Top 10 military genius' of all time?

[maximus]

Hello once again,
I have looked over nearly all of the greatest minds when it comes to milatristic ability i have concluded this top 10!
1.Alexander the Great- Macedonia,
2.Julius Caesar- Rome
3.Wellington- England
4.Napolean Bonaparte- France
5.Hannibal Barca- Carthage
6.Scipio Africanus- Rome
7.Robert E. Lee- Confederacy (US)
8.General Patton- US
9.Ghengis Khan- Mongols
10.Pausanias- Sparta


Please post your top 10.

[jona]

Nice contest. May I suggest two naval commanders? Usually, Nelson and De Ruyter are considered among the very greatest.Personally, I would not have mentioned Patton. He may have been quite a character, and the movie is okay, but let's face it: Sicily was not exactly the greatest victory of the Allies. In fact, although the finally conquered the island, they lost the strategic momentum and got involved in a hopeless Italian war. At least one book on the Sicilian war is called "Whose victory?"Is Rommel, the "desert fox" an idea? Frederick II of Prussia?Jona

[maximus]

Hi JonaGood idea both of those people came to mind but i think that Patton was a major factor through the war. If Italy had remained in eUROPE Hitler would have been ableto use it as a another front, the Battle of the Bulge might have become the Battle of the Alps and the Germans would have had a better advantage and might have been able to repulse the Allies.
I was tempted to put Nelson, Attila the Hun, Themistocles, Memnon of Rhodes, Rommel, Montegomery, Saladin and Cyrus the Great.
The latter not as much

[Gemmini]

nice list...but...Patton, in my mind, does not deserve a position in the top 10..there were a lot of commanders in ww2 that exceded him...for example...Manstan, Guaderian...they were fighting the russions with very limited resources and with a big diference in man power in there disadvantage, yes, they lost...but the russians had a very hard job to break them, so, in ww2 there where some commanders that exceded patton.On the top list, there should be realy the greatest minds in warfare...there should also be: Ramses III and the greek commander that defeated the persians at marathon.best regards, jakob

[lucinos]

there is no objective way to choose, but I will play the game...
my top 10 is1) Alexander the Great -Macedonia2) Napolean Bonaparte -France3) Julius Caesar -Rome4) Cyrus the Great -Persia5) Iulianus -Constantinopolis6) Pyrrhus -Epirus7) Hannibal -Carthage8) Philip (Alexanders father)-Macedonia9) Pausanias -Sparta10) Themistocles -Athens

[Dragonlord]

sorry for misposting my reply as a new listing but my top ten are as follows: ( excluding Chinese ones to be fair)1) Alex 2) Caesar3) Baron von Clauswitz4) Scipio Africanus5) Hannibal6) Wellington7) Napoleon Bonaparte8) Epaminodas (the theban who thought outside the square to defeat the Spartans and changed the face of phalanx warfare forever- better than Leonidas in Marathon .. he merely held a pass where geography renders numbers/tactics largely irrelevant)9)Pyrrhus10)Henry of battle of Calais/ Agincourt.

[tino]

Hmm, interesting question. Due to the range of differences in era's I cannot limit it to 10 or in order but I will try to list out my picks. Unfortunately, I am not as familiar either with the Oriental generals and I am sure the Chinese produced some genius's:Assurbanipal, Sargon, Darius I, Cyrus, Alexander, Philip II, Epaminondas, Themistocles, Scipio, Aemilius Paulus, Flaminius, Hannibal,Julius Caesar, Corobulo, Trajan, Belisarius, John Tzimisces, Nikephoros Phocas II, Basil II, Robert Guiscard, Charlemagne, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, Edward II? (Longshanks), Napoleon, Suvarov, Gustavus Adolphus, Frederick the Great, Von Moltke (I). That's enough for now, slightly more than 10!

[tino]

I almost forgot. The campaigns of Heraclius, minus the last years of his life that disease eroded him, were absolute genius as well!

[centurion]

Hail and ,
I respectfully submit that the "greatest" military commander is unknown to anyone. Military men derive the bulk of their fame from battlefield victories. But the "greatest" military man conquered his opponents without fighting them. He broke up their alliances, sowed discord among their senior commanders, spied on the opposing forces and reduced the morale of the opposing army, so that the enemy was defeated before the a battle was fought. A certain military philosopher said that such a man derives "neither reputation for wisdom, nor merit for valor". Using this as criteria, how many of those top ten men would pass muster? For that matter, how military men in history would make the list? I suspect few. As that same philosopher said, war should be resorted too only when there is no alternative.
Very respectfully,
Centurion

[maximus]

Hail Centurion,U are certainly correct however i believe my posting should be the Top 10 Military Generals of all time.

[dean]

Hi Harry,Your opening sentences sound like a line or two from Sun Zhu- art of war.Here's my tuppence's worth.AlexanderNapoleonCaesarWellington(because he's a Brit and he gave Napoleon a real run for his money)Memnon of Rhodes.Best regards,
Dean.

[centurion]

Hail and salute,
Okay then-I'll play heheh. My top ten battlefield commanders would be...

1. Hannibal Barca- the only Great Captain to execute a double envelopement on an opponent outnumbering him approximately 2:1. (The only other example that I can think of is Marechal Davout and the Prussians at Auerstadt, and he is a Corps Commander...)2. Scipio Africanus-The only Great Captain to defeat another Great Captain.3. Napoleon Bonaparte- Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland.4. Nathan B. Forrest-I think only General Seydlitz can rival him for finest cavalry commander.5. Louis N. Davout- Auerstadt and Eckmuhl. Never defeated. And in terms of maintaining discipline and order, setting the example on the battlefield, and care for his men-UNSURPASSED.6. Erich von Manstein- Sickle Cut, Sevastopol, and the Kharkov operation.7. Alexander the Great- The Hydaspes, Arbela, and Issus.8. Belisarius-Outnumbered by a wide margin and always won. Even bluffed an opponent into withdrawing prior to their offensive.9. General Giap of Vietnam-lost a number of battles against the United States, and won the war regardless, because he recognized his opponent's weakest link-morale.10. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington-for his campaign in Spain. As for Waterloo-how would the Anglo-Allied army have faired had the Prussians not arrived at all?This list compiled off the top of my head; and regardless of who's on it we could debate this until doomsday, yes?
Hail and many Salute
Centurion

[centurion]

Many Hailz Dean,
That's as good a list as any-debateable of course, but good...
-S- Centurion

[Mykull KhaN]

AlexanderGenghis KhaNHannibalJulius CeasarAttila the HunNapoleanKubli KhaNChaka ZuluMe and Me

[remus]

Hi All,
This is my first post - I really like the site.
I do think that the Duke of Marlborough has got to be in the top ten too. He was the only general to take the war to the Sun King and to win again and again!
Napoleon was a far greater strategist than Wellington. Not only was he a superb field commander but also head of state. His one real weakness was his lack of understanding of the correct projection of naval power - in the end it was this weakness that cost him his empire. To secure Europe he needed to destroy the British/The Royal Navy and the financial support that they gave to the other European powers. Lets face it - Napoleon cast a very long shadow across Europe for the best part of tewnty bloody years.
Cheers
Remus