The Greatest Generals of World

[Joe Shearer]

Sorry, I thought you wanted to create your own list of top 10 generals. I agree with the suggestion of creating 3 different categories for generals, each corresponding to a specific time period. It's pointless to compare a general alive in ancient times to one that lived in the modern era. Warfare, weapons, strategy, & tactics have evolved a lot since then. Although, if I was to create some random list of my favorite generals; I would seriously consider including Alexander the Great, Khalid bin Walid, Cyrus the Great, & perhaps even Constantine the Great.

So would you help?

 

[Joe Shearer]

One must address this question what makes a general great. In the list of 10 pasted above, there are many names that are not worth being called excellent leave aside greatest or even great. Let me elaborate: How is Patton great? If a general has 2000 bombers at his disposal, all the world resources at his disposal and numerical superiority, and he win copying enemy tactics not inventing his won, what is great about that? He might be above average, not great.
One must decide what makes a general great. If a general has technological or numerical superiority, he must win if he is not incompetent; otherwise, he is incompetent- a failure. One must be called great for something extraordinary; something unusual. If a general wins when all odds are against him, then he can be called great,
I have temptation to suggest a system of categorization as well. Let me do that please:
I think categories should be four: conquerors, kings, the outstanding generals who never got defeated and the generals who made an impact on future strategists and military education. These categories can further be divided into different time periods.
I don't know many but as an example, I would say:
Conquerors.
1. Alaxender
2. chnagez khan
3. Tamur ling
4. napolean

Kings (political leaders and generals)
1. Julius ceaser
2. Sultan fateh mohammad
3. shankar acharya

Undefeated generals
1. Khalid bin walid
2.

Great strategists
1. napolean bonapart
2.
Now one will see that some names will pop up in many categories and that makes them really great.
The names above are examples; I am not deciding any thing.

I love your system but am not sure how to distinguish between conqueror and king.

Could you dwell on that a bit please?

BTW, Austerlitz and i have had this argument before. You might be amused to look up older threads.

Have you noticed that your categories of victorious general and strategic thinker who influenced the ages also applies to battles? We can consider great battles, and strategically influential battles.

 

[Bhairava]

And there are independent researchers including Kalki who had done extensive research prior to coming up with his famous novel - Ponniyin Selvan and it talks about the Naval capabilities of Cholas and .

Ponniyin Selvan. I could kiss Kalki for coming up with that magnum opus.

Kings (political leaders and generals)
1. Julius ceaser
2. Sultan fateh mohammad
3. shankar acharya

Whhhaaat ?!

 

[Bilal587]

<---------------- I love Hitler specially on Holocaust policy

 

[Bhairava]

<---------------- I love Hitler specially on Holocaust policy

Yeah surely..You should love Hulagu too.

 

[Anotherangle]

I love your system but am not sure how to distinguish between conqueror and king.

Could you dwell on that a bit please?

BTW, Austerlitz and i have had this argument before. You might be amused to look up older threads.

Have you noticed that your categories of victorious general and strategic thinker who influenced the ages also applies to battles? We can consider great battles, and strategically influential battles.

I think kings should be replaced by Political leaders who earned reputation as great general but in fact they were founders of empires. conquerors who are famous for conquering lands.

 

[HappinessMark!]

oho I seee ppl, forget to mention joornal ZOARDARI....

by the way what is the criteare to be a GREAT journal....
more brutal (killer)? like hitler or chengez
grabing more lands?

 

[Anotherangle]

Ponniyin Selvan. I could kiss Kalki for coming up with that magnum opus.



Whhhaaat ?!

it was mistake; I wrote in hurry without thinking

 

[p(-)0ENiX]

So would you help?

I can try to help, but I am more familiar with popular rulers & generals of the past. So I might not be able to recommend any unheard off generals or rulers.

One must address this question what makes a general great. In the list of 10 pasted above, there are many names that are not worth being called excellent leave aside greatest or even great. Let me elaborate: How is Patton great? If a general has 2000 bombers at his disposal, all the world resources at his disposal and numerical superiority, and he win copying enemy tactics not inventing his won, what is great about that? He might be above average, not great.
One must decide what makes a general great. If a general has technological or numerical superiority, he must win if he is not incompetent; otherwise, he is incompetent- a failure. One must be called great for something extraordinary; something unusual. If a general wins when all odds are against him, then he can be called great,

The title "the great" isn't only given to those that were exceptional generals, it's also used to refer to those leaders that devised great strategies to hold their vast empires together by developing a good administrative system. For example; Cyrus the great used to visit conquered people wearing their attire while adhering to their culture to welcome people in to his dynasty. Apart from that; he is famous for being a just ruler, & if I am not mistaken; he contributed to the development of an early form of human rights.

