Who do you think was the greatest general in history? Why?

[A.P. Richelieu]

That is what I thought.
Lots of bravado, but when the game is over you held a pair of Twos, against a Full House...

 

[candy321wolf]

That is what I thought.
Lots of bravado, but when the game is over you held a pair of Twos, against a Full House...

On a more serious note a craftsmen can win 50 battles but only a van Gogh can win 50 battles against a numerically and qualitatively superior foe.

 

[Joe Shearer]

Was he the same General who used Missiles and Drone technology ?

Yes, and no. Most of the drones landed up on PDF, asking questions about Generals who used Missiles and Drone technology.

 

[Kambojaric]

One of those questions which has no real definitive answer. I voted for Subedei as his campaign in Europe especially was impressive but just as convincing arguments can be made for several others on the list.

 

[itsanufy]

Alexander the Great by a wide margin. No doubt about it.

Just we have to remember he won in different terrains from desert to swamps, to mountains. I believe he was the first to introduce a effective method of neutralizing elephants.

 

[sohail.ishaque]

Yes, and no. Most of the drones landed up on PDF, asking questions about Generals who used Missiles and Drone technology.

hahaha... i know i put your pichwara on fire...

 

[Joe Shearer]

Alexander the Great by a wide margin. No doubt about it.

One good reason for saying this would be the very specific ways in which he won, in completely unique fashion, three out of his four great 'set-piece' battles. None of them was like the others, although there was similarity in his tactics of refusing a flank and attacking at an oblique angle, also on the dexterity with which he used his household cavalry as shock troops, backed by the hypaspists, forming a hinge for the huge anvil, the phalanx, on which the cavalry crushed the enemy. We never get the kind of clarity about the battle in Hydaspes as we get of the other three, which is why there are so many conspiracy theories.

Most of Alexander's battles were siege battles, and he had only four set pieces, each a precious gem. It is distinctly comparable in grain and flavour, to Hannibal's great victories at Cannae and at Trasimene, although, honestly, those two were superior in terms of the firm grip that the victor had on the battle at all times. Did not Alexander have that same firm grip? We are too far away to tell, particularly as at all three, Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, Alexander led furious charges that shattered the enemy formations. It is so easy to wonder what might have happened if a stray arrow had caught Alexander in the throat - but it didn't, and he did slice through the Persians.

hahaha... i know i put your pichwara on fire...

Strange that you are the one in flames!

Actually, your post is a curiousity.

My choice was Subodai. As far as Alexander is concerned, I wrote my post to fill out the choice of @Indus Pakistan.

You aren't used to reading English, are you?

One of those questions which has no real definitive answer. I voted for Subedei as his campaign in Europe especially was impressive but just as convincing arguments can be made for several others on the list.

My personal choice as well.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

On a more serious note a craftsmen can win 50 battles but only a van Gogh can win 50 battles against a numerically and qualitatively superior foe.

That was not the case in the few battles I checked.
Also, battles presented as beeing against numerical and qualitatively foes, may be just propaganda.

 

[YoucefZighoud]

Genghis Khan/Subetei
Khalid Ibn Al Walid
Alexander The Great
Napoleon

 

[candy321wolf]

That was not the case in the few battles I checked.
Also, battles presented as beeing against numerical and qualitatively foes, may be just propaganda.

The important word is MAY

 

[Pakistani Fighter]

Tamerlane.
Genghis Khan.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Take your pick.

Mahmood Ghaznavi
M. Ghauri
Khilji

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

The important word is MAY

Yes, and the credibility of any event where sources are scarce is automatically reduced.

 

[God Parshuram]

Hari Singh nalva.

 

[nahtanbob]

Actually IMO it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges to try and compare these generals who lived through different eras, circumstances, challenges, geographies, armies(weapons, tactics, etc. of the time). So it really makes no sense to declare one better than the other(from the list provided above).

With that said, I would pick Hannibal Barca as the earliest general(from this list) to have achieved marvelous feats. His army was made up of mercenaries and various different groups from vassal states of the Phoenicians. In comparison the Romans had a much better uniformly trained and bigger military at their disposal...and yet they suffered losses after losses. Hannibal even managed to encircle a bigger army(the first known occurrence of this) and delivered a crushing defeat. He was so successful that it took a Roman general(Scipio Africanus) to carefully study and use Hannibal's own tactics to defeat him.

I know that Alexander the Great precedes Hannibal(from this list of generals). However Alexander inherited a well trained military from his father Phillip. Also other than the Persian empire, there was no other empire significant enough to challenge Alexander. Once the Persian empire fell, it meant mostly smooth sailing onwards. Darius III was incompetent and was too confident in his superior numbers. This isn't to belittle Alexander's brilliance, it's just that he faced less uphill battles than Hannibal did. He also had a more professional army to command compared to what Hannibal had under his command.

So while I still think it's not valid to compare these generals bcuz it involves a whole lot of different variables...but if I was to pick one I think it should be based on the earliest general who faced the most uphill battles and came out on top...
Based on that criteria I pick Hannibal Barca as the earliest(from this list) to invent tactics brilliant enough to win uphill battles.
It's kind of like how a few ppl independently invented calculus and they are all indeed brilliant for having the ability to do so...but the credit still goes to the one who was able to do it first.

taking an army away for thousands of miles is not easy task in logistics

 

[Rashid Mahmood]

Sword of Allah.