List of 100 Greatest Generals of All Time

[Agent327]

Fred was definitely a general. Leuthen? Rossbach? Hohenfriedberg? He improved on his predecessor's military, and he was tactically skilled. There's a reason Dupuy calls him a Great Captain of History, and why Napoleon referred to his victory at Leuthen as a 'masterpiece of maneuver and decision'. Dude could lead an army; does that not make him a general?

I thought the thread was about great generals. (Alright, keep Frederick the Great on as no 100 if you must.)

 

[Dachs]

I thought the thread was about great generals. (Alright, keep Frederick the Great on as no 100 if you must.)

I don't see what's so hard to understand about the great victories at Rossbach, of Leuthen, of Hohenfriedberg, of Sohr, of Chotusitz, Katholisch-Hennersdorf, Prague, Lobositz, Liegnitz, Torgau, and Freiberg...sure, he suffered some defeats, but the man scored some of the most brilliant victories in history...don't see how that doesn't qualify for great generalship. It's certainly better than MacArthur, whose greatest hits album has one song on it, better than von Schlieffen, who barely had any actual military command experience (and whose eponymous Plan was probably drafted by his successor Gloomy Julius), and superior to Zapata, whose claim to fame lies more in his failure to suffer a complete defeat, instead being repeatedly damaged but never fully succumbing until the very end in 1919.

Or you could be baiting me, but that's Not Very Nice.

 

[Atticus]

Thanks Dachs for your explanation! I also noticed that the wiki-article of battle of Cannae has now section about it's importance to the tactics, so I'll read it as an example of military genius. (I've once before looked at it because that question has bothered me quite a time).

 

[Camulodunum]

it think hannibal should be up there because of this amazing victory at cannae and he led the carthagnians so fluidly.

 

[_random_]

I must admit, Cyrus knew his enemies. He should probably be on the list.

 

[Dachs]

I must admit, Cyrus knew his enemies. He should probably be on the list.

If he knew his enemies so well, how come the Massagetai were able to kill him? Huh? Huh?

In all seriousness yes, Kurush Wuzurg should probably be on that list too. Thymbra: genius?

 

[innonimatu]

If he knew his enemies so well, how come the Massagetai were able to kill him? Huh? Huh?

In all seriousness yes, Kurush Wuzurg should probably be on that list too. Thymbra: genius?

Dachs, I really like reading your posts, for all the obscure but interesting nuggets of knowledge about military history. But it would help if you could provide the usual name of people and battles - something we can search about to get more info!

 

[Dachs]

Dachs, I really like reading your posts, for all the obscure but interesting nuggets of knowledge about military history. But it would help if you could provide the usual name of people and battles - something we can search about to get more info!

Kurush Wuzurg is Cyrus the Great in non-Greekified speaking. As for Thymbra, well, that is the usual name for this engagement. But I suppose I can provide the Latinizations if it's absolutely necessary.

 

[North King]

Putting every foreign term and name in its native language makes a post nearly inaccessible to your general audience, which rather defeats the point of posting at all.

 

[Taras Bulba]

just a quick list... (in no particular order)

• Julius Caesar
• Patton
• Sun Tzu
• Alexander the Great
• Erwin Rommel
• Napoleon
• Washington
• Hannibal
• Temujin
• Bismarck (curse you Dachs for catching EVERY mistake I make!!!)
• Zhukov
• "Stonewall" Jackson
• McClellen (in some senses)
• Bradley
• Eisenhower

this list, however, is based only on what I know of battles, I'm sure there are plenty others that can go in it, just that I forgot or have no knowledge of

 

[Dachs]

Otto von Bismarck was not a general.

 

[Taras Bulba]

Otto von Bismarck was not a general.

but he should've been, and I'm sure he could've been...

it makes sense that he would, but I guess I was wrong, thanks for the knowledge

 

[Dachs]

but he should've been, and I'm sure he could've been...

it makes sense that he would, but I guess I was wrong, thanks for the knowledge

Well, he was a political genius and a skilled foreign minister and chancellor. He caused the wars (or got dragged into them) and signed the peace treaties; von Moltke (I) and the rest of the Greater General Staff fought them.

 

[Taras Bulba]

Well, he was a political genius and a skilled foreign minister and chancellor. He caused the wars (or got dragged into them) and signed the peace treaties; von Moltke (I) and the rest of the Greater General Staff fought them.

but, like you said, isn't an actual General... if I wanted, I should've put Moltke on there, but frankly, I know NOTHING about him (other than his name and nationality)

oh well... I know you're just out to get me, its ok

 

[Dachs]

oh well... I know you're just out to get me, its ok

I wasn't out to get you, I was providing information.

 

[Taras Bulba]

I wasn't out to get you, I was providing information.

of course you weren't (wink wink)



EDIT: WOW... how could I forget Sherman?!? One of my favorites, which reminds me also of Tecumseh (sp?)... he was a Shawnee chief/general, wasn't he?

 

[Eretz Yisrael]

Kemal Mustafa Ataturk Pasha,
Yi Sun Shin
Hideyoshi
Oda Nobunaga
Sun Tzu
Atilla the Hun
Gustavus Adolphus
Napoleon
Rommel
Guderian
Zhukov
Montgomery
Yamamoto Isoroku
General Kuriyabashi of Iwo JIma(it SHOULD BE CALLED Ioto In japanese)
Eisenhower(his named used to be be Eisenhauer, I think;not too sure)
Mao Zedong(he was a military genius
Genghis Khan
Suleiman the Magnificient
Mehmed the Conqueror
General Lee of the Confederacy
Wavell

 

[Eretz Yisrael]

General MacArthur was a show-off who got ran away from the Phillipines under the Presidents orders(no great general runs from the scene of battle or leaves his men like tht, the Death March). The US won the Pacific through production,not MacArthur; personnally Admiral Nimitz was beter than him)
He almost screwed up Korea(well we do have to admit the Inchon Landings saved Korea; but he couldnt do much against the veteran Chinese Communists.The Communists were way better soldeires than the conscript American G.I by the way; there were all veteran troops from the Sino-Japanese Wwar and the Chinese Civil War;and they had the General Peng De Huai, who was one of the Generals who participated in the Long March)

 

[Eretz Yisrael]

So they weren't great generals (hence they're better known as statesmen). I say: strike 'em.

Aatatturk was a 'general' - later statesman, but he was one of the only able commanders in WWI in Ottoman Turkey.

Mao had a decent relationship with his generals and he often directed military planning during the early years.

 

[REDY]

I would add Jan Zizka.