Alexander the Great was undoubtedly a good general, but his major failure was his inability to setup a functional & stable empire after his demise. His general's fought for control, & while some of them did manage to win great chunks of his empire, the Greeks had also reverted back to the era of city states fighting for control. The Seleucid empire & the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt are just remnants of Alexander's empire. In his conquests, if I am not mistaken; Alexander made use of Hoplites who generally fought in the phalanx formation. They were the backbone of the Greek armies of that time. Hoplites are usually equiped with spears, shields, daggers or swords, & armor. The quality of their equipment varied depending on rank & training. In this formation, soldiers march in tightly knit groups, & they primarily fight by thrusting opponents with those spears. The shields are used both to defend & create a barrier, & since the group is tightly packed; it offers strong resistance against charging enemies.

Another advantage the Greeks & Romans had over the Persians was their superior navy. Persia was primarily a land power, whereas the Greeks & Romans dedicated a portion of their time & effort in to improving Naval warfare. Hannibal was a good general too, & I think he was the first one to introduce war elephants to Europe. Unfortunately for him, while he could win a battle, he was never able to use that victory for political advantages. The Roman general Scipio Africanus studied Hannibal's tactics & later on defeated him as well. The Romans advance to Carthage could also be construed as a good tactic to lure Hannibal away from the northern regions of Italia. The interesting thing here is that while Hannibal was a good general, the person he considered to be the greatest general of all time was Alexander the great of Macedon.

I have heard an interesting tale regarding the Romans & the Carthaginians. Queen Dido or Alyssa was the founder of Carthage, & her lover was apparently Prince Aeneas who later on abandoned her. Prince Aeneas was a Trojan hero & a survivor of the Trojan war. According to legendary accounts, he was the distant ancestor of King Romulus; the founder of Rome. While Queen Dido was in her death bed, she cursed Aeneas for abandoning her, & she cursed his descendants (the Romans) as well. The funny thing is that her curse wasn't effective, & the Romans later on brought the Carthaginian empire down to its knees.

Joan of Arc was a good general too, & her story is a tragic one. It's a fine example of the oppression of the Catholic Church during the Medieval age. By the way, does anyone know any interesting details or myths about other conquerors? What about Suleiman the Magnificent? From what I know, he is mostly famous for his conquests & control over the holy sites of Abrahamic religions along with good administrative & ruling tactics. Apart from that, he firmly established the Ottoman Empire as a super power of its time.

 

[p(-)0ENiX]

List of undefeated military commanders​

The following is the list of known military commanders who did not lose any significant engagement against the enemy as the commander-in-chief of a significant portion of a country's military forces.

Army commanders

Western Asia ​

* Sargon the Great – Akkadian king of 24th century BC against Lugal-Zage-Si of Sumer, the Awan dynasty, and the kingdoms of Susa, Barhashe, Mari, Yarmuti and Ebla

* Surena - Parthian general of 1st century BC, defeated the Romans despite being outnumbered four-to-one at the Battle of Carrhae

* Khaled Bin Waleed - Defeated Romans (under Heraclius), Persian Empire (under Yazdgerd III) and their allies during his conquest of the Persian Empire and conquest of Roman Syria

Southern Asia​

* Sudas - Indian king of 15th century BC, victor in the Battle of the Ten Kings

* Chandragupta Maurya – Maurya king of 4th century BC, against Dhana Nanda of the Nanda Empire, Seleucus I Nicator of the Seleucid Empire, Eudemus and Sophytes of Punjab, Peithon of the Indus, Nicanor, Philip, and various Indian kingdoms

*Demetrius I of Bactria - A 3rd century BC king of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom who conquered parts of northwestern India

*Samudragupta – Gupta king of 4th century, against over 20 Indian, Scythian and Kushan kingdoms.

*Chandragupta II (a.k.a. Vikramaditya or Raghu) - Gupta king of 4th century, against 21 kingdoms, including the
Yavanas (Greeks), Parasikas (Persians), Hunas, Kambojas, Kinnaras, Kiratas and Transoxiana
*Lalitaditya Muktapida - Kashmiri king of 8th century, conquered Kalinga, Gauda, Karnata, Konkana, Uttarapatha, Strirajya, Uttarakuru, and the Kambojas, Tukharas (Turks and Tocharians), Bhautas (Tibetans), Daradas and Pragjyotishas

*Devapala - Bengali Pala king of 9th century, against the Utkalas, Assamese, Hunas, Kambojas, Gurjara Pratiharas and Dravidas

*Zafar Khan – Muslim Indian general, against Mongol invasions in the 13th century

*Maharaja Ranjit Singh - Sikh king of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire

Eastern Asia​

*Gwanggaeto the Great – Taewang and military commander of the Goguryeo,a Korean dynasty in northeastern Asia during 5th century

*Eulji Mundeok – Military commander of the Korean Goguryeo,a dynasty in northeastern Asia during early 7th century

*Bai Qi – Qin general, slew more than a million soldiers, seized 70 cities of the other 6 States in the Warring States Period for 30 years in command

*Han Xin – General under Liu Bang, the first emperor of Han China, against Xiang Yu during the civil war in 3rd century BC

*Wei Qing – General of Han China against Xiongnu in 2nd Century BC

*Huo Qubing – General of Han China against Xiongnu in 2nd Century BC

*Yue Fei - General of the Southern Song Dynasty, fought against the Jurchens in the north and was undefeated in up to 80 battles

Southeastern Asia​

*Hang Tuah – Muslim Laksamana of Malacca Sultanate in the 15th century

*Nguyen Hue – Vietnamese rebel, general, and emperor of the Tay Son Dynasty in the late 18th century

Europe​

*Epaminondas - Greek-Theban general of the 4th century BC

*Alexander the Great – Greek-Macedonian king of 4th century BC against Darius III of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and Porus of Punjab

*Scipio Africanus – Roman general of 3rd century BC, the victor against Hannibal

*Jan Žižka – Czech general and Hussite leader, follower of Jan Hus

*Edward IV of England – fought in the Wars of the Roses and in France

*1st Duke of Marlborough – British general of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

*Maurice de Saxe - Marshal General of France of the 18th century

*Prince Henry of Prussia – Prussian general during Seven Years' War

*Guillaume Henri Dufour – Swiss general of the 19th century

*Louis Nicolas Davout - The only of Napoleon's marshals to finish his career undefeated

*Flavius Stilicho - Roman general that defeated both Radagaisus, and Alaric, many times before the sack of Rome in 410 A.D.

*Pier Gerlofs Donia of Kimswerd (1480? - October 28 1520) - Frisian warrior, pirate, freedom fighter, folk hero and rebel. He was gifted with nearly supernatural strength and height, and was never defeated, handling his 2,15 meter long sword (supposedly a Zweihander).

*Alexander Suvorov - Field-Marshal of Russia and perhaps the greatest captain in the history of that nation.

*Jan Karol Chodkiewicz - Grand Hetman of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 17th century.

*Lucius Cornelius Sulla - Defeated Mithridates of Pontus at the Battle of Chaeronea, and the Battle of Orchomenus. along with being the first Roman to march on Rome, and be proclaimed dictator by force.

*John Komnenos - Byzantine Emperor, second of the Komnenos dynasty, and the most successful of the Komnenian army winning wars against both the Pechenegs, Hungarians, and the Turks.

Africa​

*Shaka Zulu – King of the Zulus in the 19th century. Revolutionized warfare in Africa, from small skirmiches involving the deaths of a few, to full-scale armed conflicts. At his death, he could field over 90,000 troops.

*Tariq ibn-Ziyad- Berber Muslim General Umayyad empire led the conquest of spain, fought more than 15 battles against Byzantine and Spanish empires during 711-712 A.D. never defeated.

Naval commanders​

*Yi Sunsin - Korean Admiral of Joseon Navy during Imjin War against Japan in late 16th century.

*Jang Bogo – Korean commander of autonomous naval fleet during the kingdom of Silla.

*Rajendra Chola I – Indian king of Chola dynasty in the 11th century, against Mahinda V and Vikramabahu I of Sri Lanka, Mahipala of the Pala Empire, Sangrama Vijayatungavarman of the Srivijaya Empire, and the Chalukya, Rashtrakuta and Pandya dynasties

*Fedor Ushakov - Russian naval commander and admiral of the 18th century. Fought against the Ottomans and the French. Famous for victories over the Turks at Kerch Strait, Tendra, and Cape Kalakria. Undefeated in over 40 naval engagements.

