Greatest generals in history. . .

Shogun

Shogun

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lesser known option, "The Lion of the North" Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

Gustav II Adolf (9 December 1594 – 6 November 1632, O.S.); widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus or as Gustav II Adolph,[1] or as Gustavus Adolphus the Great (Swedish: Gustav Adolf den store, Latin: Gustavus Adolphus Magnus, a formal posthumous distinction passed by the Riksdag of the Estates in 1634); was the King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632 and is credited as the founder of Sweden as a Great Power (Swedish: Stormaktstiden). He led Sweden to military supremacy during the Thirty Years War, helping to determine the political as well as the religious balance of power in Europe.

He is often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time, with innovative use of combined arms.[2] His most notable military victory was the Battle of Breitenfeld. With a superb military machine with good weapons, excellent training, and effective field artillery, backed by an efficient government which could provide necessary funds, Gustavus Adolphus was poised to make himself a major European leader, but he was killed at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. He was ably assisted in his efforts byCount Axel Oxenstierna, the Lord High Chancellor of Sweden, who also acted as regent after his death.

In an era characterized by almost endless warfare, he led his armies as king from 1611 (at age 17) until his death in battle in 1632 while leading a charge—as Sweden rose from the status of a mere regional power and run-of-the-mill kingdom to one of the great powers of Europe and a model of early modern era government. Within only a few years of his accession, Sweden had become the largest nation in Europe after Russia and Spain. Some have called him the "father of modern warfare",[3] or the first great modern general. Under his tutelage, Sweden and the Protestant cause developed a number of excellent commanders, such as Lennart Torstensson, who would go on to defeat Sweden's enemies and expand the boundaries and the power of the empire long after Gustavus Adolphus' death in battle.

He was known by the epithets "The Golden King" and "The Lion of the North" by neighboring sovereigns. Gustavus Adolphus is commemorated today with city squares in major Swedish cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg and Helsingborg. Gustavus Adolphus College, a Lutheran college in St. Peter, Minnesota, is also named for the Swedish King.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavus_Adolphus_of_Sweden
 
TravexdaGod

TravexdaGod

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Futuristic Eskimo said:
Von Manstein, Guderian and Rommel were better than all of those guys.
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They were good (Kesselring too), but I don't think that they were great. Von Manstein and Rommel especially tend to be overrated.

Marshall oversaw the expansion/training and deployment of America's forces, selecting the right generals for the various theaters of war against Germany (successfully for the most part), advised and supported FDR in Allied military conferences, pushed heavily for the priority and planning of the Cross-Channel invasion, and played a large role in sorting out the global strategy of defeating Germany first while building up the naval forces to combat Japan. As a strategist and organizer, he's very good.

Eisenhower had to meld, command, and oversee a multinational alliance into an effective and victorious fighting force and with all the egos, national rivalries, differing strategies/perceptions and other troubles involved. At times, he had to intervene and make his own decisions. As an organizer and as a boss, he was very effective. That was a job that no ordinary military Joe could do.

Zhukov played a large role in the defeat of the Germans, especially in planning and conducting important battles at Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, Bagration, the Battle of Berlin and those massive Soviet offensives. He also gave the Soviet Union control of the Eastern half of Europe for nearly 50 years. Certainly no simple accomplishment and very impressive when having to deal with a hands-on leader like Stalin who would as soon have you purged for incompetence or because you were a little too successful and thus a threat to his power, the bulk of the German army at the peak of their strength who want to kill you because they believe it's their cultural mission, and leading a Red Army in the days when it was a confused, rigid, inexperienced army.
 
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