Famous Military Leaders - List of Famous Military Leaders - page 5

Military Leaders are the leaders of the military forces—armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine—of a nation. Military leaders influence others by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission, and have the legal authority to lawfully exercise control over subordinates by virtue of their rank or position. Warlords who exercise absolute civil power and individual autonomy in regions where the government is weak are also considered to be military leaders. History is replete with the legends of military leaders and revolutionaries who left their indelible marks on human civilization. Alexander the Great, who established one of the largest empires of the ancient world, is undoubtedly one of the best known military leaders. Ancient China’s Sun Tzu was not just a brilliant military leader, but also the author of ‘The Art of War’, an ancient Chinese text on military strategy. While Saladin, William the Conqueror and Henry V were the famous military leaders who lived during the Middle Ages, Oliver Cromwell, Shivaji and Peter the Great were courageous warriors of the Early Modern Period. Even though a majority of military leaders throughout history have been men, brave ladies like Joan of Arc, Boudicca, Laskarina Bouboulina, and Lakshmibai have proven that women too can be powerful military leaders. Read on to discover about the life and works of various famous military leaders from all over the world.

The Most Famous Military Leaders

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
William Wallace1270ScottishWilliam Wallace was a Scottish knight who was a central figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence
Reinhard HeydrichMarch 7, 1904GermanReinhard Heydrich was a high-ranking German Nazi official during the World War II
Heinrich HimmlerOctober 7, 1900GermanHeinrich Himmler was a German Nazi military commander and a close associate of Adolf Hitler
Che GuevaraJune 14, 1928ArgentinianChe Guevara is one of the most revered and legendary political figures in world history
Vasili ArkhipovJanuary 30, 1926RussianVasili Arkhipov was a Soviet Navy officer who is credited for 'saving the world' from a nuclear war by casting the decisive vote that prevented a Soviet nuclear strike on U.S
Herbert SobelJanuary 26, 1912AmericanHerbert Sobel was a commissioned officer in the U.S
Joan of Arc1412FrenchJoan of Arc was a young woman who led the French army to victory over the British in a crucial battle during the Hundred Years' War
Ariel SharonFebruary 26, 1928IsraeliAriel Sharon was an Israeli general and politician who later on served as the eleventh Prime Minister of Israel
Crazy HorseAmericanCrazy Horse was one of the most celebrated Native American warriors to have ever lived
Ahmad Shah MassoudSeptember 2, 1953AfghanAhmad Shah Massoud, who was known in his native Afghanistan as the ‘Lion of Panjshir’, was a political and military leader
Marquis de Lafayette

Marquis de Lafayette

Marquis de Lafayette was a French aristocrat and for the United States in the American Revolutionary War

FrenchSeptember 6, 1757196 views

Isoroku Yamamoto

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Japanese naval commander during World War II

JapaneseApril 4, 1884247 views

Hermann Goring

Hermann Goring was a German politician and military leader in Hitler’s Nazi party

GermanJanuary 12, 1893232 views

Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Himmler was a German Nazi military commander and a close associate of Adolf Hitler

GermanOctober 7, 1900539 views

Curtis Lemay

Curtis LeMay was one of the greatest generals in the United States Air Force

AmericanNovember 15, 1906288 views

Smedley Butler

Smedley Butler was a highly decorated Major General in the US Marine Corps and a vocal critic of war profiteering

AmericanJuly 30, 1881101 views

Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf served as the Army Chief and President of Pakistan

PakistaniAugust 11, 1943150 views

Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan was a Mongol emperor who founded the Yuan dynasty in Mongolia and China

Anthony Wayne

Anthony Wayne was an American Army officer and statesman

AmericanJanuary 1, 1745123 views

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier who rose to the rank of General during the American Civil war