Military: The Greatest Military Strategists in History

History is full of famous military strategists. Generals, kings, captains, emperors, commanders, or sometimes even simple officers have managed to mark their era thanks to their military genius. In this article, we will profile three of the most well-known military strategists.

Summary:

• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Julius Caesar
• Genghis Khan

Napoleon Bonaparte is unquestionably part of the list of the greatest strategists of all time. Adored or hated, the least we can say is that Napoleon Bonaparte leaves no one indifferent. Born in Ajaccio, Corsica on August 15, 1769, he was educated in a military school on the mainland and was quickly appointed artillery second lieutenant. In 1793, Napoleon Bonaparte began building his legend by successfully driving the English out of the city of Toulon. He was then entrusted with command of the Italian campaign during which he won numerous victories between 1796 and 1797. His reputation began to grow throughout Europe. It was during the Egyptian campaign in 1798 that he experienced his first setbacks.

After a second military campaign in Italy, Napoleon Bonaparte had himself named Emperor of the French on May 18, 1804. Everyone knows the rest of the story. Napoleon launched his Grande Armée toward Austria and won his greatest victory at Austerlitz. The French emperor then conquered numerous territories. The Empire reached its peak in 1811. This series of victories came to an end with the Russian campaign which led to his abdication in 1814. Exiled on the island of Elba, the French emperor returned one last time to fight, but abdicated once again (and for good this time) after the famous defeat of his Army at Waterloo. Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1821 on the island of Saint Helena. Despite his defeats, Napoleon Bonaparte remains nonetheless the greatest military strategist in French History.

Famous figure of the Roman world, Gaius Julius Caesar distinguished himself through the finesse of his tactics as well as his mastery of the different types of combat known at the time: urban warfare, night battles, war of attrition, counter-guerrilla warfare, sieges, and naval warfare.

What makes him so famous even in our time is obviously the Gallic Wars and his victory against Vercingetorix and his troops, despite being numerically superior, at Alesia in 52 BC.

Genghis Khan is considered by many as the greatest conqueror of all time. Founder of the Mongol empire, he managed to unite several nomadic tribes from Central Asia and East Asia under a single nation. A legendary figure, Genghis Khan was both a military and political strategist.

The success of the unprecedented expansion of the Mongol empire was due in part to Genghis Khan's charisma, but also to the application of iron discipline in his ranks. The punishments applied to the warriors of his Army were particularly severe, but also collective. For example, if a unit composed of 10 men fled in the middle of battle, then the entire division it belonged to was put to death, that is 100 men. Genghis Khan maintained order in his Army and terror among the enemy. Indeed, the conquest of new territories was generally accompanied by large-scale massacres of civilian populations. By leaving survivors to tell the stories of these bloody battles, fear spread, so much so that some peoples chose to surrender without fighting!

Other military strategists, more or less famous, have also marked History with their genius and their victories on the battlefield or on the seas: Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Hideyoshi, William the Conqueror, Takeda Shingen, Admiral Horatio Nelson, Sun Tzu, etc. All these conquerors revolutionized, through their audacity or their visionary spirit, "the art of war".

And for you, readers, which military strategist would deserve to get first place in this ranking?

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