We here this rerm banded around a lot but who do you think is deserved of the title. For me it is probably the Duke of Marlborough: John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (May 26, 1650 - June 16, 1722), in full Captain-General Sir John Churchill, K.G., P.C., 1st Duke of Marlborough, Earl of Marlborough, Baron Churchill of Sandridge in Hertfordshire, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth (in addition to these English and Scotch titles he was also Prince of Mindelheim and a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire), was an English military officer during the War of the Spanish Succession. John Churchill was born to Elizabeth and Sir Winston Churchill (the more famous holder of that name is a descendant) in the immediate aftermath of the English Civil War. His father had fought for the Royalists during the conflict and had suffered badly for it -- they lived in very modest circumstances until the end of the Commonwealth. His staunch support for Charles II of England paid off with the return of the king, however, and one of the fruits of this was the appointment of 17-year-old John Churchill to the household of the man second in line to the throne, then-Lord High Admiral, the Duke of York. Joining the navy, he remained at court for a while, but saw turns of duty first in the Mediterranean and in the last of the Anglo-Dutch Wars. In the latter, he became a Marine officer, and was attached to the siege of Maastricht, his first taste of land battle. Having come to the attention of the French crown during this action, he moved onto the fighting in Alsace, where he fought with one of the leading generals of the day, Marshal Turenne. That war ended in 1674, and Churchill settled down to peaceful life.In 1678, he married Sarah Jennings, who would come to fiercely present his interests at court while he was off fighting on the Continent. In 1682, then-Colonel Churchill entered the Scotch peerage as Lord Churchill of Eyemouth. In the years to follow he engaged in various diplomatic missions to Spain and their former enemy, the Dutch United Provinces, largely in opposition to French interests. In 1685, Charles II died without issue, and Churchill's former employer, the Duke of York, became James II of England. Shortly thereafter James elevated him to the peerage as Baron Churchill of Sandridge in Hertfordshire. Within a few months, the new king faced a series of rebellions, one of which was by the Duke of Monmouth. Churchill was promoted major-general in July 1685 and appointed head of the loyalist troops, then quickly subordinated to the Earl of Feversham. It is believed that this lack of confidence was what eventually turned Churchill from loyalty to the Stuart kings. Churchill nevertheless distinguished himself during the fighting, and became an important figure in the army. In 1688, William of Orange invaded England with the support of most of the nobility, as James II was a Catholic and appeared to be on the road to introducing absolutist rule into his kingdom. James promoted Churchill to lieutenant-general in November and ordered him to engage and defeat the invaders; instead he deserted to the Orange cause, which caused most of the army to come with him and put James into a very difficult position. He quit the country for France rather than fight. The Glorious Revolution had been pulled off with far less bloodshed than anyone expected, and the Stuarts no longer ruled in Britain. In reward Churchill was appointed a Privy Councillor (hence the postnominal abbreviation "P.C.") in February 1689 and created Earl of Marlborough in April. Marlborough was out of the public sphere to a large extent for the next few years, as William did not entirely trust the Stuart supporter. During this time, his most notable activity was some time as the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. The Canadian town of Churchill, Manitoba, a former Company outpost, gains its name from this connection. He returned to the forefront with events leading up to the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701. The grandson of the King of France, Louis XIV, was put forward as heir to the throne of Spain, and rather than allow France to expand its power to such a great extent, a coalition of European powers (including Britain) prepared for war. Marlborough was first put to use commanding English and Dutch forces opposing the Swedish allies of France. He was successful in this, and when William died in 1702, Marlborough was reaching his peak. William's successor, Queen Anne, was a close friend of Marlborough's wife, and he enjoyed the new queen's confidence and favour; immediately upon her succession to the throne he was knighted as a member of the Order of the Garter (hence the postnominal abbreviation "K.G."), appointed captain-general of the English troops, and made Master-General of the Ordnance. The same year, the War of the Spanish Succession with France finally broke out into the open and Captain-General the Earl of Marlborough was made commander-in-chief of the Allied armies. Despite the intransigence of his Dutch troops, Marlborough won a series of victories in 1703 and was created Duke of Marlborough, as well as his creation within the Empire as a Prince of the Empire and Prince of Mindelheim. The war continued, however, and in combination with Prince Eugene of Savoy he soundly defeated the French at the Battles of Blenheim and Ramillies. Things were taking a turn for the worse in Spain, however, and his wife's friendship with the queen was gradually falling apart. Despite the earlier defeats, the French refused to give in, and continued attacking that part of the Low Countries or the Netherlands that was later to become Belgium. By 1708 he had had to fight a pitched battle against French forces once again, this time winning the Battle of Oudenarde. One more win followed at the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709. In Britain, however, the Whig Party had come to power and continued undermining the relationship he had with Anne. By 1711 he was recalled from the Continent, accused of embezzlement, and sent into a brief exile. The war ground on and eventually ended in mutual exhaustion in 1714. Anne died shortly thereafter, and once again Marlborough was back in favour of British royalty, putting up funds in support of the Elector of Hanover. The Elector became king as George I, and Marlborough returned to England and settled into retirement. He spent most of his remaining days working on his new home, Blenheim Palace, and died in 1722. Marlborough's notable descendants include Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Winston Churchill, Diana, Princess of Wales and her namesake, an 18th century Lady Diana Spencer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Churchill,_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough
Hi Mah, I would go for Gustav Adolph myself. First to refine the "Spanish Square" concept into the modern battalions; establish a standing army with a proper reserve to feed it, and professional training for the troops. He was the first general to fully appreciate the technological/tactical advantages of modern artillery, and to employ it between the battalions to provide direct support in battle. He was first to establish a (fairly) efficient tax to pay for all this, although his successors nearly succeeded in bankrupting Sweden by the 1630s trying to hold onto his legacy of territorial ambition. He almost swept all before him militarily. If he hadn't been killed, who knows how much more he could have achieved? Regards, Gordon
Very good, gentlemen. Those two men were military geniouses of the greatest calibre! Gordon, also remember that Gustav II Adolf was called by Napoléon I 'the Alexander of the XVII century'. And that Gustav also improved the sooting rate and accuracy of his fusiliers with those little paper packages which already contained powder and ammunition. But I'll say that for the XVI century one of the greatest should be Don Juan de Austria: A wonderful soldier, just equaled by Soliman I of Turkey.
