Top 10 Most Successful Military Commanders

[PAFAce]

There are only two Generals in history to have fought over a hundred battles of various intensities and gone undefeated. Khalid bin al-Waleed of Makkah and Changez Khan of Mongolia. Not only this, but both were masterful in utterly destroying professional Armies much greater in size, with Changez defeating and conquering all the armies he faced in Asia on his way to the largest empire in history and Khalid defeating Arab, Persian and Roman (Byzantine) forces throughout the Middle East. They were also master tacticians.

Whereas Changez Khan was the supreme commander of the Mongol Army, Khalid bin al-Waleed was not. He served as General under Prophet Muhammad (SAS) and Muslim Caliphs Abu-Bakr Siddeeq (RA) and Umar bin al-Khattab (RA). During Umar bin al-Khattab's Caliphate, Abu-Ubaida (RA) was made the commander of Muslim forces, and Khalid bin al-Waleed served under him (though he still held battlefield command).

On the other hand, whereas Changez Khan was never able to nurture another general like himself (his empire was short lived as hid grandsons weren't as great as he was), under Khalid bin al-Waleed's generalship, Muslim armies were able to nurture many more incredible military leaders (though not quite of the same caliber as Khalid), including Amr bin al-Aas, Qaqa bin Amr, Zarrar Ibn al Azwar etc.

Hence, in my opinion, all such lists should start with 1. Changez Khan and 2. Khalid bin al-Waleed. They should, generally, also include Alexander, Julius Caesar, Napoleon and Salahuddin as they were all both great battlefield commanders as well as supreme leaders of their people.

Just thought I should share this.

 

[DavyJones]

Maharana Pratap is my favourite military commander. Took on the might of the Mughal empire under Akbar. Lost all of his kingdom but gained everything back except his beloved Chittorgarh.
He was a great leader of men - inspired them to great deeds. Even had the support of the Bhil tribals of South Rajasthan. The Coat of arms of Mewar has a Bhil warrior in it.
A chivalrous man he refused to sleep on a bed till he won back Chittorgarh. Sent back a captured Mughal noble's wife and belongings.
Took on the might of the Mughals who ruled over most of present day India and Pakistan with a state the size of Himachal Pradesh.
Even Akbar wept when he heard that Pratap was dead - If an adversary admires you there is no better tribute

 

[PAFAce]

Even Akbar wept when he heard that Pratap was dead - If an adversary admires you there is no better tribute

Thanks, Davy, for the info. You should read up on the relationship between Salahuddin the Merciful and Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade. It's epic. They were adversaries, but has tremendous respect for each other. Once Salahuddin even said that if they hadn't been rivals, he would have married his brother Saifuddin to Richard's daughter.

Salahuddin Yousuf bin Ayyub was chivalry personified. His stories are told all over the Middle East, and he has particular popularity amongst the Arab Christians.

 

[DaRk WaVe]

As far i know he killed himself (correct me if i am wrong). But when he was alive he really was a headache for British army.A great leader.

yes he was convicted in July Plot (which was failed assassination attempt on Hitler) he was given choices either to be executed by Firing Squad or Commit suicide he choose the later option

 

[PWFI]

AND WHERE IS TIPU SULTAN????

Every one know arthur wellesley have defeate NAPoleon in waterloo, but before that TIPU SULTAN have defeted arthur wellesley!

for more information google plese!

 

[Arik]

what about khaild bin waleed victor of 100 battles no defeat sword of allah.



what about muhammed ghori conquer of hind.

Ghor grappled personally with Prithvi Raj Chauhan the king of Ajmer in the first battle of Tarain.He was badly injured and had to flee the battlefield.Legend says that Ghori was actually completely pinned down and had been forgiven by Prithvi much to the disarray of his generals.Thereafter ghori vowed not to eat until he defeated Prithvi Raj.

 

[Arik]

As far i know he killed himself (correct me if i am wrong). But when he was alive he really was a headache for British army.A great leader.

He was killed by Hiltler as he felt he was plotting to dethrone him.But he could not execute him publicly as he was liked by every one.Therefore Hitler and his aides made the entire thing to look like suicide.

