World's greatest ever General?

Question

Well i have been flicking through the internet and books and have found two names. I also take account personality and how they ruled

1) Genghis Khan

2) Khalid ibn al-Walid ( had over 150 battles as a general)

Both of these guys never lost a battle when they were commanders. Khalid won with with 15000 when the eastern Roman empire had 75000. He was the only one to conquer persia appart from Alexander and Had a great personalty in the since he did no exterminate his prisoners. Genghis Khan also won every battle he was in and was one of the two people to conquer parts of Russia ( the other being Suliman theMagnificentt) but had killing issues.

So i guess we could say Khalid as he was a mix the Khan and Saladin.

What are your thoughts and favorites

Answer 1

Genghis Khan

in modern times

Field marshal Montgomery who outranked Paton he was a Field Marshall until he died He Kicked Rommel out Of North Africa Not Paton

Montgomery retired with Honour

Paton should have tried for war crimes he said and I quote :-

When we land against the enemy, don't forget to hit him and hit him hard. When we meet the enemy we will kill him. We will show him no mercy. He has killed thousands of your comrades and he must die. If you company officers in leading your men against the enemy find him shooting at you and when you get within two hundred yards of him he wishes to surrender- oh no! That b*****d will die! You will kill him General George Paton

He ordered his troops to kill prisoners of war and you call this piece of filth a Hero Eisenhower stopped the investigation ???????

Patton was Fired why ??? his superiors had no respect for him the Americans wanted a hero and picked Paton who Failed as a soldier and as a leader

and he never had an army until after the invasion and don't Quote Sicily he raced to beat Montgomery to the top of the island all Paton did was to draw the Germans away from the real solders Omar Bradly and Montgomery

Don't bother with the thumbs down  because i always expect them when i tell the truth if anything the Russian General that Paton called a Son Of A ***** was a better General He Took Berlin and Paton did not

Answer 2

Robert E. Lee

Answer 3

Forget personality and forget how they ruled.  When judging the greatness of a General you have to judge how much they accomplished, or how much they won or destroyed the enemy.  Good or bad plays no relevance in this discussion.  Any real military history/ military leadership class will tell you that.

Not in any order:

Khan, Napoleon, Patton, Alexander the Great, Hitler, Leonidas.

Keep in mind, on a long enough time scale, all Generals have suffered casualty and loss.  It's just the nature of warfare.  

Armourer,

Patton was fired because he was like a fire axe you find behind glass that says "break in case of emergency".  He's the guy you call in to unleash h**l on the enemy.  He had no compassion for the enemy, and barely any for his own men, he had a nasty demeanor, he had no bedside manner, and he basically spit in the face of the brass above him.  Of all the things he did, its probably the perceived disrespect for authority that got him in the most trouble.  They wanted a proper gentleman, but Patton was more along the lines of a barbarian in their minds.  He is what was needed to get the job done.   All in all, an excellent General though.  His place is secured in history.  And if you look at it closely, a hard nosed General such as Patton would make real headway in Iraq and Afghanistan these days.

Answer 4

Major General Jack O'Neill of course ;P

Answer 5

Napoleon.

Reasons: Montenotte, Lodi, Austerlitz, Hohenlinden, Ulm etc...

He took a country beset by enemies on all sides and conquered all comers.  Sure he invaded Russia, but who hasn't made that mistake?

Answer 6

Patton.  Reasons:  Algeria, Sicily, France, Belgium, Germany.

Not many people can say they have conquered Europe, but he did it.  There were other armies and other commanders, but they we making tea and schmoozing for promotion credit while Patton was out wrecking the Weremacht.  He was the point of the spear and the spear itself.

Edit:  You asked about the greatest General, not the greatest politician.  Slapping is not incompatible with being a great General, in fact, sometimes, it is required.

Answer 7

I've always been a fan of Hannibal of Carthage - perhaps the most clever, tactical and elusive military leader of his time.

Despite lacking the numbers and resources the Romans benefitted from, he frequently mauled, encircled and later eluded them in battle.

In the long run, the Romans eventually wore him down by avoiding direct battles, then finally defeated him by going straight for Carthage itself. Despite his eventual loss, he was grudgingly admired by his enemies.

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What could be said about Patton? A brilliant strategist and one of the greatest generals of our time.

Slapping a soldier isn't the only criticism of him though - he was egoistic, jabbed at allied commanders (a bad thing to do when fighting as part of a coalition) and insisted on ordering excessive dress and grooming standards - neckties, shaved faces and clean jeeps were a hindrance for some combat soldiers.

He was also responsible for the Task Force Baum debacle, in which he ordered an imprudent, risky and secret raid to liberate a POW camp where his son-in-law was held. After the order to do it was refused, he went down the chain and ordered it again without consulting Eisenhower. The resulting raid was a colossal failure, resulting in all of the vehicles lost and almost all the men involved being killed or captured.

Answer 8

In modern warfare, General Patton.  West Point, Class of 1909.  

Great military leader, but also was central to the development of the use of Armor in mobile combat.

Answer 9

Mc Arthur

Answer 10

That would easily be Alexander the Great, no one even comes close. Who would be the second greatest general? That would be debatable, between either Genghis Khan, Napoleon or Hannibal.

Alexander the Great established the Roman Empire that every Roman general after him would lose a little piece of. Genghis Khan having a great personality? He wanted to exterminate the Chinese, it was a lesser general that convinced him that "live Chinese pay better taxes than dead ones" and Alexander knew how to truly inspire.

Answer 11

Patton.

Commanded Tanks

Answer 12

Alexander the Great