Modern Strategists. The top 10 most notable modern military leaders at the strategic level. This is an arbitrary distinction – I actually consider von Manstein to be more of an operational commander, but his career was a hybrid, like Zhukov and Yamamoto.
1. Helmuth von Moltke the Elder – was chief of the general staff for Prussia, and afterwards united Germany, for 30 years. He effectively transitioned the command structure to modern methods of directing large armies in the field.
Moltke was admired as a brilliant young officer and instructor, and as an artist, historian, traveler, author, and scholar who knew 7 languages. He was also a dyed in the wool nationalist. His first post in the field was as a military advisor to the Ottoman Empire, during which he explored and mapped vast areas of Asia Minor and the Middle East on horseback. The Turks were at a nadir, and their general refused his advice leading to a trouncing by the Egyptians of Mehemet Ali at Nizib. Moltke escaped to Constantinople with difficulty, and returned to Berlin. He held other high-profile appointments, and conceived a plan for the strategic use of railroads.
As chief of staff, he had to take a personal interest in the Schleswig War with Denmark to bring it to a successful close. Moltke was a disciple of von Clausewitz, and studied Napoleon and Waterloo in developing his theory of several army corps operating independently and exercising a range of options within a broad plan and common objectives. He is credited with the phrase “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy”, meaning that the general staff had plans to meet any combination of variables. Prussia faced two armies in the war against Austria-Hungary, Saxony, and other German states, and his theories paid off. A successful holding action against one of the armies, allowed him to then concentrate forces 100 miles apart against the larger Austrian army at Sadowa (Konniggratz), one of the biggest and bloodiest battles fought in Europe to date. It was a decisive victory, partly won by faster breech loading rifles, but Moltke was unsatisfied, planning to cut off the retreat before the attack on one flank was too successful. It didn’t matter, Prussia had achieved German unification without further interference from Austria-Hungary. Moltke actually bolstered Bismarck’s confidence in his diplomatic stance, that he could handle the intervention of France as well, which would be next.
Napoleon III had a solid reputation from the Wars of Italian Independence and was aspiring to the legendary status of his famous uncle, but Moltke had been planning this for years. The timing and flexibility of his 3 army strategy was tested in unexpected battles at Spicheren and Worth, which were won, but he was forced by royal command to carry a bloody victory at Gravelotte with disproportionately high losses. The French Chassepot rifle was an impressive advance, and they had mitrailleuses, early machineguns, but the German Krupp artillery was superior in numbers and performance. At any rate, with Bazaine’s army shut up in Metz, Moltke was able to concentrate on MacMahon at Sedan. After several costly attempts to break the German ring closing in, the entire French army surrendered, including Napoleon III. The last French army was in Paris, where the provisional government made every effort to turn the fortunes for France. Moltke took his time reducing both Paris and Metz, applying a “judicious economy of force”, and resisted pressure to bombard the city mercilessly, though Bismarck eventually overruled him. The raising of piecemeal armies in the French Departments could not affect the outcome, as first Bazaine, then Paris surrendered, despite the brutal Communard revolt. (Later, Bazaine was to be executed as a scapegoat, but he made a daring escape down a cliff, served in Spain, and his shrine is still kept by the French Foreign Legion – no lack of bravery here).
It was a humiliating defeat for France they would remember on the road to WWI, when they faced Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. Germany had become an empire, led by Bismarck hand in hand with von Moltke in the dramatic rise of the new superpower in Europe. He spent the last 20 of his 91 years as a member of the new German Reichstag.
Successful Campaigns: 4 Innovation: 5 Direct Leadership: 4 Casualty Ratio: 4 Legacy: 4
2. Erich von Manstein – born Fritz Erich von Lewinski, came from a Prussian military background, with generals past and current in both his natural and adopted (uncle’s) families. He was wounded early in WWI and served as a staff officer on nearly all European fronts.
He was in the formation of the small Reichswehr allowed by Versailles, and rose up the ranks to the general staff. Their goal was to create a highly trained cadre of officers, loyal only to national interest. With the end of the Weimar Republic, that loyalty was subverted to the ambition of the Nazi regime. By 1935 he was head of the Operations Branch and proposed the development of self-propelled assault guns, which would prove to be one of the most successful and cost-effective German weapons. Although he initially supported Beck’s resistance to Nazi influence, he would not sacrifice his own career or a chance for Germany’s rise from the ashes. Privately, Manstein preferred Poland as a buffer state and potential ally. But in the invasion, theater commander von Rundstedt accepted Manstein’s plans and his adjustments as the campaign unfolded, leading to a rapid victory.
