The greatest military commander of all time

[Yusuf Evans]

Yeah, I've seen Muhammed listed in top ten military commanders lists. Never seen Jesus in any of those lists.

That's because Jesus(PBUH) didn't lead an army into battle; his was a message of love from what I understand.

 

[Supreme]

Alexander the Great. He went all the way from Greece to India, and he was still a very young man.

Failing that, I'd say Contantine. He united the whole of the Roman Empire under his hand, and under the Christian faith.

 

[Wolvrin704]

No one can compare to Alexander. Like other great generals he benefited from those who built the armies before he came along but it was who who had the daring to lead them where no had dared before. He was able to take on any terrain, any type or size of army and always came out victorious. Unlike many other generals he also led from the front. The only time he was ever defeated is when his army mutinied and forced him to return to Babylon, no enemy ever defeated him. He was a master at open warfare as well as sieges.

Other ancient great generals:
Hannibal
Scipio Africanus
Gaius Marius
Gaius Julius Caesar
Phillip II of Macedon
Nebuchadnezzar
Pyrrus
Li Shih Min

That's all I can think of off hand from the ancient world. To name throughout history would take far more space and time than I care to use.

 

[tanzanos]

No one can compare to Alexander. Like other great generals he benefited from those who built the armies before he came along but it was who who had the daring to lead them where no had dared before. He was able to take on any terrain, any type or size of army and always came out victorious. Unlike many other generals he also led from the front. The only time he was ever defeated is when his army mutinied and forced him to return to Babylon, no enemy ever defeated him. He was a master at open warfare as well as sieges.

Other ancient great generals:
Hannibal
Scipio Africanus
Gaius Marius
Gaius Julius Caesar
Phillip II of Macedon
Nebuchadnezzar
Pyrrus
Li Shih Min

That's all I can think of off hand from the ancient world. To name throughout history would take far more space and time than I care to use.

I think that by all standards Shaka Zulu, and Miltiades were also great generals.

 

[MacCoyle]

Georgy Zhukov.
Hands down best commander in WWII
Best general in modern era.


OH, and

ITS A TRAP

 

[GQ Chris]

Richard the Lionheart.

 

[kiwimac]

Saladin.

 

[Supreme]

Richard the Lionheart.

I'm not a fan. He was the King of England, spent very little time here and didn't even bother learning English! He was a very bad king, but I will concede he was an amazing military commander and very deserving to be in this thread.

 

[Sphinx777]

Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death in 1199.

He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Ireland, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was known as Cœur de Lion or, Richard the Lionheart, even before his accession, because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior.

At age 16, Richard was already commanding his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father, King Henry II. Richard was a central Christian commander during the Third Crusade, effectively leading the campaign after the departure of Philip Augustus, and scoring considerable victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin.

While he spoke very little English and spent very little time in his Kingdom, preferring to use it as a source of revenue to support his armies, he was seen as a pious hero by his subjects. He remains one of the very few Kings of England remembered by his epithet, not number, and is an enduring, iconic figure in England.

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[Gracchus]

Richard was, by all accounts, personally formidable on the battlefield, but in his one major campaign he was roundly trounced by Saladin.

 

[Mahammad]

I think Khalid bin Waleed should be considered one of the greatests, he manged to defeat two powerful empires (Byzantium & Persian) at the same time, using nomad men, he had 2 fronts both fighting different empire yet he conquered both of them.

He was the mastermind behind the battle of Yarmuk. The Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history.

Battle of Yarmouk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[JohnCR]

Although we are comparing apples to oranges, seeing as how the nature of war has changed over the course of human history, I would have to say Alexander the Great was the greatest military commander. He expanded to create one of the largest empires of all time. The Achaemenid empire was larger, but it was expanded over several generations. They also had more success in the long run, but I wouldn't attribute that to their military capabilities. I would say they were just very efficient at managing the internal workings of the empire.

 

[Hairy Tic]

I'm hard pressed to think of a military commander that was as successful as Alexander of Macedonia.

The thing about MacArthur was that as great as he was in WW I, he certainly didn't distinguish himself against the Bonus Army in Washington, nor against the Japanese in 1941/42 when he earned the moniker "Dug-out Doug".

## Cyrus II of Persia absorbed:

• Lydia - in 546 BC
• the Babylonian Empire - in 538

He was the chief reason that Alexander of Macedon was able to take so huge an empire almost 200 years later.

And the reason the Babylonian Empire was itself so vast is that Nebuchadrezzar II (605-562) had enlarged it by conquest. And N., unlike C., died in bed of old age. So I vote for Nebuchadrezzar II, Babylon's last great ruler.

Ashur-nasir-pal II (883-858) restored Assyria to greatness by building on his father's achievements, & greatly expanded Assyria's boundaries & influence; so he has to be mentioned.

 

[marlowe007]

## Cyrus II of Persia absorbed:

• Lydia - in 546 BC
• the Babylonian Empire - in 538

He was the chief reason that Alexander of Macedon was able to take so huge an empire almost 200 years later.

And the reason the Babylonian Empire was itself so vast is that Nebuchadrezzar II (605-562) had enlarged it by conquest. And N., unlike C., died in bed of old age. So I vote for Nebuchadrezzar II, Babylon's last great ruler.

Ashur-nasir-pal II (883-858) restored Assyria to greatness by building on his father's achievements, & greatly expanded Assyria's boundaries & influence; so he has to be mentioned.

Senusret III of Egypt is another warrior who perchance equals Alexander militarily; it's surprising that noboby's mentioned him yet. If one regards Herodotus as a credible authority, this pharaoh conquered several tribes in Europe, ruled Ethiopa, and sailed the Indian ocean amongst other things, which were mighty feats back in the 19th century BC.

 

[TG123]

Who do you think was the greatest military commander of all time?

It is difficult to determine who is the greatest because the way in which wars are fought has drastically changed over the last 2,500 years.For example, in the ancient world, the general usually modified his army and hired auxiliaries(sometimes calvary, slingers,archers, etc.) to supplement his army.

However, I though this would be an interesting topic where posters can give their opinion.

So, who do you think was the greatest general?

The greatest military leader is Jesus. He defeated Satan on the cross.

He also taught love for enemies and turning the other cheek. Every other military leader was disobeying Jesus so I would not call any of them great.

If all people followed Jesus, war would not exist.

 

[Lillen]

Hulk Hogan!

 

[Chesterton]

George S. Patton

/thread

Patton and Gomer Pyle both believed in reincarnation.

YouTube - Jim Nabors - Reincarnation

 

[Mankin]

Richard was, by all accounts, personally formidable on the battlefield, but in his one major campaign he was roundly trounced by Saladin.

Not entirely true. Richard beat Saladin quite badly in the battle of Arsuf. The only reason Richard never assaulted Jerusalem was because he realized he wouldn't be able to hold the city. He prevented the Kingdom of Jerusalem from being completely dominated by the Saracens with his treaty with Saladin.

Saladin was a good general, but in the battle of Hatin, I question the intelligence of the Crusaders.

 

[Yu_Jin]

Han Xin of the early Han Dynasty was quite good as well.

 

[Sphinx777]

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor...







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