Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: KS_Al on April 21, 2004, 04:58:12 pm
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I predict some debate about who are the greatest Generals in all of known history
my 1st is Alexander the Great who which used tactics to beat the numerous Persian armies and ended up conquering the whole Persian empire. He cared for his men and after returning from India his water ran out of and of water and i remember reading a passage i will suffer along with my men he threw his own supply of water into the sand and meanwhile he did get back. but ended up with disease and died because of his battle wounds to fight it.
my 2nd is General Giap of the Vietcong forces, you have never heard about this great General he had fought 3 wars and won all of them. 1st he drove the chinese out of Indochina, 2nd he annihilated the French Army in Vietnam and 3rd He drove out the Superpower that had never lost a single war, The United States of America. He learned guerrila warfare from Mao (Chinese Leader) and used attrition and attacked the US army where it hurted the most. He is one of the distingushed Vietnamese generals and tactician in history.Four-star General Vo Nguyen Giap led Vietnam's armies from their inception, in the 1940s, up to the moment of their triumphant entrance into Saigon in 1975.
Possessing one of the finest military minds of this century and even the whole of history, his strategy for vanquishing superior opponents was not to simply outmaneuver them in the field but to undermine their resolve by inflicting demoralizing political defeats with his bold tactics.
This was evidenced as early as 1944, when Giap sent his minuscule force against French outpost in Indochina. The moment he chose to attack was Christmas Eve. More devastatingly, in 1944 at a place called Dien Bien Phu, Giap lured the overconfident French into a turning point battle and won a stunning victory with brilliant deployments. Always he showed a great talent for approaching his enemy's strengths as if they were exploitable weaknesses.
Nearly a quarter of a century later, in 1968 the General launched a major surprize offensive against American and South Vietnamese forces on the eve of the lunar New Year celebrations. Province capitals throughout the country were seized, garrisons simultaneously attacked and, perhaps most shockingly, in Saigon the U.S. Embassy waas invaded. The cost in North Vietnamese casualties was tremendous but the gambit produced a pivotal media disaster for the White House and the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. Giap's strategy toppled the American commander in chief. It turned the tide of the war and sealed the General's fame as the dominant military genius of the 20th Century's second half and one of the brilliant strategic minds in whole history even outwits Mcarthur or Eisenhower or George Marshall.
3rd in my view is Hannibal who crushed the Roman armies one by one on his campaign to Rome. Even though outnumbered in some battles he managed to beat the might Romans and their legions.
4th in view Napoleon Bonaparte.......the Great French General who won many battles and outwited his opponents using the French Guard and the mighty cavalry commanded by his right hand General Ney. He defeated the mighty Austrian Empire and even though retreated from Russia and the defeat of his last battle of Waterloo he still ranks high on the greatest generals in history.
5th One of my favorites of generals are Patton and Rommel two great tank commanders who fought each other in Operation Torch in Africa during WWII. First rommel was known for his tactics in the desert and was nicknamed as the Desert Fox and also Rommel is known for the defense of the coastline of Northern France. For Patton calling upon the iron will and discipline he had instilled in his troops, Patton disengaged elements of the 3rd Army and hurled them northward into the worst winter to descend upon Europe in years. He did this in an attempt to hit the Germans in the flank and relieve Bastogne. Everyone outside the 3rd Army had felt this feat was impossible, but this was where the willingness of the 3rd Army to perform the impossible for their leader paid off. By 5 February 1945, the 3rd Army was back on the offensive all along the Saar front as Patton drove into Germany. Patton's oft-quoted dictum, "Grab 'em by the nose and kick 'em in the ass" was in full play. His tactic was to hit the Germans in the front lines and then drive into their flanks and rear with his armoured units. In so doing, his troops succeeded in cutting off entire German divisions during this advance. Hundreds of thousands of German troops were taken prisoner.
5th was Eisenhower who masterminded the D-day invasion which succeeded but costed many lives from many nations. But in the end it proved Germany was not invincible at all.
6th was Macarthur which he was the Pacific Commanding Officer in the Pacific Theatre in WWII and the Korean War. What got me was the general's view of politics and insubordination and how Truman got him fired.......
7th was Caesar who over came the odds and conquered the Gaul and the rest of the empire. Unluckily he was killed by fellow senators because of his "power" but it lead to a monarchy which lasted about 400 more years.
Anyway any more.....feel free to add the list.
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Caesar?
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Cartman Lee
Attila the Hun
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Originally posted by KS_Al
Alexander the Great...cared for his men
In more ways than one ;7
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(http://www.collectorsauthority.com/Collectibles/Optimus%20Prime%20Bust.jpg)
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B U S H.............*Runs* :nervous:
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Patton, first, last and always.
Besides, to listen to him, he's been all those other anyway.
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Originally posted by diamondgeezer
(http://www.collectorsauthority.com/Collectibles/Optimus%20Prime%20Bust.jpg)
You just caused a lemonade/monitor interface via my nose you bastard.
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General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery
He commanded British forces in Africa in ww2, and as a result ensured my grandfather's mission and survival (along with many of those like him) was successful (he was a marksman btw).
Edit: About optimus... ye he comes a close second.;)
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Originally posted by 01010
You just caused a lemonade/monitor interface via my nose you bastard.
:lol:
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Belisarius
Narses
Aurelian
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Greatest Generals? George Washington for one, I don't care what anyone says, he led the Americans in the Revolutionary War which threw out the world power England at the time. I also agree that Atilla was one of the best as well. FYI, America left Vietnam because they didn't feel it was important anymore, your mr. General guy didn't drive them out. :rolleyes:
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Belisarius - The reason why the Bizantine Empire was so damn feared in his time. The emperor was constantly "demoting" him and giving him the title of general. Suffered a tragic fate in the end.
Alexandre, the great - Conquered from Macedonia (where he was king) to the far reaches of Asia (reached India, China, etc... IIRC). Unfortunatly after his demise, his empire was devided amongst his generals.
And from my country, Nuno Álvares Pereira, who although was not really General in title, but had full authority over the armies that was only below that of the king at his time, he led the Portuguese troops in a battle against the spanish against the anexation of Portugal. Against an army 5 times his, thanks to his tactics, he manage to do the "impossible". After that victory and the whole anexation thing resolved, the king at that time ordered the construction of a monument in the place where the battle took place, Aljubarrota. :nervous:
From these 3, only Belisarius might have lost a battle, as I don't know the totality of his campaigns.
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:lol: Oh god here we go...
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This is subjective of course :D
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Originally posted by PhReAk
Cartman Lee
:lol: :lol:
Hannibal. For 14 years (I thik it was 14) he ravaged the Italian countryside without so much as a reinforcement. Consistantly beat larger, better trained armies.
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Originally posted by adwight
Greatest Generals? George Washington for one, I don't care what anyone says, he led the Americans in the Revolutionary War which threw out the world power England at the time. I also agree that Atilla was one of the best as well. FYI, America left Vietnam because they didn't feel it was important anymore, your mr. General guy didn't drive them out. :rolleyes:
Washington was more a figurehead general than a strategic genius. His presidential record easily overshadows his military one.
If America could have won in Vietnam do you think they would have pulled out so quickly? The Viet Cong did not manage to drive out the US Army because they didn't have to. The war was going nowhere, and Nixon saw it was time to put an end to the whole thing. One could say the Vietnamese achieved victory through playing American politics against them.
Not a general, I know, but Lord (Admiral) Horatio Nelson was probably the most gifted old-time naval commander in history. In the Battle of Trafalgar his fleet conquered a numerically superior French armada with not a single English ship lost. He was without doubt the most successful maritime leader.
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Patton, hands down...
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Han Solo
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Originally posted by Knight Templar
Han Solo
[Moan]
1. General Cornwallis (British)
2. Cao Cao (Chinese - Three Kingdoms)
3. Saladin (Muslim - The Crusades)
If B u s h met Saladin... (Hey! What the heck happened to the freedom of speech?)
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Originally posted by Ghostavo
Belisarius - The reason why the Byzantine Empire was so damn feared in his time. The emperor was constantly "demoting" him and giving him the title of general. Suffered a tragic fate in the end.
From these 3, only Belisarius might have lost a battle, as I don't know the totality of his campaigns.
Yeah, Justinian didn't trust him, and he became suspicious when he returned in triumph (after taking Rome) escorted by German guards. Justinian eventually forced him into retirement.
And he did lose a couple battles in Italy, when Justinian starved him of supplies. If he had been less paranoid Italy would have been conquered a lot sooner.
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Fine, General Veers.
Originally posted by Rampage
If B u s h met Saladin... (Hey! What the heck happened to the freedom of speech?)
Hasn't anyone told you yet? This is a dictatorship. Observe
Shrike likes to **** in the ****.
Watch your language there. // Sandwich
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Hannibal and Sun Tzu. His stuff is still studied today, and while it might seem obvious now, it wasn't then.
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Me.
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Robert E. Lee
How could you forget him? with only 1\3 of the men the north had, he split his forces and defeated the enemy in short times.
Heck, any battle of his is amazing.
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Alexander the Great wins it for me. I really do wonder what would have happened had he not died so early.
I'm surprised Attilla the Hun got a mention and yet Gengis Khan didn't. He was far more successful than Attilla.
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Genghis Khan didn't actually led his armies after he conquered China from what I know, but he built the largest empire ever by one ruler alone.
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Bah. Guderian. He changed the modern warfare.
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Robert the Bruce
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General Specific ;7
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Frederick the Great
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General Motors - from Asterix the Gaul
Top Banana :D
And seriously, probably either Alexander the Great or Ghengiz Khan :)
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Nahh.... General Electric. :p
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Asterix Meets the Goths, IIRC?
Anyway, I'd say Montgomery, Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Rommel were all impressive during WW2. Don't know much about the Eastern Front, though, quite possibly some great Soviet generals on that front.
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Arkantos
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General Freespace! Best Forum....Evar! ;)
Asterix meets the Goths? Sounds like a comic filled with people in Black eyeliner staring meaningfully at each other ;)
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Originally posted by Sandwich
Nahh.... General Electric. :p
Bah!
NORWEB could kick General Electric's ass.
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Originally posted by an0n
NORWEB could kick General Electric's ass.
Especially if they use their two super-light fighters :)
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Originally posted by Flipside
General Freespace! Best Forum....Evar! ;)
Asterix meets the Goths? Sounds like a comic filled with people in Black eyeliner staring meaningfully at each other ;)
Asterix is a classic French comic. Go read it.
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LOL Yes, I know, I mentioned Asterix earlier, along with General Motors ;) I used to love that comic as a kid, but I'd never heard of one called Asterix meets the Goths, it just made me laugh at the visions it bought forth ;)
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Ah. It was one where Asterix and Obelix went to Germany to save Getafix, who was captured from a conference of druids by the Goths. They helped set off a civil war there, which was summed up on a nicely diagrammed page :p
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I seem to recall one about Getafix being captured, the scene I always remember is Julius Caesar standing on a War Gallery in 'Asterix in Britain' and saying 'I came, I saw, and I don't believe my eyes!' LOL
Asterix books are great though, they are like 'Airplane' movies, everytime you read them, you see something that you swear wasn't there last time :)