Gudarian and Rommel studied the tactics of Nathan Bedford Forrest and therefore Forrest deserves a place on this list. Forrest did not form the KKK as the liberals and misinformed state, but used the organization to protect the disenfranchised former Confederates until they were allowed to vote again. Forrest ordered the KKK disbanded in 1868 and the KKK as we know it today is an ugly mutation. Forrest was the father of lightening strikes, or blitzkreig, and was a leader that the men respected and followed. Forrest was faithful to his state, his wife, his men, his country and his God unlike some others that wish to vilify him. Forrest always said that he would send no man to battle that he himself would not go. His Great Grandson was the first US General killed in WWII following his great grandfather's creed.
As for Forrest leading bold attacks (not guerilla), read about Brices' Crossroads and one will see the brillance that was lacking in most of all of the Generals of the period. Had Bragg listened to Forrest at Chicamauga, the Union Army of the Tennessee would have been a footnote in history.
Nathan Bedford Forrest, Stonewall Jackson, and Erwin Rommel would be my top three. And thank you for setting the record straight on Forrest. I can not stand that lie still is accepted as historical fact
As a Northerner, I commend you for standing up for General Forrest against the smears. There is a movement afoot to force Americans to abandon their heritage by bits and pieces. That movement must be resisted at every turn. There can be no excuse for dishonoring those who are dead to appease politically motivated historic revisionists.
All of that leads me to suggest a name no one has yet put on the list, who fought for a people whose very existence is now even less "politically correct" than our fellow Americans of the Old South. The actual father of modern guerilla warfare was the Boer General Christian De Wet, who with 2,000 Commandoes tied up 250,000 British troops at the height of British power, for two years in the Orange Free State. To really appreciate this staggering accomplishment, you need to know more about the Orange Free State. Much of it is a virtually treeless plane, and those areas where there are hills and formations still afford considerable visibility in most directions.
In the end, De Wet was only defeated when the British put most of the women and children into concentration camps, under very harsh conditions, to prompt their husbands, brothers and fathers to finally surrender, two years after the defeat of the main Boer armies.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site