The greatest military commander of all time

Sphinx777

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The Major (Sturmbannführer) is a character in the manga and OVA series Hellsing. He is the main antagonist of the series and is the leader of Millennium. He's voiced in Japanese by Nobuo Tobita, and in English by Gildart Jackson. He appears briefly in the trailer for Gonzo's TV series, along with Doc and the Captain.

The Major is small, plump, unprepossessing, ruthless and psychopathic, his pleasant smile is the mask on a madman. He commands with a good-natured attitude, which can change in a moment to cruelty or grandiose elation. In the manga, if the information given by the corrupt priest that was interrogated by Enrico Maxwell is correct then the Major was between 26 and 27 years old in the year 1941 (just after participating in Operation Barbarossa), thus placing him in his late eighties during the Hellsing series. He was probably born somewhere around 1913 or 1914 (being 26/7 in 1941).

A former first lieutenant of the SS, Adolf Hitler issued a special order (#666) placing him in charge of a top-secret project, the main focus of which was the perfection of an artificial vampirization process. The success of this project would allow the Nazis to utilize vampires in battle and turn the tide of the war in their favor. The operation was attacked and shut down by a young Walter Dorneaz and Alucard in Warsaw, Poland, in 1944. However, the defeat proved to be only a minor setback, as the Major and his subordinates managed to escape to South America unharmed. There they resumed their research.

Although other Nazi officers with higher ranks accompanied Millennium to their South American hideout and attempted to exert their authority, the vampire officers loyal to the Major quickly executed them. Depending on the translation used, the Major is variously a sub-commander or the founder of Millennium, as well as the leader of a Werwolf special force.

The original purpose of the Nazi vampire research was to ensure Germany's victory in World War II and to create a Reich that would last for a thousand years (hence the name "Millennium"), but the Major claims that he has "no purpose". He states that he simply wishes to start an endless war. In his famous "I Love War" speech, he elaborates on his love for all facets of war, regardless of which side is winning. While addressing Integra Hellsing's question as to his specific goal, he says that he has no goal. He explains that while others settle on no means in obtaining their goals, he will settle on no goals in obtaining his means.

In the final chapters, the Major and Integra Hellsing duel to the death. As the final battle starts, because of an attack by Seras, the Major's left side is blown off, revealing himself to be a cyborg. After this discovery, Integra debates whether he was a monster or not, since he wasn't literally human. The Major responds by saying that as long as his will existed he was human, no matter what has become of his body. His reason for despising Alucard is that, though the Major is a human who looks like a monster, the vampire is a monster who looks like a human, something that he can never forgive. In the end, Integra shoots the Major in the head to kill him; but the Major dies with a smile on his face. It appears that he has died a happy man with no regrets, having fulfilled his dream of a grand war.






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Chesterton

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It's no contest. Name one commander who could stand so firm...even in milk.
 
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Mankin

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I wouldn't define the Major as that good of a general Sphinx my friend. He did manage to destroy London but he sacrificed all his troops in the process. All he wanted to do was go out in a blaze of glory and kill Alucard. He's wonderfully insane but not that fantastic of a general. :D

Genghis Khan also deserves a place on this list. After all, he and his successors created the largest empire in the history of the world.
 
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QuakerPete

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Napoleon by a country mile. His charisma and popularity is unrivaled.

Contrary to popular belief, he never lost Waterloo. He was sick on the day and had delegated authority to Marshal Soult, his second in command, who failed to carry out strict instructions for the conduct of the battle.

I think the only mistake Napoleon made was his decision not to invade Britain a decade before Waterloo. He should have remained in Boulogne to conclude his project instead of wasting time with the Austrians and Russians. The British are historically the most war-mongering, avaricious, superficial people and if there is one nation that deserved to be conquered, it was them.

My favourite Napoleon quote: “In the future, wars will be fought not with canon and bayonet, but with words and ideas.”

Wow, seems more of a diatribe against the British rather than a backing of Napoleon's prowess. Well, you're entitled to that opinion but I don't know how you qualify it. The Royal Navy was a constant and very sharp thorn in the side of Napoleon's empire-driven France, so he couldn't just nip across The Channel to invade Britain. (Even Hitler realised that).

Wellington drove all the French forces (and the generals he faced) out of Spain. And when it mattered most he beat Napoleon at Waterloo after choosing his battleground carefully - Blucher arrived relatively late in the battle, bypassing the blocking force that Napoleon had put in place.
 
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Markus6

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I wouldn't define the Major as that good of a general Sphinx my friend. He did manage to destroy London but he sacrificed all his troops in the process. All he wanted to do was go out in a blaze of glory and kill Alucard. He's wonderfully insane but not that fantastic of a general. :D

Genghis Khan also deserves a place on this list. After all, he and his successors created the largest empire in the history of the world.
By both population and land area the British Empire was the largest.
 
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I'd more feel like making a top ten list, not necessarily in this order:

1. Napoleon Bonaparte
2. Alexander the Great
3. Gustavus Adolphus
4. Sun Tzu
5. Genghis Khan
6. Saladin
7. Belisarius
8. Stonewall Jackson
9. Mao Zedong
10. Erwin Rommel
 
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Mankin

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By both population and land area the British Empire was the largest.
Ah that is true. Although the Mongols were impressive for their accomplishments. Their empire was the biggest for their time.

The Mongolian Empire
mongol.gif



The British Empire was far more spread out for a large variety of reasons one of them being the improvement of ships during the Age of Exploration.
British%20Empire.png
 
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marlowe007

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Wellington drove all the French forces (and the generals he faced) out of Spain. And when it mattered most he beat Napoleon at Waterloo after choosing his battleground carefully - Blucher arrived relatively late in the battle, bypassing the blocking force that Napoleon had put in place.

And yet Wellington himself, when asked to name the greatest general of his time, unhesitatingly replied: "In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon."
 
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Cooch

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And yet Wellington himself, when asked to name the greatest general of his time, unhesitatingly replied: "In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon."

Nice way to brag without seeming to.

He's not saying "I am".

But he is saying, "The man that I beat!";)

I like old Hookey for his generalship, but not necessarily his gentlemanly character.
 
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Chesterton

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