Greatest Military Leaders of all Time

Actually, if I recall correctly, Sun Tzu was one of those rare generals who never lost a battle.

A great tactician = A great military leader.

You know when to advance when to retreat when to fight and when to withdraw.

Taking everything into account, I'd say politically, socially and military Julius Ceasar is my for-most choice. Other ones; Napoleon, Sun Tzu etc

I tie Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte as the greatest military leaders of all time. Not because they ruled over large pieces of territory but how they commanded their troops in war and also how they created Empires when before their nations were not powerful at all.

FREDERICK THE GREAT!!!

A great general yes, A great military leader- depends on what you classify a military leader

theres a quote i cant remember now and dont wanna look it up (i think its Sun Tzu) that goes: If you have good strategy but bad tactics you will win the war but at a great cost and a long time, If you have great tactics but bad strategy you will win battles but loose the war.

So if a military leader is a just a general of sorts, then tactics are all that matter, if its a leader of a nation in war or something like that, then strategy also matters.

Personaly i dont think you can say anyone is the best military leader of all time as they all faced diffetrent challenges, eras, technology, pcychology (of troops mainly), studied differnt generals (if they studied to be military men).... So in my opinion there is too much to ignore for one to say one man is the greatest military leader of all time.

Have you read the Art Of War... in the manuscript there are chapters detailing how an overarching plan is neccesary how political stability is vital. He was a genious he had a plan for every situation and could adapt quickly, he was great when it came to logistics and his army was never underprovisioned. On the battlefield he could beat any army from his era. Like Lee or Alexander the Great he did a large amount with very little. He won a war that seemed unwinnable in a short time and with very little cost to his own troops.

yes i read Art of War by Sun Tzu, i didnt say he didnt do all this, dont see why you are attacking me (not literaly of course i jsut dont know another word). In fact, i wasnt even talking about Sun Tzu. All i said is that a good tactian doesnt necessarlily make a good military leader.

P.S. If anything i comlimented Sun Tzu, jeez.

I agree good tactian doesn't make them a good military leader. I admit it is a large piece to the puzzle, but there are other things needed politics, economics, government, etc. Hannibal is a perfect example, he will win the battle but not the war. Also there is how long your empire lasts when you are gone, just look at Genghis Khan.

Chukov for kicking the entire German armies asses when Stalin pulled off the "Soviet Steamroller" into the balkans and right up Hitler's Nazi old ass.

Alexander The Great for pulling off massive successes agaisnt the Persians and having an empire about twice the size of the Persians.

Erwin Rommel for pulling off his successes in Africa and Europe, minus his mistake during D-Day.

Gengis Khan because hes fucking awesome.

I second Genghis Khan.

Only reason soviet generals are considered better in WW2 than western generals at the time, is simple.

If you know a slightest thing about command structure you will find out that in every western country: officers,majors and colonels micromanage (do the tactics) while generals think on more on strategic terms. In soviet union the command structure was a total fuck up. Everything had to be asked from the superiors and most of the time even the smallest movements by officers had to be asked from the general, and generals had to ask if they can use reinforcements etc from STAVKA! And that took precious time. zhukov did get more freedom from stavka but he still had this fucked up command structure. He won, but it costs many many lives because of this.

Edit. CAN somebody please tell me, why Rommel is considered a better commander than Patton! @slydessertfox can you explain?

Im not an expert or Rommel or Patton, but I would guess it's because Europeans be hatin that an American general is actually great. In all seriousness though, I have no idea.

Haters gonna hate.

Changed my mind, it's this dude:

I agree. Just look at him. The steely look in his eyes. He just looks like a great general.

Stoner Philippino, the greatest general of all time.

No no no he is called PoM.

Patton: For being a badass