 

[Arik]

Havent ever heard about SAMUDRAGUPTA...

some info found on other sites

Samudragupta the Great, ruler of the Gupta Empire (c.AD 335 – 380), and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history. The details of Samudragupta the Great's campaigns are too numerous to recount .However it is clear that he possessed a powerful navy in addition to his army. In addition to tributary kingdoms, many other rulers of foreign states like the Saka and Kushana kings accepted the suzerainty of Samudragupta and offered him their services.



And who can forget the legendary Vikramaditya of Ujjain. He ruled before thousands of years (4000 years),no one in todays world knows much about his conquests.

 

[DeathGod]

Some of the points to ponder over before considering who the best Military Commander is :

1) Where were the battles fought? (Home or Away)

2) What was the posture? (Offensive or Defensive)

3) Was there any number advantage?

4) Was there any technological advantage?

5) Was there any tactical advantage?


When I see generals in the light of above mentioned points only 3 leaders stand out:

1) Alexander The Great

2) Julius Caesar

3) Napolean Bonaparte

 

[Sam_Bajwa]

I think when it comes to desert warfare two military commanders find no match one is Desert fox Erwin Rommel and the other one is his predecessor The lion of the desert Omar Mukhtar

 

[Sam_Bajwa]

Thanks, Davy, for the info. You should read up on the relationship between Salahuddin the Merciful and Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade. It's epic. They were adversaries, but has tremendous respect for each other. Once Salahuddin even said that if they hadn't been rivals, he would have married his brother Saifuddin to Richard's daughter.

Salahuddin Yousuf bin Ayyub was chivalry personified. His stories are told all over the Middle East, and he has particular popularity amongst the Arab Christians.

well we had a chapter about them at school
Great men

 

[AMERICAN WIND]

Hitler, is most undoubtedly listed here in error! One of the most ineffective military commanders in modern history! Many are under the mistaken impression that Hitler commanded the German Armed Forces when it achieved it's greatest victories during first half of war...he wasn't!

When he did assume overall command of the armed forces it was a disaster that accounted for Stalingrad all the way up to the fall of Berlin!

MI-5 and SAS, had been planning an attempt to assasinate Hitler...but it was felt the loss of so many SAS troops(thought inevitable in an assasult on Eagle's Nest) would be too costly and that the war effort would be more effectively aided by simply leaving Hitler alive and in command of the German military!

 

[desiman]

Well if Hitler did not make some stupid decisions later on such as attacking Russia, we would all be speaking German today lol You have to give credit to the guy for what he achieved earlier in the war. Technologies such as the jet engine, the modern submarine, the modern sub-machine gun, Highways, the panzer series of tanks, etc etc were all a result of Hitler’s commitment to innovation. Yes he cannot be forgiven for the huge human rights violations he did but as a military strategist he was quite good until he went mad lol

 

[desiman]

what about khaild bin waleed victor of 100 battles no defeat sword of allah.

what about tariq bin ziyad conquer of spain.

what about Fatih Sultan Mehmet who conquered Constantinople.

what about muhammed ghori conquer of hind.

what about muhammed bin qasim.

what about saad bin waqqas.

and plenty of more great muslims commanders

Sorry bro, its really impossible to include everyone in a top 10 list. Again its subject to debate.

 

[PAFAce]

Hitler, is most undoubtedly listed here in error! One of the most ineffective military commanders in modern history! Many are under the mistaken impression that Hitler commanded the German Armed Forces when it achieved it's greatest victories during first half of war...he wasn't!

He was a great politician, but not a great Commander in Chief. He was, however, gifted with some very talented individuals as subordinate Generals. Without his crack team of Generals, the early Nazi victories would not have been possible.

Unfortunately for Hitler, his counterpart in England was the exact opposite of him, which proved to be very beneficial for the Allies. Churchill was a masterful CinC but not such a great politician.

There are many examples of people who were absolutely brilliant in one aspect of leadership but not-so-much in another, but there are very few that showed the capability to achieve greatness in both (no, Alexander was not one of them). This is why I keep saying, Salahuddin Yousuf bin Ayyub deserves to be in the Top 10 of any such list, he was one of the few people who had mastered both. His Julius Caesar and Ghenghis Khan like political and military leadership ability, but without their ruthless and extravagant personalities, make him the best in my opinion. I would recommend anybody to read about him, regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender.