Who are your country's best-known (historic) military leaders?

Pompey was born in Italy, in what was then Picenum, and is now the province of Marche. He founded Pamplona when he was in Spain putting down rebels.

Spain can claim Emperor Trajan, who won wars against the Dacians, Arabians, and Parthians, and who was born in Italica.

There was also Emperor Theodosius the Great, who was born in either Italica or Coca, and who defeated the Goths and won a civil war (and also made Christianity the religion of the empire.)

I’m struggling to think of the names of any specifically Canadian historical military leaders. Lots of Brits and French leaders who fought in Canada, of course - Wolfe and Montcalm, Brock, etc.

**Spain: ** Partly because of the movie, El Cid is probably still the Spanish military leader most famous in the USA. After that… it may depend whetehr we count the conquistadores of the New World as “militiary leaders.” If we do, then Hernan Cortes is certainly mighty famous here.

Off the top of my head: William the Silent, his sons Maurice and Frederik Hendrik of Nassau (who led the sieges of Breda, Hulst, Maastricht and other major fortress-cities,) William’s other son Justin of Nassau, all of the House of Orange/Dutch Republic.

From France: d’Albret, Turenne, Montmorency, Gaspard de Coligny…

From England: many of Elizabeth’s courtiers were military commanders: Leicester (Robert Dudley,) Essex (Robert Devereux,) Cumberland (George Clifford, the admiral who captured San Felipe del Moro in Puerto Rico.) From the English Civil War: Oliver Cromwell, of course, and William Waller and Arthur Haselrig on the Parlimentarian side, and Prince Rupert of the Rhine on the Royalist side…

Italy: Ambrosio Spinola is the first to come to mind, although he fought for Spain primarily…

Sir Arthur Currie? He rose to command the Canadian Corps in World War I. There was also Sam Hughes, who wasn’t really a great general, but he was certainly an interesting guy (He had commanded militia during the Fenian raids, and then when the Boer War started, convinced the Canadian government to send troops over there, which he led. He spent most of his time in South Africa lobbying to get the Victoria Cross, and finally got sent back to Canada because the British generals couldn’t stand him. Then when World War I broke out, he tried to organize volunteer units in Quebec, which was a disaster, because he hated Catholics and the French. He then, as Minister of Militia and Defence, refused to supply the troops with anything not made in Canada (It wasn’t until 1916, when purchasing decisions were taken from him, that the Canadian made Ross Rifles, which tended to jam in the trenches, were replaced by British made Lee-Enfields.)

You forgot Gilbert, the Marquis Lafayette, who was simultaneously a Field Marshall in the French army and a Major General in the US Continental Army.

Off the top of my head… (brits, that is)

Duke of Wellington
Admiral Lord Nelson
Sir Frances Drake
Sir Walter Raleigh
Field Marshal Montgomery
Oliver Cromwell

Do Royals who led from the front count? In which case…
King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart)
Henry V

Does Winston Churchill count? He was First Lord of the Admiralty back in the day.

There are lots of Canadian leaders, but they don’t have the same name recognition. Everyone knows who Wolfe was; Sir Arthur Currie and Sam Hughes, I’m ashamed to admit, I’d have to look up.

Since Churchill only saw actual combat as an infantryman in the Boer wars, I don’t think so.

Mythical

Cú Chulainn

Ancient

Brian Boru

Modernish

Wellington :smiley: :wink:

Michael Collins

Éamon de Valera

Any of the signatories of the Proclamation of Independence who fought and died.

Tom Barry

I couldn’t name any member of the Irish Army since 1932 if my life depended on it. I suppose that’s a good thing really IYKWIM

Aleksandr Nevsky and Peter the Great probably come to mind sooner.

Dunno if he actually said that, but I couldn’t resist. :smiley:

You gave up the right to claim Wellington when you got independence. Pretty sure it’s in the Anglo-Irish Treaty. :smiley:

I actually watched a History Channel prog only last night about Waterloo. The guy they had playing Wellington in the re-enactments had a pretty strong Irish accent. I highly doubt the actual man did.

off the top of my head,

Hungary: Attila, Árpád, Dozsa György, Hunyadi János, Kinizsi Pál, Dobó István, Rákoczi Ferenc

Albania: Skanderbeg

Yes, I know, Attila pre-dated the country of Hungary, but he hung out here quite a lot and the locals definitely claim him as one of their own.

Hmm… maybe. I guess when I see “military leaders,” i try to think of generals and warriors, rather than monarchs. But Nevsky was BOTH, of course, and he inspired a great movie with a fantastic soundtrack.

Nevsky probably belongs higher on the list than Zhukov.

Well, no. As a junior cavalry officer in the Sudan. Ol’ Winston did participate in what may have been the last cavalry charge made by the British Army, if you don’t count the Palestine Campaign in WWI and some mounted skirmishing and the destruction of the Indian Cavalry Division on the Western Front in 1914-1918. Churchill was a newspaper correspondent during the Boer War, not a serving soldier.

Not really, in light of the cold war.

I would guess that Kutuzov is pretty well-known in Russia as well.

In America, it’s amazing that Patton is more well-known than Omar Bradley. I guess the movie helped a lot. During WWII (according to my dad; I’m not that old), you heard about Bradley 20 times for every mention of Patton.

I think the tank helps too.

(Off the top of my head)

Among Texans, at least, Sam Houston is pretty popular.