Can You Name These Famous Historical Military Leaders?

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Just like in most other aspects of human civilization, leadership is imperative during times of war. You can’t expect to prevail against your enemies if you don’t have someone with the brains and the brawn to lead your armies into the heat of battle. Over the countless years that humans have warred with one another, there are certain military leaders who have immortalized their names through their military accomplishments. See if you can decipher who they are and learn why they are considered one of the greatest and most respected military leaders of all time.

The man depicted here was a famous Roman general:

Retry Correct Incorrect Born Gaius Julius Caesar, he was a famous Roman politician and military general. He is credited with playing a major role in the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.

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The man depicted here was a famous Roman general:

Mark Antony
Marcus Agrippa
Gaius Marius
Julius Caesar

This French general crowned himself emperor

Retry Correct Incorrect Napoleon Bonaparte is widely considered to be one of the most skilled military strategists in history. He rose in the ranks during the French Revolution and eventually went on to establish the First French Empire, conquering much of Europe.

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This French general crowned himself emperor

Napoleon Bonaparte
Charles de Gaulle
Pierre Augereau
Joseph Joffre

He commanded a gruesome campaign in South America against the Inca Empire

Retry Correct Incorrect Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador that defeated 30,000 Inca warriors between 1531 and 1533. He went on to conquer Peru and played a major role in helping Spain gain control of South America.

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He commanded a gruesome campaign in South America against the Inca Empire

Simon Bolivar
Francisco Pizarro
Hernando Cortés
Christopher Columbus

His nickname was “Old Blood and Guts”

Retry Correct Incorrect George Patton is considered the greatest American field commander of World War II. He led the 3rd Army in the “race across France” and is credited with playing a major role in overwhelming Germany to end the war.

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His nickname was “Old Blood and Guts”

Dwight D. Eisenhower
henry H. Arnold
Omar Bradley
George S. Patton Jr.

He was known as the “Desert Fox”

Retry Correct Incorrect During World War II, Rommel was the German commander of the 7th Panzer Division, proving himself as one of the best tank commanders in the war. While fighting in North Africa he was commended by his adversaries for his reputation of chivalry. His enemies called fighting against him like fighting a “war without hate.”

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He was known as the “Desert Fox”

Walter Model
Erwin Rommel
Heinz Guderian
Erich von Manstein

He wrote the book On Guerilla Warfare

Retry Correct Incorrect Mao Zedong was a Chinese communist revolutionary who grew to become the founding father of the People’s Republic of China. From 1949 until his death in 1976, he ruled as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China.

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He wrote the book On Guerilla Warfare

Tomoyuki Yamashita
Zhang Zongxun
Moshe Dayan
Mao Zedong

He was the king of Macedonia

Retry Correct Incorrect Alexander the Great spent the majority of his years as ruler of Macedonia, leading a military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa and establishing one of the largest empires of the ancient world. To this day, he is considered one of the greatest military commanders in all of history.

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He was the king of Macedonia

Flavius Belisarius
William the Conqueror
Marcus Agrippa
Alexander the Great

He is credited with stopping the invasion of the Spanish Armada

Retry Correct Incorrect During the Elizabethan era, Sir Francis Drake was an explorer and experienced naval officer. He was the second person to circumnavigate the world in one expedition and the first to do so as captain. As second-in-command, he played a major role in defeating the Spanish Armada.

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He is credited with stopping the invasion of the Spanish Armada

Edward I
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar
Frederick the Great
Sir Francis Drake

He is considered to be the “father of the US Air Force”

Retry Correct Incorrect William “Billy” Mitchell served in France during World War I and commanded all the air combat units in the country. He believed that aircraft would be the future of warfare and commanded one of the first air-ground military offenses.

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He is considered to be the “father of the US Air Force”

William Mitchell
John J. Pershing
William Robertson
Erwin Rommel

He was killed by friendly fire during the American Civil War

Retry Correct Incorrect Otherwise known as “Stonewall” Jackson, he was the second-in-command of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. His death is considered to be one of the Confederacy’s biggest losses during the war.

