Favorite Military Leader...

[Blackbishop]

As many of you have mentioned the guys I know I will mention a different ones !

1- Erwin Rommel
2- Emiiano Zapata
3- Francisco Villa
4- José Ma. Morelos

As mexican I have to mention Emiliano Zapata. Yey!!

The only one that really cared for his people when fighting against the goverment.

[Otto Halfhand]

@ BlackBishop: don't forget  Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín

The Polish list:
Józef Poniatowski -Top of List
Jan Sobieski - Stopped the Turks at Vienna
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Kazimierz Pułaski
Henri the Pious, Grand Duke of Poland. Drove away the Mongols at Liegnitz, almost united Poland
 on a technicality: Erich von Manstein (born Fritz-Erich von Lewinski – Brochwicz)

THis is more fun than Random Word Game.

[Dann88]

Trust me, in VietNam you will learn not much about him, history is always a joke of VietNam's education , I have to research myself about him like every other leaders. That's why I wrote "not because I'm a Vietnamese", it basically has nothing to do with my nationality from the beginning. Just explaining

[Chancellor]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Sun Tzu.  The guy who wrote The Art of War, the book that half of the people mentioned here learned from?

[tigerclawstyle]

He's overrated. Hehe Just kidding. Mandatory reading for any soldier or future officer. Chinese officers are said to have it completely memorized, and every war since its inception has followed its guidelines to some degree or another. Great addition Yauz.

One more for the list that hasn't been mentioned.

Scipio Africanus. Defeated Hannibal, and never lost a battle.

[Otto Halfhand]

@Tigerclawstyle: There are only 138 different "words" in The Art of War, Shouldn't be that hard to memorize if you know Kanji.

Unmentioned list:
China Gordon : Khartoum 1885(?)
Phil Sheridan
Von Luck

@Yauz: I think Sun Tzu has to be added to the list of armchair generals. The prevailing scholarly opinion is that Sun Tzu was never a military commander. THe debate still rages(?). I think most of us will agree the "concubine" story is just a legend.

Trust me, in VietNam you will learn not much about him, history is always a joke of VietNam's education

History is a joke in the USA educational system too. I recently read that in the 12 year secondary education system curricula less than seven minutes time is spent on Vietnam, period.

[GodlikeDennis]

History in Australian schools is a joke too. We spent years on a few leaky prison boats landing in Sydney and didn't ever have Vietnam mentioned.

[RedGuard]

Personally I wouldn't consider Lenin, Stalin or Hitler military leaders. If you include them you can include any US President since they're technically Commander-in-Chief or even the Queen.

I think exactly the same.

do they command the armed forces? yes they do, and they out-rank all officers and have the final say. sounds like a military leader to me

but thats just common sense

[Tico_1990]

Not my favourite but surely high on the list:
The combination of William the silent (William of Orange), Maurice of Nassau, and Frederick Henry. These are the leaders of the Dutch armies during the eighty years war. The country became independent under their rule.

[Otto Halfhand]

Where I live they have a saying: "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much." 
THe political leaders should be evaluated differently from the strictly military leaders. Hiram Grant was a masterful military leader. THe years he spent in the White House were a gilded  age of corruption, and genocide. He can't be lauded on that account. Lenin is another oddball case. IIRC he didn't have any military experience but he knocked Russia out of WWI pretty much singlehandedly. He is high on the list of MAster Strategists in history and one of the most important leaders of the Twentieth Century. In the long run did he do the Soviet Peoples any good?

[DrRockzo1986]

Lol you might want to call him Ulysses or ppl wont know who you're talkin about. I think Robert E Lee (before Jackson was killed) or even Thomas Jackson were better commanders than Grant. You are right tho History here in america is kinda lacking, If I hadn't taken that elective on Vietnam I still wouldnt know anything about it. I just learned about the War of 1812 a coule weeks ago. And brits thought they were so tuff . Lol jk

[Dann88]

So is Pyrrhus of Epirus a good tatician and Zhuge Liang a good strategist?

[Otto Halfhand]

Pyrrhus of Epirus' reputation as a general today rests primarily on three battles fought against the Roman Republic: Heraclea, Asculum and Beneventum. He is credited as having won the first two engagements and lost the third. He twice conquered Macedon, overran the Carthaginians in Sicily and defeated the Spartans in open battle. He was unsuccessful in besieging Sparta and died fighting in the Streets of Argos. He was skilled in use of the phalanx, cavalry and innovated the use of War Elephants in Europe. In battle he was the new Achilles. During one battle he was severely wounded. He later accepted the challenge of an enemy hero and split him into two pieces, head to crotch with one blow. Hannibal of all great commanders esteemed Pyrrhus for skill and conduct the first, Scipio the second, and himself the third. Antigonus, of Macedon, being asked who was the greatest soldier, said, "Pyrrhus, if he lives to be old." Antigonus also compared him to a player with dice, who had excellent throws, but knew not how to use them. I tend to agree with Antigonus.

Zhuge Liang, "the Sleeping Dragon", was by any measure a master strategist. An extremely able military administrator he directed military matters for Liu Bei during the Later Han Dynasty and the Three kingdoms era. He provided military advice to both the Shu and Wu Kingdoms in their struggles against Cao Cao of Wei. He worked hard to unify the Shu State. He led campaigns against Wei, and the Southron Barbarians. The Battle of Red Cliffs is the most famous battle he was involved in. History, Legend and Myth all combine to confuse issues when it comes to the Life of Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was believed to be the inventor of steam buns, the landmine, the wheelbarrow, a semiautomatic crossbow, (or improvements thereto), and a hot air balloon used for military signalling, known as the Kongming lantern. Books popularly attributed to Zhuge Liang can be found today: Mastering the Art of War. , and The Thirty-Six Stratagems. "The Empty Fort Strategy" is probably of Zhuge Liang's devising. Tokugawa Ieyasu used the tactic during his retreat in the Battle of Mikatagahara. Zhuge Liang was considered by some to be a Taoist Sorcerer, (a term of contempt and fear when used by Confucians). He is credited with constructing the mysterious Stone Sentinel Maze, an array of stone piles that is said to produce supernatural phenomenon, located near Baidicheng. This is an application of Ba Gua; elsewhere cited in Chinese military lore as a puissant tactic.

[Pac-Fish]

Some prefered leaders:
-George S. Patton
-Erwin Rommel
-Genghis Knan
-Gerory Zhukov
-Alexander the Great
-Shi Huang Di (Despite the fact most ppl know him as a ruler, he had to conquer the whole of China first. And he was the first to implement "shocktroopers")

[DrRockzo1986]

These aren't military leaders due to the fact they didnt lead an official state military but they deserve honorable mention for their leadership at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

*Sitting Bull

*Crazy Horse

*Chief Gall

Ppl outside the US may not know what Im talking about. As Ive said before anyone who can boast a victory against the US gets major points in my book.