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How would you rank the greatest US generals?
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john01992 Offline
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Post: #1
How would you rank the greatest US generals?
and for the sake of keeping things civil lets include CSA generals.
06-10-2014 09:10 PM
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49RFootballNow Online
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Post: #2
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
Lee
Jackson
Patton
Bradley
Washington

Top 5 in no particular order.
(This post was last modified: 06-10-2014 09:29 PM by 49RFootballNow.)
06-10-2014 09:29 PM
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DaSaintFan Offline
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Post: #3
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
Obvious three choices:

1) Lee
2) Washington
3) Patton

My two you might debate:

4) Pershing. Basically threw the French trench warfare theory out the window and IMO made WWI a war the German's couldn't win.

5) Ridgeway. I Still believe if he had been allowed to push forward in Korea, that country would be Korea and not North Korea / South Korea. He basically held the North Korean army at bay at the parallel and would have driven them down to "next to nothing" in terms of troops and armaments.
06-10-2014 11:26 PM
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EverRespect Offline
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Post: #4
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
McArthur?
06-11-2014 07:00 AM
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vandiver49 Offline
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Post: #5
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
Eisenhower (SAC Europe)
Jackson (Lee never won without him)
Sherman (thoroughly brutal, but effective)
Mitchell ('Father' of USAF)
Patton (Combat Leadership in Europe)
06-11-2014 07:02 AM
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DaSaintFan Offline
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Post: #6
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
i considered putting Eisenhower on my list.. but I think he was better in terms of dealing with the politics between arguing officers on the battlefield, than he was as a strategist on the battlefield.
06-11-2014 08:31 AM
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vandiver49 Offline
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RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
(06-11-2014 08:31 AM)DaSaintFan Wrote:  i considered putting Eisenhower on my list.. but I think he was better in terms of dealing with the politics between arguing officers on the battlefield, than he was as a strategist on the battlefield.

Ike's capacity at organization and personnel management along with his strategic acumen were why I put him on the list. The only other person during that time frame I think could have pulled off something similar was Marshall.
06-11-2014 10:01 AM
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GoApps70 Offline
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Post: #8
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
1) Washington
2) Lee
3) Patton
06-11-2014 11:48 AM
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HeartOfDixie Offline
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Post: #9
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
As a strategist or a tactician?
06-11-2014 12:04 PM
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bitcruncher Offline
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Post: #10
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
Eisenhower was not a great general. He was too busy playing politics to be a good general.
(06-11-2014 07:00 AM)EverRespect Wrote:  McArthur?
MacArthur was an arrogant fool, who lead many men to their deaths, just so he could return to the place where he barely escaped with his life. He could have avoided those deaths and still won the war without all that bloodshed. But he had to fulfill his promise to return to the Philippines, sacrificing thousands of his men to do it.

Screw MacArthur. 03-banghead
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2014 12:47 PM by bitcruncher.)
06-11-2014 12:46 PM
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vandiver49 Offline
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Post: #11
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
(06-11-2014 12:46 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  Eisenhower was not a great general. He was too busy playing politics to be a good general.
(06-11-2014 07:00 AM)EverRespect Wrote:  McArthur?
MacArthur was an arrogant fool, who lead many men to their deaths, just so he could return to the place where he barely escaped with his life. He could have avoided those deaths and still won the war without all that bloodshed. But he had to fulfill his promise to return to the Philippines, sacrificing thousands of his men to do it.

Screw MacArthur. 03-banghead

Agreed. Only a few of the Pacific Island actually needed the be captured. The rest could have been bombed and blockaded.

And bit, would would have been a better SAC Europe than Eisenhower? The position required him to play politics.
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2014 12:54 PM by vandiver49.)
06-11-2014 12:53 PM
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bitcruncher Offline
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Post: #12
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
Had Patton been in charge, the war in Europe would have ended sooner. He could play politics, when it was required. But he didn't play politics when it came to battle strategy or planning. In his opinion, politics had no business on the battlefield, and I fully agree with him there. He didn't like to put up with stupid military commanders, like Montgomery, who used politics to make himself look good, instead of being an effective military commander, like Patton.
06-11-2014 02:07 PM
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UofM_Tiger Offline
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Post: #13
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
(06-11-2014 12:46 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  Eisenhower was not a great general. He was too busy playing politics to be a good general.
(06-11-2014 07:00 AM)EverRespect Wrote:  McArthur?
MacArthur was an arrogant fool, who lead many men to their deaths, just so he could return to the place where he barely escaped with his life. He could have avoided those deaths and still won the war without all that bloodshed. But he had to fulfill his promise to return to the Philippines, sacrificing thousands of his men to do it.

