MagWeb.com Poll 2002

Best, Worst, and Favorite
Commanders in History

by Russ Lockwood
CEO, MagWeb.com

This is another trio of linked questions, this time on commanders. We ask for the best, worst, and favorite.

Best Commander in History
Napoleon18.54%
Alexander the Great16.59%
Wellington5.85%
Hannibal4.39%
Genghis Khan2.93%
Belisarius2.44%
George Washington1.95%
Scipio Africanus1.95%
Frederick the Great1.95%
Duke of Marlborough1.95%
Rommel1.46%
Patton1.46%
Robert E. Lee1.46%
U.S. Grant1.46%
Marshal Davout1.46%
Nelson0.98%
General Sherman0.98%
von Manstein0.98%
Julius Caesar0.98%
No Answer19.51%
Other Answers9.26%

Worst Commander in History
Hitler8.29%
Douglas Haig3.90%
George B. McClellan3.90%
Braxton Bragg2.93%
Napoleon2.93%
Burnside2.44%
Elphinstone2.44%
Sadaam Hussein2.44%
Darius1.95%
Varus1.95%
George Custer1.46%
Westmoreland1.46%
["Me"]1.46%
Benedek0.98%
Charles the Bold0.98%
Douglas MacArthur0.98%
Gen. Gates (AWI)0.98%
Hooker0.98%
Mack0.98%
Patton0.98%
Varro0.98%
Xerxes0.98%
No Answer36.59%
Other Answers17.56%

Favorite Commander in History
Napoleon9.76%
George Patton7.32%
Louis Nicolas Davout3.90%
U S Grant3.90%
Rommel3.41%
Robert E. Lee3.41%
Wellington2.93%
Hannibal2.44%
George Washington2.44%
William T. Sherman1.95%
Charles XII1.46%
Alexander the Great1.46%
Maurice de Saxe1.46%
Stonewall Jackson1.46%
von Manstein1.46%
Sir William Slim1.46%
Frederick the Great0.98%
Robert Guiscard0.98%
Nathaniel Greene0.98%
Julius Caesar0.98%
Joshua Chamberlin0.98%
Duke of Marlborough0.98%
No Answer22.93%
Other Answers20.48%

Other Best Commanders: 1 Vote each:

Franco, Guderian, Jan Ziska, Eugene of Savoy, Maurice de Saxe, Montgomery, Murat I Sultan of Ottoman, Nathanial Greene, Moltke, Chuikov, Robert Guiscard, Robertson, Bradley, Stonewall Jackson, Tamerlane, Winfield Scott, no idea, no one, Too many eras to pick one.,

Other Worst Commanders: 1 Vote each:

Baratieri, Benjamin Butler, Bonnie Prince Charles, Cardigan, Edward II, Enver Pasha, Franco, Gage, Gamelin, Gen. Montgomery, Gideon Pillow, Hood, Horatio Gates, James Wilkson US--War of 1812, John Burgoyne, John French, Kaiser Wilhelm II, King Darius of Persia, Lord Raglan, Lt. Kelly, Mark Clark, Mathias Gallas, Montezuma, Mussolini, My last CO, Pick a Union ACW Commander, Raglan, Santa Anna, Stalin, T.E. Lawrence, Tibor Vari, Tsar Nicolas, US Grant, Wellington, Much too competitive to pick only one

Other Favorite Commanders: 1 Vote each:

Sir John Moore, Scipio, Rosecrans, Sidney Smith, Saladin, Oliver Cromwell, Conner British WWII, Tewfik Bey, Urien ap Rheged, Soult, Marshall, Prince Rupert, Von Moltke, Louis Gabriel Suchet, Lord Hopton, Leonidas, Kuroki Japanese 1st Army 1904-05, Katukov, Joe Stilwell, J.E.B. Stuart, Winfield Scott Hancock, Gustav Adolphus, Wm. Stark Rosecrans, Georgi K. Zhukov, Gen. Morgan (AWI), Duc de Broglie, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Col Fred Burnaby, Claude Auchinleck, Cipriano Mera, Murat I Sultan of Ottoman, Capt. John Parker 1775, Bindon Blood, Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, Belisarius, Barclay de Tolly, Aristonicus, Archduke Charles, Maj. Robert Merriman (Lincoln Bttn), Admiral Nelson, Thomas (ACW), No opinion

MagWeb.com Analysis

Quite a few commanders that are difficult to select in each category when you have to pick just one, as one respondent noted. I'm not quite sure of the lack of confidence for the folks who responded to the "Worst" commander category with "me," (as in themselves), but if they want to proclaim their level of competence as such, who am I to complain? Our VP Tibor Vari raised his eyebrows when he was named "Worst Commander," obviously more mirth than malfeasance, although he did want to know who entered it...can't tell him because all of the answers were compiled anonymously.

As you might expect, in the "Favorite" category, you really get an all-star line-up, although there are some names I don't recognize.

In 1999, we asked for the "Best" commander in history, ranking them 1, 2, and 3. Then, we combined the list to come up with the best:

    Combined Top 20 (selected regardless of preference)
      1. Alexander the Great 19.8%
      2. Napoleon 19.5%
      3. Hannibal 5.2%
      4. Duke of Marlborough 4.3%
      4. Rommel 4.3%
      6. Julius Caesar 3.0%
      6. Frederick the Great 3.0%
      6. Genghis Khan 3.0%
      6. Nelson 3.0%
      10. Robert E Lee 2.4%
      10. Patton 2.4%
      12. Wellington 2.1%
      13. Gustavus Adolphus 1.8%
      13. Scipio 1.8%
      13. Stonewall Jackson 1.8%
      13. George Washington 1.8%
      17. Von Moltke 1.2%
      18. Belisarius 0.9%
      18. Davout 0.9%
      18. U.S. Grant 0.9%
      18. von Manstein 0.9%
      18. Zhukov 0.9%

Alexander the Great really plummetted, while Patton really exploded. It's quite the switch over the last three years...Not quite sure why Patton has gotten popular all of a sudden, but considering that most respondents mentioned WWII and Napoleonic era as their favorites, it stands to reason commanders in these periods would do well...

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