Commanders: History's Greatest Military Leaders and Their Triumphs

Today, the complex nature of modern warfare often makes it impossible to pinpoint the individual commanding the battle. There was no doubt in days gone by that Hannibal led the Punic army over the Alps into Italy or that Nelson commanded the Battle of Trafalgar, but during Operation Desert Storm the chain of command stretched all the way back to politicians in the White House. This book explodes the myths, making every effort to identify the hands-on commanders in the field and excludes the bureaucrats. From Alexander the Great's conquest of the known world, right up to the generals leading today's satellite-guided campaigns, those who have forged history on the battlefield are profiled. The qualities epitomising a commander are wide and varied including courage, decisiveness, resilience under pressure and compassion for their soldiers as well as the ability to shoulder the responsible burden of history. This book charts the lives of remarkable men who indisputably changed the world.

It traces their complex journey from the early conflicts of Greece and Rome through the rise of the medieval commanders and the era of the battlefield kings and queens, to the landmark battles of World Wars I and II and their modern-day legacy found in the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq. Contents LEADERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD: Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Scipio, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan. MIDDLE AGES: Charlemagne, Edward I, William Wallace, Robert Bruce, Henry V, Ivan the Terrible. EARLY MODERN: Elizabeth I, Francis Drake, Hernan Cortes,Francisco Pizarro, Oliver Cromwell, Frederick the Great. NINETEENTH CENTURY: George Washington,Napoleon Bonaparte, Duke of Wellington, Horatio Nelson, Robert E Lee, Ulysses S Grant, Pancho Villa. THE WORLD WARS Manfred von Richthofen, Arthur Harris, Louis Mountbatten, William Slim, Field Marshall Montgomery, George Paton, Dwight D Eisenhower, Erwin Rommel. MODERN DAY COMMANDERS Peter de la Billiere, Norman Schwarzkopf, Mike Jackson, David Petraeus.