NationStates Jolt Archive

Ladies and gentlemen of the forums, I present, for your pleasure, a new experience. You, ladies and gentlemen, shall pick from a list of candidates now to be formed, the greatest officers of all time.

I have a few candidates of my own, but I'll add others as you mention them, until I think we have enough. Then, I'll run several polls, until we are down to only 2 officers. Then, the final vote shall be called, and we shall have our military genius.

The List!

*General Francisco Franco Bahamonde (El Caudillo), Spain

*Field Marshal Otto von Bismarck, Prussia

*Field Marshal von Blucher, Prussia

*Admiral Horatio Nelson, England

*Marshal Zukov, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

*Emperor Napoleon Buonaparte; First French Republic; First Empire of France

*General Eisenhower, United States of America

*Attila the Hun, Hun Tribe

*Spartacus, Roman Republic

*Vespasian, Roman Empire

*General George S. Patton, United States of America

*General Douglas MacArthur, United States of America

*Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, United Kingdom

*Field Marshal Erwin Rommel; Germany

*The Duke of Wellington, whose name escapses me. :oops: England

*Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein; United Kingdom

*Marshal Georgiy Zhukov, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

*Lieutenant General Mikhail Rokkossovskiy, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

*Hannibal of Carthage

*von Moltke the Elder, Kingdom of Prussia

*General William T. Sherman, United States of America

*Heinz Guderian, Germany

*Alexander the Great, Kingdom of Macedon

*Marshall Tuchachevski, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

*Charles Martel, France

*Charlemagne, Holy Roman Empire

*Genghis Khan, Mongolia

*Francesco Pizarro, Spain

*Shaka Zulu, Zulu Tribe

*Moshe Dayan, Israel

*Chiang Kai-Sek, Kuomintang China; Republic of China/Taiwan

*Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), Ottoman Empire/Republic of Turkey

*Sultan Mehmed Osman II, Ottoman Empire (Selijuk?)

*El-Saladin, Kurd/Caliphate of Egypt

*George Washington, United States of America

*King Jagiellon, Kingdom of Lithuania

*Alcibiades, Athens

*Frederick Hohenstraufen (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Empire

*Frederick Hohenstraufen II, Holy Roman Empire

*Belisarius, Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire)

*Tokugawa, Japan

*Nobunaga, Japan

*Lev Davidovich Bronstein (Trotsky), Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

General William T. Sherman: America
Heinz Guderian: Germany
Alexander the Great: Macedon, Greece
Marshall Tuchachevski: Russia

Sherman should definitely be in any poll.

i just watched a documentary on hannibal, i never really knew that much about him but man some of his military victories were brilliant.

especially cannae

Charles "the Hammer" Martel.

http://www.caerdroia.org/116/archives/000530.html

A savior of the western world.

Oh, and don't forget Vlad the Impaler.

Marshal Georgiy Zhukov, USSR
Lieutenant General Mikhail (I think that's his first name) Rokkossovskiy, USSR
Hannibal of Carthage
von Moltke the Elder, Prussia

Ghengis!! He carves yo bitch ass up fool!!

Genghis Khan.(Mongolian)
Francesco Pizarro.(Spanish)
Shaka Zulu.(Zulu)
Moshe Dayan.(Israel)
Kai-Shek Chiang.(China)
Attaturk Kemal.(Turk)
Mehmed II, The Conqueror.(Turk)
El-Saladin.(Kurd)
Sun Tzu.(China)
George Washington.(American)
Karl von Clausewitz.(Prussian)
King Jagiellon.(Lithuanian)
Alcibiades.(Athenian/Greece)

Ladies and gentlemen of the forums, I present, for your pleasure, a new experience. You, ladies and gentlemen, shall pick from a list of candidates now to be formed, the greatest officers of all time.

I have a few candidates of my own, but I'll add others as you mention them, until I think we have enough. Then, I'll run several polls, until we are down to only 2 officers. Then, the final vote shall be called, and we shall have our military genius.

