Who do you think was the greatest general in history? Why?

[A.P. Richelieu]

You gotta be kidding me right?

Shows how much you actually know about Khalid bin Waleed R.A.

His tactics are still studied in military schools the world over. Get your head out of the sand there buddy.

In 636, Bin Waleed burned the bridge at Yarmouk, employing Sun Tzu's (unheard of at that time probably) "desperate ground" strategy whereby he cutted off his own army's avenue of escape so that his army could fight more bravely seeing as winning or death were the only options available. Ibn Zaid (Conqueror of Spain) used this same strategy at Gibraltar in 711 and the US Army used it at the Allied landing in Normandy. This strategy was also employed in the US Civil War, by Grant, if I remember correctly?

I'm not saying that Khalid bin Waleed R.A was the progenitor of this tactic but the Battle of Yarmouk made it really famous and made it come in the spotlight.

Also, stirrups (where horsemen put their feet when on a horse) were more commonly & in better quality used by the Muslim armies providing better balance, mobility & control over their cavalry.

Cavalry & the use of Scimitars was also greatly improved by Khalid bin Waleed R.A. Before him, the Romans faced only the Huns & other Asiatic forces that greatly employed the use of horses.

But no one had used scimitars or in such a great fashion against them before.

Again, the worth of the general is revealed in who they fight with what they have.

Yes, please enlighten me on how many years after this event did Julius Caesar burn his ships.
If You remove the tactics used at Cannae, Marathon and Gaugamela.
What is left as true innovation?

Did Khalid invent the stirrup? No, the Chinese did.

Did he invent the Scimitar, or was it blacksmith?

He certainly made good use of whatever was available to him, which is what a good craftsman do.

 

[Itachi]

Julius Caesar

This man whipped up a bunch of jungle dwellers and barbarians and he's worthy to be quoted? Hilarious

Like I said before, a bit too much hyped up. Just like Alexander the not so Great.

Your still quoting General who either faced inferior foes or slightly superior ones. While the tactics were great, their goals weren't achieved. Example, Hannibal didn't get to decimate Rome or defeat it. Carthage still got burned to the ground so that's a -10 in my book.

What use is a brilliant general if he can't even achieve the objective? May that be Hannibal or Napoleon. See the pattern? Great generals but poor planners.

Did Khalid invent the stirrup? No, the Chinese did.

Did I ever say he "invented" them? Reread my post again.

Did he invent the Scimitar, or was it blacksmith?

Yea, the blacksmith got the idea of using Scimitars instead of regular swords in mass formations & effectively employ them thus creating a weapon that stuck uncertainty in the hearts of the enemy who faced it.

You can also say that the Taj Mahal was built by stone masons but not Shah Jahan or that the Pyramids were built by the Hebrews but not the Pharaohs. But then again, why didn't either build them before they were forced or paid to build?

So the credit simply goes to the one that made the thing popular or much better.

He certainly made good use of whatever was available to him, which is what a good craftsman do.

Which is what any good general does. Period.

 

[Humble Analyst]

I am wondering why Salahuddin and Rommel are missing amongst a few others from this list?
Napoleon was defeated in the end so Khalid bin Waleed RA has an edge over him.
Then a lot of generals are worth mentioning as some had tactics others startegy and some were just conquereres using a large army.
Vast subject hard to say who was the greatest

Can we start a thread who was the greatest Admiral to highlight sea campaigns

 

[candy321wolf]

why is their no mention of any hindu general in history as being a top military general a tactician?

Because they weren't "top military tacticians"

I am wondering why Salahuddin and Rommel are missing amongst a few others from this list?
Napoleon was defeated in the end so Khalid bin Waleed RA has an edge over him.
Then a lot of generals are worth mentioning as some had tactics others startegy and some were just conquereres using a large army.
Vast subject hard to say who was the greatest

Can we start a thread who was the greatest Admiral to highlight sea campaigns

If you want to you can start a new thread about admirals but dicussion about them is also welcomed here.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

This man whipped up a bunch of jungle dwellers and barbarians and he's worthy to be quoted? Hilarious

Like I said before, a bit too much hyped up. Just like Alexander the not so Great.

Your still quoting General who either faced inferior foes or slightly superior ones. While the tactics were great, their goals weren't achieved. Example, Hannibal didn't get to decimate Rome or defeat it. Carthage still got burned to the ground so that's a -10 in my book.

What use is a brilliant general if he can't even achieve the objective? May that be Hannibal or Napoleon. See the pattern? Great generals but poor planners.



