Best general of the 20th century

[imperialaquila]

He's also the only one on anyone's list who's still alive. I mean, damn, he's going to be 100 next year.

The only one to have beaten death itself!

 

[BlairWitch749]

I was under the impression that he preferred a static line with mobile reserves that he would send in to plug up the holes, breaking up units and sending them in wherever they were needed. While Manstein was a real follower of elastic/defense in depth, which I think is what a mobile defense is?

This again was circumstantial... the main battle where Model conducted himself that way was during operation mars... he didn't order the Oka line to be built, rather Kluge and Bock built it the previous year and Model took advantage of it... his having to use reserves in drips and drabs was because army group center had been stripped to the bone to support case blue, and Model lacked the necessary forces to conduct the sort of elastic defense that the Germans where so adept at... and his "drips and drabs" approach inflicted 9 to 1 casualties in that battle and was Zhukov's greatest defeat

however, at Kaments and East Prussia in 1944, he did apply the German elastic counter offensive that they had been fine tuning since Cambrai

1. Tactical retreat (let the enemy advance past his artillery support)
2. Mass on his flanks as he over extends
3. Inflict punishment or encirclement if possible
4. Rinse and repear

 

[Arachnid]

I would also question exactly why Aracnid considered Model to be "saving Europe from communism". It's an awful semantic nitpick, but "maintaining your tyrannical iron fisted grip on captured territory soon to be liberated by a slightly nicer dictator" would be more accurate, in my view.

He made sure that the Iron Curtain was on the Elbe rather than the Rhine by holding on long enough for the Western Allies to reach Germany.

 

[Telemond's_Lamb_Chop]

Gold – Andrew Cunningham

Silver - Vo Nguyen Giap

Bronze -Jose Felix Estigarribia

Honourable mention - Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck.

I have discounted from consideration the three great executive generals of the twentieth century: Eisenhower, Trotsky and Mao as the job they did was something both more and less than that of a general.

 

[Gridley]

I thought something stank around here....

But no, seriously, that sounds awesome. Grueling, terribly bloody and generally horrifying island-hopping campaign where the Japanese extract ten pounds of flesh for each island captured? Sign me up!

I'm carefully avoiding getting involved in the discussion on this thread, but in regard to the above post;

Yes please!!! The Solomons campaign doesn't get nearly enough press, and is full of easy POD's.

 

[Layman in PA]

I smell a TL.

Or maybe part of an existing one - worked in somehow to Pacific War Redux.