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Top Eleven Most Succesful Military Commanders In History - Including President Barack Obama
JoeClarke.Net ^
| 05/01/2012
| JoeClarke.Net
Posted on 05/01/2012 6:43:33 PM PDT by joeclarke
When it was announced that President Obama had secretly flown off to Afghanistan to address the troops and tout his marvelous defeat of Osama Bin Laden one year ago, I began to reflect on other historic , victorious military commanders and their stalwart drive to fight wars with their own personal blood and treasure, as well their fellow countrymen's.
As an American, I have special regard for those great United States military fighters, who for God and country, laid
their lives down - such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Dwight Eisenhower, Patton, MacArthur and countless other American Presidents and military leaders, too many to mention.
There are many lists of great military conquerors in history, but here are a few names that should make it to the Hall Of Fame.*
Number 11 - Attila The Hun - Attila the Hun was the leader of the Hunnic Empire which stretched from Central Asia to modern Germany
Number 10 -George S. Patton - In WWII, he gladly used the Germans blitzkrieg against them, using the maneuverability of American armored units to out maneuver German lines and gaining large amounts of ground over short periods of time.
Number 9 - 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.
Number 8 - 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.
Number 7 - Julius Caesar - The famed consul of Rome was perhaps the ablest of the late Republics military leaders, vying with his co-consul, Pompey for glory in subjugating territory to Romes expansionist will. His campaign against the Gauls is still required reading in many military academies, and his defeat of Pompey nearly granted him the kingship of firmly republican Rome.
Number 6 - 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.
Number 5 - Robert E. Lee - Lee, perhaps the most successful commander in history against numerically and materially superior forces, was the gentle genius in charge of the Army of Northern Virginia and most Confederate forces during the Civil War.
Number 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.
Number 3 - 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.
Number 2 -George Washington - Washington was the pivotal, and probably most successful, leader of the American revolutionary forces vying for independence from the British Empire. The stamina and travails of George Washington, fighting for this country's liberty, would place him in the top spot, if it were not for that gladiator of gladiators - President Barack Obama.
Number 1 Most Successful Military Commander In History - Barack Hussein Obama, who gave the order, and personally warranted, after much soul searching and duress, despite his Vice President's objections, the famous American Naval Seal Team Six to assassinate Osama Bin Laden. [Mitt Romney would not have been so bold, according to White House sources and this gripping 17 minute video , narrated by former President BJ Clinton, who extols Barack Obama for his bravado and military daring-do.]
*Most of the descriptions of famous military leaders above were lifted from
Listverse.com and
Toptenz.net
** There can be much conjecture as to who were the greatest,and what order, but see a complete list at the above cited websites.
TOPICS: Government; History; Politics
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; assassination; blogpimp; obama; osamabinladen
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To: Martin Tell
Well, I’ll be... Learn something new every day. Who knew Hannibal got to Japan?
21
posted on
05/02/2012 11:27:31 AM PDT
by
Ax
To: Martin Tell
Well, I’ll be... Learn something new every day. Who knew Hannibal got to Japan?
22
posted on
05/02/2012 11:28:10 AM PDT
by
Ax
To: Ax
23
posted on
05/02/2012 11:51:03 AM PDT
by
allmendream
(Tea Party did not send GOP to DC to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
To: allmendream
Thanks for the "Zama" info. I was completely clueless as to what our FRiend Ax was referring to. Suppose I should bone up on current geography and stop spending so much time in the ancient world.
BTW, I recall that Zama had the most elephants (both sides) of any battle in history. Must have been something to see. I wonder if it was like the big battle scene in Return of the King.
24
posted on
05/02/2012 12:17:02 PM PDT
by
Martin Tell
(ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it)
To: Martin Tell
After reading “The Ghosts of Cannae” by Robert L. O'Connell I am unconvinced that a “Pachyderm Panzer Division” was a dependable military resource.
It freaked out enemy horses - and freaked out the enemy who was unused to it - but they were of dubious usefulness in most battles - and more trouble than they were worth in most cases. A panicked elephant attacked BOTH sides - and it happened often.
And although the Carthage war elephants were bigger and meaner than wild elephants - they were not nearly as ludicrously huge as depicted in Peter Jackson's “The Return of the King”.
Scipio Africanus had an effective strategy for dealing with elephants - and it was simply to space his divisions a bit further apart. Given the natural path between divisions - the elephants were less likely to trample OVER a division.
25
posted on
05/02/2012 12:53:47 PM PDT
by
allmendream
(Tea Party did not send GOP to DC to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
To: allmendream
Temujin = Ghengis Khan. Right. My mistake.
I meant TAMERLANE. That guy knew how to jack up the Middle East.
