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.
Definitely a shock inclusion, for me. He wasn't outstanding on the (for the Russians) the western front, and won largely by massing huge numbers of troops who were driven at bayonet point into battle by relentless Commissars. On the other hand, his early victory on the eastern front, before the Great Patriotic War, was outstanding, a little jewel. Not enough, surely, to get him a place in the lists.
If it is just about the Great Patriotic War, what about Voroshilov and Timoshenko? Malinovsky and Rokossovsky? Or if post-WWI Russians, how about Tukhachevsky?
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.
Good enough, I guess. Battles recorded, after he entered the sphere of 'civilisation', which in his times, meant the Roman area of influence. But then, do people remember that he was beaten, pretty badly? By a Roman, Valerius Aetius, no less?
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.
Terrible choice, excuse my French. His big battle wasn't much; the English had just won at Stamford Bridge against Harald Hardrada, thrashed the Norwegians, and marched back right down the centre of England to fight a pitched battle. Which, btw, was going for them, thanks to their shield wall, until the minstrel, Talliaferro, singing the Chanson de Roland and throwing his sword in the air and catching it, charged the shield wall and showed the others an example.
If you had included Henry II, or his son, Richard I the Lion-hearted, or Edward I, or Edward III, or the Black Prince, or Henry V, or even Edward IV or his brother, the much-maligned Richard III, I'd have understood. But how about Rupert of the Rhine? or the Roundhead Fairfax? or Old Noll himself? The German kings weren't very good generals and we can ignore them, but any one of these English monarchs were good enough. We can leave out Robert Bruce due to his bad taste in having been born Anglo-Norman-Scots, but at least 8 of his descendants were better war-fighters and battle leaders than William the tanners' bastard.
Outside the Royals? Hells bells, this is where we say, "Houston, we have a problem!"
We can take generals from the mediaeval wars, both from Scotland and from England; or we can take them from a slightly later day and age. Perhaps Marlborough was the first great commander, and until Wellington there was no match for him in England. But Wolfe? and how about Sir John Moore? After Napoleon, they tend to fall off a bit, though; the thought of Redvers Buller doesn't inspire. Nor the donkeys, Haig and French, with solid bone neck upwards. Perhaps only Allenby, a cavalry officer very fortunately left to fight a cavalry-ish kind of war, did well. Without mentioning colonial history and the sub-continent (one could, but there were better generals), one could then pause at Wavell, the unluckiest of all, at Alexander and Auchinleck, and the calm, sure-handed 'Uncle Bill' Slim, before the unpleasant chore of acknowledging Monty.
7 Adolf Hitler[/B]
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.
Well, it's your list. He was prophetic in some of his early decisions, but the German general staff would have prevailed with or without him, and would probably have presented a much better record by the end.
I dunno.
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.