Rats, I thought you meant the Great Captains of all time--just kidding. I would have listed: Captain James T. Kirk. Captain Ottar Marius Andersen. Kapitan zur See Kurt Freiwald. Captain Todd Anderson. Captain Pierre Cardona. Captain Blood. Captain Queeg. Captain Juan Seguin. Captain York. Captain Kidd. Captain Anthony Nelson. Kapitan Wilhelm Dommes. Captain Fitzhugh Lee. Captain Joe Foss. Captain Goeffrey Thorpe. Captain Kangaroo. Captain Richard Wallace Annand VC. Captain James Butler Bonham. Captain Smith. Captain Robert Edward Lee (as an Engineering Officer before the Civil War. Anyway--just a few Captains--real and imagined. [ 23. January 2004, 02:13 PM: Message edited by: C.Evans ]
He was too, Gordon! It would be a crime if we forget of one of the greatest war lords of all times: Vive la France!
The criteria is a bit ‘wide’ in this question? However, for a ‘poor boy’ military man-of-the-people who changed countries with no intention of being their King or Emperor; Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882). Some events 1834 As a naval rating in the Piedmontese navy, he takes part in a mutiny for the republican cause. Sentenced to death by default, after escaping to France. Sails to South America. 1836-40 As soldier, corsair, and naval captain, he fights for the break-away province of Rio Grande, in its attempt to free itself from the Brazilian Empire. 1842 Commands the small Orientale (Uruguayan) fleet against Manuel de Rosas, the dictator of Argentina. First time he and his men wore the famous 'red shirt'. 1846 Wins the "battle" of St. Antonio, after which a sword of honour is subscribed for him in Italy. 1848 Back in Italy, commands a volunteer Milanese unit against the Austrians (who occupy N.E.Italy), and survives two brisk engagements at Luino and Morrazzone. 1849 Beat off an attack by the French at the St. Pancrazio gate of Rome. Defeats a Neapolitan army at Velletri. Takes a principal part in defending Rome against further French attacks. Leads a few thousand men from Rome through central Italy to escape from French and Austrian armies. Pursued by 100,000 of the Pope's soldiers, the Pope had placed an enormous bounty on his head in the interests of preserving papal States dominance over Italian National interests. No Italian betrays him to the Papal Army. 1850-51 USA - Garibaldi offered a ticker tape parade in New York City. The Jesuits stirred up the Irish Catholics against him and in order to keep the peace he refused the offer. The only person to date to have refused it. 1856 Comes to England on a scheme (largely financed by individual British politicians and British secret service funds) to buy a ship and lead an expedition to release political prisoners in Naples; but the ship is wrecked. 1859 As a general in the Piedmontese army, he forms and leads the Cacciatori delle Alpi Corps, in the war to throw Austria out of N.Italy by King Victor Emanuel with Napoleon III of France. Takes Varese and Como, while the main Franco-Piedmontese forces are fighting in the plain of Lombardy. When his project to march into the Papal States is overruled, he returns to civil life. 1860 He sets out with his famous thousand volunteers on a piratical raid against the forces of the Neapolitan Bourbons. After an engagement at Calatafimi, he captures Palermo, wins the battle of Milazzo, crosses the Straits of Messina, eluding the sizeable Neapolitan navy. After a lightning campaign in Calabria, he captures Naples, the largest town in Italy, defeating the kingdom of “The Two Sicilies." After a major battle on the Volturno River, he holds plebiscites in Sicily and Naples, and then gives the whole of southern Italy to King Victor Emanuel proclaiming him King of a united nation. 1861 USA - President Lincoln offers him a command in the American Civil War, but has to withdraw the offer after a storm of protest from the Vatican. 1864 England - The country shuts down for 3 days when Garibaldi visited London in 1864. 1866 Leads another volunteer army in a new war against Austria, after which Venice is joined to Italy. 1870 Joins republican France in the Franco-Prussian war, and is made commander of an army in the Vosges. After 1260 years, Rome ceases to be governed by the Popes and becomes the Capital of the new united Italy. AND Special mention for his first wife Anna Maria Ribeiro da Silva, "Anita" who shared his campaigns and fought literally along side him until her death in September 1948. She’s buried just south of the River Reno at Comacchio. No.9
Hey Carl, I just read in the paper that Captain Kangaroo died yesterday. Sad. Another piece of my childhood gone. Later
In order to make "new" names known: General Georg Carl von Döbeln (1758-1820) http://www.multi.fi/~goranfri/biodobeln.html "He was a fascinating figure in real life; with a hot, raging, temper, warlike and strong, yet he could be soft and sentimental, a philosopher. His soldiers and his superiors admired his courage and innovation in the face of the enemy."
