Who was the best general in history?

[MightyGiants]

I see we have a few military history buffs, so who was the best general in history?  Why?

• Tweet

[MightyGiants]

On further consideration this topic might be a bit too broad.  How about who was the best ancient times general, the best Civil War general and the best WW 2 general?

[babywhales]

Funny you changed that as I was answering in that format (kind of)


I was going to say from what i have read and I am not a military buff, but from what I have read, the documentaries and the museum exhibits I have seen I would say:

Napolean was the greatest General ever.

Robert E Lee was the greatest American General.

George Washington was second and general Patton was third.

Gangous Khan was the fiercest warrior to ever walk the earth.

[MightyGiants]

I would put Alexander the Great as the best ancient times general.

Stonewall Jackson as the greatest Civil War era general

I would say Patton was the best WW 2 general


BW,

Love the shout out to George Washington.

Does Robert E Lee count as an "American General" if he was fighting against America?

[weeze]

tom jackson was the general of the viginia army UNDER robert e. lee. general winfred scott, the "hero" of the mexican war, enjoyed celebrity status at the time. nobody was a more respected general at the time. he siad that robert e. lee was the greatest military mnd this country has ever produced. at the time i think lee was a captain or maybe a colonel.

[babywhales]

Does Robert E Lee count as an "American General" if he was fighting against America?

True, he did fight for the country well before that though and openly spoke for the unity of the country after the war as president of .
He was offered command of either side, he wrote of the confereracy as "revolution" and spoke down on them, but in the end he choose to defend hi state as attacking it was the one thing he could not do if he took the post with the union that he sided with, oh well.......considering his resources he did very well in the effort. 

 

[ps11yat14]

1. Sun Tzu.  Wrote The Art of War.  2. Bobby Lee.  Greatest battlefield general.  Tactics still studied at West Point.  Failed at Gettysburg when he failed to follow the rules of war by Sun Tzu.

Bill

[MightyGiants]

I would have ranked Lee higher, but the whole Gettysburg battle really kept me from doing that.   What good is a general if you can't trust him from needless getting his army destroyed?   

[LennG]

But Lee's plan was ingenious. Had his other generals followed their leaders commands, we'd be whistling Dixie right about now.
 I think his one downfall at Gettysburg was Pickett's Charge. But, even at that, the Grey broke thru the Union line but just could not sustain it. Had his artillary commander hit the right targets instead of overshooting the entire Union camp, it might have been a different result.

 And had Jeb Stuart made his way around the Union lines as was planned, inst3ead of being stopped by Custer with a small Union force, the Blue would have been rousted and Pickett's Charge would have been a success. Lee's plan was pure genius, but the execution left a lot to be desired.


Anyway, to answer the original question

Julius Caeser
Alexander the Great
William Wallace
Richard the Lionheart
Napoleon
Robert E Lee
William Sherman
George Patton
George Washington

[weeze]

a lot of scholars believe that lee suffered a minor heart attack the first evening at gettysburg. there is also the theory that he may have thought that if he could win there, it was on to washington and then the war would be over and everybody coulod just go home. remember the rebels were coming from the north, the union from the south.
 im pretty well read on this man and i do think he may have been ill at gettysburg. he certainly didnt follow his previous patterns of earlier battles.
 the thing that makes him so noteworthy that when he was outnumbered, which was always, hed split his army and attack a flnak with it. definately not the cconventional thought of "napoleonic" tactics that was accepted at the time. 

[jimv]

Terrific topic!  I know some things about the CW but certainly NOt as muxchb as any of you.  The deciding battle of Gettysburg wasn't really Pickett's Charge; it was the battle for Little Roundtop that saved the Union.  General Chamberlain with his Maine troopers held that ridge.  If they hadn't, it was lights out for the Union.  But, that's really beside the point of this thread.

Greatest American General...Robert E. Lee.  Graduated from WP with the highest grade average ever attained, hero in the Mexican War, WP Commandant & Commander of Confederate Forces.  In addition, he was an expert & efficient tactician.
#2...George S. Patton because of his daring leadership and excellent tactics.

[LennG]

 I just watched ANOTHER show about Pickett's Charge. They basically came away with the theory that the  rail fence lining the Emmittsburg road  was the deciding factor in the entire battle. The Grey were doing OK until they hit this fence that they really didn't plan for. At the fence, they were now in range of the Blue rifles and as the Grey tried to climb over they were simply mowed down under tremendous Union fire. People have suggested that Pickett or any of the Grey should have realized the problem navigating the fence and sent soldiers to destroy it, or, at least, knock sections down. But again, that would have put them in range of the Union rifles and they probably would have been killed trying.
 Also, it would have given away where the Grey were going to try and break thru. As the charge progressed, the Union didn't know where the Grey were heading for, so they just took their chances with the fence. it proved most costly.

 Since we are on the subject, don't know if anyone has been to Gettysburg? We have done it twice and the area of Pickett's Charge is still basically the same as it was those 150 some years ago. Just a great place for all interested in the Civil War.

Jim

 While visiting Gettysburg, we werew facinated with Little Round Top and what Chamberlain did there. Little Round Top was left unprotected and if the Grey ahd gained possession of it, yes indeed, the outcome would ahve been much different. In fact there would not have been a Pickett's Charge. Your Maine troop held their position and finally in a flash of genius, Chamberlain attacked the Grey coming up and routed them.

Don't know if you know this fact, but For his gallantry at Gettysburg, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was given the honor of commanding the Union troops at the surrender ceremony for the infantry of Robert E. Lee's Army at Appomattox

[jimmyz]

Best general of WW2.


That's a tough one as there were so many that stood out.

Patton of course was as courageous as they get.
The Desert Fox was brilliant and earned every bit of his nickname.
Bradley was no field general but he had great organizational skill and his ability to mobilize and supply the war was what ultimately won it on our side.

But one guy who doesnt get enough credit is the guy who invented the blitz.  I'm not talking about Buddy Ryan.  Heinz Guderian.  The blitz is a strategy of armored warfare that is still in use today.

[jimv]

I certainly know that, Lenny.  He is probably Maine's greatet hero.  Ask Bill (Web29) how Chamberlain Ale is.

[MightyGiants]

Len to me Pickett's Charge was a bad idea from the get go.  The Union had numbers, ideal position and were dug in.  The charge simply had no chance to succeed.    To me a lot of brave men were needlessly sent to their death because Lee could not accept the fact that he couldn't win Gettysburg.