Your Favorite Historical General

[Sir Suomi]

Just curious to see who everyone's favorite general is, and why? Personally, mine would have to be George S. Patton. He helped establish the United State's first Tank Division, and served in both World War I and World War II. He served throughout Europe, whether it be in Northern Africa, Italy and Sicily, Normandy, France, and the German homeland. As a leader, he had questionable moments, yet he still knew how to inspire and lead his men to victory. We lost a great man when he later died in a car crash soon after V.E Day.

[Ghareth]

Robert E. Lee

[Cygnus]

Hannibal Barca, the famous Carthaginian general who came really close to defeating the roman empire with daring tactics and extreme routes.

[TheBigUnit]

zhukov,

[Krash9]

Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington, Field Marshal, Statesman, Irishman. Perhaps the greatest general of all time.

[Harry Smith]

If I wanted someone to lead my army then I would have to pick Napoleon, he was one of the greatest field marshals of all time. Not only was he a very good tactical commander but he understood strategy and more importantly politic.

But if I wanted a staffer then I would have to pick Erich von Manstein, he pretty much planned the invasion of France which was the greatest Victory in Military History. Saying that I'm also a big fan of Heinz Guderian - he was arguably the best tank commander of the war, from any side. He was a visionary who wrote several books on the theory of armored warfare, but also was one of the best practioners of those theories. His performance as the Chief of Staff was also very good at the end of the war.

In regards to the OP I'm also slightly skeptical about any allied generals especially in the later years of the war because they had it so easy over the remains of the jerry army which was left in France in '44, combined with the fact that they 100% air superiority and about 25x more supplies

[Krash9]

harry, why do you handicap allied generals but not Napoleon who had superior numbers and supplies for most of the peninsular war?

[Harry Smith]

harry, why do you handicap allied generals but not Napoleon who had superior numbers and supplies for most of the peninsular war?

Because Napoleon wasn't facing 18 year polish conscripts, Napoleon developed the use of artillery more effectively, introduced the civic code which is still used and defeated a combined Austrian and Russian force at the Battle of Austerlitz

[Krash9]

werent Napoleon's early victories against partisans and rioters and not exactly the trained soldiers he fought later ...

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

Andrew Jackson, one of the best American Generals in the War of 1812. He was the garrison commander in New Orleans when the city was besieged by the British, and was vastly outnumbered by the British. The Garrison consisted of about 1.000 men, while the British forces numbered about 11.000 veteran soldiers.

They didn't know who they were dealing with. They underestimated Jackson's devotion (and badassery) and the morale of his troops. Jackson started conscripting people in a ragtag army. In the end, he had about 4.000 men, only 1.000 of which were real soldiers. The rest of his band was made up of pirates, freed slaves, and a few dozen witch doctors. That alone should make him one of the most awesome people in history.

The British thought they would take the city with little resistance, so they set up camp about 10 miles south of the city, preparing to attack the city in the morning. When Jackson got word of that, he said something along the lines of: " I will not let them sleep on our land. " So, he took all those pirates and witch doctors, along with some real soldiers, and attacked the British encampment which had about 2.000 men. He scattered them and well, basically won the battle then and there.

After that, the British tried to punch through the defenses of New Orleans, and failed terribly. Every single time. Jackson's defenders also managed to kill the two British generals who commanded the attacking forces, so that was an additional blow to an already wavering army.

Then the British tried something new. They started an amphibious assault on Fort St. Philip, which was pretty close to the city itself, but there was no actual battle because the British were too scared of Jackson. They bombed the fort instead, but the Americans didn't give a damn. After a couple of days, the British got tired of loading cannonballs, so they packed up and left for Alabama.

That's why his face is on a 20$.

[LouBerry]

John Sedgwick. Simply because his last words were: "Don't worry, they couldn't hit an elephant from this dist-". And then he was shot.

[dingo006]

Andrew Jackson, one of the best American Generals in the War of 1812. He was the garrison commander in New Orleans when the city was besieged by the British, and was vastly outnumbered by the British. The Garrison consisted of about 1.000 men, while the British forces numbered about 11.000 veteran soldiers.

They didn't know who they were dealing with. They underestimated Jackson's devotion (and badassery) and the morale of his troops. Jackson started conscripting people in a ragtag army. In the end, he had about 4.000 men, only 1.000 of which were real soldiers. The rest of his band was made up of pirates, freed slaves, and a few dozen witch doctors. That alone should make him one of the most awesome people in history.

