Most Underrated Military Commanders

[Melvin Loh]

My nominations for under-rated military commanders:

Brig Ralph Honner as the CO of AMF and AIF soldiers who pushed the Japs back at Kokoda in 1942, and who were later unfairly critiised by MacArthur and Blamey for not fighting hard enough

Col Bernard Callinan, CO of the 2/2nd Independent Commando Coy on East Timor, whose 400 tough Aussie soldiers conducted a brilliant guerilla war, with the local population's enthusiastic support, against the Japs from after the Japs conquered Timor in March 1942 until early 1943

Col John Graves Simcoe- excellent British Ranger officer and emancipationist during ARW

Sir Gerald Templer- British Army officer who successfully quashed the Malayan Emergency

Chief Joseph, whose Nez Perce warriors outmanouevred and outfought far superior US Army troops attempting to evict them from their beloved Wallowa Valley in Idaho, 1877

Gen Atif Dudakovic- Bosnian Muslim 5th Corps commander in Bihac sector, 1994-95, excellent tactician pitting his lesser-equipped Bosnian govt troops (including Serbs and Croats as well as Bosniacs) against far better armed Bosnian Serbs and preventing the VRS from overrunning the Bihac safe area

Wendell Fertig and Russell Volckmann- US Army colonels in the Philippines after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, who led and organised highly successful and popular Filiipino resistance against the Japs on northern Luzon and Mindanao, until MacArthur's return

and following military commanders whom I've posted on previously:

Cols. Benjamin Grierson and Wesley Merritt, as commanders of the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cav after the ACW, for their highly competent and professional leadership of these superb black soldiers on the Western frontier, and also their excellent service as Union cavalry commanders during the CW

Charles Young- highest-ranking African-American officer in US Army at start of WWI with excellent combat record as Buffalo Soldier in Cuba and the Philippines, forced to resign on grounds of ill health by racist govt and military authorities denying his eligibility to be promoted to general

Oliver Law- Spanish CW commander of the Abraham Lincoln Bn, WWI vet, 1st ever African-American to achieve such a high rank in any army, KIA against Nationalist forces at Brunete 1937

Little Turtle- Miami warchief, whose warriors inflicted the greatest ever defeat on US forces at the Wabash River in 1791, surrounding and annihilating Gen Arthur St Clair's army, killing some 900 American soldiers- but whose name is virtually unknown compared to the likes of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse

 

[Macsporan]

General Vo Nguyen Giap: Victor of over the Imperialist French during the First Indochina War; Victor over the Imperialist Americans in the Second.

 

[MerryPrankster]

Mac's back! Hooray!

 

[Street_Disciple]

John J. Pershing: Pershing was another well liked General who fought his battles with his men in mind. He helped bring an end to WWI cuz he showed the French and British the stupidity of trench warfare. He was also the last General given the honorable title of General of the Armies.

Erich von Manstein: What Erich von Manstein accomplished on the Russian front was 10x as amazing as what Rommel did in N.Africa. In 1941 his lighting run to Vilnus and later Leningrad, then in 1943 his execellently executed "backhand" blow to destroy 3 Soviet Armies and 2000 tanks at Kharkov. And most spectacularly, his "one two punch" which knocked France out of the war in 1940. "Faking" with the same style invasion as in WW1 (through belgium and holland) with his infantry divisions on foot, causing the French to think "Hey we've seen this before!" and rushing their reserves into Belgium, and then his armored divisions appearing "ghost like" at the French army's weakest point, Sedan, and fully flanking and then enveloping the entire front. Purely Masterful. It was like a boxer hitting with his right (WW1) then faking with his right (May 10-11th 1940) and then landing a knock out blow with his left (May 12th-June 1940). Rommel was only a divisional commander (albeit a very good one) and had no such spectacular successes.

Nathanael Greene: Greene develop into an outstanding general shows his learning capacity from errors, even though many of those errors were not his doing. He reminds me of a sponge, a wanting of intellectual absorption. His ‘non-winning’ victory battles in the south are very important military studies. Balancing the outcome of a battle, oftentimes egos become heavily involved, and maintenance of the army are two opposing actions that must continuously be weighed. This ability, whatever it can be called, this balancing, is what should come to mind.

Benedict Arnold: If General Benedict Arnold had not become a traitor he would have been America's greatest general. He built the American fleet on Lake Champlain, fought off the British invasion fleet at Valcour Island, he was the hero at Saratoga. He also came close to making Canada the 14th state.

 

[jenna]

Publius Cornelius Scipio "Africanus" (Roman Republic, 3rd century BC) - Served as an officer in several of the terrible Roman defeats by Hannibal's army in the first years of the second Punic War. Was later put in charge of the Roman forces in Hispania, where he brilliantly outmaneuvered and defeated the Carthaginian forces while convincing many of the native peoples to switch their loyalty from Carthage to Rome. Later he commanded the Roman force that invaded Carthage's home territory in North Africa. He showed his diplomatic skills again by convincing Massinissa, the most influential leader among the native Numidian peoples, to join the side of Rome. At the battle of Zama, his army met Hannibal's head on and achieved the first and only Roman victory over the brilliant Carthaginian commander.
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i second that! Scipio is definitely in my top 5 greatest generals of the ancient world...