Kingdom was effectively crushed and occupied. So in the end, Omashu had to be liberated personally by Bumi, and Ba Sing Se by the rest of the White Lotus. That is, the complete defeat of the Earth Kingdom forces is an achievement of the Fire Nation after Iroh left military leadership.
However, questions can be asked even about Iroh’s understanding of such a thing as subordination.
Iroh: Sailing into Fire Nation waters … Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish!
Iroh practically calls Zuko a fool in front of his subordinates. Does he really not understand that by doing so he is completely destroying the guy's authority on the ship? Does Iroh even understand why it is wrong to undermine the authority of any superior in front of his subordinates? Or is the rank of general in Iroh's case nothing more than a consequence of being born the firstborn of Azulon and having excellent skills in firebending. The latter makes him an excellent fighter but has no meaning for leading even a platoon or a company.
Of all Iroh's attempts, only one can be considered a tactic:
Iroh: It's almost twilight, Admiral. As your military consultant, I must advise you to halt your attack. The waterbenders draw their power from the moon, and it is nearly full tonight. You should wait and resume the attack at daybreak.
Zhao: Oh, I'm well aware of the moon problem and I am working on a solution. But for now, daybreak it is.
But Iroh isn't saying anything here that Zhao doesn't already know. Given the decades of hunting waterbenders, this is something every Fire Nation officer should know.
Summary. All this together creates a very unsightly picture. Iroh is the spoiled son of the Fire Lord who imagines himself to be the favorite of fate. He is a bad tactician, he is a lousy strategist, he does not even understand the banal functioning of a military organization. At the same time, the success or failure of the Fire Nation as such is of little interest to him. What matters is his personal fortune. Will he be the favorite of fate or will he become its victim.
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