Greatest Military Leaders of all Time

So yeah I mean destroying what was arguably the second best fleet in the world at the time, getting thousands upon thousands killed fighting for 3 mile islands means nothing right?

My apologies for the grammar. I was typing in a hurry, and frankly I didn't care about it at the time. To be honest, Patton probably isn't worthy, I just thought I'd throw him in there. However, I still don't think that was necessary to be ridiculed like I was by CERTAIN people. This last sentence is not to be taken seriously, and is not directed at you, by the way.

It bears little to no relevance in the big picture of WW2. Apart from the Borneo oil fields and the Philippines, there was little to be won. It was hardly even won - the island hopping was disastrous for both the Japanese and the Allies and the actual islands weren't worth anything outside of airfields. Relating back to the OP, there certainly wasn't any great military leaders to come out of it, though you could argue that Yamamoto was a decent leader.

I agree with you on that.

I like this guy, now he's appeasing to my cultural pride . Well done sir.

I don't know enough history to know who the best military leader was. Plus, there are so many aspects and exceptions to cover. It can even be argued that King Leonidas was the best even though he lost and died in the battle of Thermopylae. I would even say even though he didn't achieve victory, he was the winner. (I'm not saying he is the best, just explaining the complexity of the matter.)

I'm not an "America fuck yeah!" person. I just wanted to point that out.

I meant Japanese.

Ok now I am completely lost.

Ah ok. I still don't know why he would think the Japanese killing thousands upon thousands of Americans is a good thing but whatevs.

Okay this guy has been thrown out before, but I'm just getting to him in detail. Helmuth von Moltke, German Field Marshall. This guy did it up right. His career starts with touring the Balkans and Middle East with the Ottoman Army. He then goes on to completely reform the Prussian Army, and turn it into a fighting force capable of beating heavyweights Austria and France. He practically created the German Empire. Anyone who can do what he did deserves a shout out.

Didn't someone named Moltke the Elder already mention him a page back or so? Or was that another thread?

They did, that is why my post says:Okay this guy has been thrown out before, but I'm just getting to him in detail.

Honestly, Khalid ibn al-Walid is the greatest military leader of all time.
Battle of Mu'tah - with approximately 3000 men he was able to force a Byzantine army of over 100,000 to flee. He was a formidable fighter and probably just slaughtered hundreds of soldiers shattering the morale of the Byzantine army.

Battle of Yarmouk - with approximately 20,000-45,000 men he was able to pretty much decimate the Byzantine army of 100,000-400,000 and about 50% of the Byzantine army was six feet under.

I'd also include the modern military leaders, like Napoleon Bonaparte, Eric von Manstein etc...
But, I think that a great leader should also fight on the front lines alongside his men with an equal chance of dying, this was something no modern military leader ( to my knowledge) has done.
Therefore, I must give Khalid ibn al-Walid the title of "Greatest Military Leader of All Time."

Patton.

I was going to say that, dammit.