History's Greatest Military Geniuses and Wartime Leaders

Miltiades led the heavily outnumbered Athenians to victory over the Persians at the battle of Marathon.

Made famous by a 2006 film, Leonidas fought the Battle of Thermopylae with 300 Spartans against a massive Persian army, ultimately losing but becoming legends.

Themistocles won the naval Battle of Salamis despite being heavily outnumbered by the Persian navy. He timed the battle in such a way that forced the Persians into narrow channels, and then the Greeks rammed and sank the tightly packed enemy fleet.

The Macedonian King conquered Greece, which he then handed to his son, who would come to be known as Alexander the Great.

The famous leader overthrew the Persian Empire, establishing a vast empire of his own, spanning from Greece to Egypt and India.

Qin Shi Huang unified China, became its first emperor, and built the Great Wall.

Using cutting-edge tactics, the famous general won many battles, including the Battle of Cannae, one of the worst defeats in Rome’s history.

Scipio defeated Hannibal at Zana, securing the strength of the Roman Empire for centuries to come.

The leader of Rome Conquered Gaul, earning him tremendous fame and support from the Roman people, enough so that he was able to declare himself dictator of Rome. The power he attained eventually cost him his life, as he was assassinated by the members of the Senate.

Marcus Agrippa won the Battle of Actium against Anthony and Cleopatra’s fleet, solidifying Octavian’s control of Rome.

The famous conqueror hastened the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Flavius Belisarius retook much of the Mediterranean territory that had been lost by the disintegrated Western Roman Empire.

The general was undefeated in more than 100 battles against the Byzantines, the Persians, and others.

Charlemagne conquered much of Europe and established what would become the Holy Roman Empire.

The Norman king won the Battle of Hasting against the Anglo-Saxons, which led the Norman conquest of England.

Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar used innovative tactics to defeat Moorish and Christian armies.

The legendary sultan defeated multiple crusader armies and ruled a kingdom spanning close to 800,000 square miles at its peak.

Genghis Khan built the largest contiguous empire in history. Geneticists discovered that one in every 200 males alive today is the Mongol leader’s descendant.

Alexander Nevsky defeated invading Teutonics at the Battle of Ice.

The English king conquered Wales and defeated Scotland’s William Wallace at the battle of Falkirk.

Arguably the most famous woman to take up arms for her country, Joan’s vision compelled her to fight the English in the Hundred Years War, commanding forces in more than a dozen engagements, winning many.

The “father of conquest” conquered Constantinople and dismantled the Byzantine Empire.

Cortes and conquistadors numbering in the hundreds (with the advantage of superior weaponry and a smallpox outbreak) decimated the Aztec empire with warriors in the hundreds of thousands and conquered Mexico.

Suleiman the Magnificent expanded the borders of the Ottoman Empire to North Africa.

Francis Drake helped defeat the Spanish Armada by launching an early attack at Cadiz in 1587 and then participating as second in command in the decisive battle a year later.

The leader won the battle of Sekigahara and unified Japan, becoming the first shogun of the Tokugawa era that would last more than 250 years.

The Swede is credited as a key innovator in the development of the modern army.

Cromwell defeated royalist forces with his “ironsides” cavalry, ensuring the existence of England’s parliament.

The Count of Saxony won the Battle of Fontenoy and is credited with innovating a variety of military training and tactics.

His guerrilla warfare and key victories, such as at Yorktown, ensured independence and formation of the country, which eventually named him as its first president.

Another tactical innovator of the era, Frederick the Great expanded Prussia’s borders.

The famous short-statured military genius came as close as any to conquering the whole of Europe — twice.

In a battle that cost him his life, the British naval legend defeated the Napoleon-aligned French and Spanish forces at the Battle of Trafalgar

The Russian field marshal’s victory at the battle of Borodino decimated Napoleon’s forces.

The Duke of Wellington handed Napoleon his most famous defeat, at Waterloo.

Simon Bolivar freed vast lands by way of revolution from Spanish rule. These lands would become more than half a dozen South American countries.

A military genius whose innovations in army mobility, training, and weapons made the Zulu army a formidable force.

The brilliant commander who gave the outnumbered Confederacy a chance is still an icon throughout the South

Jackson was responsible for one of the most decisive Confederate victories at Chancellorsville. His death just two years into the war, believed to be the result of accidental friendly fire, dealt the Confederacy a grievous blow.

In his famed march to the sea, Sherman led a campaign of “total war,” capturing Atlanta and dealing a series of catastrophic blows to the Confederacy.

Grant’s success at Chattanooga, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and other places solidified him as the right choice to lead the Union army and eventually led to his election as the 18th U.S. president.

Geronimo’s use of guerrilla tactics helped the legendary leader stay one step ahead of the U.S. army for more than two decades.

Despite being heavily outnumbered, Louis Botha won upset victories against the British at Colenso and Spion Kop.

Togo defeated the Russian fleet at the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War.

The founder of modern Turkey repelled the British invasion of Gallipoli and went on to lead the fight for Turkish independence, becoming its first president.

The German commander of the Eastern Front during World War I, von Hindenburg won a decisive victory at the Battle of Tannenberg against a much larger Russian force

The subject of the film “Lawrence of Arabia,” T.E. Lawrence led the Arab revolt that was instrumental in the defeat of Turkey during World War I.

In East Africa, the German commander used guerrilla tactics to frustrate an army of 100,000 with only 15,000 troops.

Considered by many to be the best general on the Western Front during World War I and at the time of the cutting edge of military strategy, he opted to abandon outdated British tactics, utilizing all of the weapons at his disposal.

Von Manstein was the architect of Germany’s stunningly quick takeover of France, which earned him promotion to general. He did not fare quite so well at the battle of Stalingrad.

Yamamoto was the mind behind the attack on Pearl Harbor. He recognized the fact that battleships were the way of the past and carrier-based aircraft the way of the future.

Spruance led the American Navy to victory at the battle of Midway, sinking four Japanese carriers and turning the tide of War in the Pacific.

The “desert fox” proved one of the most formidable Nazi commanders, using tanks to hand the Allies numerous defeats in North Africa.

The controversial leader who once slapped two of his own men was also instrumental in the retaking of France.

Vasily Chuikov’s indefatigable defense of Stalingrad marked the turning point in the war. He would go on to assist in the capture of Berlin.

Another future president of the United States, Eisenhower commanded the Allied invasion of Normandy and oversaw the defeat of Germany’s Western Front.

The newly-appointed Supreme Commander of the Pacific in the Southwest Pacific Area vowed to return to the Philippines in 1942 after Japan took over the islands. He was able to keep his promise two years later, winning the Medal of Honor in the process.

As chief of staff and later as defense minister during the Six-Day War, Moshe Dayan led Israel to victory over the combined strength of its neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, which also had additional support by other nations.

Mao Zedong used guerrilla warfare to defeat the Japanese invaders and then the Chinese Nationalist army, which was four times the size of his own, establishing Communism in China and becoming the party’s first chairman.

Vo Nguyen Giap defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu, and his brilliant strategy and logistics defeated the South Vietnamese and Americans two decades later.