The List!

*Emperor Napoleon Buonaparte; France/Corsica

*Field Marshal Erwin Rommel; Germany

*The Duke of Wellington, whose name escapses me. :oops: England

*Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein; United Kingdom

*Marshal Georgiy Zhukov, USSR

*Lieutenant General Mikhail Rokkossovskiy, USSR

*Hannibal of Carthage

*von Moltke the Elder, Prussia

*General William T. Sherman, America

*Heinz Guderian, Germany

*Alexander the Great, Macedon

*Marshall Tuchachevski, Russia

*Charles Martel, France

*Charlemagne, Holy Roman Empire

Guderian, definitely. The main architect of the most spectacularly successful military campaign ever seen in Western Europe, the Blitzkrieg.

You mean...Prince Vladimir Dracula III, of the Principality of Wallachia?

The guy who chopped people up and nailed hats to people' s heads? Tell ya what, when we do a list of world's greatest psycopaths, I'll keep him in mind. But what major military thing did he do?

He lost to the Turks, twice!

Genghis Khan is definitely the greatest conqueror in terms of land. Also, he started from absolutely nothing but his father's name!

Cyrus the Great should be on that list as well.

Alexander the Great
Frederick the Great
Napoleon Bonaparte
Genghis Khan
Erwin Rommel

I would remove Sun Tzu and Clausewitz from the poll. Both are famous for being military theorists, not great leaders. Sun Tzu may have had some experience of command, but Clausewitz did not have any significant experience.

I would remove Sun Tzu and Clausewitz from the poll. Both are famous for being military theorists, not great leaders. Sun Tzu may have had some experience of command, but Clausewitz did not have any significant experience.

Done.

Anyone know who that Byzantine general who re-conquered Italy was? Buchephalus, or something else?

I would remove Sun Tzu and Clausewitz from the poll. Both are famous for being military theorists, not great leaders. Sun Tzu may have had some experience of command, but Clausewitz did not have any significant experience.

Done.

Anyone know who that Byzantine general who re-conquered Italy was? Buchephalus, or something else?

I believe you mean Belisarius. Bucephalus was the name of Alexander the Great's horse!

Horatio Nelson: Great Britain (Royal Navy)

By the way Tuchachevski served the USSR. He was also a red Russian commander during the revolution. I would just put 'USSR'.

Edited.

Any Japanese commanders deserving?

I would remove Sun Tzu and Clausewitz from the poll. Both are famous for being military theorists, not great leaders. Sun Tzu may have had some experience of command, but Clausewitz did not have any significant experience.

Done.

Anyone know who that Byzantine general who re-conquered Italy was? Buchephalus, or something else?

I believe you mean Belisarius. Bucephalus was the name of Alexander the Great's horse!

Belisarius does deserve to be on the list. Without doubt he was the greatest general of the Byzantine Empire. I believe he was also a eunuch, which must be an unusual distinction for a successful military leader.

The only problem though is that very few people have heard of him nowadays, so putting him in the poll would only mean his early elimination.

Stalin was warped :twisted: but the Iron Man was way cool.

Stalin was warped :twisted: but the Iron Man was way cool.

Um...no.

But Trotsky does belong up there...if only I knew his real name.

Stalin was warped :twisted: but the Iron Man was way cool.

Um...no.

But Trotsky does belong up there...if only I knew his real name.

Stalin was warped :twisted: but the Iron Man was way cool.

Um...no.

But Trotsky does belong up there...if only I knew his real name.


lev davidovich bronstein

Stalin was warped :twisted: but the Iron Man was way cool.

Um...no.

But Trotsky does belong up there...if only I knew his real name.


lev davidovich bronstein

Gracias.

Hrmmm...anyone think I should put Himmler up there? He did lead the SS.

Stalin was warped :twisted: but the Iron Man was way cool.

Um...no.

