Famous Warriors (african,european)

[TeeKay]

Got any good stories on famous warriors out of Europe or Africa?
Just those 2 for a start,maybe someone else can shed some light on asian ones as well.

Discuss!

[razbojnik]

...Alexander Makedonski/the Great...

Widely considered as the greatest military strategist of all time and one of the greatest conquers of all time...

He helped the Macedonian Empire defeat the Persian Empire, which had millions of troops.

[razbojnik]

...Alexander Makedonski/the Great...

Widely considered as the greatest military strategist of all time and one of the greatest conquers of all time...

He helped the Macedonian Empire defeat the Persian Empire, which had millions of troops.

Need I say anything more???

[Babmuk]

Aleksandr Nevskij,Evpatij Kolovrat,Sviatoslav and many more heroes of Russia.Check it out if u can find some info.

[Sentenza]

...Alexander Makedonski/the Great...

Widely considered as the greatest military strategist of all time and one of the greatest conquers of all time...

He helped the Macedonian Empire defeat the Persian Empire, which had millions of troops.

You watched the movie 300 a little too often , lol. No Empire of that time had millions of troops. The greeks said that to boost their egos. It were probably a couple 10 thousands.
They never counted their troops and in those times they counted like this: 1, 2, 3, BILLIONS

[Sentenza]

Some from the top of my head...

Shaka the King of the Zulus, gave the British hell when they tried to iunvade Rhodesia, but was ultimately defeated because of their superior firepower. He was a very skilled strategist also, invented the "Ikwela Strategy". Had his soldiers attacking in crescent formation and then slicing their enemies into pieces with Zulu spears. He overthrew every other tribe like that and is still considered a legend...
Spartacus...freed some 70,000 Gladiators in Rome and tore Italy up. He is still some kind of Icon for Communists cause he is considered someone who "freed the lower class/enslaved people" and fought the establishment. He got killed by the Romans whose discipline was much better then that of his Gladiators.
Hannibal...marched from Tunisia, through Spain and France and over the Alpes with Elefnats and a huge army and smashed the Romans several times. The Battle of Cannae made history. He killed between 50 and 70,000 Romans with only 6,000 casualties of his own army.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cannae
He almost defeated the Roman Empire, but his hesitation to attack Rome itself costed him his life eventually. One of the greatest strategists of all times. His tactics are still being taught to this day in military academies.
Sir Francis Drake...Pirate for the English Crown in the Carribean Sea. Gave the Spaniards hell and became a legend as a Navigator and a Pirate. Later on was giving the title Sir by the English Queen for the havoc he wreaked among the Spaniards who hated and hunted him with a passion of course.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Drake

[Sentenza]

About Francis Drake:

His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a simple pirate to the Spaniards. He was known as "El Draque". (This name probably originated from the old Spanish meaning "the Dragon" derived from the Latin draco, meaning 'serpent', an obvious play on his family name which in archaic English has the same etymological root). King Philip II was claimed to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats[1] (about £4m or $8m by modern standards) for his life.

[Sentenza]

Never made it to the spotlight but still important:

Germanicus...Did a very good job at kicking our german asses and pacified the whole region for a while

Germanicus became immensely popular among the citizens of Rome, who enthusiastically celebrated all his victories. He was also a favourite with Augustus, his great-uncle and his wife's grandfather, who, for some time, considered him as heir to the Empire.
Germanicus assumed several military commands leading the army in the campaigns in Pannonia and Dalmatia. He is recorded to have been an excellent soldier and inspired leader, loved by the legions. In AD 12 he was appointed consul after five mandates as quaestor.

[Sentenza]

Never made it to the spotlight but still important:

Germanicus...Did a very good job at kicking our german asses and pacified the whole region for a while

Germanicus became immensely popular among the citizens of Rome, who enthusiastically celebrated all his victories. He was also a favourite with Augustus, his great-uncle and his wife's grandfather, who, for some time, considered him as heir to the Empire.
Germanicus assumed several military commands leading the army in the campaigns in Pannonia and Dalmatia. He is recorded to have been an excellent soldier and inspired leader, loved by the legions. In AD 12 he was appointed consul after five mandates as quaestor.
He was able to devastate large areas and eliminate any form of active resistance, but the majority of the Germans fled at the sight of the Roman army into remote forests. The raids were considered a success since the major goal of destroying any rebel alliance networks was completed.
Germanicus's leadership and command qualities were shown in full at the battle as his superior tactics and better trained and equipped legions inflicted huge casualties on the German army with only minor losses. One final battle was fought at the Angivarian Wall west of modern Hanover, repeating the pattern of high German fatalities forcing them to flee.
His death aroused much speculation, with several sources blaming Piso, under orders from Emperor Tiberius. This was never proven, and Piso later committed suicide while facing trial, because he feared the people of Rome knew of the conspiracy against Germanicus, but Tiberius' jealousy and fear of his cousin's popularity and increasing power was the true motive.