26
posted on
05/02/2012 1:00:14 PM PDT
by
Centurion2000
(Watch what people DO, not what they say.)
To: Centurion2000
I would put Zhukov on that list, he saved Stalin’s bacon, and as his reward, after the war, Stalin demoted him.
27
posted on
05/02/2012 1:04:31 PM PDT
by
dfwgator
(Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
To: allmendream
Just kidding! I was stationed at Camp Zama back in the day. I also went on R&R to Tunisia but I don’t remember seeing any road signs for Zama there.
28
posted on
05/02/2012 2:14:02 PM PDT
by
Ax
To: Martin Tell
That must have been quite a spectacle, herding all those elephants on to ships in Tunisia and taking them to Europe, then through the Alps. African elephants don’t take too kindly to being herded. Were those that Hannibal used imported from south Asia? Just asking.
29
posted on
05/02/2012 2:18:36 PM PDT
by
Ax
To: Ax
You can find a marker for it on Google-maps. Not sure if there is actually anything there.
A lot of ancient battle sites are unknown other than in general terms. Rivers change course, the land changes, towns move expand or contract.
My sisters met a couple Irish gals and brought them over for dinner. When they mentioned they were from Dublin I said “I always wanted to visit Clontarf where Brian Boru won his great victory over the Vikings.”
They were agape - “We are FROM Clontarf!” they said!
I assume they got the impression that Americans were much more familiar with their home town that was actually the case!
30
posted on
05/02/2012 2:22:37 PM PDT
by
allmendream
(Tea Party did not send GOP to DC to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
To: allmendream
Part of the original Star Wars and the first Indian Jones movies were filmed in Tunisia. It was an interesting vacay but I see no need to go back.
We went back to Ireland in 2002. My niece got married in the same church in which my grandfather was baptized in Adare, co. Limerick.
31
posted on
05/02/2012 2:40:49 PM PDT
by
Ax
To: joeclarke
In a fantasy match, Lee and the ANV would have made mince meat out of the French Army and Napoleon, given the same mid 19th century weapons.
32
posted on
05/02/2012 2:51:00 PM PDT
by
central_va
( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
To: Ax
The war elephants (on both sides) were from India. As I recall (pure memory here, so please forgive if I am in error), Europeans were first exposed to war elephants during Alexander's campaigns, which made it as far as India. The Carthiginians (Phoenicians) were great traders and hence were able to acquire and transport the beasts. The Second Punic (Hannibal's) was not that long after Alexander's time.
The Romans were greatly surprised and terrified by the elephants in the first part of the war,but eventually they figured out how to fight them (letting them through the ranks, isolating, then killing them). I can't recall how the Romans got their own supply; it may have been a combination of capture and their own trading (Macedonians as middle-men?). For a while after Hannibal's defeat the Romans continued to use war elephants, but eventually gave them up.
Livy and Polybius are great ancient sources for Punic War histories.
33
posted on
05/02/2012 4:57:30 PM PDT
by
Martin Tell
(ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it)
To: Ax
Just kidding! I was stationed at Camp Zama back in the day. I also went on R&R to Tunisia but I dont remember seeing any road signs for Zama there. Zama no longer exists--probably the result of urban renewal and population management--Roman style. The battlefield is near Siliana, on Route P4, 80 miles southwest of Tunis.
34
posted on
05/02/2012 5:00:36 PM PDT
by
Fiji Hill
(Deo Vindice!)
To: Martin Tell
Today has not been a total loss! I learned something new about the Punic wars. I just watched “Alexander” last week and saw how his armies made contact with the Indians who riding their war elephants the Greeks. Looks like you paid a lot more attention in class than I did.
35
posted on
05/02/2012 7:15:37 PM PDT
by
Ax
To: joeclarke
Killing Bin Laden was justice but in the end it didnt really mean squat.
Bin Laden was not much of a shot caller at that point. He made videos telling his minions to attack us but big deal. Like they needed him to order attacks.
And Obama wanted to sleep on it and get back to the CIA. It sounded like pulling teeth to get a decision out of barry.
Obama is a putz....he cant order a personal Pizza without consulting his advisors about what to get.
36
posted on
05/06/2012 2:44:36 AM PDT
by
Yorlik803
(better to die on your feet than live on your knees.)
To: Martin Tell
BTW, I recall that Zama had the most elephants (both sides) of any battle in history
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Good thing they weren’t on Guam.
It would have tipped over.
Heard a good line on the Chris Plante (WMAL WashDC) the other day
“Obama taking credit for the killing of OBL is like Nixon taking credit for the moon walk and space travel”.
37
posted on
05/06/2012 3:19:21 AM PDT
by
xrmusn
(#6/98# Let's start from scratch by voting ALL incumbents out.)
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