Top 10 Most Underrated Military Generals

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

Rommel is by far the greatest military general of the 20th century. He was a great general and a gentleman to his foes. Montgomery would never have beaten Rommel if Hitler had just given him supplies.
Rommel gained both the hate and respect of Winston Churchill, who said, "We have a very skillful opponent against us. And may I say across the havoc of war, a great general." Beyond victory, no soldier can ask for anything other than the respect of his enemies.

Rommel was a very good general and also very respectable. He did not commit war crimes, nor did he follow many of the commands that came from the Nazis because they were unreasonable. He planned to arrest Hitler and put him on trial, and thus was forced to commit suicide because of his involvement in the July Plot.
Most people do not know his name or assume he was a bad person when in reality, he was a great military leader and a good person.

Scipio Africanus

Scipio Africanus conquered Spain and defeated Hannibal, one of the greatest generals of all time.
While Hannibal was probably the better tactician, Scipio was a better strategist and analyst. Scipio never lost a battle and had a great impact on politics.

Chester Nimitz

That is my great-grandfather. Anyone in my family will say that he was quite possibly the most passionate man you would meet. He cared about his work and now goes unnoticed and underappreciated.
He was the last living five-star fleet admiral of World War II as well. Love me some Chet.

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee was an American and Confederate soldier who is best known for serving as a commander of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He led the Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until his surrender in 1865.... read more

Great in defense and running away from the enemy. And when it comes to attacking, Robert E. Lee has a high chance of winning.

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tȟašúŋke Witkó, lit. His-Horse-Is-Wild, c. 1840 - September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to resist encroachment by white American settlers on Native American territory and to... read more

A great warrior who, like many, was tricked and murdered by the white man.

Võ Nguyên Giáp

Defeated France at Dien Bien Phu with an army of rag-tags and paddy farmers. Then, he took on the might of the American military and unified his country in the Vietnam War.

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

In schools, people learn about great World War II generals like Montgomery and Eisenhower, but we always forget Zhukov. He was the one who opposed the Nazi advance in the Soviet Union and halted the Nazi attack.
Zhukov can be considered the one who put the war in the Allies' favor, as his tactics led to the first major defeat of the Nazis.

He brought down the Nazi regime in Eastern Europe.

Saladin

George 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.

Patton never lost a major engagement, either in WWI or WWII. His armies covered more ground, captured and killed more enemy troops, and suffered fewer casualties than any other in the same conflicts. The Third Army in Europe had a kill/capture to loss ratio that was nothing short of stunning.
His ego, bluntness, and a pair of incidents where he slapped American GIs were largely to blame for his being passed over for command of the 12th Army Group in Europe, which was instead given to Omar Bradley. Patton was by far the general the Germans most feared.

I know some of you may think I'm weird for saying this or flat-out start arguing with me, but Patton is underrated. I mean, for what he had available, he did amazing things. Read Bill O'Reilly's book Killing Patton. It has all you need to know in there.

Belisarius

Belisarius is considered a military genius, rivaling both Napoleon and Hannibal. He demolished the Ostrogothic army in Italy twice - first with 7,500 men and then later with 4,000 men. He was instrumental in the recovery of North Africa (Carthage) from the Vandals.
Belisarius also beat back the Persians, preventing them from invading and ransacking the Empire by holding the fort at Dara and defeating the Persian army, which outnumbered his forces by 2:1. In the same battle, his troops routed the Persian Immortals, who were considered the best in Asia.
Additionally, he held the besieged city of Rome, which was on the brink of starvation, against an invasion by the Visigoths with fewer than 5,000 men.

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William Slim

Crazy this guy wasn't on here until I added him. He changed Britain's fortunes in the Southeast Asia theatre and won them the Burma campaign.
By far the best British general of World War II.

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Ferdinand Foch

William Tecumseh Sherman

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

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

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck

This guy fought every battle when he was outnumbered by a lot, but he won each battle.

Khalid ibn al-Walid

Not just a warrior but a man who fasted for a whole month and used to pray and fight with obedience to all Islamic war ethics and laws.

He shouldn't be here. The best warrior that ever set foot on earth... the blood of the enemy is his water.

