Top 10 Best Leaders of World War II

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer‑Churchill was a British statesman who led the United Kingdom as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. He is renowned for his leadership during World War II and his stirring wartime speeches. Churchill also had a distinguished early career as a British... read more

One of the best leaders of the 20th century, Churchill took a stand against the Nazis, unlike the coward Neville Chamberlain. FDR was a terrible authoritarian socialist who sent people to prison camps based on their ethnicity.

I wrote about him along with other people and battles. If any of you are interested, the book is called The Attack of the Nazis. No one? Okay, then try to prove me wrong.

FDR, fearing a nonexistent Fifth Column, refused to let in the Jews during the Holocaust. Churchill made some mistakes, but overall, he was the superior leader during WWII.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945), commonly known by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and the 32nd President of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he was elected to an unprecedented four terms and led the nation through the... read more

He helped America get through the Depression (even though that was before World War II).

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death on March 5, 1953. He held the title of General Secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee, which gave him effective control over the Soviet state. His rule was marked by rapid... read more

He wasn't a good guy, I know, but he was able to push back the Nazis and Hitler, which was important at the time. As I said in the description, this is based on leadership, not humanity.

If it wasn't for his Five-Year Plans, the Soviet Union would have been in no condition to fight against the Third Reich.

Yeah, he was a bad guy, but he was the one who occupied Berlin and separated it into West Berlin and East Berlin. World War II ended because of him.

Erwin Rommel

Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was a German field marshal during World War II. He served under Adolf Hitler's Third Reich and gained fame for his leadership of Axis forces in the North African Campaign. Rommel earned respect from both his troops and enemies for his strategic... read more

One of my favorite German commanders during the Second World War. His tactics were genius! He did not commit any war crimes and was rumored to have buried dead officers of his opponents with military honors.

Not only was he a great general but also one with morals. Even though he was close with Hitler, he disobeyed many Nazi orders, such as killing POWs.

He was a Field Marshal in World War II, and he led a very large division in North Africa.

George S. Patton

George Smith Patton Jr. was a general in the United States Army. He commanded the U.S. Seventh Army in the Mediterranean theater of World War II. He later led the U.S. Third Army in France and Germany following the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.

George S. Patton was in charge of the first motorized American attack and led the first American tank attack, contributing to the Allied victory in World War I. In World War II, he led America and the Allies to victory in Africa and Europe. He should be ranked number one.

Some call him the greatest general of all time. I heard he was quite tough.

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 to April 30, 1945) was a German politician of Austrian descent who led the Nazi Party from 1921, served as Chancellor of Germany from 1933, and held the position of Führer from 1934. As dictator of Nazi Germany, he reversed the Treaty of Versailles, initiated World War II... read more

Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 - April 5, 1964) was an American General of the Army and Field Marshal in the Philippine Army. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a major role in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor... read more

Georgy Zhukov

Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (December 1, 1896 - June 18, 1974) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He served as Chief of the General Staff, Minister of Defence, and was a member of the Presidium of the Communist Party, later known as the Politburo. During the Second World War, Zhukov... read more

Zhukov led the counterattack against the German forces at the Battle of Stalingrad and fortified Kursk as a "fortress city." He was also one of the few who could stand up to Stalin without being killed, and he played a role in removing Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the NKVD and one of Stalin's cronies.

Zhukov defended the city of Stalingrad until the counterattack began, which saw the Wehrmacht (German army), Romanian army, and Hungarian army encircled and brought to their knees.

Chiang Kai-shek

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Christian X of Denmark

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William Lyon Mackenzie King

Erich von Manstein

Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (November 24, 1887 - June 9, 1973) was a German commander in the Wehrmacht, which was Nazi Germany's armed forces during World War II. He attained the rank of field marshal and played leading roles in major campaigns, including the invasion of France and Operation... read more

Why isn't he at the top? Manstein is the best Field Marshal of World War II. No general can ever match him in strategies and tactics. Even Zhukov himself feared him.

Charles de Gaulle

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (November 22, 1890 - November 9, 1970) was a French general and statesman. He was the leader of Free France from 1940 to 1944 and served as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946.... read more

Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 until he was ousted in 1943. He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he established a legal dictatorship. Mussolini allied Italy with Nazi... read more

Haakon VII of Norway

Bernard Montgomery

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 - December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States and an American politician from the Democratic Party.

The atomic bombs were necessary. A full-scale invasion of the Japanese mainland would have resulted in the deaths of not only soldiers but also even more civilians. We also can't forget that Japan committed war crimes that even the Nazis, their own allies, were disgusted by.

I don't see what's wrong with him.

George Marshall

Emperor Hirohito

John Curtin

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary and founding father of the People's Republic of China, which he governed as Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976.... read more

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim

Respected by Stalin and Hitler.

Risto Ryti

Ryti was president of Finland from 1940 to 1944 and led Finland through a dangerous period when it risked invasion from the Soviet Union. He successfully united the parties of Finland behind him and walked a tightrope, allowing Finland to accept an element of German military protection without becoming a Nazi-controlled state.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (c. 1881 to 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey. He served as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938.... read more

Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tōjō was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 27th Prime Minister of Japan, serving from October 17, 1941, to July 22, 1944. He also led the Imperial Rule Assistance Association during World War II. As Prime Minister, he authorized the attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the United... read more

Tojo was Japan's Prime Minister during most of WWII and the one who gave the order for the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor, as well as numerous other war crimes. Tojo was found guilty after the war and was executed by hanging on December 23, 1948.

Josip Broz Tito

Josip Broz (May 7, 1892, Kumrovec - May 4, 1980, Ljubljana), commonly known as Tito, was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman. He served in various leadership roles until his death in 1980. During World War II, he led the Partisans, widely regarded as the most effective resistance movement... read more

The leader of the Yugoslav partisans, Tito started small but managed to fight not only the Axis forces in the Balkans (German, Italian, Bulgarian, and Hungarian soldiers) but also the Chetniks, who were Monarchists. Despite these challenges, Tito managed to win and create one of the few places where socialism could work, unifying various ethnic groups until the 1980s, after his death.

Tito led what was arguably the most effective and successful partisan movement in occupied Europe. By the time the Soviets arrived in 1944, Tito's forces had already liberated about half of Yugoslavia.