Who was the greatest army commander in history and why?

Answer 1

Wow. What a question.

I'm going to limit my answer to the 20th Century, because this is a very difficult question to answer if you take all recorded history. There are so many variables.

My vote would go to General of the Army Omar Bradley who was one of the most successful American field commanders in World War II. Most overlook Bradley in favor of Patton, but Bradley was a brilliant tactician and his troops loved him.

Unlike Patton, who was very controversial and who was resented by many under his command, Bradley was very popular with fellow commanders, including Patton. He did not seek publicity, nor did he get much.

Other contenders might be Field Marshal Zhukov, the Soviet commander who took Berlin, Eisenhower, who balanced military and political pressures to lead a successful European campaign, and British General Horrocks, another unsung field commander who probably helped avoid making Operation Market-Garden a bigger disaster than it was.

MacArthur also deserves a good deal of credit for his brilliant attack at Inchon in the Korean War.

Answer 2

Gaius Jullius Caesar
Scipio Africanus
Napoleon Bonaparte
Robert E. Lee
Hanibal Barca
Erwin Rommel
George Patton
Omar Bradley
ALexander the Great
Stonewall Jackson
Paul Hausser

My pic: I liked Caesar's empire building scheme, his exploits in Germania and Britainnia.

Answer 3

General George Patton

Answer 4

Hannibal

At the battle of Cannae, Hannibal’s forces effected the first double envelopment in recorded military history and killed 70,000 out of a Roman army of 86,000 in a little over one hour. Thus it could be said that Hannibal’s military genius, 2,161 years before the bombing of Hiroshima, as equal to an atomic bomb since approximately the same number of people were killed in the same period of time!
Hannibal’s opponent, Rome’s Legions, were the greatest army and fighting force of its day.
For almost 15 years Hannibal ran wild in Italy, without any help or supplies from Cathage, and in the process destroyed a number of Roman armies and captured or killed multiple Roman generals. During this almost 15-year period, Hannibal was never defeated in a major battle.
Hannibal’s opponent, after the first few battles, refused to meet him in open combat and followed him from a safe distance. In no other case in history has the strongest military power of its day, having its country invaded, refused to confront the occupying force due to overwhelming fear of military defeat.

Answer 5

Toughguy is right. General George S. Patton. Because he studied war. He studied all the great battles in history and knew all the details. This knowledge allowed him to see and predict what the enemy was most likely to do next - thus he always had the upper hand. My uncle (who was a Marine and recently passed) served under this Great Leader. They don't make um like General Patton anymore!

Answer 6

General George Washington. He should have lost the war, but didnt. He was a fighting mans general, and spent a lot of time on the battlefield with his troops, not hiding in some hq somewhere. His battle plans were brilliant.

Answer 7

Genral George Patton. Patton was the only general to beat the Nazi's best Rommel. He beat him out of Africa and the Germans feared his aggressive tactics. Patton would get the best out of his men because they feared him more than the enemy. He to this date is the greatest Military commander of All-time.

Answer 8

Alexander the Great

At the age of 20 he took over as King of Macedon and started his quest to conquer the known world and he had the loyalty and respect of his men.

He had conquered most of the know world but then died suddenly of fever just before turning 33.

Answer 9

The Carthaginian general Hannibal,He siezed the city of Saguntum,a roman city in Spain,in 218bc.From there on,he wanted to bring it right to Rome itself.He marched 40,000 troops and 38 Elephants ( the ancient tanks) aross the alps to invade Italy.He captured most of north Italy,but never got to Rome itself.He was recalled to carthage to fight Scipio Africanus and his legions.But he lost.After the war,most of Carthaginian nobility turned agianst him,and he fled tothe court of Antiochus III.there he fought the romans some more,but was defeated and he commited suicide.His greatness comes from His sence of strategy,and his ability to gain the respect and strong loyalty of his troops.

Answer 10

Alexander The Great, conqured lands streching from the Mediterranean to India