But Trotsky does belong up there...if only I knew his real name.


lev davidovich bronstein

Gracias.

Hrmmm...anyone think I should put Himmler up there? He did lead the SS.

himmler was gayer than me, well at least more femmy(i tended toward the butch side). he was an administrator an over stuffed file clerk. of the inner circle of hilter's close supporters only goering had any real talent militarily, the rest of the great generals were more career military than party faithful.

Hrmmm...anyone think I should put Himmler up there? He did lead the SS.

Himmler led the SS but wasn't a military leader. He was a politician first and foremost.

There were two branches of the SS - the Allgemeine and the Waffen. The former manned the camps etc., the latter were the troops in the field.

The Waffen SS was probably one of the best of all fighting formations in WW2, maybe the best, regarding the elite divisions such as the Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler, and Das Reich. There were plenty of brilliant commanders but there wasn't really one outstanding SS general, with the possible exception of Sepp Dietrich.

General Michel Ney (France), 1769-1815. France had many great leaders at this time. But Napoleon eclipsed them, and occasionally stoler their victories.

Ataturk (Mustafa Kamal). I nearly forgot him. (Turkey)

Frederick I (Barbarossa), I cannot remember if he has been metioned already.

Alaric the Goth. He united the fractured Gothic tribes and destroyed a large part of the Roman Empire, which climaxed with the sack of Rome.

Tamerlane (1336-1405). Gengis Started the Mogol empire. Tis guy won it back for them.

Oliver Cromwell (England)


Has anyone mentioned Ceasar or any of the other great Roman leaders? (I'm too lazy to check).

A few others I have only heard in passing:

Simon Bolivar (1783-1830). I think he counts as Venezualen

Robert Lee (would this be USA ? )

Erwin Rommel (Germany)

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (Argentinian iirc )

Shaka Zulu (Zulu)

Vo Nguyen Giap (sp?) (Vietnam)

Chiang kai-Shek (sp?) (China [pre-Communist] )

You should add Julius Ceasar to the list.
As for the greatest military commander ever - Napoleon or Zhukov

Alex the great (Macedonian Greek)
Scipio Africanus (Roman) : Fall of Carthage
Henry V (English) : Agincort
Gonzalo de Cordoba (Spanish) : Battle of Garigiliano
Gustavus Adolphus (Swedish) : Battle of Lutzen
Peter the Great (Russia) : Created the Russian navy and beat Swedes
Alfred the Great (English) : Re conquered England from the Danes
William the Conquerer (Norman) : Battle of Hastings
Vicomte de Turenne (French) : Battle of Dunnes
Duke of Marlborough (English) : Battel of Oudenard
George Washington (American) : Battle of Princeton
Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri (Indian) : Battle of Longhewala; Held off Pakistani armour division and a thousand men, with only a company of 120 men.
Robert the Bruce (Scottish) : Beat the English
Napoleon Bonnepart (French) : Created first French Empire
Duke of Wellington (English) : Waterloo, Defeat of Napolean
Tomoyuki Yamashita (Japanese) : Battle of Singapore
Ranjit Singh (Sikh) : Created Sikh Empire, from scratch (Tibet to Afganistan, Russia to Multan)
Erwin Rommel (German) : African campaign
Walter Slim (British) : Battle of Mandalay
Tipu Sultan (Mysore) : Fought British in India
Hari Singh Nalua (Sikh) : Closed of the famed Kybher Pass forever, threw Afgans of Indian soil forever
Monty (British) : Campain in Africa, Sicilly etc
Willaim Wallace (Scottish) : Battle of Stirling Bridge
Hannibal of Carthage (Carthaginian) : Fought in Italy for 7 years, Staged one of the biggest ambushes in history.

Robert the Bruce and William Wallace were hardly great commanders

Robert the Bruce and William Wallace were hardly great commanders
The thread is for great leaders, not generals, they led did they not. they won great great victories didn't they?

Robert E. Lee is one even though he ws confederate.