Who Were the Greatest Military Commanders (Of All Time) ?

[Cyropaedia]

In light of the upcoming film Alexander (the Great), who in your opinion were actually the greatest military commanders our world has known...?

Mine are Genghis Khan, Alexander, and U.S. Grant.

[montag813]

Joshua was the greatest commander of all time. Many of the other names mentioned copied or adapted techiniques of his in later battles, from Monty to Patton to the Wehrmacht.

[Tallguy]

It was Grant who dispatched Sherman on his march, and the Union forces were stymied until Grant arrived on the scene to command all Union forces. I don't disagree that the Union had more men and materiel, but offense requires more. Grant was relentless and his genius lie in stubbornly pressing his advantage. He showed earlier determination and skill at Shiloh and Vicksburg.

Critics of Grant also neglect the way Grant turned a disadvantage to an advantage in the East. Prior to Grant's arrival all Union offensive campaigns were culminated by a single battle (where Lee's forces would send them reeling in general retreat) -- nothing lasting was achieved for the casualties expended. Grant, though he also lost battles to Lee, managed to maintain the general offensive despite his losses. No other Union general had that moral courage.

Lee may have been the better 'Napoleonic General' but Grant wasn't fighting a Napoleonic war anymore.

[indcons]

Quick fun contest: I will post a picture of your facorite military commander (if I can find one online) in honor of the first person to correctly identify the battle in the photo (post #598).

[indcons]

Oops....should read "favorite"

[Leatherneck_MT]

I have to add in here Chaka Zulu

Of them all he probably did more with less than any of the others did.

Furthermore he created an empire and a legacy for his people that endures to this day.

No other Military Leader can make that claim.

[absolootezer0]

i'll put in bids for jehosaphat (prolly speled wrong)
biblical king who destroyed multiple armies by using musicians.
and since i haven't seen this name yet..
frances marion the "swamp fox." brought guerrila warfare to the british and beat them down.

[attiladhun2]

I like Wesley Clark. His strategy used to take down the Waco "compound" was brilliant. Janet Reno's assault to "rescue" Elian Gonzalez was also masterful.

[ZULU]

Hannibal, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Frederick the Great, Chief Joseph, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

[indcons]

LOL....good one.

[Tallguy]

Guderian was senior to Rommel. At the outset of the war, Guderian was a panzer corps commander while Rommel was a newly-minted panzer division commander. Guderian was tinkering with tank operations while Hitler was still running Hitlers body guard.

[Leatherneck_MT]

Thermopylae Pass

Spartans kicking tail on the Persians.

[Tallguy]

Lee wasn't the same commander in 1864 as he had been in 1862, either.

[Wallace T.]

The North gained great strategic advantage in 1861 when it captured West Virginia, kept Maryland in the Union by force, overcame the pro-Confederate governor of Missouri, and pushed Kentucky into neutrality and later into the Union camp. The very emphasis on states' rights that the Southerners treasured was part of their downfall. By deciding to fight a defensive war, Jefferson Davis and his cabinet permitted the Union to seize the initiative in the Border States. Remember that in the early months of the war, many citizens and politicians in the "lower" North, from central and southern Illinois to New Jersey and New York City, favored a peaceful parting of the Southern states. Even some abolitionists were not opposed to the independence of the South.

Leaders more aggressive than Lee and Jackson were in the beginning of the Civil War would have taken the war into Pennsylvania and Ohio in 1861 and 1862 and forced the Union to relinquish its claims to the Southern states.

[indcons]

Ding....ding.....ding. We have a winner.

Congrats Leatherneck_MT....pics of your favorite commandeers to be posted in a few minutes.

[BlessedByLiberty]

Oops!

Well, I thank anyone who pinged me, and that does sound naughty, so I'll just leave it at that.

Merry, Merry Christmas!

[Tallguy]

Leaders more aggressive than Lee and Jackson were in the beginning of the Civil War would have taken the war into Pennsylvania and Ohio in 1861 and 1862 and forced the Union to relinquish its claims to the Southern states.

I don't see how this could have happened. The First Battle of Bull Run showed that both armies were not ready for prime time. Deep offensive thrusts were beyond their abilities. Neither side had, as yet, as significant riverine force of steam gunboats to support extended operations in 1861. By 1862 the Confederacy could not marshal sufficient forces to hold the line against widely separated attacks in the western theater. If we assume that the border states had 'gone with the Confederacy' then the military predicament would have been even worse.

[kidd]

I gotta agree with Schwartzkopf.

Pulled off a sneak attack despite modern day equipment (radar/satelites/hostile locals with cell phones, etc). Fooled the press and used them to his benefit.

Established air superiority. Pulled off a logistical miracle.

[kajingawd]

Sun Tzu...hands down

[Sensei Ern]

Battle of Thermopylae

My favorite: Gideon

[RightWhale]

Xenophon.

Many have attempted a similar feat since, but none have accomplished it.