*Pavlos Kountouriotis (1855-1935), Greek naval commander during the Balkan Wars and twice President of Greece, most famous for his decisive naval victories at Elli and Lemnos against the Ottoman Empire.

Other famed commanders​

The following are other famous military commanders who were only defeated once in their military career.

Asia​

* Cyrus the Great – Persian king of 6th century BC, defeated Astyages of the Median Empire, Croesus of the Lydian Empire and Asia Minor, and Nabonidus of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and only lost once when he was eventually killed in battle against the Massagetae.

* Ashoka the Great – Indian king of 3rd century BC, against Kalinga and various Indian kingdoms

* Attila the Hun – Hunnish leader of 5th Century, was undefeated until the Battle of Chalons

* Gao Xianzhi - Tang Chinese general of Goguryeo ancestry, crossed the Pamir Mountains and conquered much of Central Asia, until the loss at Talas

* Genghis Khan – founder of the Mongol Empire was defeated once before the unification of Mongol tribes. After he was crowned the Khan, however, he was undefeated in subsequent expeditions.

* Timur - 14th century founder of the Timurids, conquered Southwest Asia and killed roughly 17 million people

* Khalid ibn al-Walid (a.k.a. The Sword of Allah) – Muslim Arab soldier and general during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, remained nearly undefeated in over 100 battles against the numerically superior forces of the [, save for the Battle of Mu'Tah.

*Subutai – General of Genghis Khan, commanded and lead his armies to victory in over 75 battles against 32 nations including the Mongol invasion of Europe. Lost only the Battle of Samara Bend

Europe​

* Seleucus I Nicator - Seleucid king of 4th century BC, conquered most of Alexander the Great's former territories, lost only once to Chandragupta Maurya.

* Mithradates VI - King of Pontus. One of the most worthy opponents of the Roman Republic.

* Belisarius – Byzantine general under Justinian I who reconquered much of the Western Roman Empire and only lost once to the Persians at Callinicum.

* Basil II Bulgaroctonus - Byzantine Emperor, and its greatest general in line with Belisarius. Reconquered all the Balkans, and Asia Minor until Syria.

* Robert Guiscard - Norman adventurer who conquered Southern Italy and Sicily. He defeated the Emperor Alexius at the Battle of Dyrrhachium, yet died before he could continue.

* Narses - Byzantine general under Justinian that helped to take back Italy from the Lombards when Belisarius was recalled to Constantinople.

* Charles Martel - Frankish general who halted Arab expansion into Europe at Tours. Defeated at the Battle of Cologne

* Theodoric the Great - The king of the Ostrogoths who disposed of Odoacer (who had disposed of the last Roman Emperor), and created his own kingdom.

* Pyrrhus - King of Epirus, and led many successful battles against Rome and Carthage. The phrase Pyrrhic victory comes from his victories, which sometimes cost him staggering losses.

* Manuel I Komnenos - Byzantine Emperor between 1143 - 1180 AD. Successful in many battle in the Balkans, Anatolia and the Holy Land, and was only defeated by the Turks at the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 AD.

* Alcibiades - Led the Athenians in the Peloponnesian war, and won many battles. He was defeated at Norticum, because it was his second in command that attacked. He was also supposed to lead the Athenian invasion of Sicily, but was recalled.

* Lysander - Commander of the Spartan Fleet in the Peloponnesian war who effectively ended it, along with gaining near total control of Sparta.

* Cleomenes III - King of Sparta that defeated the Achaean League in several battles before being defeated by superior forces at the Battle of Sellasia.

* Iphicrates - Athenian general that fought and beat the Spartans at the Battle of Lechaeum, which was the first time in Greek history that light infantry defeated heavy infantry in battle.

* Pagondas - One of the first military commanders to use tactics in battle, defeating the Athenians at the Battle of Delium. This battle would influence countless number of generals and battles.

*Nikephoros II Phokas - Byzantine Emperor, and one of the Empires greatest generals, gaining many victories against the Arabs.