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He was killed by friendly fire during the American Civil War

Robert E. Lee
George Custer
Winfield Scott
Thomas J. Jackson

He is known as the “Father of Europe”

Retry Correct Incorrect Charlemagne or Charles the Great was the King of the Franks 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor from 800, until his death in 814. In his life, he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Holy Roman Empire.

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He is known as the “Father of Europe”

William the Conqueror
Charlemagne
Frederick the Great
Philip II

He was the commander behind the Pearl Harbor attack

Retry Correct Incorrect Yamamoto was a Japanese Marshall Admiral of the Navy and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. He was responsible for most of the major battles during the war, including the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

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He was the commander behind the Pearl Harbor attack

Fumimaro Konoe
Isoroku Yamamoto
Kuniaki Koiso
Hideki Tojo

He was the founder and first leader of the Mongol Empire

Retry Correct Incorrect Genghis Khan came to power by uniting the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia. He then led the Mongol invasions which helped him to conquer most of Eurasia. His military campaigns usually involved mass murders of civilian populations. He had the largest contiguous empire in history after his death.

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He was the founder and first leader of the Mongol Empire

Shaka Zulu
Genghis Khan
Sartaq
Atilla the Hun

He was a Carthaginian general

Retry Correct Incorrect Hannibal Barca is best known for his leadership and gift for military tactics during the Second Punic War. At one point he marched an army, including war elephants, from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy.

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He was a Carthaginian general

Khalid ibn al-Walid
Miltiades
Arminius
Hannibal Barca

He was the first sultan of Egypt and Syria

Retry Correct Incorrect Saladin was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusaders. Under his command, he defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin where he took control of Palestine as well as the city of Jerusalem.

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He was the first sultan of Egypt and Syria

Orhan
Murad I
Saladin
Osman I

He led the Spartan army at the Battle of Thermopylae

Retry Correct Incorrect Leonidas was the warrior king of the Greek city-state of Sparta. He was chosen to lead the combined Greek forces to repel the Second Persian Invasion of Greece and fought off the Persian army for numerous days with just a small force until they were eventually overrun.

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He led the Spartan army at the Battle of Thermopylae

Leonidas
Themistocles
Trajan
Cyrus the Great

To this day, he is still considered to be England’s most distinguished naval commander

Retry Correct Incorrect Horatio Nelson is best-known for his exceptional leadership, unconventional tactics, and deep understanding of strategy. He is credited with winning numerous naval victories during the Napoleonic Wars with the most prominent being the Battle of Trafalgar, where he was shot and killed.

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To this day, he is still considered to be England’s most distinguished naval commander

Michel Ney
Horatio Nelson
David Farragut
Arthur Wessely

This is “The One Who Yawns”

Retry Correct Incorrect Geronimo was a popular leader and medicine man for the Bedonkohe band of Apache tribe. He joined with other groups of Apache to carry out raids against the United States and Mexican military campaigns against Native Americans. He was renowned and respected for his impressive military tactics and devotion to his cause.

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This is “The One Who Yawns”

Sitting Bull
Squanto
Crazy Horse
Geronimo

He was the 1st Duke of Wellington

Retry Correct Incorrect Arthur Wellesley was one of the major leading English military and political leaders during the Napoleonic Wars. One of his most recognized victories was his defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

Edmund Allenby
Simon Bolivar
John Jervis
Arthur Wellesley

He had the longest reign of any Hohenzollern king

Retry Correct Incorrect Frederick the Great was the King of Prussia from 1740 until 1786. Although as a young boy he had no interest in military tactics, upon becoming king, he attacked Austria and won military acclaim. His countless military successes stemmed from his excellence in strategy and personal battlefield experience.

Maurice de Saxe
Duke of Marlborough
Frederick the Great
Turenne

Much of his later life was troubled by constant struggles to consolidate his hold over England

Retry Correct Incorrect Sometimes referred to as William the Bastard, William the Conqueror was the first Norman King of England. He reigned from 1066 (when he launched the Norman Conquest) until his death in 1087.

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Much of his later life was troubled by constant struggles to consolidate his hold over England

Robert I, Duke of Normandy
Edward the Confessor
William Rufus
William I

His greatest victory was in the Battle of Chancellorsville

Retry Correct Incorrect The American Civil War’s Battle of Chancellorsville was a bloody one. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863. Many consider it to be the Confederate General’s greatest victory.