Rundstedt and Manstein together assembled the plan for the invasion of France the following year, relieved when the threat of a two front war receded. Manstein, with Guderian, proposed an alternative to the expected repeat of the Schlieffen Plan, by attacking through the Ardennes, with a second thrust to outflank the Maginot Line. Ober-commander Halder had Manstein removed from the HQ staff and sent to the front as a corps commander. But the plan, with modifications, was an outstanding success, trapping the Allied armies in Flanders and Belgium. Manstein’s corps achieved the first breakthrough across the Seine, and he was promoted to full general for suggesting the plan. It was one example where stubborn belief in his own abilities, and disregard for that of his peers, resulted in success and brought him to the attention of Hitler.
He commanded a Panzer corps in Barbarossa, advancing 100 miles in 2 days and capturing vital bridges. Taking command of a full army after the death of its commander, Manstein was tasked with the reduction of Russian fortresses in the Crimea and Sevastopol. But the Russians counterattacked with two landings in the winter offensive. It was not until May 1942 that Manstein cleared the Kerch Peninsula, destroying three Russian armies, and resumed the siege. He employed the largest guns ever used in war and by July his troops stormed the inner defenses. Field Marshal Manstein next went to Leningrad to repeat the success but another Russian spoiling attack forced him to divert his forces to avoid catastrophe. In bitter fighting he managed to outmaneuver larger Soviet armies, inflicting 60,000 casualties, but the siege of Leningrad would drag on.
By November, Paulus’ 6th Army had been encircled at Stalingrad, and Hitler’s troubleshooter went south again. With Hoth’s Panzer army and auxillary elements, Manstein fought to within 30 miles of the German pocket, but encountered heavy resistance and was driven back. He recommended a simultaneous breakout by Paulus, but dared not give the order directly. Although he sustained the attempt for 3 weeks putting great pressure on the Russian ring, both Hitler and Paulus refused to breakout, making his relief attempt pointless. It was desperate, but had this been coordinated, some of these doomed men may have escaped. It was an irrevocable break with Hitler, and Manstein would now question his judgement openly. However, Manstein was already busy preventing his own disaster as the Russians again struck at a weak point in Little Saturn, and Army Group A was nearly trapped in the Caucasus. "Manstein sent the 6th Panzer Division to the Italians' aid — of the 130,000 encircled troops, 45,000 survived to join the Panzers at Chertkovo on 17 January....With the relief column under threat of encirclement, Manstein had no choice but to retreat back to Kotelnikovo on 29 December, leaving the encircled Germans at Stalingrad to their fate (of the 300,000 soldiers encircled 90,000 survived to be taken prisoner. Only 5,000 lived to return to Germany.). The limited scope of the Soviet offensive also gave General Ewald von Kleist time to withdraw his Army Group A out of the Caucasus and back over the Don at Rostov." German units fought desperately to hold a line on the Don while this took place, and a general retreat was executed.
Von Manstein regrouped the southern front and counterattacked an overextended Soviet flank near Kharkov. By March 1943, he had scored a major success, recapturing the city after heavy street fighting, and capturing much Russian heavy equipment. He was ready to follow up with another tactical opportunity, but Hitler was so encouraged he authorized Citadel, the elimination of a Russian salient at Kursk-Orel in a strategic operation closer to the center of the front. The northern pincer movement was a disaster from the outset, achieving little ground, but the southern pincer under Manstein penetrated deeper and broke a Russian armored counterattack. He had achieved local superiority and refused Hitler's orders to withdraw, but could not have sustained it alone anyway. The Russian counterattack was immediate and Manstein’s Army Group South inflicted heavy casualties in a fighting withdrawal to the Dnieper, then launched another German counterattack around the flank of the Russians threatening Zhitomir. Many notable victories were won by Hermann Balck’s 4th Panzer Army but by January 1944 Manstein was forced to retreat against the last massive Russian winter offensive. Along the way he disobeyed orders and extracted the Korsun (Cherkassy) pocket with 56,000 men, which Hitler approved after it already succeeded.