Did I ever say he "invented" them? Reread my post again.



Yea, the blacksmith got the idea of using Scimitars instead of regular swords in mass formations & effectively employ them thus creating a weapon that stuck uncertainty in the hearts of the enemy who faced it.

You can also say that the Taj Mahal was built by stone masons but not Shah Jahan or that the Pyramids were built by the Hebrews but not the Pharaohs. But then again, why didn't either build them before they were forced or paid to build?

So the credit simply goes to the one that made the thing popular or much better.



Which is what any good general does. Period.

When it is claimed that you could learn from Khalid, and all examples given are rehashes of old ideas...
A good craftsman can consistently create excellent copies of the ideas of others.
No denial of that.
Still waiting for any thing that makes him great general and not just a consistently good general

 

[Reichsmarschall]

Discovery of telescope

 

[candy321wolf]

When it is claimed that you could learn from Khalid, and all examples given are rehashes of old ideas...
A good craftsman can consistently create excellent copies of the ideas of others.
No denial of that.
Still waiting for any thing that makes him great general and not just a consistently good general

So your plan is to deny Khalid's skill and genius by calling him a "craftsman/wall painter"

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

So your plan is to deny Khalid's skill and genius by calling him a "craftsman/wall painter"

No, please reread my comments.
You will find that I do not deny Khalid his skills.
I just have not seen any proof of any genius.
This is consistent with a good craftsman.

You are welcome to show me any signs of genius.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

Alexander the Great by a wide margin. No doubt about it.

 

[maverick1977]

Prophet Muhammad PBUh and then Khalid bin Walid !

 

[hamilcar of carthage]

khalid bin walid was excellent no doubt his arab tactics are unparralleled but keep in mind he never fought outside his comfort zone when it was not needed his sand tactics were his strength it was his home ground. on the other hand you got hannibal barca the khalid of africa if only he was alive at the time of the prophet i think he would have fullfilled the prophecy of muhammad the conqueror he was he is and he will be one of the greatest. his only fault was he was a lion leading sheeps. once the lion dies the sheep scatter. triesimene or tribia or cannae oh cannae even the thoughts make me cry beautiful in its own right khalid his prodigy a worthy successor. apart from that two different times two different generals with the same zeal but a different mission.both nearly destroyed the roman empire. if hannibal had been alive in khalid lifetime he would have been proud of him as a father is of his son

 

[candy321wolf]

No, please reread my comments.
You will find that I do not deny Khalid his skills.
I just have not seen any proof of any genius.
This is consistent with a good craftsman.

You are welcome to show me any signs of genius.

Here goes...
He repeatedly annihilated larger, fresher and better equipped armies with a ragtag force. Despite belonging to a people with no concept of fortifications or sieges he successfully besieged Damascus. He also devised a variety of tactics to defeat his enemy and was also a remarkable strategist. He won all of his 50 something pitched battles despite being qualitatively (arms) and numerically inferior.

 

[sohail.ishaque]

As per one study, it was Harisingh Nalva.

Baji rao was a also a great general who fouht and won all 42 battles. He defeated Nizam's one lakh army with artillery in just one day with 20 k soldier.

Was he the same General who used Missiles and Drone technology ?

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

Here goes...
He repeatedly annihilated larger, fresher and better equipped armies with a ragtag force. Despite belonging to a people with no concept of fortifications or sieges he successfully besieged Damascus. He also devised a variety of tactics to defeat his enemy and was also a remarkable strategist. He won all of his 50 something pitched battles despite being qualitatively (arms) and numerically inferior.

Damaskus was captured through treason.

Rest is just unspecific claims, not proving he was more than a craftsman.
A good craftsman can win 50 battles, without losing any.

In Damaskus, the Muslims had superior numbers.
In Ubud, the Meccans outnumbered the Muslims by far.
At Yarmouk, the numbers vary wildly, so noone knows if the (Muslim) claim that the Muslims were outnumbered is correct.

You are still to show any specifics why he was more than a good craftsman.
You have to show that he came up with something beeing original.

 

[candy321wolf]

Damaskus was captured through treason.

Rest is just unspecific claims, not proving he was more than a craftsman.
A good craftsman can win 50 battles, without losing any.

In Damaskus, the Muslims had superior numbers.
In Ubud, the Meccans outnumbered the Muslims by far.
At Yarmouk, the numbers vary wildly, so noone knows if the (Muslim) claim that the Muslims were outnumbered is correct.

You are still to show any specifics why he was more than a good craftsman.
You have to show that he came up with something beeing original.