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Top 10 Most Successful Military Commanders

desiman

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There have been many men who have achieved great successes through their military knowledge and actions. But only a select few military geniuses can truly be considered the greatest military commanders who ever lived. This is a selection of the ten greatest. If you think someone else deserves to be here, or want to have a guess at ranking 11 – 15, be sure to tell us in the comments.

10 Georgy Zhukov




Georgy Zhukov would lead the Red Army in liberating the Soviet Union from the Axis Power’s occupation and advancing through much of Eastern Europe to conquer Berlin during World War II. He is one of the most decorated heroes in the history of both Russia and the Soviet Union. After the fall of Germany, Zhukov became the first commander of the Soviet occupation zone in Germany.


9 Attila the Hun



Attila the Hun was the leader of the Hunnic Empire which stretched from Central Asia to modern Germany. He was one of the most fearsome enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. Attila was well known for his cruelty. He invaded the Balkans twice and marched through Gaul.

8 William the Conqueror



William the Conqueror led the Norman invasion of England which was the last time that England was successfully conquered by a foreign power. His army defeated the English army at the battle of Hastings preceding his march to London. English resistance was futile as he took control of England and his reign would begin. He would make many major reforms to the traditional Anglo-Saxon culture of England and bring into existance the Anglo-Norman culture.

7 Adolf Hitler



Hitler led Nazi Germany and the Axis Powers in occupying most of continental Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. He defeated and conquered France while holding off the U.S., British and Russians during World War II. His armies would gain numerous victories through their mastering of the military tactic; Blitzkrieg. Hitler ultimately lost the war and committed suicide.

6 Ghengis Khan



Ghengis Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire; the largest contiguous empire in history. The Mongol Empire occupied a substantial portion of central Asia. He achieved this through uniting many of the nomadic tribes and confederations in northeast Asia and strategically raided much of the area in China and throughout Asia. The Mongol Empire would go on to include most of Eurasia and substantial parts of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Ghengis Khan waged successful campaigns against the Western Xia and Jin dynastys as well as the Khwarezmid Empire through excellent military intelligence and tactics.
 
5 Hannibal Barca




Hannibal invaded the mighty Roman Empire through the Alps. He defeated the Romans in a series of battles at Trebia, Trasimene and Cannae. Never personally losing on the battlefield to the Romans, he maintained his Carthaginian army in Italy for more than a decade after the Second Punic War. He is considered one of the greatest military strategists ever, his Roman enemies even adopted some of his tactics for their own use.

4 Napoleon Bonaparte




Napoleon was a General during the French Revolution. He would eventually take absolute control of the French Republic as Emperor of the French. He became King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine. He reformed the government and economy of the island of Elba when he was exiled there.

3 Julius Caesar




Julius Caeser took absolute control of the Roman Republic and it’s armies. He defeated the optimates led by Pompey in a Civil War, and defeated the Gauls at the battle of Alecia during the Gallics Wars, led by Vercingetorix who had united them against the Romans. He was ultimately murdered by Brutus.

2 Alexander the Great




Alexander the Great conquered much of the known world by the age of 30. He crushed the once mighty Persian Empire, defeated the much larger army of Darius III at the battle of Issus, and influenced the spread of Hellenistic culture throughout his empire. Alexander mastered the use of the phalanx formation in his armies.

1 Cyrus the Great




Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire through his conquering of the Median, Lydian and Neo-Babylonian Empires. His empire spanned across three continents. Unlike many others, his empire endured long after his demise due to the political infrastructure he created. He is considered by many to be equal if not greater than Alexander the Great in his accomplishments.

Notable mention: Douglas MacArthur, Ramses the Great, Robert E. Lee, Sargon the Great, Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, Pyrrhus of Epirus, Scipio Africanus, Mao Zedong
 
IMO only commanders mentioned therein who are undisputed geniuses are Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hannibal and Julius Caesar.

Cyrus the great is too far back in the history to be given number 1 ranking, we don’t know enough about his military tactics. William the Conqueror was a good commander
but not among the greats. English historians rank Duke of Marlborough, Duke of Wellington as well as Henry Vth higher in military terms. What is surprising is that Attila the Hun and William the Bastard are included but not Charlemagne, the one who put together the first Holy Roman Empire!

I strongly disagree with inclusion of Adolf Hitler, he never commanded an army in the field. Hitler was only a corporal in WW1; however field commanders such as Von Runsdtedt, Guderian or Von Manstein have been ignored.

If we consider Marshal Zhukov, no doubt a formidable commander by any standard;
how can we omit Marshal Kutuzov who destroyed Napoleon’s Grand Army? Surely Zhukov’s Nazi adversaries were not of the caliber of Napoleon!

US WW2 field commanders such as Doug McArthur, Patton or Omar Bradley are also ignored. Gen George Washington, who with a rag tag army, beat the British Empire when it was at her strongest as well General Vo Nguyen Giap of Vietnam who beat French in the Indo China War and later US in the Vietnam War should be counted among the very best.

Genghis Khan's commander Subatai was a formidable military commander; Amir Taimur and Mahmud Ghaznavi, were at least equal to Attila the Hun in the military achievements. Muslim commanders Khalid bin Walid and Mohammed the Conqueror of Istanbul should be among the top military commanders of all times.

Suppose like any other list, this one is also highly subjective.
 
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i guess you need to add Mamluk Sultan Baybars :) He is the one who stopped mongols and saved the Islam civilization.

+ Manstein should be placed instead of Hitler. Also Zhukov is not such a perfect commander. please check the russian and german loses in WW2. if i lost 20+ million men i would certainly win the war :P
 
what about khaild bin waleed victor of 100 battles no defeat sword of allah.

what about tariq bin ziyad conquer of spain.

what about Fatih Sultan Mehmet who conquered Constantinople.

what about muhammed ghori conquer of hind.

what about muhammed bin qasim.

what about saad bin waqqas.

and plenty of more great muslims commanders
 
How about modern ten military commanders ?? commanders of 1 & 2 WW and many other commanders !
 
Babur too was a great commander I think. He defeated large army of Ibrahim Lodi with just few hundred companions and later defeated combined Rajput kings and established Mughal empire in India. Another successful commander from Indian history was Samudragupta.
 
I have to admit I like - Alaxander the Great -

He just did so much in his life ... marched thru cities like knief goes thru butter .....just for the fun of it ....

No religion no side stuff, its what I want , I am Alaxander the great ... if you got a problem - meet me in battle field , or else make way I am marching thru...and great motivator, I mean how else can you motivate your troops from middle of europe all the way to indus civilization thru the most rugged of trrains , just on speeches and will power - very impressive

Imagine ... walking/riding thru egyptian dessert , and rugged areas of middle east , and persia all the way to Indus valley , thru now known afghanistan ..

Also his policies of uniting ppl with cross cultural exchanges was also a very lasting ideal...

And to imagine he walked the passages where modern Pakistan sits is also remarkable -

The Ottoman leaders were also quite good generals -

I think the best way to judge a Military leader is how much territory he/she can cover cross civilization based conquest ...
 
This list as it seems to me is based on how much land they took over or how much people they killed, a real commander is noted for his battle tactics, winning against absolute odds.. Some of these commanders were actually "commanders" rest of them were just great "emperors" or "dictators".

My fav Saladin and all time favorite Tariq Bin Ziad

In case you dont about who he is look up the phrase "burn the boats"
 
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