Best Military commander of all time

Just wondering who you guys will say. Personally my vote is for George S. Patton J.R.

 

Its difficult for me to say who was the best of all time. You really have to seperate it into time periods. Different tactics different weapons...etc.

However, if I had to choose the best of all time, I'd say Alexander.

As for, WW II, its way overrated. There were no military lessons learned from that war, all the Allied Generals were idiots. If military superiority settled things, the Germans and Japanese would have won because they were by far, and I mean by FAR, the best soldiers.

 

Great choice, but I'd go with Sherman.

 

Sherman is the kind of guy we need in Iraq right now. Just let him loose!

 

LOL.

Definitely.

 

Hannibal was always my personal favorite.

Frederick the Great was...well, great.

And of course, there was Napoleon.

 

Sherman was not the right general for the job in the Civil War. He won the battles but he made sure that after the war was over there was no hope of recovery for the South. Destroying every inch of railroad track is a bit of overkill, and just throws salt in the wound. He was a good general as far as military campaigns are concerned, but when it comes to the political aspects of reuniting the country after the war is over he did as much damage to the nation as a whole as anybody possibly could.

I'd say some of the greatest in my book are Ghengis Kahn, Stonewall Jackson, Patton and Rommel to a certain extent. But I think the one general that has influenced military strategy the most is George Washington.

 

Greatest General?

Who was the Greatest General? Before that question can be answered, you have to establish the criteria for what is meant by "greatest". For instance, Patton was known as someone who threw his men into battle without regard for casualties. If the greatest general is someone who gained the most while taking the fewest casualties, Patton would not be seen as the greatest.

Also, you must consider what they had to work with compared to the others.
Patton had the advantage of having the manufacturing might of the US behind him. Would he have gained so much ground as fast with fewer resources?

 

Patton and Rommel and Hal Moore

 

Hey Folks

I agree and disagree. For best General in history, Alexander the Great, no question, hands down, end of story.

And as for your assessment on WWII, I think you would benefit from some hard WWII reading. The great films they show on the history channel and the military channel are not enough. And even when you're knowledgeable about WWII, there are still things in your head you'll debate with yourself and others.

 

No one has mentioned Scipio Africanus. He's certainly up there. Arm chair?

 

Hey Folks

I don't know much about the Scipii but he's probably up there. There are so many leaders throughout history. However, I don't think he could come close to Julius Caesar who basically shaped the face of Europe today and conquered most of the mediterranean.

 

Scipio was a great general but he'll always be in Hannibal's shadow, much in the way Wellington will always be in Napoleon's.

 

Ahh yes! Conqueror of Carthage, defeater of the great Hannibal Barca.

Definitely one of the greatest Roman Generals, way better than Julius Caesar.

Whereas Caeser fought relatively easy battles against the Gauls who really didn't have any sort of unified strategy or even a great leader until Vercingetorix. Scipio defeated the armys of Carthage under the command of Hannibal Barka, another one of the greatest Generals of all time.

P Cornelius Scipio was a great general.

Alexander was better though.

 

Now if only they'd make a decent movie about him