The death of Germanicus in what can only be described as dubious circumstances greatly affected Tiberius' popularity in Rome, leading to the creation of a climate of fear in Rome itself.

He must have been one of the good guys if the Emperor had him killed

[razbojnik]

...Alexander Makedonski/the Great...

Widely considered as the greatest military strategist of all time and one of the greatest conquers of all time...

He helped the Macedonian Empire defeat the Persian Empire, which had millions of troops.

You watched the movie 300 a little too often , lol. No Empire of that time had millions of troops. The greeks said that to boost their egos. It were probably a couple 10 thousands.
They never counted their troops and in those times they counted like this: 1, 2, 3, BILLIONS

Hahaha you got me here lol. They were said to have millions, then they toned that number down to 200,000, then now to 40,000.

But we still fucked them up being a small nation and they being a big one.

[razbojnik]

Let's not forget the Mongols, they kicked the Chinese asses, failed to kick the Russians asses, but still managed to take over most of Asia and catch up right up to Europe to Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.

If Attila the Hun didn't die so early, Europe would've been fucked. Think about it, the Roman Empire(modern Italy), was it? Told the Mongols that if they would invade the Roman Empire they would all burn in hell, so the Mongols responded: It's better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Romans got told. Oh well...

[Azure9920]

When did the Hunnic Empire under Attila ever lose to the Russians?

[Sentenza]

Let's not forget the Mongols, they kicked the Chinese asses, failed to kick the Russians asses, but still managed to take over most of Asia and catch up right up to Europe to Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.

If Attila the Hun didn't die so early, Europe would've been #%@&. Think about it, the Roman Empire(modern Italy), was it? Told the Mongols that if they would invade the Roman Empire they would all burn in hell, so the Mongols responded: It's better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Romans got told. Oh well...

I think its quite an irony of history that Genghis Khan died because he fell off his horse.

And lets not forgot that Attila the Hun got defeated in one of the biggest battles in ancient history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_ ... ian_Plains

But yea, Attila and Genghis Khan were some bad asses.

[razbojnik]

When did the Hunnic Empire under Attila ever lose to the Russians?

I mixed up Attila with Ghengis. Sorry.

[cliffard]

winston spencer churchill, the reason why the rest of my european brethren on here ain't posting in German.

[razbojnik]

winston spencer churchill, the reason why the rest of my european brethren on here ain't posting in German.

it ain't 'the', it's more like 'one of'...

It's like saying America won World War 2, it was really a joint effort and the Russians did most of the work and the bias ass pro-American Wikipedia even says so:

First off, I know the Americans took on the Germans, Japanese and Italians at the same time. Let me rebuke that statement.

1. The Germans are the main guys here. Let's not forget that. They came up with all the technology that made them who they were, friggin geniuses. Let's also not forget that the Grays were on their side until the war ended, in 1945 the Soviet Union would be considered the strongest and largest conventional force, but the Americans took the strongest position because the Russians lacked the atom bomb and all the confiscated Nazi technology the Americans had. Let's also not forget that Patton proposed that the Americans and Germans go against the Russians immidietly when the Germans signed surrender to the Americans in the Western threatre. The Japanese weren't as large, were large, but weren't as large as the Germans, and lacked advanced technology you need in order to beat the other guy when you both have equal numbers. Their weaponary was mostly World War 1 crap and their most effective technique was plane based kamikazes. The Italians were nothing compared to the Germans. They lost alot of battles, too. Don't, just don't, talk about how the Americans effort in North Africa, in Normandy in 1944, or in the pacific the whole time after Pearl Harbour(in 1942, the year the Axis started to lose the majority of their battles), blah blah blah. The Americans DID NOT get attacked on their home front, on their continental soil, and I'm not talking about Hawaii as you can see NOR ALASKA. History would've been very different if the Germans had been able to bomb New York and the Japanese Los Angeles...

2. The majority of Hitler's forces were thrown at the Soviet Union, and don't share me those oh they retreated to Siberia and froze to death theory crap otherwise they would've lost blah blah blah, trying to make it sound like mother nature was on the Soviet side. It's nature, somewhere it's hotter, somewhere it's colder. Too bad. You can use it as a tactic just like the Americans can bomb from 5 km away while the Insurgents blow themselves up and the Insurgents are considered 'cowardly'. Right...

3. As to being the majority of Hitler's forces on the Eastern Front, the majority of the largest battles of World War 2 also happened on the Eastern Front, and guess who one the majority, that's right, the Soviets...