Manstein’s mobile flexible defense was contrary to Hitler’s static ‘stand or die’ orders. It was too late anyway, but Manstein’s resolve to do the job properly made him “publicly advocate that Hitler relinquish control and leave the management of the war to professionals”. Hitler actually had to defend his control against his most prestigious general, but it wasn’t long before Himmler and Goering had Manstein removed for ‘defeatism’ ! He knew about the attempt on Hitler’s life but “Prussian Field Marshals do not mutiny,” though he did not betray the plot.
He escaped to the west with his family at the end of the war, and was called as a witness at Nuremberg. However, to placate the Russians he was placed on trial for war crimes. Montgomery, and Churchill (no longer in office) donated money for his defense. There was one piece of damning evidence that in 1941 he authorized harsh anti-partisan activities, specifically targeting Jewish collaborators. “The Jewish Bolshevik system must be wiped out once and for all…The German soldier has therefore not only the task of crushing the military potential of this system. He comes also as the bearer of a racial concept and as the avenger of all the cruelties which have been perpetrated on him and on the German people.” The order recognized that foodstocks would be diverted to the Reich, and occupied cities would have to go hungry. Yet also, “severe steps will be taken against arbitrary action and self-interest, against savagery and indiscipline, against any violation of the honor of the soldier.” He disclaimed knowledge of some of the content. We can’t pretend he would have gone out of his way to save Jews from the camps – but there is no evidence he voluntarily or knowingly sent any to their death either. It is ironic though that the Soviets prosecuted the charge of scorched earth against Manstein.
It was enough to get him an 18 year sentence in 1949, commuted to 12, but after 4 years he was released for health reasons. In the demilitarized state of post-war Germany, Manstein was recalled by Konrad Adenauer to advise on the creation of the Bundeswehr. It was the Cold War, and his remarkable string of victories and near successes in a losing cause was not forgotten. Manstein theorized that without Hitler’s deranged interference, the Wehrmacht would have won on the eastern front.
Successful Campaigns: 5 Innovation: 4 Direct Leadership: 4 Casualty Ratio: 4 Legacy: 3
3. Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill – Some might wonder why a somewhat (by today’s standards) controversial head of state is included on a list of great military leaders. The simple fact is he had direct responsibility for many armaments and strategic war decisions in WWI, and as head of state in WWII, almost every strategic, armament and major tactical decision did not get passed without his personal attention and input. He was also an energetic and persuasive wartime politician whose diplomatic efforts are largely responsible for keeping Britain in the war, forming the tripartite alliance with US and Russia, determining the fate of Europe post-war, and the United Nations.
Like many ambitious aristocrats he took to soldiering with a passion, in a variety of posts worldwide, including narrow escapes at Malakand, Afghanistan, and from a POW camp in the Boer War. As First Sea Lord in WWI he partnered with ‘Jackie’ Fisher in planning naval construction and operations. He also helped father the development of tanks in Britain. In his eagerness for military action he was in the line at the defense of Antwerp, but this drew probing questions as to his priorities. With the bloody stalemate on the western front, Churchill conceived of a naval operation in the Dardanelles to knock Turkey out of the war and open a supply line to Russia.
I have read some accounts of the decision making process and prosecution of this campaign; and the fact is it was so watered down by compromises and delays, that any opportunity for quick success was missed. Once committed, the allies felt they had to follow up with landings on Gallipoli. He had no control over the outcome, but it was bungled and Churchill was betrayed by the actions of some of his peers. The best part of it was the brilliant execution of the evacuation of British, French, and ANZAC forces without casualties. Regardless, he had quarreled with many influential people to get his way, and along with others, had to pay the price of partial responsibility for this debacle. He resigned after a valedictory speech and was given a non-entity role he soon quit, and went to the front lines commanding a battalion. He criticized the wasteful attrition on the western front, but in humorous recollection, preferred it there because HQ was ‘dry’.
Churchill survived his political setback stoically through various changes in parliament by his basic common sense, and was at the forefront of many diplomatic decisions, but his outspokenness continued. He supported the intervention against the Bolsheviks, aided the Polish independence movement, signed the articles recognizing the Irish Free State, and opposed Indian nationalism. He called the Indian Congress leaders “Brahmins who mouth and patter principles of Western Liberalism.” Churchill took criticism for not relieving the later Bengal famine in WWII, but the reason it happened was the loss of imports from Burma by the Japanese occupation. His biggest mistake in inter-war years was his unqualified support of the Gold Standard which depressed the English economy and led to a general strike. Churchill commented that Mussolini had “a way to combat subversive forces”.