Screw MacArthur. 03-banghead

Amen to that. Plus, he essentially wanted to turn Korea into WWIII.
06-11-2014 02:42 PM
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UofM_Tiger Offline
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Post: #14
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
Shouldn't overlook Grant. Wasn't the greatest tactician, but he understood better than any other union general what it was going to take to beat the Confederacy, with the possible exception of Sherman.
06-11-2014 02:53 PM
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vandiver49 Offline
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Post: #15
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
(06-11-2014 02:07 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  Had Patton been in charge, the war in Europe would have ended sooner. He could play politics, when it was required. But he didn't play politics when it came to battle strategy or planning. In his opinion, politics had no business on the battlefield, and I fully agree with him there. He didn't like to put up with stupid military commanders, like Montgomery, who used politics to make himself look good, instead of being an effective military commander, like Patton.

Why do you think Patton could achieved victory sooner? Regardless of his capability, Montgomery was the British Commander with which Patton would have had to liaison with. And of course Patton and Bradley couldn't stand each other. I just think that a SAC Patton would have such a high turnover rate of his general staff that Marshall would have been forced to either demote him to a field general or relieve him altogether.
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2014 02:54 PM by vandiver49.)
06-11-2014 02:54 PM
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49RFootballNow Online
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Post: #16
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
(06-11-2014 02:53 PM)UofM_Tiger Wrote:  Shouldn't overlook Grant. Wasn't the greatest tactician, but he understood better than any other union general what it was going to take to beat the Confederacy, with the possible exception of Sherman.

Grant was a "good" general in the exact same way Stalin way a "good" general. He knew he had more resources than his foe and feed men into the meat grinder. I suppose knowing you can win with the numbers you have if you're willing to kill as many of your own men as it takes is a type of "good" generalship.
06-11-2014 03:04 PM
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Post: #17
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox
06-11-2014 03:09 PM
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South Carolina Duke Offline
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Post: #18
RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
Grant died a drunk and a pauper!
06-11-2014 03:10 PM
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Smaug Offline
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RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
(06-11-2014 03:10 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Grant died a drunk and a pauper!

True, but irrelevant.
06-11-2014 03:15 PM
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bitcruncher Offline
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RE: How would you rank the greatest US generals?
(06-11-2014 02:53 PM)UofM_Tiger Wrote:  Shouldn't overlook Grant. Wasn't the greatest tactician, but he understood better than any other union general what it was going to take to beat the Confederacy, with the possible exception of Sherman.
Grant also turned out to be one of the most corrupt Presidents in U.S. history. He was a decent general. Not a great one. Anyone willing to sacrifice his men could have won the war for the north. George Mcclellan should have won the war long before Grant was given command. But he was a coward, and refuse to attack Richmond as President Lincoln commanded. So he was forced into retirement, and Grant was promoted to command the Union Army. The north had all the industry, and the majority of the population at the time. Their victory was inevitable. It was only the incompetence of the Union Army command that prolonged the war.

Grant was totally incompetent as a politician, as were the people he chose for his cabinet. As a general, he was adequate. But that's all.

(06-11-2014 02:54 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  
(06-11-2014 02:07 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  Had Patton been in charge, the war in Europe would have ended sooner. He could play politics, when it was required. But he didn't play politics when it came to battle strategy or planning. In his opinion, politics had no business on the battlefield, and I fully agree with him there. He didn't like to put up with stupid military commanders, like Montgomery, who used politics to make himself look good, instead of being an effective military commander, like Patton.
Why do you think Patton could achieved victory sooner? Regardless of his capability, Montgomery was the British Commander with which Patton would have had to liaison with. And of course Patton and Bradley couldn't stand each other. I just think that a SAC Patton would have such a high turnover rate of his general staff that Marshall would have been forced to either demote him to a field general or relieve him altogether.
Did you actually read the historical accounts? Or did you gain your knowledge from movies?
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2014 03:52 PM by bitcruncher.)
06-11-2014 03:51 PM
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