If the theory that the Soviets did all the work isn't justified by simple facts found on a free encyclopedia on the internet, then blind patriotism isn't biased.

Scroll down to Major Operations and sort them out to World War 2 ones first...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_letha ... ld_history

Ahem...

Some of the biggest(btw I'm counting troops only since that's the point)...

Operation Bagration/Belorussian Strategic Offensive, Battle Of Moscow, Battle Of Kursk, Battle Of Stalingrad, Siege Of Leningrad etc. all on the Eastern Front and all won by the Soviet Union... There are plenty more large Eastern Front battles that had a 100,000+ troops on each side won by either the Soviets or the Germans...

[Sentenza]

winston spencer churchill, the reason why the rest of my european brethren on here ain't posting in German.

Yea even though he was a bastard, i would say the credit goes out to Stalin and the Red Army. They put in the most work by far. And had the most casualties by far too.
The war was decided at teh esatern front.
But that reminds me of famous warriors. The red army had at least one:

Vasily Zaytsev

Captain Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev (Russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич За́йцев, pronounced [vʌˈsʲilʲɪj grʲɪˈgorʲjevʲɪtɕ ˈzajtsɨf]) (March 23, 1915–December 15, 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II, notable particularly for his activities between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers. Prior to 10 November, he had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin-Nagant rifle. Between October 1942 and January 1943, Zaytsev had made 242 verified kills, but the real number may be much higher; some argue it might have been as many as 500. His military rank at the time was Junior Lieutenant.

Commemoration

On January 31, 2006, Vasily Zaytsev was reburied on Mamayev Kurgan with full military honors. Zaytsev's dying wish was to be buried at the monument to the defenders of Stalingrad. His coffin was carried next to a monument where his famous quote is written: "There was no ground for us beyond [the] Volga."

The telescopic sight from Heinz Thorvald's rifle, allegedly Zaytsev's most treasured trophy, is still exhibited in the Moscow armed forces museum. However, the entire story remains essentially unconfirmed. There is no mention of it in any Soviet military reports, including those of Aleksandr Shcherbakov, even though almost every act of sniperism was reported with relish. The supposed duel is depicted in David L. Robbins' book War of the Rats and fictionalised in the film Enemy at the Gates, which drew its inspiration from approximately three pages of the nonfiction book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad written by historian William Craig. Whether this duel actually took place is in dispute among historians, however, due to lack of any evidence as to whether there was a German sniper of such name or rank who ever existed during World War II. Zaytsev himself did make mention of the duel in his own biography "Notes of a Sniper", although it was a brief description occupying less than a chapter, in which he commented that he had been up against a very skillful sniper.

[cliffard]

please remember that england fought germany (nearly twice the population) single handedly until mid 1941, the russians had the nazi-soviet non aggression pact until their borders got overrun at the start of operation barbarossa (and even then stalin didnt want to believe it) and the US came in after pearl harbour. the two turning point battles of world war 2 are widely accepted to be stalingrad on the russian front and el alamein in north africa (german afrika korps versus british 8th army), google it if you dont believe me.

[cliffard]

raz i thought you were educated....since when has winston churchill been american, and the italians were part of the axis (pro german) powers for the vast majority of world war 2.

[Sentenza]

please remember that england fought germany (nearly twice the population) single handedly until mid 1941, the russians had the nazi-soviet non aggression pact until their borders got overrun at the start of operation barbarossa (and even then stalin didnt want to believe it) and the US came in after pearl harbour. the two turning point battles of world war 2 are widely accepted to be stalingrad on the russian front and el alamein in north africa (german afrika korps versus british 8th army), google it if you dont believe me.

Yea but they were in no position to make a move. They struggled for survival, succesfully. That England is an island contributed greatly to their survival, their airforce was superior. But their land forces wouldnt have stood a chance. Except for africa as you mentioned, cause they were better supplied.

[Azure9920]

There was a movie made about Vasily Zaytsev. Enemy at the gates I think.

The American's didn't play a major role in the North African campaign however. They entered during "Operation Torch", which ironically was AFTER Alamien and Rommel had been basically defeated.

Also, the Soviet Union was by no means "considered the strongest and largest conventional force" of the time. Stalin made the 1939 pact with Hitler both to gain land and buy time- at the time the Soviet army wasn't well equipped or funded to defend the borderline of Russia- and he knew that a German attack was eventually going to happen.

When did Patton state that he thought Germany should co-invade the USSR with the US? At about that time, the USSR was planning on assisting the Americans in Japan - but the atomic bomb ended that venture.

[razbojnik]

There was a movie made about Vasily Zaytsev. Enemy at the gates I think.

