Who is the greatest military leader of all-time?

[Xeones]

alexander and genghis khan stand out to me. i voted for genghis because, relative to where/when he was coming from ... he conquered more after starting with less.

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by Ned
Well on the Axis side, we have Mannerheim and Rommel, on the Allied side we have Patton.

From WWII, I also think that Sukov, Guderian, Yamamoto and Hawsley deserve mention.

I think Zhukov was the best general on the allied side. On the Axis side probably Manstein. The war in the West was a sideshow.

Of the 2, Manstein was probably better but Zhukov of course has the runs on the board. We are all fortunate that Hitler took over strategic and even tactical direction down to platoon level of the war in Russia because the Germans had the brains and the troops to knock over Russia.

[Grandpa Troll]

So AH, I value your somewhat expert advice, fill me in, Spartacus and William Wallace..would they be considered Rebel Insurgent's?..as opposed to Military Tacticians?..just asking..

Just sitting here..trying to learn somethings is all..


Thx

Troll

[Shi Huangdi]

Originally posted by paiktis22
And here is a gold coin which was struck at Babylon, where Alexander died. (propably from all the riches he looted ) As a side note, who said angels were a creation of Christianity? She is Nike, Greek goddess of Victory.

And Paiktis has once again shown his great ignorance of history. Angels in Western come originally from the Persian Zoroastrainism- they originally exported the idea of hierarchies of angels and then that ended up in Christianity and Islam. The idea of angels was Persian- not Greek. That the coin was made in a land with heavy Persian influence explains the angel design.

And while you are at it, stop claiming the works of the Macedonian Hero Alexander to be Greece's own.

[Bereta_Eder]

I'm not sure where the wings come from. That's why I did not say where they came from. It may be you're right but then again you were wrong on so many other occasions it'd be a surpise, murderer of peoples.

And of course Nike with the wings exists in other forms all over Greece. (statues etc)

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by Troll
So AH, I value your somewhat expert advice, fill me in, Spartacus and William Wallace..would they be considered Rebel Insurgent's?..as opposed to Military Tacticians?..just asking..

Well they both were associated with peasant revolts. These usually generate a lot of fanaticism in their early stage which disguises any weaknesses in tactics and strategy. You usually find a couple of wins, even astonishing ones, against the odds and then a rapid decline as the followers lose their fervour or get killed off, or simply return home for the harvest.

Not easy to think of any that went on to win. George Washington might be an example but my knowledge of US history is hazy. I seem to recall though that at some point he had to transform the militia into a real army and train it up. That puts him several classes above Wallace and Spartacus.

Both Spartacus and Wallace seem to me to be Hollywood creations.

[Bereta_Eder]

And Alexander and Macedonia was and is Greek. Poor troll there, beaten to oblivion numerous times before, murderer of peoples and neo-nazi sympathizer.

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse


Well they both were associated with peasant revolts. These usually generate a lot of fanaticism in their early stage which disguises any weaknesses in tactics and strategy. You usually find a couple of wins, even astonishing ones, against the odds and then a rapid decline as the followers lose their fervour or get killed off, or simply return home for the harvest.

Not easy to think of any that went on to win. George Washington might be an example but my knowledge of US history is hazy. I seem to recall though that at some point he had to transform the militia into a real army and train it up. That puts him several classes above Wallace and Spartacus.

Both Spartacus and Wallace seem to me to be Hollywood creations.

Ok, thats what I heard, the "Legend" and the "Myth"..

Appreciate your response!

Troll

[Imran Siddiqui]

I put Nappy as #1. Almost did conquer Europe. Had Russia, but was too damned impatient. He was in Moscow, and enough food to feed his army if he waited out the winter, but he didn't want to.

As for the worst Civil War commander... Pope tried hard to be #1 .

[Alexander's Horse]

No probs.

No Brit generals so far but Cromwell rates a mention. Similar to Washington, He took a bunch of fanatics and molded them into the "new model army", which was world class.

Let's not forget Agincourt where Henry V beat a French army that outnumbered his massively.

The Duke of Wellington put paid to Nappy at Waterloo.

Britain has one of the finest armies and military traditions in the world and has produced many great generals. They were the modern Romans.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
No Brit generals so far but . . .
The Duke of Wellington put paid to Nappy at Waterloo.

I mentioned Sir Arthur Wellesley back on page 3 or 4 but as usual, everyone ignored my sage wisdom.

And Imran, Pope can't hold a candle to Burnside when it comes to stupidity...and believe me, I'm an expert in stupidity.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
Not easy to think of any that went on to win. George Washington might be an example but my knowledge of US history is hazy. I seem to recall though that at some point he had to transform the militia into a real army and train it up.

Now there's someone who should be recognized as one of the great military leaders. IIRC, Washington's army suffered numerous defeats at the beginning, but he held the troops together and was politically adroit enough to maintain political support for the revolution. He stayed true to the cause when others gave up.

Had it not been for his leadership, the revolution might have failed and modern democracy would have been stillborn.

Washington is also significant because he took the reins of political power and then stepped down voluntarily, unlike many military leaders who have stayed on past their prime.

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by Tingkai


Had it not been for his leadership, the revolution might have failed and modern democracy would have been stillborn.

Modern democracy was born in Britain (sheesh!).

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse


Modern democracy was born in Britain (sheesh!).

Not.

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by Tingkai


Not.

The meaning of the revolutionary slogan "no taxation without representation" has obviously eluded you.