Who are the five greatest generals of all time?

1.Rommel
2.Nobunaga
3.Patton
4.Barca
5.Robert E Lee

Plus, the admiral in charge of my coast guard  base is awsome, 2nd Admiral James Denton.

Originally posted by Reginmund Originally posted by Hannibal Barca Augustus was never a military commander nor did he command in the field. The only victory that he was in overall command of was at Actium and there the Roman Navy was commanded by not Augustus but by Aggripa. Octavian never established himself as even a military commander. He was an excellent ruler, leader, and politician. Nothing else. Indeed, I find it quite strange how so many posters list famous political leaders among the greatest generals of all time, even though these barely touched military matters.

 Perhaps some people get mixed up when it comes to Augustus and early emperors in general,  during the principate military victories were almost always credited to the princeps even if he wasnt present at the battle. I suppose also people find it hard to believe that Augustus could rise to such supreme power without 1 single significant victory to his name that he personally gained.

 Augustus was a political genius, but as a military commander he was probably average.

Lee? Gosh!

OK, I'll leave 19th and 20th century out and provide my top-5

#5: Epameinondas. VERY underrated. He lacks only one thing: magnificent results. You see, he only led the armies of smallish Theba, not some huge nation or empire. But his military innovations shaped the way warfare is conducted for more than 20 centuries (right up to the Napoleonic era, actually) and that cannot be claimed by anyone else.

#4: Subedei. The best Mongol (even though he wasn't a Mongol...) general deserves a place in the list. He was a tactical genious and had an almost spotless record and utilized the strength of the Mongol army to the greatest extend. 

#3: Hannibal. His tactical genious is unsurpassed (and challenged only by the #1 on my llist) and while as a strategist he left much to be desired, and his end results were poor, he deserves a place in the top-5.

#2:  Belisarius. The often overlooked genious. A magnificent tactician, a good strategist, brought home excellent results. Extremely effective, loved by his men, loyal to his state and leader ...what else can you ask by a general?

...and the #1 goes to...

#1 Alexandros o Megas. The greatest general of all times, according to merit, results, starting point, achievements, tactics and strategy employed. No other military leader combines those.

Yes, I think you are right, my wording was rather vague there. No military leader has managed to actually gain the love of mercenaries, unless he poors mucho moneda in their pockets all the time.

Loved by the people, and his (meaning: the actual Byzantine army he led, additionaly to the mercenaries) men would be more appropriate. What do you think about the other underdog of that list, Epameinondas?

"Sun Tzu was not a general.

There is doubt that he was even a real person, instead of a series of authors.

We have no record of him winning ANY battles."

 

 

Actually he is a general, he is the Wu general Sun Wu and defeated the Chu army in history. But there are much better Chinese generals, tryhan Xin, XiangYu, Huo Qu Bing, Wei Qing, Li Shi Min, Zhao Kuan Yin, Li Jing, Su Ding Fang..

Originally posted by Loknar Didn�t Belisarius massacre a whole stadium of people?

Yes, on the orders of Justinian Belisarius and his colleague Mundus massacred roughly 30,000 people in the hippodrome during the Nika riots. The mob was on the verge of deposing Justinian and the massacre was the only way the Emperor could reassert his authority.

How is Subedei not mongolian,he might not be from genghis tribe but they are the same peoples

Originally posted by honeybee "Sun Tzu was not a general. There is doubt that he was even a real person, instead of a series of authors. We have no record of him winning ANY battles."     Actually he is a general, he is the Wu general Sun Wu and defeated the Chu army in history. But there are much better Chinese generals, tryhan Xin, XiangYu, Huo Qu Bing, Wei Qing, Li Shi Min, Zhao Kuan Yin, Li Jing, Su Ding Fang..

Can you give me book evidence please that staes "we know for a fact that Sun Tzu......"I would appreciate that. None of the books that I have can prove he was a general in the field. Unless you give me evidence that he fought a battle and won then I won;t believe it and neither should you.

Originally posted by Loknar Didn�t Belisarius massacre a whole stadium of people?

 Didnt Caeser wipe out hundreds of thousands if not millions of Gauls?

 Nobody ever seems to hold that against him, the people in Constantinople were rioting, burning the city down, looting everything, I really don't see what else could of been done to restore order. The Blues and Greens were little better than thugs when they got going, it was about time they were taught a lesson or two on whos in charge.

ROBERT E. LEE, AND ROMMEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!