The Greatest Military Commander Ever?

[† Anras Rune]

Even as I write this I hope to see some original answers, and also fear the popularity of flaming this topic. This is a discussion on who folks think was the greatest military commander history has ever produced, be it Hannibal or Zukov, Bonaparte or Alexander, you choose, from any period. Those who do have an opinion post the reasons why (such as achievements, historical battles and such) and who you think would be his equal.

Another little thing for the thread is the whole, "Who would win?" but I'll leave that for later. I'll post my opinion after a few folks already have. Enjoy!

[lemmingllama]

Genghis Khan is the most obvious choice. He basically conquered all of Eurasia, yet was still loved by a lot of the populace. He had some of the most organized and disciplined armies for that time. Also, his empire became the largest contiguous empire in history. Mongol campaigns may have resulted in the deaths of 40 million people, and he was the general that lead them.

For more reading, see here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan

I would also like to make special reference to Gunther von Kluge, who was one of the greatest war leaders for germany during WW2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnther_von_Kluge

[† Anras Rune]

Well, i would agree with genghis if it wasn't for the fact most that most his victories weren't directly under his command. His greatest.victories were under the command of one of the most successful generals in history, Subotai. But due to genghis being the overall commander, he normally steals the limelight. But that's just technicalities.

[lemmingllama]

Well, i would agree with genghis if it wasn't for the fact most that most his victories weren't directly under his command. His greatest.victories were under the command of one of the most successful generals in history, Subotai. But due to genghis being the overall commander, he normally steals the limelight. But that's just technicalities.

True true, thats why I also referenced the second guy. He almost singlehandedly controlled the armies that lead and conquered Poland and France during WW2. After that, he continually had other good fights and got promoted like crazy for it

[DrumRoll]

hmmmm a difficult question.

I'd say that Hitler was the 'greatest' Military Commander (pre operation Barbarossa). I mean, you have to admire his balls, even if he was a maniac intent on genocide. If Germany had not invaded Russia (Russia being the true winners of the war in Europe) then I suspect I, as a British person, would now be typing in german.

But in reality, there are too many factors to take into account for there to be a 'Greatest' commander, conditions, equipment etc etc.

[lemmingllama]

hmmmm a difficult question.

I'd say that Hitler was the 'greatest' Military Commander (pre operation Barbarossa). I mean, you have to admire his balls, even if he was a maniac intent on genocide. If Germany had not invaded Russia (Russia being the true winners of the war in Europe) then I suspect I, as a British person, would now be typing in german.

But in reality, there are too many factors to take into account for there to be a 'Greatest' commander, conditions, equipment etc etc.

I beg to disagree. Hitler's orders really screwed up the German army near the end of the war. Even if we ignore the fact that he fought Russia, he still ordered the Germans to fight to the last man rather than retreating, which would have left the Allied armies devastated. Instead they just sped up the Allied advance and got themselves killed for no reason... So I would say that some of Hitler's generals were the ones with real skill

[zx0]

Cyrus the Great

Chosen because he ruled almost half of the world and founded the Achaemenid Empire. He ruled a far greater proportion of the worlds population than anyone else in history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great

[† Anras Rune]

cyrus the great was a definite favourite of mine, I must say. The guy was an absolute badass in his philosphies... but I don't know if him ruling the greatest proportion is true. The british empire ruled over the most populous country at the time (india) and at its height ruled well over 500 million people, which was a quarter of the the total population.

[Digatu]

I beg to disagree. Hitler's orders really screwed up the German army near the end of the war. Even if we ignore the fact that he fought Russia, he still ordered the Germans to fight to the last man rather than retreating, which would have left the Allied armies devastated. Instead they just sped up the Allied advance and got themselves killed for no reason... So I would say that some of Hitler's generals were the ones with real skill

I agree that it was his military staff with the real skill.

The likes of "The Desert Fox" Rommel comes to mind. He was held in high regard by the Allies as he was a master tactician when it come to battles and was highly decorated too for his efforts. He instilled fear in the opposing forces aswell as respect which says quite a lot about the man.

The one thing that stands out about Rommel for me was the fact he was an soldier and not a Murderer of Innocent people which couldn't be said for many German Military Commanders during WW2.

He is one of the Greatest Military Commanders there has been.

[zx0]

Cyrus the Great apparently ruled over 44% of the world population.

History Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0XJBzFHceo

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire

[† Anras Rune]

yeah, I had misread your comment and did edit it...but due to a double post they must've deleteed it. In terms of totals the British empire was bigger, but cyrus did rule over the biggest proportion.

I wasn't expecting rommel to get a mention, but must say he was a beast. He did command the respect of pretty much every general that fought in his theatre, but I must say his afrikakorps were a force to be reckoned with...

[DrumRoll]

But would Rommel be quite so famous if HE had the crappy tanks as opposed to the allies. Its like I said, a great Commander is usually the byproduct of better equipment,favourable circumstances, etc etc.

[Dae314]

Isn't there a cracked article about this somewhere?

[Jªvª]

Vlad III the Impaler

He was one nasty ruler

[ZeroPenguins]

No one is, anyone who causes war or commands war isn't great at all! If you asked me this, I say Gandhi, he was able to stop the British from being jerks by just doing shit the non violence way!

[lemmingllama]

Vlad III the Impaler

He was one nasty ruler

What a great choice. He may have not won that much, but he was able to use his troops and mercenaries effectively to defeat or at least give costly victories to better equipped troops. If he wasnt constantly being backstabbed(lol he died this way) then he could have done a lot more and probably would have a bigger empire.

[zx0]

From reading Vlad III 's wikipedia entry he was a seriously messed up dude.

I'm glad I didn't live in the middle ages.

[Dark Spy]

I would say Khalid ibn AL-walid the second known undefeated general in history

he united arabia for the first time in history

he destroyed the Sassanian empire

and conquered most of the byzantine empire

even though though they had more numbers and better equipments

he used the light cavalry stamina and speed effectively to defeat heavy cav

for more info :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_ibn_al-Walid

[Leviathan]

I would say Khalid ibn AL-walid the second known undefeated general in history

he united arabia for the first time in history

he destroyed the Sassanian empire

and conquered most of the byzantine empire

even though though they had more numbers and better equipments

he used the light cavalry stamina and speed effectively to defeat heavy cav

for more info :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_ibn_al-Walid

I would also have to go with Khalid-Ibn-Walid. He always fought at a disadvantage but he could never be defeated. Though there are other generals in history who conquered more land, none of them were as efficient as Khalid.