Who's the greatest general?

[Emperor2]

For me, it would be a struggle between Genghis Khan and General MacArthur, but Genghis comes out on top.

 

[cybrxkhan]

i must add a very excellent general: Patton.

 

[The Ninja]

Either Jackson or Lee. No one else even comes close (IMO).

 

[mr_lewington]

well i think that a good sub thread for this would be the worlds most influential generals or the generals who affected history the most, and yes cybr, Ghengis Khan would be among them

 

[cybrxkhan]

^its Cybrx. but Genghis Khan was the founder of the ultimate world empire. with the exception of Britain. but then again, Britain wasn't continuous, and it wasn't built in two generations, so...

 

[mr_lewington]

lol clash of the titans, British vs Mongols, Royal Navy vs Golden Horde.

 

[cybrxkhan]

give the Mongols Victorian-era guns, steampunk blimps and tanks, and they can easily crush any British army. its ultimate civilized gentlemen vs. ultimate savage barbarians.

 

[mr_lewington]

ah but the british have drive by arguements! the mongols wont no what hit them!

 

[dutchking]

There are many generals that came to mind. For a general ranking of the generals heres a general list:
- Napoleon
- Genghis
- Patton/Eisenhower/Montgomery/Rommel/etc. (basically WWII generals)
- HANNIBAL (you forgot him)
- You also forgot George Washington
- Wellington is also a biggie.
And there are a few other generals that come to mind, keep in mind this is just a general list of generals.

 

[Gustav_Adolf]

Wellington > Napoleon

Wellington would lost without Blücher.

Wellington was undefeated.

burgos ? toulouse ? quatre Bras ?

He beat Napoleon.

No he didn't.
Blucher and Wellington together defeated Napoloeon.
Blucher saved Wellington at Waterloo.

"Give me Blücher...or give me night..."

Wellington

It wasn't particularly wonderful.

He just won more battles than any other general in history but yes except that he wasn't particulary wonderful......

 

[Xyan]

In terms of military mind, I would definitely vote for Genghis Khan...

Considering the limited resources and primitive weapondry he had, the number of victories he chalked up and the expanse of his empire is impressive.

Even his efforts in uniting the constantly warring tribes of the Gobi desert is an achievement.

 

[Gustav_Adolf]

well bsides all that, i think that King Henry v should b at least top 5, lead 6000 troops against 35,000-50,000 french and only lost about 200 troops.

figures and casualties for middle age wars are always exaggerated.
it's irrelevant


New historical research about Agincourt

Until recently, Agincourt has been feted as one of the greatest victories in English military history. But, in Agincourt, A New History (2005), Anne Curry makes the claim that the scale of the English triumph at Agincourt was overstated for almost six centuries.

According to her research, the French still outnumbered the English and Welsh but at worst only by a factor of three to two (12,000 Frenchmen against 7,000 to 9,000 Englishmen). According to Curry, the Battle of Agincourt was a "myth constructed around Henry to build up his reputation as a king".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt

 

[Gustav_Adolf]

- Napoleon
- Genghis
- Patton/Eisenhower/Montgomery/Rommel/etc. (basically WWII generals)

Montgomery is an intruder in this list...

Britain had good commanders much better than Montgomery,
Marlborough for exemple.

Mongomery wasn't a bad general but he wasn't a good either.

 

[cybrxkhan]

In terms of military mind, I would definitely vote for Genghis Khan...

Considering the limited resources and primitive weapondry he had, the number of victories he chalked up and the expanse of his empire is impressive.

Even his efforts in uniting the constantly warring tribes of the Gobi desert is an achievement.

yes. agreed very much.

 

[privatehudson]

I think the jury is still out on the numbers present at Agincourt, so would be wary of making any final judgement either way at present.

 

[Civfan333]

By a long shot, GENGHIS KHAN is better.

 

[Quildavyr]

I am not sure about Genghis Khan.Was he really a General?Have the mongol armies fought with a tactic?IMHO "go,kill,crush,burn and rape" command is not enough to call a man as general

But I will accept,"Genghis was the greatest Casanova" argument.

 

[Civfan333]

Well, I'd call ANYONE who manages to take over and make the biggest empire in history a great one.

 

[privatehudson]

That statement is reliant on how you measure the "biggest empire". The biggest Empire by landmass was the British, with 36.6 million square kilometres. The Mongols only managed 33.2 million square kilometres, and that wasn't under Ghengis but Khublai Khan.

On the other hand the British were a maritime empire, as opposed to a Contiguous empire like the Mongols.

 

[mr_lewington]

wasnt the empire only truly an empire in mongolia and whatever recently conquered territories they were in? other wise werent the lands, i,e in the middle area, contested by locals and virtually unused by the mongols?