who do you think was the best military general pre 20th century?

Question

please include dates if they are not well heard of so i can look into it myself to decide the best answer

Answer 1

possibly wellington, his quick thinking at waterloo pretty much one it for the anglo-dutch forces after wiping out the french cavalry, predicting what the enemy would do is tricky, but he pulled it off well.

for details just plop waterloo in on google

Answer 2

I got lots, and they are all before the 20th century. Alexander the Great, he defeated the Persian Empire and made his own from the ruins. His empire stretched from Greece to somewhere in the far Middle East. Alexander defeated the Persians in several battles where he was vastly outnumbered. And he did this all when he was in his 30s!

Or Saladin, the Muslim general who beat the crusaders back from the Holy Land on pretty much every front.

Or Julius Caesar, the Roman who conquered all of Gaul (modern-day France) then returned to Rome to defeat his own political colleague and announce himself as dictator.

Or even Genghis Khan, the brutal Mongol general who made an empire twice the size of the Roman Empire in his own lifetime.

Answer 3

Lemme see the candidates:

1) Pompey was recognised as rome's wonderkid-general in the years before the first triumvirate, bearing in mind his thrashing of the pirates and victories in Africa against jugurtha (I think). But during the Sulla v Marian conflict several attempts were made to defeat Sertorius in Spain, by vastly larger armies commanded by a couple of Roman Generals, one of which was Pompey?

Plus, he had one eye. I think that deserves mention.

Pompey was a great organiser, but not tactically sound. His victories were great at the time, but his opponents were never remembered in history for their greatness and the resources at his disposal were vast.

2) TJ Jackson (AKA Stonewall), had the habit from the leading from the front, which proved to be his undoing. His flanking movements against superior Union forces made Bobby Lee look good.

3) JB Hood, his Texas and Liousina regiments were the firebrigade of the confederacy. As a division commander, Hood excelled, as a Corps Commander he was lousy.

4) Washington: his Continenty Army beat armies twice his size.

5) 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.

6) Alexander the Great: conquered the known world. No one could break the hoplite phalanx.

7) 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.

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

10)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.

11) charlemagne last big empire of europe until napolean. Without him, Europe would've been overrun by the Moors/Saracens (You'd be praying to Mecca each day).

12)Caesar conquered Gaul & Britainnia, but he did this by a combination of politics and warfare against an enemy who thought war should be conducted either nude or certainly armourless, and that combat should be 1 on 1 with slashing weapons. Against Roman military technology there was only ever one outcome. You can slash armour all you want, but when someone jabs a few inches of a pointed short sword in your face from behind a big shield, you're going to lose, irrespective of how much battlefury you have. Anyway, Caesar would have been one of the worst generals in history had he failed to conquer Gaul with the resources at his disposal. I concede that the barbarian Vercingetorix was a challenge, but if you actually analyse the battle Ceaser was outmanourvered badly by the Gaul! I think Ceasar can be better measured by his victories during the Civil war and over the aged Pompey. However, even there he had a battle hardened army and he fought a vastly more inexperienced force, with some terrible tactical decisions being made by Caesar's enemies.

Answer 4

Most modern day military historians today feel as if Alexander the Great to be the best general of all time. I think he lived about 250 years BC or somewhere in that area.

Answer 5

Robert E Lee Thomas Jackson JEB Stuart
Nathan Forest

Answer 6

Alexander the Great of Macedon. 356 to 323 b.c.

Answer 7

I would have to say the 1st Duke of Marlbourgh, his actions and conquests pushed the laughable English Army as it was into a feared force.

Answer 8

a man who was a utter statesman, did what was in best interest of his country even after he and the South were defeated, and refused to fight by means of gorilla warfare was General Robert E. Lee.

Answer 9

Napoleon did quite well for a man with a poor navy.