Yes.

Also, the Soviet Union was by no means "considered the strongest and largest conventional force" of the time. Stalin made the 1939 pact with Hitler both to gain land and buy time- at the time the Soviet army wasn't well equipped or funded to defend the borderline of Russia- and he knew that a German attack was eventually going to happen.

Yes, it was. For strongest, that's self explaintory, as for largest, the Soviet Union had 30 million troops SERVE in it's ranks. I know the US had 50 million people sign up for military service, but just like Germany, it had 20 million people server within it's ranks.

When did Patton state that he thought Germany should co-invade the USSR with the US?

In the movie.

[cliffard]

after mid 1942 the soviet union had fully shifted on to a war footing...at this point it was time for hitler to start praying cause nothing else was going to save him in the east. three years before the situation was very different, throughout the 1930s stalin had purged the red army, with the most talented and quickly promoted officers being the most vulnerable as stalin wanted no-one who could challenge his personal power base- the red army equipment training morale and leadership was poor. hitler himself said on the eve of operation barbarossa "all we have to do is kick the door in and the whole rotten edifice comes crashing down". speed was essential for the success of barbarossa and blitzkreig in general. once hitler lost a million men in stalingrad the writing was most definitely on the wall, the 8th army was probably his highest quality army group as well...still might have turned out a bit differently if stauffenburg had succeeded and the war had been run by a coalition of german generals under von rundstedt or von manstein. apologies for rambling and taking the post WAY off subject

[coolmillion]

Abu Yusuf Yakub al-Mansur (reigned 1184-1199) was the third caliph of the Almohad dynasty and the victor against the Spanish Christians at the battle of Alarcos. A

Abu Yusuf served as vizier of the Almohad empire during the reign of his father, Abu Yakub Yusuf (1162-1184), and at his death was chosen as his successor as Yakub I. Having gained considerable practical experience as an administrator in the vizierate, Yakub kept firm control of the state in his own hands, continuing the Almohad tradition of active leadership in religious affairs and vigorous military campaigns against the enemies of the state.

The first part of Yakub's reign was spent in repelling an offensive against Almohad territory in North Africa launched by the Banu Ghaniya, the Sanhaja Berbers who had continued Berber rule on the Balearic Islands. The attack came in 1185 against the eastern holdings of the Almohads on the Algerian coast and resulted in the capture of Bougie, Algiers, and other towns. The Almohad army sent by Yakub regained the Algerian possessions in 1186, and the Banu Ghaniya retreated into Ifrikiya (Tunisia). Yakub himself led an army into Ifrikiya and in 1187 defeated the Banu Ghaniya, temporarily restoring the area to the Almohad Empire. However, upon his withdrawal to Morocco and the diversion of his efforts to Spain, the Banu Ghaniya soon succeeded in challenging Almohad sovereignty in the east, which was too far removed from the seat of Almohad power to keep under permanent control without a large army of occupation.

In Spain, Yakub's military success was equally spectacular and equally ephemeral; here, as in North Africa, the Almohad campaign was a response to the invasion of their territory, though in Spain the response amounted to holy war since the invaders were Christians, led by Alfonso VIII of Castile. Between 1190 - when Yakub crossed into Spain - and 1195, the fighting was inconclusive and was checked by a loose armistice agreement. But in 1195 the great battle for which Yakub is famous in Islamic history took place at Alarcos, where he won a stunning victory over the Christians and temporarily halted their advance into Moslem Spain. This battle was followed by forays led by Yakub into Christian territory, which were ended by a two-year truce when he withdrew to Morocco.

Yakub sponsored religious activities, both scholarly and popular, and built many civil and religious edifices in Spain and Morocco. In the last year of his life, weakened from an illness which had befallen him on a trip to Spain, he devoted himself wholly to piety, leaving the affairs of state to his son whom he appointed as his successor.

[coolmillion]

Thothmes III (1504-1450 B.C.)
King Thothmes III, mightiest conqueror of Far Antiquity. He was the son of Thothmes I, and a slave woman named Isis. Nevertheless, he forged ahead of those nobler born and won supreme power not only in Egypt, but in all the known world.

Thothmes III's, early quest for power failed in the long struggle for the throne with his sister, Hatshepsut, for whom he was no match. After her death, he emerged from the background to reign in an even more dazzling manner than her.

Once seated on the throne, he continued the conquests begun by his mighty ancestor, Aahmes. Thothmes III, brought back to Egypt, the Kings of other nations to grace his triumphs, and such wealth of golden thrones, royal chariots, gold, jewels, and cattle as had never fallen to Egypt. Utterly fearless, he once attacked an elephant in battle, single-handed.