Who was the best allied general, who was the best axis general?
Montgomery was seriously overrated: he was basically a WW1 general. Minefields, barbed wire, mass charges, he knew nothing about logistics (as Market Garden showed). he really didn’t grasp armored warfare (as Falaise Gap showed). He won at Second El Alamien because Rommel was out of the country and his tanks out of fuel. Patton was ok but probably if he were German he would be unemployed as he wasn’t up to the level of German generals. General Slim was maybe the best. The best US commanders were in the Navy. Fletcher and Spruance were brilliant. MacArthur was a fraud. On the Axis side although Rommel is quite good, his knowledge of logistics was weak. Kesselring was perhaps the best — his command of logistics and Air Sea Land coordination was unrivalled — though Model and Mannstein deserve mention. Yamashita was obviously competent too. No Italian generals come to mind though i must admit that i know nothing of them. Perhaps someone can mention a name. Thanks.
In Western Europe I would nominate Eisenhower for successfully holding together the Western coalition that fought its way across France in 1944.
For Germany I would say Guderian for his use of the Blitzkrieg tactics that spread German power in the opening days of the war.
On the Eastern Front (Russian) I would go for Zhukov for leading the Red Army to victory.
For Japan Yamamoto stands head and shoulders above everyone else in the Japanese military.
For the US in the Pacific I go for Nimitz for leading the Navy across the Central Pacific.
Patton was a dashing cavalry officer, and as long as he was attacking he was brilliant. He never got caught in a situation where he had to dig in and defend, and I suspect he would not have shown up as brightly in such a situation. Between Patton and Bradley I think Bradley was the more rounded General.
Montgomery did a good job at El Alamein on the defensive. But from Sicily to the end of the war he proved to be incompetent (indecisive and hesitant) on the offensive, especially on D-Day/the Battle of Normandy and Operation Market Garden.
Rommel was good on both offense and defense and appeared to be an honorable man. He would be my second choice for Germany, but I think Guderain’s contribution was more important.
MacArthur thought so highly of himself no one else had to think highly of him. He overrated himself and I am not convinced he was as brilliant as he thought or his admirers think. Inchon was obvious, not brilliant, and attacking though the harbor instead of suitable beaches to the south of the city was NOT the best decision Dugout Dough ever made.
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