Africa​

*Hannibal – Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War of the 3rd century BC, marched across the Alps without any reinforcements and defeated numerically superior Roman legions using an inexperienced army. Ravaged the Italian countryside virtually unopposed for a decade but eventually lost his final battle against Scipio Africanus

*Muhammad Ahmad - Sudanese Mahdist rebel leader against the British rule in 19th Century

**********​

 

[Joe Shearer]

No, this is not going anywhere. We need to try a different tack.

 

[EzioAltaïr]

* Surena - Parthian general of 1st century BC, defeated the Romans despite being outnumbered four-to-one at the Battle of Carrhae

Actually, I don't think Surena was really that great. Crassus just sucked, and Surena took advantage of that.

 

[Anotherangle]

I can try to help, but I am more familiar with popular rulers & generals of the past. So I might not be able to recommend any unheard off generals or rulers.



The title "the great" isn't only given to those that were exceptional generals, it's also used to refer to those leaders that devised great strategies to hold their vast empires together by developing a good administrative system. For example; Cyrus the great used to visit conquered people wearing their attire while adhering to their culture to welcome people in to his dynasty. Apart from that; he is famous for being a just ruler, & if I am not mistaken; he contributed to the development of an early form of human rights.

Alexander the Great was undoubtedly a good general, but his major failure was his inability to setup a functional & stable empire after his demise. His general's fought for control, & while some of them did manage to win great chunks of his empire, the Greeks had also reverted back to the era of city states fighting for control. The Seleucid empire & the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt are just remnants of Alexander's empire. In his conquests, if I am not mistaken; Alexander made use of Hoplites who generally fought in the phalanx formation. They were the backbone of the Greek armies of that time. Hoplites are usually equiped with spears, shields, daggers or swords, & armor. The quality of their equipment varied depending on rank & training. In this formation, soldiers march in tightly knit groups, & they primarily fight by thrusting opponents with those spears. The shields are used both to defend & create a barrier, & since the group is tightly packed; it offers strong resistance against charging enemies.

Another advantage the Greeks & Romans had over the Persians was their superior navy. Persia was primarily a land power, whereas the Greeks & Romans dedicated a portion of their time & effort in to improving Naval warfare. Hannibal was a good general too, & I think he was the first one to introduce war elephants to Europe. Unfortunately for him, while he could win a battle, he was never able to use that victory for political advantages. The Roman general Scipio Africanus studied Hannibal's tactics & later on defeated him as well. The Romans advance to Carthage could also be construed as a good tactic to lure Hannibal away from the northern regions of Italia. The interesting thing here is that while Hannibal was a good general, the person he considered to be the greatest general of all time was Alexander the great of Macedon.

I have heard an interesting tale regarding the Romans & the Carthaginians. Queen Dido or Alyssa was the founder of Carthage, & her lover was apparently Prince Aeneas who later on abandoned her. Prince Aeneas was a Trojan hero & a survivor of the Trojan war. According to legendary accounts, he was the distant ancestor of King Romulus; the founder of Rome. While Queen Dido was in her death bed, she cursed Aeneas for abandoning her, & she cursed his descendants (the Romans) as well. The funny thing is that her curse wasn't effective, & the Romans later on brought the Carthaginian empire down to its knees.

Joan of Arc was a good general too, & her story is a tragic one. It's a fine example of the oppression of the Catholic Church during the Medieval age. By the way, does anyone know any interesting details or myths about other conquerors? What about Suleiman the Magnificent? From what I know, he is mostly famous for his conquests & control over the holy sites of Abrahamic religions along with good administrative & ruling tactics. Apart from that, he firmly established the Ottoman Empire as a super power of its time.

That's why I suggest a categorization system and one who will be in more than one category will be greater than other greats. Western or any nationalist would like to make someone great when he is just above average.
so many names; after all it is entire human history.

 

[p(-)0ENiX]

Actually, I don't think Surena was really that great. Crassus just sucked, and Surena took advantage of that.

From what I have read about the Battle of Carrhae; Crassus was a coward, & he refrained from taking good advice from his generals. His cowardice & lack of strategy caused the Romans to be defeated. Although Surena's tactics weren't that bad either. He made good use of intimidating tactics, archers, & the foolish positioning of the Roman army.

 

[AHMED85]

1) In Reality
2) The Way of Humanity
3) kind for minorities and non Muslims
4) Decision making by the suggestion of warriors
5) Strategy Maker
6) Pioneer in "Attrition warfare" by doing initiative in Diging War (GAZWA KHANDAK)
ets

The Muhammad (saw).