OM’s GMC
Greatest Military Commander poll, Round 4 voting now underway, Alexander is ahead.
Not a big surprise. He did take a bunch of Greeks and conquer the known world, after all. They’re all good. My fave, Nelson, felled on the quarter deck. Kiss me, Hardy!
I’m holding off on my vote, but focusing heavily on Alexander and Caesar.
Be sure to catch the Medievalist on non-violent killing and al-Britain’s anti-Churchillism.
If you’ve found the Medievalist an intriguing blogger, you may be surprised to learn he’s between 20 and 30 and a Yankees fan. I’m going with “male” here because of the hours devoted to learning Nirvana chords.
Hold on. Yankees fan? That’s like voting for Darius!
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 12:22 am on Thursday, July 19, 2007
4 Responses to “OM’s GMC”
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July 19th, 2007 at 2:31 am
There is no doubt that Alexander was a superior battle commander. He understood how to best use the Macedonian army whose tactical system his father perfected but I’m less impressed by his strategic grasp.
At their best, Bonaparte or Wellesley would probably have had Alexander’s lunch.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:24 am
I have to stick with Caesar, because he was not only a brilliant military commander, he was also a consummate politician. He would have had today’s Congress eating out of his hand… or groveling at his feet.
July 19th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
While Patton is my long-time favorite, my husband once told me that if I were a military commander, I’d be Genghis Khan (he swore it was a compliment), so I guess I’ll stick with Genghis (Kerry pronunciation please).
July 19th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Marlborough (John Churchill) was great, winning victories over the greatest military machine of his day that would seem fanciful if they weren’t true…
But I think Alfred the Great is the greatest combination of military and political leader. Utterly overthrown, confined with a few hundred of his followers to an island in the middle of a swamp, he establishes a covert communication network, rallies his demoralised people, raises an army, defeats the Danes, then wins lasting peace by _converting them to Christianity_!
What a general, what a leader, what a man!