Greatest Naval Leader?

[CaptainAmerica]

Who do you think is the greatest Naval Commander of all time? I think Nelson because he rarely lost and always won the important battles or Dewey because he decimated the Spanish Fleet but i was wondering what the opinion was on this issue.

[stateless_englishman]

I'd have to go with Nelson, with admiration for Nimitz.

[David S Poepoe]

Dewey was more a one hit wonder. The US naval leaders of the Spanish-American War were really still learning their trade and accomplished what they did more because of the faults and failures of the Spanish.

Lord Cochrane is a moderately overlooked naval leader that accomplished a lot in his lifetime.

[CaptainAmerica]

i agree with you that Dewey is a one hit wonder but sometimes all it takes to be considered at great commander is to be in the right place at the right time once and i have never heard of Lord Cochrane, what did he do?

[fhaessig]

Anne hilarion de Tourville.

Given the state of the french navy, his sucesses against the dutch ( commanded by Ruyters - the man who led his fleet up the thames with a broom on his main mast ) and the british navies or even both combined are nothing short of astounding.

Or Suffren.

It's easy to win with a huge advantage in ships or training. It's much more difficult when your first foes are the captains of your own ships.

[Joseph K.]

Admiral Yi Sun-shin. He never lost a battle, and fought in many of them.

He was also an innovator when it came to naval tech.

[Leo euler]

Originally Posted by CaptainAmerica

Dewey because he decimated

heh. Like Dewey Decimal?

I've actually never heard of him...I just looked him up. He sounds pretty awesome.

[Mike]

I would go with Michiel de Ruyter.

He won many major victories in the Anglo-Dutch Wars and against the combined English and French fleets.

[fhaessig]

Originally Posted by Mike

I would go with Michiel de Ruyter.

He won many major victories in the Anglo-Dutch Wars and against the combined English and French fleets.

As I said, he was beaten by Tourville ( unless I really misremember ). Through I admit Ruyters was astounding. I especially like his Thames expedition.s

[mowque]

Damn the torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead!

[Malta Shah]

Originally Posted by Joseph K.

Admiral Yi Sun-shin. He never lost a battle, and fought in many of them.

He was also an innovator when it came to naval tech.

I agree.

General Isoroku Yammamoto was very pivotal too. Besides the whole Pearl Harbor he was one of the earlier proponets for Aircraft Carriers.

[Atreus]

Originally Posted by fhaessig

As I said, he was beaten by Tourville ( unless I really misremember ). Through I admit Ruyters was astounding. I especially like his Thames expedition.s

To my knowledge, Tourville and de Ruyter never met in combat. Tourville didnt hold command until the war of the Grand Alliance, while De Ruyter fell in the 3rd Anglo-Dutch war. The closest that they ever came (that I know of) were the battles of Stromboli and Augusta in 1676, where Tourville commanded Spectre in Duquense's fleet. The first was an incolclusive dutch victory, the latter a Dutch victory (albiet with de Ruyter's death).

[037771]

Lord Cochrane, when you look at his career, is simply astonishing as a naval commander. Took on a frigate three times the size of his own ship, as a Captain took on the French Navy, practically on his own, and won at Aix Roads, was wrongly framed in a Stock Exchange fraud, escaped a few times IIRC, took on the mantle of command of the Chilean Navy, took South America's Gibraltar at Valdivia, won again as the head of the Brazilian Navy, and could have accomplished far more if he'd stayed longer in the Greek Navy. A one of a kind...

[lothaw]

I'd have to go with Admiral Yamamotto too. This man knew his business and was good. He was just given an impossible task in the end. As distasteful as it is, it is something of a professional compliment that the US went out of their way to assassinate him.

[HJ Tulp]

Originally Posted by fhaessig

As I said, he was beaten by Tourville ( unless I really misremember ). Through I admit Ruyters was astounding. I especially like his Thames expedition.s

Wikipedia has the Battle of Agosta listed as a Dutch victory and Duquesne as the French commander. Tourville never defeated de Ruyter. Who is, I needlessly add, the best Naval Commander ever. He was fantastic as a fleet commander and magnificent as captain.

[sahaidak]

It is almost impossible to nominate one man for the first place. The three best (order doesn't matter): Horatio Nelson, Chester Nimitz, Heihachiro Togo. All of them won against all odds at least once, and their victories were crucial for their nations' future.

[larpsidekick]

Nelson, without a doubt. Sorry ot be unoriginal, but from his patented bridge for taking third rates, his destruction of a fleet in a defensive anchorage, or protected by a cities guns, through his man management, his concern for hs service's future, his fleet management, coolness in danger (for e.g stopping to pick up Hardy when persued by a spanish squadron while in command of a frigate), to his utter destruction of the combined fleet - which outnumbered him in numbers of ships, numbers of guns, weight of fire and numbers of crew, he has an argument to be one of the greatest military leaders, let alone naval commanders ever.

[wormyguy]

I'm afraid that presiding over arguably the most devastating naval defeat of all time (Midway, as well as Guadalcanal) somewhat disqualifies Yamamoto for me. He failed to draw the US fleet into his "decisive battle," and the one time he did, the decisiveness was firmly in the American's favor.

I really don't know enough about naval military history to make an opinion on the matter now. I'll have to read some books.

[Wednesday]

Originally Posted by Atreus

To my knowledge, Tourville and de Ruyter never met in combat. Tourville didnt hold command until the war of the Grand Alliance, while De Ruyter fell in the 3rd Anglo-Dutch war. The closest that they ever came (that I know of) were the battles of Stromboli and Augusta in 1676, where Tourville commanded Spectre in Duquense's fleet. The first was an incolclusive dutch victory, the latter a Dutch victory (albiet with de Ruyter's death).

Beat me to it.

I'd say de Ruyter too, or possibly Phormion or the aforementioned Nelson.

[HJ Tulp]

Originally Posted by sahaidak

It is almost impossible to nominate one man for the first place. The three best (order doesn't matter): Horatio Nelson, Chester Nimitz, Heihachiro Togo. All of them won against all odds at least once, and their victories were crucial for their nations' future.

Togo.....very good naval commander for sure. But the best? What did he really do besides destroying an outdated Russian fleet at the end of a trip around the world?