MILITARY GENIUS(es): nominate at least 3(4,5,6-?)of the greatest Generals; substantiate, please.?

Question

Choose at least three(or as many as you like), but please, notate at least one sentence of substantiation to support your choice(s).

They can be from the current conflict in Iraq, the Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea, WW's I or II, from medevial times, ancient - west or east - cover the whole gammet if you wish.

I will reveal my three choices in the ADD DETAILS section, or COMMENTS when I choose the BEST ANSWER.

WOW: My God. Only one hour, and what some incrediably, fantastically great answers. Many, many thanks you guys. I'm reversing my previous decision, to post my 3 choices when I choose Best Answer: and will give them now, but this is definately not meant to influence any future responses; just want to get into the foray of the battle myself. Will leave the question open. And I honestly don't know how to pick a Best Answer: they are all Best. Think I will have to leave it up to the voters: wouldn't want the responsibility of making the choice.

Anyway, my choices: Napoleon, Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great.

Napoleon: lead most of his earlier battles himself: undeniable supreme courage and confidence.

Julius Caesar: not a lot of courage, but cunning beyond belief, and one of the greatest military tacticians of all time.

Alexander the Great: so much has been written about this great person, there isn't very much left that can be said. So I want: say more .

11-28-07: The Program is requesting I check for Best Answer. As I previously stated, all of your answers are so great, that I don't want the responsibility for choosing a Best one. So I'm going to open it up to the public to choose. And again, many many thanks for such great answers.

Wotan

Answer 1

Colonel General Heinz Guderian - "the Father of Blitz Krieg tactics" - for his brilliant campaign in the Ukraine.

Fieldmarshal Erich von Manstein - possibly the greatest mind in the history of warfare

Fieldmarshal Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel - for commanding the 7th Panzer division which cut an armored path to the English Channel while greatly outnumbered in both men and machines.

Hmmm... they are all German, interesting!


Others mentioned here, but do not deserve credit:

Marshal Zukov:

A total idiot who had a questionable grasp of tactics and squandered the lives of his troops unnecessarily (especially with the 1st Ukrainian Front). He has this bright idea to charge his troops directly into his own artillery barrage fire; this killed perhaps 80% of the troops in his first wave. For this alone, he should be considered a third-rate commander. He certainly did not have the tactical brilliance of von Manstein or von Runsted, or the personal courage of Heinz Guderian.

Napoleon:

Why do people equate him with tactical brilliance? He used his troops like a blunt club rather than a precision instrument. He was certainly not the strategist people want to credit him with being. The Prussian general von Bluecher was a far superior tactical and yes, strategic commander.

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson:

Here is one of the truly great idiots of the American Civil War. His claim to fame was standing firm without retreat or tactical maneuver. He is in the same leauge as Adolf Hitler when it comes to tactical brilliance in his famous order given to the Panzer Army Africa in 1942 at El Alamein: "The situation demands that the position will be held to the last man. There will be no retreat, not so much as one milimeter."

H. Nelson:

No real claim to fame. Admirals Halsey, Tripitz, Doenitz, Reader, Yamamoto, and countless others would have offered significantly greater abilities.

Answer 2

Nathan Bedford Forrest – Daring, Courageous, no formal military training yet understood military principle by instinct. Would out maneuver his adversaries and turn odds against him into his advantage.

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough – A brilliant tactician, master of logistics, and as any great commander, he won victory after victory. He was also a great politician of his era, a time when England was going through much political upheaval.

George Washington – Washington was a leader, he didn’t let a small setback unnerve him or change his ultimate goals. He had the impossible task of building an army from scratch.

Douglas MacArthur – A soldier’s soldier. Raised in the military, lived and breathed the army. I can’t find the source but read one time where his casualty rate was the lowest of any commander in WW2.

Answer 3

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

2) 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.

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

4) Paul Hausser for his tactical leadership of the II SS Panzer Corps, he restored the sagging front after Stalingrad and Kursk, beating Soviet Armies 7 times 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) 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.

7) 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?

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

9)Sherman author the first demonstation of total warfare with march through the south to atlanta

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)Gauis Julius Caesar, especially for his exploits in Gaul and Britainnia...

Answer 4

Nelson: OK he was an admiral but a military genius nonetheless see Cape St Vincent, Aboukir Bay and Trafalgar

Wellington: Outnumbered and outgunned (in terms of artillery) at Waterloo for much of the battle fought Napoleon to a standstill until Blucher could arrive with the Prussian forces to finish the battle. Taken with his conduct of the Peninsula War, which led to the first defeat and imprisonment of Napoleon.

Cetshwayo kaMpande: Isandlwana

Answer 5

My picks are:

Napoleon Bonaparte - He was a military tactician at such a young age (general at age 26).

Gen. George S. Patton - Commander of the U.S. Army during WWII over several campaigns. He wasn't nick-named "Old Blood and Guts" for nothing.

Alexander the Great - He conquered most of the known world (at the time, anyways) when he was 30. At that age, most of us would be slaving away in a cubicle.

Answer 6

You must include Frederick the Great, Friedrich II, King of Prussia 1740 to 1786. For one thing, he's reportedly one of my ancestors. For another, his contemporaries and historians since have both said he was a military genius. Good enough for me.

Most of the rest of the ones I like are already mentioned, and some like Schwarzkopf, I'm not sure I can spell correctly. May I include Colin Powell? And for sentimental reasons alone, I'd include George Washington.

Answer 7

Hannibal Barca- The man kept a disparate collection of Iberians, Carthagenians, dissafected Italian Tribesmen, Gallic mercenaries and a small group of elephants together as an effective fighting force in his enemy's very heartland for decades. His battle of Cannae was a master stroke, one of the worst defeats suffered by Rome in open battle in its centuries long history.

Geogry Zhukov- His steady command and fearless refusal to back down to political pressure from Stalin kept the Soviet Union in World War Two. As supreme commander he lead the Allies to final victory in the battle of Berlin.

Louis Davout- "The Iron Marshal". Argurably Napoleon's ablest field commander and organizer of men. At the battle of Auerstädt, Davout's Corps of some 30,000 defeated the main Prussian army of 65,000 in a crushing victory. He was a very underated and now largely fogotten commander who provided a much needed levelheadness to Napoleon's higher command.

Answer 8

1 - Alexander the Great. He won countless victories and an empire that engulfed virtually the known world, from a Greek point of view.

2 - George Washington. Although losing many battles in different wars, it was his experience and belief in his countrymen and their ideals that enabled him to overcome.

3 - Hannibal. Obviously a gifted tatician, problem solver,and charismatic leader. Along his march he was able to win victory after victory and unite the enemies of the Romans. The crossing of the Alps is amazing in itself. His many victories against the Roman Empire almost led to the fall of the city, and most likely would have, had he not stopped to return to defend Africa.

Answer 9

Napoleon Bonaparte
Need I say more. He was politically brilliant, new how to maximize his troops effectively, and tried to foster some degree of comradery between himself and his troops.

Patton
Brilliant commander, who was willing to ignore political aims when they violated the reality of world events. His daring push towards Bastonge salvaged what could have been a disastrous defensive move by the allies in the Ardenne.

Hannibal

Answer 10

you should check out Gen. John J. Pershing from WWI, him and George Washington are the only Generals promoted to General of the Armies in US History.