Best Military Commanders throughout history, time for a Fantasy Draft!

[Grandpa Troll]

Thanks to Asher in his thread http://http://apolyton.net/forums/sh...20#post5572920 , got me thinking as only Asher can


I would like to hear what our experts here would pick as all time Commanders for the following commands:

Naval Command

Infantry Command

Calvary/Fast Assault Troops

Armor

Close Proximity Ground Support

Airforce Command

Siege/Artillery


Looking forward to hearing some of the great answers only you skilled historians can provide


Grandpa Troll

[Docfeelgood]

Naval Command Raizō Tanaka

Infantry Command Erich von Manstein // Alexander III of Macedon

Calvary/Fast Assault Troops Patton // Field Marshall Rommel

Armor Heinz Wilhelm Guderian

Close Proximity Ground Support James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart

Airforce Command ??

Siege/Artillery Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson


Hard to say. Modern or pre-modern warfare?

[Grandpa Troll]

Naval Command Raizō Tanaka

Infantry Command Erich von Manstein // Alexander III of Macedon

Calvary/Fast Assault Troops Patton // Field Marshall Rommel

Armor Heinz Wilhelm Guderian

Close Proximity Ground Support ??

Airforce Command ??

Siege/Artillery Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson


Hard to say. Modern or pre-modern warfare?

Well Doc, heres the way I look at it, in theory, if your the best in the fields mentioned, it shouldnt matter what era...

I know, with modern techno9logy, some commanders would have an edge, but based upon a mans ability (or womans) then I say now is the time, who would you pick???

By the way, some very good picks there..................indeed very good picks


GT

[Docfeelgood]

Thank you.
these are some very hard questions depending on who you ask.

Naval and infantry Commanders was the hard choice for me to make.
just way too many great leaders.

(I have often wondered what the Pacific WW2 would have been like if Admiral Heihachiro Togo had been alive.)


Who R your choices?

[SlowwHand]

Too bad there's not a HISTORY forum.

[notyoueither]

That's Winston's fault for driving Laz away.

[SlowwHand]

[Wiglaf]

Naval Command - Commodore Perry

Infantry Command - Alexander the Gay

Calvary/Fast Assault Troops - McClellan

Armor - I hardly know her

Close Proximity Ground Support - Truman with nuke

Airforce Command - Chuck Yeager

Siege - Steven Seagal

[Berzerker]

apparently Moses was a damn good commander, watching a docu on him now.

[Seeker]

Infantry- - If you've studied Rommels career, and read 'infantry attacks', and then recall the mistakes he made in North Africa, especially the assault on Tobruk, he is actually much better when talking about Inf.

I forget the mans name, but the civilian American adventurer who created 'The Ever Victorious Army' during the Chinese wars must rank as one of the all time best. In terms of ratio, created a disciplined unit out of nothing, being massively outnumbered, frequently outgunned, often totally cut-off, and yet consistently routing the enemy again and again and again.

Artillery: von Moltke the elder.

Naval: Lee Sun-Shin.

Siege: Gordon of Khartoum.

Air Power: Mitchell the american in terms of 'vision'. In terms of overall strategy I don't really know, there is no one I'd consider that great. Maybe the Israelis in the 70s? Although they had quite a number of advantages.

[MOBIUS]

Colonel (later Major-General) Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck

[Combat Ingrid]

Chuck Norris

[onodera]

Naval Command
I'll be banal and say Nelson

Infantry Command
Mao Tse-Tung

Calvary/Fast Assault Troops
Genghis Khan, duh.

Armor
Guderian

Close Proximity Ground Support
WTF is that?

Airforce Command
See artillery below.

Siege/Artillery
Hard to find one. Artillery has always been a supporting branch of the military. Only Mehmet II comes to mind.

May I add Urban Warfare as a separate category?

[BeBMan]

I commanded all those branches excellently when playing HOI2 a while ago!

[Zkribbler]

Naval Command Themistocles

Infantry Command Stonewall Jackson

Calvary/Fast Assault Troops Genghis Khan

Armor Heinz Wilhelm Guderian

Close Proximity Ground Support Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.

Airforce Command Air Chief Marshal Sir H.C.T. "Stuffy" Dowding

Siege/Artillery Napolean Bonaparte

onodera: "May I add Urban Warfare as a separate category?"
If you can think of any good commanders. Urban warfare is such a meatgrinder, I can't think of any good commanders. Winning is accomplished by losing less badly than the other side.