He forbade beard?
His soldiers tried to rip beards off enemies?
What is unique about Peter the Great's military prowess that is probably true of no other commander-in-chief in history?
He was an artillery commander.
Did he fight on the wrong side -ie against the Russians - at some point?
He was an artillery commander.
Wasn't Napoleon one?
Didn't he fight as a gruntipede (i.e. ordinary ground pounder) in his first campaign against the Ottomans?
Among other things, yes. This is a step in the right direction. Kind of.
He led his army from the front and fought in battle during the Ottoman war, but not as a subordinate.
Guessing from these comments: Did he acquire command experience in several (maybe all) different branches of the military? Artillery, Infantry, Cavalry and the Navy?
Just a wild guess, but I remember that he liked to play soldier when he was very young.
Was he self-taught?
Did he serve under an assumed name, like 'Lt Johnson' during the Great War (who was, of course, Albert Windsor, later George VI), in all the different branches?
Does it have anything to do with him working as a shipwright/carpenter in Netherlands? I doubt any other commander-in-chief has done that.
Oh no, this was in very real warfare.
does it involve "toys"?
Guessing from these comments: Did he acquire command experience in several (maybe all) different branches of the military? Artillery, Infantry, Cavalry and the Navy?
darn, I thought it was Peter I who had a battalion for training that has historically been misinterpreted as a toy armyNo, that was Peter III.
Let's go back to this guess, shall we?
Its got the right idea, but wrong implementation.
darn, I thought it was Peter I who had a battalion for training that has historically been misinterpreted as a toy army
I really need to review my Russian history