and the best offensive tactician of all time ?

Answer 1

The issue varies because the format and styles vary. Some people have referred to strategists again confusing the term tactics with the term strategy. Often they are the same. However the higher the rank of commander the more likely the use of strategy. And it is personal preference. Here are my top ten not in order.

1. Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Confederate Brigadier General. Cavalry operations are inherently offensive. Forest was promoted through field promotions, he could neither read nor write initially. But his sense of tactics in a firefight excelled all others. He could see the entire battlefield in his mind.

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


2. Quintus Sertorius.
Roman General from Gaul. Never lost a battle. He basically operated in what is now Spain.

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

3. Hannibal Barca:
Yes the mighty Hannibal, Scourge of Imperial Rome. Marched out of what is now Spain leading a small force. Crossed present day France and probably south Switzerland into and through the Alps.

One must remember that his troops were African troops unaccustomed to such subarctic rigors of cold and snow.

He then engaged in three classic tactical battles which are the stuff of military study today since the Romans were every bit equal in technical skill and vastly outnumbered the Carthaginians at every encounter. Hannibal Barca outfoxed each Roman Army.

Ironically and a result of extremely bad timing in coincidence Hannibal was confronted and defeated by one of the most brilliant military strategists of all time and that was Fabius Maximus the inventor of Fabian Strategy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal_Barca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabius_Maximus

4. Guy Simonds
Lieutenant General Guy Simonds led Canadian troops in World War II. He was in all essence Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery's hard point in Sicily, Ortona, Normandy and in the Scheld. He was the commander that conquered the same territory that Operation Market Garden failed to take. (see movie: A Bridge Too Far).

The type of warfare he had to engage in liberating Holland was to most movie buffs boring, and extremely complex. At almost every canal crossing or river crossing a mini Normandy assault had to be devised quickly. It was a constant barrage of tactics and invented tactics because they couldn't be repeated since the enemy, the defending German Army also possessed great officers and weren't inclined to repeat mistakes.

His small army couldn't use the capture of terrain features to accelerate any advance. Watch points were urban church towers and two story buildings which meant that not only did this small army have to constantly use combined water assault but also they were just as likely to have to transition from bush warfare, to marine warfare, and to street warfare in a matter of a hundred metres.

He doesn't get due credit because the contributions aren't written by the foe to pump up their own valor. He was on the winning side and didn't seek nor get media attention. Its too bad, unfortunately his achievements and those of the Canadian Army in Holland will enter the dust bin of history.

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


5 George S. Patton
This vitriolic commander excelled in battle and appeared to motivate troops beyond their limits. He was controversial, excessively arrogant but in a tactical armored battle with a technically advanced foe he backed up his bravado

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

6. Ivan Chernyakhovsky,
Russian commander of the point armored corps and infantry at the critical battle of Kursk which ultimately led to the total defeat of the Nazi Armies. Why? It permanently reduced the capacity of Panzer Corps to carry out offensive armored operations on the Eastern Front and the Western Front. He died in combat. This happens.

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

7. Heinz Guderian
Legendary Panzer corps commander invented the whole idea of Panzer operations. Heavily studied by friend and foe alike Guderian was not only a brilliant theorist but carried that knowledge onto the battlefield. And he was not only a brilliant strategist but excelled in tactics both offensive and defensive as well. He is perhaps our best well rounded professional soldier of the ten.

His entry in Wikipedia is somewhat subdued. Old enough to enjoy the stories of old tank men. Only his name stood out. They'd shake their heads over the overly hyped Rommel, and Patton. It was only Guderian that universally stood out.

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

8. Geronimo
Many good military experts point to Geronimo as likely the greatest tactician of all time. In America he has few equals. It would have been enormously interesting for Forrest to meet Geronimo in battle as they were contemporaries.

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

9. Admiral Horatio Nelson
Nelson must be considered the greatest tactical naval commander and perhaps flat out the all time best commander ever.

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

10. Takeda Shingen
Commander. A shogun of the mid1500s. Known for his brilliant campaigns expanding his clans holdings. He was outstanding in the formal Japanese forms of warfare.

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

These are my top ten. If you ask me tomorrow which one is the best tactician I would pick one of this list and engage in a debate why. It matters little which one sometimes.

And the best commanding tactician often do not win a war. Since their biographies are written by the victor this means that the stature gained in a losing force.The problem is that you are asking about something that has taken place over 3000 years of recorded history.

Today my choice is Hannibal Barca because it closely matches your criteria. But it is an extremely difficult choice.

