Who Were the Greatest Military Commanders (Of All Time) ?

[Tail Gunner John]

This general had thirty mounts shot out from under him. Sherman said "he was the most remarkable man our civil war produced on either side". R.L. Lee called him the best soldier who fought for the Confederacy. Grant simply called him "that devil Forrest". Nathan Bedford Forrest.

[snowsislander]

John Singleton Mosby.

[Fiddlstix]

Too many to name. There have been many.
Among my all time favorites:
King Leonidas, Sam Huston, George Patton

[mastercylinder]

my favorites are Alexander of Macedon Philip of Macedon Ptolemy Xenophon
Charles Martel

[Alouette]

King David.

[sonsofliberty2000]

Yes, did you know he was in Vietnam and personally invaded Cambodia on Christmas Eve for the fun of it?

http://www.patriot-paradox.com

[Phsstpok]

Clearly most of the best and brightest are lost to history. Here are a few that stand out from what history has found its way to me.

Sun Tzu
Sargon
Charles Martel
Nathan Bedford Forrest (no one said racists couldn't be great tacticians)
Patton

Anyone after Patton is too close to really examine with any objectivity.

[Uncle Vlad]

That's right!

[forYourChildrenVote4Bush]

I have a Question:

To the best of your ability, this is because, I really don't know:

Lets say, could be any President, a Nuclear device is set off in the US, and the President does NOT reply with the equivalence (at least). Can the President be overruled by the Military? I was always curious.

[EternalHope]

Anyone who fought the French. Except the French.

No way. It doesn't take skill to beat the French.

[motor_racer]

Ronald Wilson Reagan

[Squantos]

Agree.....

[Williams]

Lee also ordered the disastrous Pickett's charge, a futile slaughter of his men. He was not facing Grant until the end, and Grant made a quick end of him.

[DixieOklahoma]

First, it is Southron and US. Grant got his butt whupped by Robert E. Lee all over the field. I have studied all history, and Robert E. Lee is in the ranks of Napolian (Spelling?).

It is unimaginable that somebody would consider US Grant on par with Robert E Lee. The command of both Northern and Southern forces was offered to Lee but historically Lee said "I cannot turn my back on my country (Virginia)"

The north throughout the war was better equipped, had vastly larger armies , supply routes and still even in nearly every victory took more casulities than the south (when fighting Lee).

I would also consider Stonewall Jackson to be up there as a great commander.. the way he would suck on a lemon during battle and stand almost arrogant in battle is amazing. At the virginia military institute each year on graduation night, his grave is peppered with lemons.

No Grant was not a great military leader, very few Northern Generals were... the only mistake Lee made was at gettysburg because he believed the south was invensible at that point. He should have withdrawn and marched to Washington DC.

However, for effectiveness, The only thing that saved the north in the civil war was the schorched earth tactics undertaken by U.S. Grant. Northern soldiers were fat and Southern soldiers were starving and without ammunition but we still racked up more kills... we just ran out of people (smaller population). And with USG burning every single crop and confiscating food/southern women the south was doomed desipte the far superior tactics of Lee.

[The Black Knight]

Obviously, my gut says Patton. I just love that guy.

And, being a Southerner, I'm gonna piss off a bunch of my brethren and say RE Lee was overrated. He still believed in Napoleonic warfare, when technology made it obsolete. Give me Longstreet any day. Heck, if Lee would have listened to Longstreet about Pickett's charge, things would've been different.

However, I am gonna say the BEST general was Duke Wellington. Man, I love that guy.

Anyway, I think that it's important to qualify the attributes of generals. Alexander was a great heroic general, but that type of generalship would be suicidal now. Patton and Napoleon are great examples of generals with charisma, and neither fit into the 21st century ideal of an apolitical general. Who is the best? I think Wellington, but even by saying that, I acknowledge that he is the best compared to his time. Comparing Wellington to Alexander, Caesar, Grant, Stonewall, Ike, or Sun Tzu is like comparing apples to oranges. The nature of leadership changes, so the role of "general" has evolved over time.

[blanknoone]

Not entirely generalship, but I have to give the nod of most influential to Gustavus Adolphus.

[Uncledave]

General Dukakis, hands down.

[JediForce]

General Han Solo, General Obi Wan Konobi, Luke Skywalker...

[Rocky]

I think you meant to respond to a different thread. The one asking for worst American traitors.