Who Are The Most Important Military Leaders in World History and Why?

MSG(P) Michael Warrick — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 21:14:47 -0500

Response by SGT Robert Pryor made Jan 23 at 2020 10:44 PM

SGT Robert Pryor — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 22:44:35 -0500

Genghis Khan because he conquered most of Asia an d Eurasia, plus he has about 16 million direct descendants. Now that's what I'm talking about. He really did get around.

Response by SFC Marc W. made Jan 24 at 2020 10:33 AM

SFC Marc W. — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 10:33:16 -0500

Important or influential?
The ones who execute their vision are important, while those with the vision are just influential.
Semantics I know, but fun never-the-less.

Important to me and influential to me is Major Dick Winters, not only did he have vision, but he also participated and truly led from the front

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 24 at 2020 12:16 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 12:16:17 -0500

This a darn good question. I need to think about this.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jan 24 at 2020 12:24 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 12:24:09 -0500

To me it would be General Patton, and General Abrams

Response by 1SG Steven Imerman made Jan 24 at 2020 12:26 PM

1SG Steven Imerman — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 12:26:41 -0500

King Hezekiah, commander of Jerusalem during the siege of 701 BC. Had Jerusalem fell, Judah and Benjamin would have followed the Ten Lost Tribes into Assyrian exile and, like them, never be heard of again. No "Children of Abraham," which include Jews, Christians, and Muslims. No Judaeo-Christian heritage. Many things would have been different down to Emperor Constantine in the early 4th Century, everything in Europe and the Middle East would have been different after. The importance of Hezekiah is paramount in Western history, had he lost Jerusalem our present world would be vastly different in ways we cannot even begin to imagine or predict.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2020 12:39 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 12:39:40 -0500

This is a big topic, but I will take a stab at it.
Sun Tzu - a man whose treatise "Art of War" is still studied 2000 years later.
Alexander of Macedon - whose use of position and personal courage and audacity allowed him to conquer some of the greatest powers in the world
Hannibal Barca - whose Canae tactic of positional withdrawal in order to produce envelopment was done and redone many times through history.
Temujin (Ghenghis Khan) - whose use of horse born archers harassed and overwhelmed infantry armies throughout Asia
Lord Horatio Nelson - Who patented "crossing the T" in Naval warfare and earned a smashing victory over a superior force.
Carl Von Clausewitz - whose wheel plan to invade France was used not once, but twice and whose ideas of mobility and firepower were highly influential on both the German and American Armies.
Karl Doenitz - whose wolfpack submarine tactics very nearly forced Britain to surrender in WWII

Response by MAJ Byron Oyler made Jan 24 at 2020 2:04 PM

MAJ Byron Oyler — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 14:04:22 -0500

My favorite is General Eisenhower. You take aware his Supreme Commander and he has nothing on paper worth a damn. What he did have is difficult to teach and probably not in any leadership manuals, he had the ability to get people to work together that hated each other and kept them together through extremely tough times. Patton and Monty would have likely enjoyed fighting against each more than being on the same team and Bradley had some hard feelings after command structure changes during the Battle of the Bulge. IKE kept it together and that was no easy task.

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Jan 24 at 2020 4:03 PM

LCDR Joshua Gillespie — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 16:03:39 -0500

Ooo...tough one.

I'll try and break it down by three categories: Strategy, Leadership Style, and overall Success.

Strategy: King David, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, William the Conqueror, Edward II, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Lord Cornwallis, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lord Nelson, Duke of Wellington, Thomas Jackson, William Tecumseh Sherman, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, Dwight Eisenhower, Bernard Montgomery, Chester Nimitz.

Leadership Style: Alexander the Great, Marcus Aurelius, William Marshall, Robert the Bruce, Henry V, Oliver Cromwell, George Washington, Lord Nelson, Napoleon Bonaparte, Robert E. Lee, Jack Pershing, George Patton, Colin Powell.

Overall Success: Julius Caesar, William the Conqueror, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Duke of Wellington, Grant, Eisenhower.