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12/13, 100 BC - March 15, 44 BC), commonly known as Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician, military general, and author. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. His writings, military campaigns, and political reforms had... read more

He is so underrated! Now I know what some of you are thinking. Some of you are thinking: But everyone thinks he is one of the best generals ever! My response? Exactly. He wasn't just one of the best. He was arguably THE BEST of all time.
Who knows how far Rome would've gotten had he not been assassinated?

Julius Caesar is an awesome legend of a military general. There is even a tasty salad named after him: "Caesar Salad."

I think the world knows his place, what a legendary leader he was.

Geronimo

Geronimo was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Apache tribe. From 1850 to 1886, he joined with members of three other Chiricahua Apache bands in resisting Mexican and American expansion into Apache lands. He became known for his fierce resistance and tactical skill during... read more

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

In a battle with all things being equal, von Manstein wins.
The massively overrated Patton won because of almost total air, logistical, and numerical superiority. Von Manstein used to win without these. He was the master of all-arms warfare and concentration of force doctrine, which still stands today.

By far, the best military mind in World War II of any nation. It was Manstein's idea to attack France through the Ardennes, as opposed to attempting another invasion of France through the Low Countries as Germany attempted in World War I. Since the Germans did the unthinkable in this case, France ended up surrendering in about 10 weeks, and the British were stranded at Dunkirk as a result of Manstein's tactics.
Had Germany stopped after taking out France and putting Great Britain on the defensive as the only remaining power fighting Germany, the Third Reich would have basically won the war as a result of Manstein's brilliant approach. Unfortunately, Hitler attempted to take credit for the risky yet successful strategy of dominating on the Western Front by early 1940.
Manstein once again displayed his brilliance on the Eastern Front against the Soviets when he faced off against a much larger foe in Zhukov and lured him into a situation that allowed the remaining German forces to grind up the Soviet troops. This forced a Soviet retreat, further stalling Germany's inevitable defeat and forcing the Allies to expend more troops, resources, and weaponry on taking down Germany.
Germany boasted one of the greatest groups of military leaders in World War II, most notably Guderian, Rommel, and so on. But Manstein was above everyone else - a military genius.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was an American politician and military leader who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe.... read more

Supreme Allied Commander in WW2. President of the USA for two terms. Need I say more?

Heinz Guderian

The man who created the blitzkrieg lightning warfare doctrine, the proper use of air power, tanks, and infantry in battle. A real pioneer in battlefield tactics.

For all of the hype about Rommel, Guderian did his job just as well. He was the most outspoken general, even though he was an amazing commander.

Made France look like schoolgirls in 1941.

Yi Sun-sin

Why isn't Yi Sun-sin on this list until I added him here? He is the greatest naval commander of all time. Despite great corruption in Korea, he managed to rise through the ranks, even though he was court-martialed several times due to the aforementioned corruption.
When Japan invaded Korea, they lost every battle except for the naval battles in which Yi Sun-sin participated. He destroyed several fleets of Japanese ships, numbering in the hundreds, without losing a single ship. Tragically, he died in the last battle of the war, in which the mixed Korean-Chinese navy managed to defeat the Japanese due to his tactics.

Svetozar Borojević

Owain Glyndŵr

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was an American soldier and statesman who served as Commanding General of the Army and as the 18th President of the United States. He led the Union Army to victory during the American Civil War. Grant served two presidential terms from 1869 to 1877 and played a major role in Reconstruction... read more

Emilio Aguinaldo

Emilio F. Aguinaldo (March 22, 1869 - February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, politician, and military leader. He is officially recognized as the first and youngest President of the Philippines. Aguinaldo was also the first president of a constitutional republic in Asia.... read more

Very underrated when it comes to international view. The man wasn't even born to be a soldier - he was a farmer and a salesman, and later became the municipal captain of his land. He was forced to become a military leader when the Philippine Revolution broke out. He took up arms and surprisingly defeated veteran Spanish generals in battles, both conventional and guerrilla.

Despite being a young man, he fought from the beginning to the end of the Revolution and helped establish a nation for the people. He gave up so much, even his name and legacy. Yet, he was branded a coward and a traitor by the majority of the new generations. It was a huge price to pay in order to build a nation and fight for its people.