Answer 2

Tactics or Strategist?
Hannibal is the go to guy. Study Hannibal and his battles as well as upbringing. He was a thorough general born doing strategy.
Alexander the Great is also very smart he adapted horse archers into his army rather than stubbornly take them on.
Genghis Khan had a blitzkrieg that traveled further and faster than any in history not even ww2 and up to today conquered so fast. Genghis Khan had the best military force until guns came about.
Sun Tzu is good because he emphasizes being untouchable as a higher priority.. which it is. Offense takes a back seat to being undefeatable. Because no matter how good your attack, if you have a weakness like food or health problems then you can be waited out till you can't fight. The universal currency in war is speed and speed buys you time the most valuable thing in war. But don't misunderstand.. Defense is a form attack. When you put armor on or ride a horse you are attacking the weapon or offense of an opponent.

Answer 3

Without doubt it must be Field marshal Montgomery of Alemein. When the british Army was continually retreating in Nort Africa in WW2, he was given command of the infamous Desert Rats (8th Army) and Successfully routed Field Marshal Rommel and the Afrika Korps out of North Africa. He was the Brains behind the Normandy landings which led to the downfall of the third Reich. In my opinion the war in Europe would have ended in January 1945 if he was made supereme Commander of the allied forces instead of Eisenhower, and we would have beaten the Russians into Berlin. As it was, Eisenhower held the allied forces back at the Elbe river to allow the Russians in first. This was the cause of an East and west germany and the resulting Berlin Wall.

Answer 4

1. I have always thought Sertorius was the greatest Roman General but the one least interested in politics and therefore the one least mentioned in history. However, like Memnon vs Alexander, his contemporary's obviously repsected him enough to rarely have a bad word said against him, and it is not often that you have a man so unknown by the public who, and I'm going from memory here, plutarch felt could have, and should have, been the greatest Roman General of his time.....

2. Scipio Africanus was the general who defeated Hannibal. Arguably, Hannibal was, along with Phyruss of Epirus, mithrodates and possibly Jugurtha, one of the greatest generals since Alexander. You cant argue with that pedigree but my knowledge of the Punic Wars is limited.

3. I second Nathan Bedford Forrest above

4. Paul Hausser, his tactical leadership of the II Panzer Corps at the 3rd Battle of Kharkov beat back a Red Army seven times his size and stabilized a sagging front after the debacle at Stalingrad and Kursk.

5. Patton how far could he have gone given a free hand in france during 1944?

6) Rommel what could he have done had he more than 25% of the force required to win in africa plus his defense of france and the conquest of france.

7) zhukov the defender of russia and did well in the east prior to facing the germans

8)napolean master of land and sea warfare egypt and russian were his for a while. He was left chomping on the bit along the English Coast the same as Hitler tho.

9) thomas jackson, for his tactical victories in the Shenandoah Valley and Chancellorsville. He made bobby lee look good and if he was alive, could've won at Gettysburg too.

10) macarthur same as napolean but not the size of scale of conquest. A free hand could've won the Korean Conflict, either that or a direct confrontation with China...who knows?

11)Moltke first used the practice of mobility with railroads and the use of commanders to figure out the best way to take an objective

12) genghis khan able to go from mongolia to europe a large undertaking considering his time. His empire was larger than Hitlers, Alexanders, and the Roman Empire combined.

Answer 5

tactician vs strategic

makes it simple

Jeb Stuart probably was the best pure Tactician in history.
2nd would be George Patton(who studied Stuart intensively from childhood).
Hoyt Vandenberg might be the Air Tactician of all time for his efforts in Europe in WW II, Charles Horner would be the only one comparable in modern times and funny that they were both 9th AF Commanders.

Ret. USAF SNCO, Formerly with HQ 9th AF

Answer 6

That is easy. Sun Tzu

When you analyze tactics used in all wars that have been recorded, those who use the tactics he wrote about win.

The USA stopped using those tactics at the end of WW TWO, which is why it got a tie in Korea, a loss in Vietnam, a poor resolution in the Gulf War and a mess now.

Answer 7

Deng from China got HK back from Britain after 150 years British control and got Macau back from Portugal after 450 years Portuguese control without firing a shot . Can you imagine the native indians and the aborigines got their lands back from simply talking to the whites.

Answer 8

Given the results he achieved, Alexander the Great

Answer 9

Capitaine Danjou at Camerone in 1863. 64 legionnaires fought off 2000 mexicans. We still celebrate it now.

Answer 10

Alexander the Great.His methods are still taught at military schools worldwide.