Posted on 08/31/2002 1:49:08 PM PDT by zapiks44
Who do you think are the 10 best military commanders of all time? (By military commander, I mean someone who actually commanded armies and orchestrated the attacks, not politcal leaders, such as Churchill) Here are my picks:
1.Alexander the Great (The undisputed greatest military genius who ever lived)
2.George S. Patton ( Can't forget him)
3.Napoleon (Obvious, but the French don't get credit since he's techincally Italian!)
4.Julius Ceasar (Veni, Vetti, Vecci)
5.Richard the Lionheart/Saladin (The two men who've probably shaped the Middle-East more than anyone else)
6.Georgi Zhukov (Main architect of Stalingrad victory)
7.Erwin Rommel (The real "Desert Fox")
8.Hannibal (Coined the term (Crossing the Alps)
9.Stonewall Jackson (Of course)
10. Horatio Nelson (Stopped Napoleon from invading Britain and spreading to South America)
Not true. From the Encyclopedia Britanica...
Mongolian warrior-ruler who consolidated nomadic tribes into a unified Mongolia and whose troops fought from China's Pacific coast to Europe's Adriatic Sea, creating the basis for one of the greatest continental empires of all time. The leader of a destitute clan, Temüjin fought various rival clans and formed a Mongol confederacy, which in 1206 acknowledged him as Genghis Khan ("Universal Ruler"). By that year the united Mongols were ready to move out beyond the steppe. He adapted his method of warfare, moving from dependence on pure cavalry to the use of sieges, catapults, ladders, and other equipment and techniques suitable for the capture and destruction of cities. In less than 10 years he took over most of Juchen-controlled China; he then destroyed the Muslim Khwarezm-Shah dynasty while his generals raided Iran and Russia. He is infamous for his slaughter of whole cities and destruction of fields and irrigation systems, but admired for his military brilliance and ability to learn. He died on a military campaign, and the empire was divided among his sons and grandsons.
Genghis Khan was indeed a battlefeild general. True he didn't personally lead some of the later conquests, but he was a military commander until the end, and was still leading conquests when he died. And he built the army and developed the strategies that his subordinents used on the other conquests.
You're right about Kublai, he was more Chinsese than Mongol, and never was a military commander.
When people talk about Grant they generally think of his eastern campaign, but his most brilliant campaigns were in the west, starting with Forts Henry and Donaldson, and Shiloh. His Vicksburg campaign is perhaps the most daring and ingenious by either side in the war.
Arguing who was a better general betweeen Grant and Sherman is like arguing between Lee and Jackson. Since one was subordante to the other, it's hard to decide who gets the credit. But my vote goes to Grant.
Actually, I believe he had to fight for the throne in a civil war. But the crushing of Sung China is hardly an example of military brilliance.
You are, of course, right about Genghis. There are a considerable number of stories about how he was more of a diplomat/statesman than a battlefield commander, however.
read history napoleon crushed wellinghton at waterloo
read history napoleon crushed wellinghton at waterloo
and then the prusiians came
what patton is doing in the of the greatest generals?????hes is nothing in front of Napoleon and julius ceasar!!!! Of course am not talking about the greatest of all ALEXANDER
hahhaha nowone can be compared with ALEXANDER THE GREATEST
I’m pretty sure that the initial stage of the blitzkrieg was LUDENDORF AND VON HINDENBURG’s Infiltration Tactics towards the end of WWI, after the wars of attrition at Verdun, this was used for limited warfare. Infiltration Tactic’s main target being the enemy’s artillery, the main killer of WWI. It was perfected by HANZ VON SEEKT during the Weimar Republic since the Treaty of Versailles’ restriction of the Riechswehr being only 20,000 and an even smaller officer corps. VON SEEKT developed the blitzkrieg, not Guderian. If you’re looking for the best commander of OKH, don’t insult Generalfeldmarschal Erwin Rommel, the man was the best.
and forever changed American diplomatic policies. “Unconditional Surrender” look how well that worked out for World War II, our two greatest enemies are now two of our greatest allies.
My personal top 10:
1. Alexander the Great
come on, you can’t argue with the general that conquered most of the civilized world, led by example, suffered few casualties, never lost a battle, always out numbered and did it all by the age of 32.
2. Napoleon Bonaparte
flat out one of the best generals ever, I’d probably put him ahead of Alexander the Great considering he faced often times united world powers, but unlike Alexander, he had lost battles and towards the end of his life lost much of his competence as a commander.
3. Gaius Julius Caesar
Lost very few battles, perfected the siege, was a ruthless commander and a cunning diplomat, and analyzed his enemies to perfection. much like Bonaparte and Alexander, he led by example, suffered with his men and gained their love, admiration and trust.
4. Hannibal Barca
216 B.C., The Battle of Canae. Outnumbered and facing the mighty Romans who showed the power of their infantry in the First Punic War. Barca encircled the Romans while outnumbered and gave greater understanding to tactics such as: encirclement, envelopment and the two prong pincer attack. This would greatly affect the Prussian School of Thought, particularly the Schlieffen Plan.
5. Sun Tzu
A competent Chinese commander who influenced every school of thought from China to Westpoint, including business adminstration.
6. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Not a brilliant tactician, but influenced by John J. Pershing, George Washington, General Greene and the American school of Military thought, his emphasis and brilliance would be on the most forgotten aspect of war and the part that ultimately wins wars: Grand Strategy, something the U.S. sadly forgot in the Second Indochina War
7. Vo Nguyen Giap
Speaking of the Second Indochina War, which other High School history teacher obsessed with military history has defeated two of the world’s greatest military powers? Granted he received help from the Soviet Union and China, and influenced by Mao Tse-Tung’s theories on Protracted War, he proved to be a supreme strategist.
8. Erwin Rommel
One only needs to look at the North Afrika Corps to see this man’s brilliance.
9. Stonewall Jackson
Everyone knows his story
10. Douglas MacArthur
A supreme disappointment in the Korean War, which drops him down to number 10. His actions in WWI were admirable but got a lot of his men killed. He became a supreme commander and strategist with his theory on Triphibious Warfare, compatible to Nimitz’s theory of Island Hopping. He was also a great diplomat and one of the few American Generals to understand Asia.
Honorable Mention:
George S. Patton, Helmuth von Moltke, Gaius Marius, Genghis Khan, John J. Pershing, U.S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Forrest Green, Jeffrey Joffre, William Westmoreland, Mao Tse-Tung, Georgii Zhukov and Mikhail N. Tukhachevsky.
they were different guys, but faced each other in the Crusades. Personally, I’d put more emphasis on Godfrey of Bouillon during the First Crusades or his brother Baldwin I of Jerusalem.
Justinian’s general Belisarius should be in the top 5. No one did more with less than he did.
I would say Francis Marion AKA the Swamp Fox. my opinion may be biased as I’m from SC and he turned most of his Red Coats even more red in the state, or colony at that time. But from a Military Commander’s stand point, he took the Brits’ tactics of organized phalanx warfare and turned it upside down.
Nathan Bedford Forrest
No, Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Dwight David Eisenhower.
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