Bettmann / Contributor

His greatest victory was in the Battle of Chancellorsville

George Patton
Thomas J. Jackson
George Custer
Robert E. Lee

This English leader was nicknamed “Old Ironsides”

Retry Correct Incorrect Cromwell went from leading a single cavalry troop to becoming one of the principal commanders of the New Model Army. He was vital in General Sir Thomas Fairfax’s defeat of the royalist forces.

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This English leader was nicknamed “Old Ironsides”

Robert I, Duke of Normandy
Winston Churchill
Oliver Cromwell
General Sir Thomas Fairfax

This Venezuelan leader lived from 1783 to 1830

Retry Correct Incorrect Bolívar, known as “the Liberator,” led forces against Spanish domination in South America. His efforts freed Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Venezuela, and Bolivia.

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This Venezuelan leader lived from 1783 to 1830

Che Guevara
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Simón Bolívar
Joaquin Villalobos

He was the real-life Lawrence of Arabia (left in photo)

Retry Correct Incorrect The British archeologist T.E. Lawrence (1888 – 1935) helped lead battlefield excursions and other important missions behind enemy lines during the two-year Arab Revolt against the Turks, despite having no formal military training. He became famous for writing about his wartime experiences.

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He was the real-life Lawrence of Arabia (left in photo)

Sir Laurence Olivier
Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Phillips
Thomas Edward Lawrence

He is one of four individuals to have risen to the rank of fleet admiral of the United States Navy.

Retry Correct Incorrect William “Bull” Halsey fought in one of the largest naval battles in history, WWII’s Battle for Leyte Gulf. Some have described him as a naval version of George Patton.

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He is one of four individuals to have risen to the rank of fleet admiral of the United States Navy.

George Patton
Douglas MacArthur
Curtis LeMay
William Halsey

During WWI, this German Commander was able to hold 100,000 British and Allied forces tied up, even though he only had 15,000 troops.

Retry Correct Incorrect Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck proved to be a master of guerrilla warfare during World War I. His nickname was “the Lion of Africa.” He was also known for fighting in the Boxer Rebellion and Herero Wars.

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During WWI, this German Commander was able to hold 100,000 British and Allied forces tied up, even though he only had 15,000 troops.

Karl von Bulow
Remus von Woyrsch
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
Felix Graf von Bothmer

This man was named an American Expeditionary Force commander from 1917-1919 with an army of 3 million men. He insisted that his army should fight for the U.S. in WWI.

Retry Correct Incorrect Along with George Washington, John J. Pershing, nicknamed “Black Jack,” rose to America’s highest possible military rank as a general of the U.S. Army. He is the only American to be promoted to this position in his lifetime.

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This man was named an American Expeditionary Force commander from 1917-1919 with an army of 3 million men. He insisted that his army should fight for the U.S. in WWI.

George Washington
John J. Pershing
Frank Parker
Mason Patrick

This Navy Admiral’s leadership in 1942 was a turning point in the Pacific War

Retry Correct Incorrect Nicknamed “electric brain” for keeping calm in times of stress, Spruance led a 1942 victory at Midway that ended up being a turning point in the Pacific War. Two years later, his defeat of the Japanese at the Battle of the Philippine Sea ensured victory.

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This Navy Admiral’s leadership in 1942 was a turning point in the Pacific War

Neil Armstrong
Raymond Spruance
Chester W. Nimitz
Michael Monsoor

This man’s heroism in the Vietnam War inspired the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers, in which he was portrayed by Mel Gibson

Retry Correct Incorrect Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore was the lieutenant colonel in command of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965. His command during the battle was key because it established the pattern U.S. combat operations followed for the rest of the Vietnam War.

Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

This man’s heroism in the Vietnam War inspired the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers, in which he was portrayed by Mel Gibson

Ngo Dinh Diem
Joseph Galloway
Hal Moore
General William Westmoreland

This Soviet Red Army General commanded the 1st Belorussian Front in the Battle of Berlin (1945)

Retry Correct Incorrect The Battle of Berlin directly resulted in the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the War in Europe. Some people call Zhukov “the man who won World War II” against Nazi Germany.

