Greatest military commander/commanders of all time.

[Zmey Gorynych]

Title is self explanatory. Support your opinion with arguments, post the commander's war record, etc.

[Not a Cop]

Von Mackensen, soley because of his hat.

[Cristiano viejo]

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, "el Gran Capitán", was a Spanish general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. His military victories and widespread popularity earned him the distinction of being called "El Gran Capitán" ("The Great Captain").

He also negotiated the final surrender of Granada and later served as Viceroy of Naples. Córdoba was a masterful military strategist and tactician. He was the first to introduce the successful use of firearms on the battlefield and he reorganized his infantry to include pikes and firearms in effective defensive and offensive formations. The changes implemented by Córdoba were instrumental in making the Spanish army a dominant force in Europe for more than a hundred years.

Córdoba was a pioneer of modern warfare. He revolutionized sixteenth-century military strategy by integrating firearms into the Spanish infantry and directed the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms (the Battle of Cerignola). He helped found the first modern standing army (the nearly invincible Spanish infantry which dominated European battlefields for most of the 16th and 17th centuries). Córdoba's extensive knowledge was passed on to the next generation through the men who served under him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzal...e_C%C3%B3rdoba

[Cristiano viejo]

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, "the Duke of Alba". By some historians he is considered the most effective general of his generation as well as one of the greatest in military history. Although a tough leader, he was respected by his troops.



Alba especially distinguished himself in the conquest of Tunis (1535) during the Ottoman-Habsburg wars when Carlos I defeated Hayreddin Barbarossa and returned the Spanish Monarchy to predominance over the western Mediterranean Sea. He also distinguished himself in the battle of Mühlberg (1547), where the army of Emperor Charles defeated the German Protestant princes.

On December 26, 1566 he received the Golden Rose, the blessed sword and hat granted by Pope Pius V, through the papal brief Solent Romani Pontifices, in recognition of his singular efforts in favor of Catholicism and for being considered one of his champions.

He is best known for his actions against the revolt of the Netherlands, where he instituted the Council of Troubles, and repeatedly defeated the troops of William of Orange and Louis of Nassau during the first stages of the Eighty Years' War. He is also known for the brutalities during the capture of Mechelen, Zutphen, Naarden and Haarlem. In spite of these military successes, the Dutch revolt was not broken and Alba was recalled to Spain. His last military successes were in the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580, winning the Battle of Alcantara and conquering that kingdom for Philip II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernan...d_Duke_of_Alba