The British thought they would take the city with little resistance, so they set up camp about 10 miles south of the city, preparing to attack the city in the morning. When Jackson got word of that, he said something along the lines of: " I will not let them sleep on our land. " So, he took all those pirates and witch doctors, along with some real soldiers, and attacked the British encampment which had about 2.000 men. He scattered them and well, basically won the battle then and there.

After that, the British tried to punch through the defenses of New Orleans, and failed terribly. Every single time. Jackson's defenders also managed to kill the two British generals who commanded the attacking forces, so that was an additional blow to an already wavering army.

Then the British tried something new. They started an amphibious assault on Fort St. Philip, which was pretty close to the city itself, but there was no actual battle because the British were too scared of Jackson. They bombed the fort instead, but the Americans didn't give a damn. After a couple of days, the British got tired of loading cannonballs, so they packed up and left for Alabama.

That's why his face is on a 20$.

two things, 1. the Battle of New Orleans, fought AFTER the peace treaty was signed so it was a completely useless level of bloodshed.(Sherman anyone?) 2. The Americans gave up the war and sued for peace to alleviate the Brit blockade. So your best general was on the losing side of a war?

[PinkFloyd]

Here's a hint: He shares a first name with me!

[Professional Russian]

George S Patton

[Cygnus]

Here's a hint: He shares a first name with me!

Rob Stark? From Game of Thrones?!?!?!?

[Krash9]

Rob Stark? From Game of Thrones?!?!?!?

I have won every battle, but somehow I'm losing the war - Robb Stark

[Daracon]

Julius Caesar

[Matthew westmoreland]

Five star army General Westmoreland he was my uncle
R.I.P

[Sir Suomi]

John Sedgwick. Simply because his last words were: "Don't worry, they couldn't hit an elephant from this dist-". And then he was shot.

That made me laugh so hard I my mom came downstairs and thought I was choking :lol:

[Abyssal Echo]

Patton

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

two things, 1. the Battle of New Orleans, fought AFTER the peace treaty was signed so it was a completely useless level of bloodshed.(Sherman anyone?) 2. The Americans gave up the war and sued for peace to alleviate the Brit blockade. So your best general was on the losing side of a war?

So did Napoleon, Robert E. Lee and Hannibal Barca. They're some of the most respected generals in history, aren't they?

Also, it doesn't matter much that they signed a treaty. Hostilities still continued, and the treaty itself wasn't ratified till after the Battle of New Orleans. What was Jackson supposed to do? Let the British take the city? He did his job.

[LouBerry]

That made me laugh so hard I my mom came downstairs and thought I was choking :lol:

Heheh, I do what I can.

[Stronk Serb]

Commandant Sava Kovacevic.
During the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia, he was in the partisans fighting for the freedom of the people. He died at the Sutjeska offensive while protecting the partisan hospital. He tried to lead a charge to break the encirclement, but he failed. The partisan high command knew that chances of survival were small, and Sava knew that also, yet he charged at the Germans numbering up to 90000 men. The fact that he held the hospital for almost a month was amazing, due to him having only 6000 men.

[Ace of Spades]

George S Patton

[Harry Smith]

werent Napoleon's early victories against partisans and rioters and not exactly the trained soldiers he fought later ...

Nope. you've got it the wrong way round :P He fought the Italians, Austrians and Russians first to create puppets in the west. It was only when he attacked Spain that he had to fight against partisans. He defeated a much larger Austrian and Russian force as I mentioned before as well as the battle of Egypt. Napoleon was a brilliant general

[Left Now]

Sourena the Parthian General and also Sultan Saladin Ayyub and also Shah Abbas

[Krash9]

Nope. you've got it the wrong way round :P He fought the Italians, Austrians and Russians first to create puppets in the west. It was only when he attacked Spain that he had to fight against partisans. He defeated a much larger Austrian and Russian force as I mentioned before as well as the battle of Egypt. Napoleon was a brilliant general

I dont tho. he fought in the revolution in Corsica (led a riot against french troops) and even failed to capture La Maddalena then Napoleon was driven from Corsica by the Corsican partisans and royalists early in Napoleon's career.

[Left Now]

Who knows Sourena?