However he was one of the first voices raised in warning against the rise of Nazism. His support of King Edward VIII during the abdication crisis left him politically isolated (really, Wallis Simpson would have been completely inappropriate as a queen); and he left parliament, but remained connected to the machinations of defense. After the Munich Agreement he chastised Chamberlain: “You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war.” When war came the RN signaled “Winston is back" as 1st Lord of the Admiralty, and by 1940 Chamberlain resigned. The first real attempt at checking Hitler's power was the closely fought campaign in Norway.
Despite the accumulated disasters and the bleak outlook of a Soviet-Nazi rapprochement, Churchill rejected any armistice with Germany. Buoyed by the 'miracle' of Dunkirk, his speeches were a great inspiration: “...we shall fight in France,…on the seas and oceans,…with growing confidence and strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be…we shall never surrender.” But retreat is not a victory, “Let us therefore…bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’.” He authorized the strike against Vichy French naval assets, and later British interventions on the continent at great risk wherever the desire to resist was real.
Churchill authorized the RAF attacks on Berlin that changed the Luftwaffe’s focus to reprisal in terror raids on London, giving the RAF time to recover, as it was on the verge of collapse. As success in the Battle of Britain became certain, he proclaimed “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”. But many dark months lay ahead with the threat of strategic shortages and starvation in the U-boat war. Nonetheless, when Hitler launched Barbarossa in June 1941 he unhesitatingly pledged aid to Communist Russia, which he distrusted, under Stalin, whom he could never conceal his dislike for. “If Hitler invaded Hell, I would at least make a favourable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons.”
Churchill developed a genuine friendship with Franklin D. Roosevelt that would lead to the Lend-Lease agreement and eventually “in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old.” Overstretched, Britain, India, and its ANZAC allies, would have been under enormous pressure in a war against Japan, without the US. Churchill never made an attempt to paint a picture of false optimism. When the Commonwealth finally savoured the taste of a decisive victory at El Alamein he stated “This is not…even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”.
Churchill initiated the Strategic Operations Executive which conducted covert and partisan operations in occupied territories with great success, and also the Commandos; which would evolve with the SAS into other intelligence branches (the origin of ‘MI-6’ ?). Despite mild heart attacks and pneumonia he traveled over 100,000 miles meeting various allied leaders.
After the overkill in bombing raids against Dresden Churchill issued a memo: “…the moment has come when the question of bombing German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror,…should be reviewed...I feel the need for more precise concentration upon military objectives…rather than on mere acts of terror and wanton destruction…” It was reworded for issue. As the war drew to a close, he maneuvered for the autonomy of Poland and other eastern European states, but failed. He authorized the transfer of nationals from occupied areas to the new borders, but it resulted in another wave of terror in reprisals against Germans, and imprisonment or death of prisoners and refugees returning to eastern bloc countries. Churchill was prepared “to impose upon Russia the will of the United States and the British Empire.”
As a judge of character Churchill was usually dead on. He early recognized the value of Charles de Gaulle as leader of the Free French, despite the latter’s anti-Anglo stance, and supported his appointment in opposition to the hapless puppet Eisenhower proposed. He epitomized the tenacity of a ‘British Bulldog’ (a term the Russians gave him) and acted with unimpeachable integrity. As a political leader in wartime there could be no better choice, but in 1945 his party stepped down. Still, the ice forming in the Cold War and Korea led to his election for another term in 1951. He did not take well to the gradual dismemberment of the British Empire.
Churchill was a prolific historian who produced numerous volumes of well-written works on almost every subject he was privileged to be an expert on, which garnered him a Nobel Prize, and also the primary source of his income. He was also a quite credible impressionist painter, a hobby he cultivated to dispel the ‘black dog’ of depression as he called it. He died age 90, leaving among many memories, that of his acerbic wit. Life in Parliament must have been interesting with him around. The following outtakes with the first female Members illustrate a lovable, if politically incorrect curmudgeon (thanks Sharwood):
Lady Astor: "Winston, you're drunk!"
Churchill: "Yes my dear, and you are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning."
Female Labour MP: "Mr Churchill, if you were my husband I'd put poison in your coffee."
Churchill: "And if I were you're husband I'd drink it."
Successful Campaigns: 5 Innovation: 4 Direct Leadership: 2 Casualty Ratio: 4 Legacy: 5
4. Admiral Chester Nimitz – born in Texas the son of a German merchant mariner, graduated from Naval Academy with distinction in 1905. His early career required 2 years at sea to receive a commission. He remained on Asiatic station, and ran aground commanding a destroyer off the Philippines. This got him a court martial and reprimand.
He returned to the US and got in the ground floor of the submarine force, commanding several subs, not exactly an enviable position at the time. He studied diesel engines in Germany and in WWI became chief of staff to the commander, Atlantic submarine fleet. With a Letter of Commendation he moved up to Senior Member, Board of Submarine Design. Between the wars he served as chief officer on major surface ships, and established the first Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps unit, but continued to command submarine flotillas. By the time of Pearl Harbor he had commanded battle forces, and was Chief of Bureau of Navigation.
He became C-in-C, Pacific Fleet, with the rank of admiral. Within 6 months, the Pacific fleet fought back to back battles at Coral Sea and Midway. Nimitz received the intercept of Japanese naval code, and positioned the US carrier forces for an ambush. Whereas the Japanese made mistakes, the Americans did not. The odds were about even, but with somewhat inferior aircraft (except the Dauntless dive bomber) operational commanders like Fletcher, turned the tide in the Pacific war. Nimitz had control over all Allied units: air, land, and sea, in the Pacific, and conceived the island hopping campaign; to extend US bases and roll up the Japanese Empire. This would strand substantial Japanese island garrisons that were left behind and starved.
C-in-C of the Navy King ordered the opening campaign on Guadalcanal, where tactically, the Japanese achieved a naval victory. At one point there was not a single US carrier in action in the Pacific, and Nimitz replaced Ghormley with Halsey. But land based Marine aircraft kept the US from collapsing, even when their surface ships could only enter the Slot by daytime.
By 1944 he was Admiral of the Fleet, though the credit for the great battles of Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf, and any misjudgments, go to his operational commanders. It was Nimitz, 3000 miles away in Hawaii, who finally reined in Halsey to protect Kincaid’s 7th fleet from Kurita’s center force that suddenly emerged from the San Bernardino Strait. It was too late to help, but a close one anyway. Note that Spruance took heat for refusing to let Mitscher leave the landing at Saipan exposed, against what he presumed was a carrier diversion in the Philippine Sea. After this Nimitz moved his headquarters to Guam.
It is difficult to assess how much Nimitz controlled the actions of US forces in the Pacific, but he had the challenging assignment to plan and manage the overall strategic campaign by land, sea, and air forces, with their associated logistics, over a 15,000 mile string of archipelagos. Nimitz chose where the island battles took place, while the IJN determined where the naval battles took place, except when they encountered surprisingly effective US submarines. The last big island battles were Iwo Jima and Okinawa, where Nimitz was present. After typhoons, thousands of kamikaze attacks, and the last sortie of the IJN, he took the unprecedented step of relieving his naval commanders in that prolonged campaign to rest and recuperate.
With overwhelming firepower, the Allied Pacific Fleet was able to sail directly into Japan’s territorial waters near war’s end, and Nimitz signed for the US aboard the Missouri. Postwar he had the difficult task of gradually scaling back the US navy to peacetime levels, moving many new ships into reserve, and eventually some to the scrap yard.
Nimitz showed respect and magnanimity towards the US’s former enemies, but also a certain Espirit de Corps with former admirals. He furnished an affidavit in support of Donitz at the Nuremberg trial, on the practice of unrestricted submarine warfare, which he himself had employed throughout the Pacific. This reduced a possible death sentence to 10 years imprisonment, after which Nimitz visited Donitz (maybe no surprise he had the Pacific theater). He also raised funds for the restoration of the Mikasa, Togo’s flagship in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. It was a significant gesture in the Cold War era.
In a UN security resolution, he was accepted by India and Pakistan to administer the plebiscite in the dispute over Jammu-Kashmir.
Successful Campaigns: 5 Innovation: 4 Direct Leadership: 3 Casualty Ratio: 4 Legacy: 4
