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And by 'Command', I meant direct command during active battle, when the said commander is also present during the heat of the battle, reasonably near (within visible range) to the action, a tactical level command if you wish. Not being an overall leader of the Army who stand along a meeting table discussing strategy before the battle.

Let's say that in this scenario, the commander is a Noble of high enough rank and being veteran of several battles, that his commands would be obeyed by his subordinates without any questions. He might either the overall leader of said army, or someone who is tasked to sub-command a part of the army, doesn't really matter, but the key is knowing how many soldiers he could realistically command directly on the field, during a battle situation? The key is the at-hand battle command, be it direct voice command (shouting on top of his lungs), visual signals (hand signs, flag signs, or doing something that involves his subordinates seeing him), or even ordering a soldier/dedicated messenger to run/ride to another parts of battle to give his command to other subordinate.

For time limit, I'll limit these from any kind of pre-renaissance army (before the 1300s), although of course, more ancient armies may count.

There are several variations that I would like to ask about:

A) The Commander is riding a horse, and personally commanding a contingent of cavalry soldiers. He is riding and fighting on the front line (Alexander the Great, Diadochi-era Generals, Famous Warrior Generals in China (Lu Bu, Guan Yu, etc), and also many more martially minded Medieval Kings and Nobles).

B) The Commander is on foot, and personally commanding a contingent of infantry soldiers. He is fighting shoulder to shoulder with his men on the front line (Ancient Greek Generals, especially the Spartans, also Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Aztecs, etc)

C) The Commander is riding a horse, and while having a cadre of mounted bodyguards, he stood at the reserve position behind the line. He gave the command from the relative safety but would ride and fight himself, or he and his bodyguards could dismount to support the infantry line, depending on the situation. (Most of the Ancient Generals doing this)

D) The Commander is viewing the battlefield from raised and fixed platform/palanquin/wagon, he is more a strategist and rather averse to personally fight (as common with many Asian strategists in general). It's not that he can't fight, he is not as heavily armed as his counterparts in scenario A, B, C, and E, and would think that personally fighting is beneath him.

E) The Commander is riding on an elephant, technically mounted, enjoying a higher point of view, but also cannot really move around unless really committed the attack due to sheer inertia (and he isn't about to trample his own men, mind you). (Just like many Indian generals)

Which Command position could command the most soldiers realistically? And how many is the approximate number of soldiers on average?

Thanks
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