I'd like to add one more: James Webb -- infantry officer in Vietnam, author of 'Fields of Fire', and later US Secretary of the Navy -- to whom is attributed the now infamous quote: "I wouldn't cross the street to watch Jane Fonda slit her wrists".

Someone else who remembers that brilliant example of the Spartan's laconic speech!

The Spartan part in ending the war at the battle of Plataea should also be remembered, standing against the Persian army largely unsupported and destroying it before the other contingents of the Greek army caught up.

Hmm...intresting question! I think mine has to be Nils Dacke, Swedish revolt leader during the sixteenth century. Revolt against the king Gustav Vasa due to too much regulations, taxes and interference in their christian believes.
Cheers Andreas

Glad to see you got your login issues solved Hermon, so you don't have to impesonate your son.

Agree, must find my copy and read it again.

1) Hannibal Barca: IMHO the best battlefield commander (old style, talking about a confined space as up and including the US Civil War) that there has ever been. His successes in Italy were simply stunning.

2) Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa: What little I have been able to find of him, he was the man that made Augustus the emperor he was. Up to the poin where Agustus handed the imperial seal to him when he himself had fallen ill.

3) Marcus Ulpius Trajanus: Roman emperor and honoured by the title "Optimus Princeps" (the best first citizen). He was responsible for the greatest size of the Roman empire, and possibly the secons largest expansion of the empire after Augustus, with Dacia and many territories in the east (including Mesopotamia).

Other interesting ancient commanders: Scipio Africanus (the elder), Corbulo, Agricola, Aetius, Stilicho and Belisarius.

Heroes of other eras:

Maurice and IIRC Frederick Wilhelm of Nassau THey reformed the army (the framework for every modern army today), and their campaign against Spain was pure genious. It is a textbook example of how to wage a campaign against a force that is (in theory) much bigger in size by using interior lines and setting limited targets.
Frederick Hendrick of Nassau. His campaign of siege warfare was sheer brilliance.

The Duke of Marlborough and Eugene of Savoie.

Frederick the Great of Prussia

Napoleon Bonaparte and Wellington; some growing interest in his Austrian adversary.

George G. Meade; To some degree, with the little I know of him, I would rate him higher then Grant. Grant lucked out a lot (Shiloh), IMHO. Though Grant as well had his moments of brilliance.

Probably Manstein and Rommel for WW II.

Don't forget he excapted 3 times from german occupation.

I noticed a few people put Reagon as a hero, excuse my ignorance but wasn't he just a puppert?

As opposed to a Conservative or a Democrat?

For his service to the entertainment industry may be!

Pompey the Great?

Vespasian?

One of Reagan's great strengths was his ability to constantly get people, (especially liberals) to underestimate him. Anyone who believes that he was a puppet, has fallen into that trap. To this day there are still many people who refuse to recognize the effect he had on this country.

There are many characteristics of a good leader, and Reagan had most of them. He had a vision, and not only did he passionately believe in it, he had the ability to convey that passion to those around him and convince them it was possible.

Anyone who was not living in the United States in the late 1970's (read the Carter years) may not appreciate just exactly the effect that Reagan had on re-energizing the American spirit. He was not a Rhodes Scholar, but one could make the counter point that THAT may have been a plus.

Two American Presidents made speeches in Berlin. The one which arguably actually made a difference was NOT the one in which the speaker erroneously called himself a pastry.

Tom