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This Soviet Red Army General commanded the 1st Belorussian Front in the Battle of Berlin (1945)

Joseph Stalin
Semyon Timoshenko
Georgy Zhukov
D. G. Pavlov

He was the French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War.

Retry Correct Incorrect Foch was the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces and successfully focused the American, British, French, and Italian efforts into one coherent whole, maximizing resources.

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He was the French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War.

Ferdinand Foch
Charles de Gaulle
Maréchal Tassigny
Jean Moulin

This German Field Marshal was the chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years

Retry Correct Incorrect Moltke has been described as the embodiment of “Prussian military organization and tactical genius.” Moltke’s nephew Moltke the Younger commanded the German Army at the outbreak of World War I.

Culture Club/Getty Images

This German Field Marshal was the chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years

Ludwig von Benedek
Helmuth von Moltke (the Younger)
Albrecht von Roon
Helmuth von Moltke (the Elder)

This man is often called “one of history’s first ‘modern’ generals”

Retry Correct Incorrect Sherman, a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, devastated the South during 1864’s Atlanta Campaign and the subsequent March to the Sea. He’s commended by some for his military strategy and criticized by others for his brutal “total war” approach to battle.

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This man is often called “one of history’s first ‘modern’ generals”

Robert E. Lee
Joseph E. Johnston.
William T. Sherman
John Bell Hood

This Spanish conquerer captured Mexico and Central America for his home country in the 1500s

Retry Correct Incorrect With an army of just 600 Spanish conquistadors, Cortés defeated the Aztec Empire, no small feat considering that the Empire had six million inhabitants when he arrived. Cortés died of pleurisy in 1547, at the age of 62 and heavily in debt.

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This Spanish conquerer captured Mexico and Central America for his home country in the 1500s

Hernando Cortés
Simon Bolivar
Juan Ponce de Leon
Francisco Pizarro

Napoleon thought this man was his best marshal

Retry Correct Incorrect Masséna, nicknamed “l’Enfant chéri de la Victoire (the Dear Child of Victory),” was one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon. Napolean referred to him as “the greatest name of my military Empire.”

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Napoleon thought this man was his best marshal

Claude Victor
André Masséna
Nicolas Oudinot
Pierre Augereau

This WWII Japanese Army general was known as the “Tiger of Malaya”

Retry Correct Incorrect Tomoyuki Yamashita’s military prowess led to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to call Japan’s dominance over Singapore the “worst disaster” and “largest capitulation” in British military history. Yamashita’s forces captured Malaya and Singapore in just 70 days.

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This WWII Japanese Army general was known as the “Tiger of Malaya”

Vo Nguyen Giap
Mao Zedong
Tomoyuki Yamashita
Isoroku Yamamoto

He achieved the most important win of his military career at 1745’s Battle of Fontenoy

Retry Correct Incorrect Maurice de Saxe first served in the German army, the Army of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Imperial Army before joining French forces. In the French Army, de Saxe became a Marshal and later the Marshal General of France.

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He achieved the most important win of his military career at 1745’s Battle of Fontenoy

Carl Friedrich Vitzthum von Eckstädt
Claude Victor
Augustus II the Strong
Maurice de Saxe

He led the Normandy invasion in WWII

Retry Correct Incorrect Before he became the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower was a highly-decorated five-star general in the United States Army. He was also the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe and successfully led the invasion of France and Germany in WWII.

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He led the Normandy invasion in WWII

Holland M. Smith
Harry S. Truman
George Patton
Dwight D. Eisenhower

He is the most decorated Marine in American history

Retry Correct Incorrect Lewis B ‘Chesty’ Puller was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general who served with distinction in the Korean War and World War II. His decorations include five Navy Crosses and one Army Distinguished Service Cross. He died in 1971.

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He is the most decorated Marine in American history

Chesty Puller
John Basilone
Leland Diamond
John McCain

Congrats, you finished! Here are your results:

Retry Ouch. Don’t apply to West Point anytime soon! Not great. Looks like military leaders aren’t your best subject. Pretty good! Impressive! You must be a history buff! Outstanding! Wow! You may want to look into a career int he military if you haven’t already!

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