The story of a military genius

Author: Wang Xiaopu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: In this book, we have selected 10 outstanding military commanders from both Eastern and Western civilizations and introduced their life stories and military command arts or theories to our readers in concise language. As the greatest synthesizer of Eastern military theory, Sun Tzu stands at the pinnacle of both Chinese and world military history. As the founder of the largest empire in human history, Genghis Khan's success is unparalleled. Our introduction to Eastern military commanders features these two figures, dedicating more space to relatively lesser-known Western military commanders. In addition to the three familiar names—Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon—we will also introduce the following five individuals.
Hannibal: The Carthaginian commander who nearly conquered Rome single-handedly. His command of the Cannae battle is considered the most perfect example in Western ancient warfare and has been revered by generations of renowned commanders.
Suvorov: The "Grand Marshal of the Russian Army" who pioneered practical military training and, with his emphasis on offensive strategies and exceptional command skills, rivalled Hannibal and Napoleon.
Clausewitz: The "Sun Tzu of Western military history." Although he had no battle record to speak of, his monumental work On War resonates with The Art of War in a way that is as brilliant as the sun and moon.
Guderian and Rommel: In our perception, they were merely foot soldiers under the Nazi regime. However, if we remove our biased lenses, we will see that they were first and foremost brilliant military figures—Guderian's theories and practices in modern armoured tactics earned him the title of "Father of Armoured Warfare"; Rommel was known as the "Hannibal of the 20th century" for his tactical mobility and cunning. Moreover, they were merely soldiers—Guderian refused to execute Hitler's orders to harm civilians and prisoners of war before invading the Soviet Union; Rommel's humanitarian treatment of Allied prisoners of war is still celebrated in the Western world today.
At the same time, Rommel's attitude toward war is deeply thought-provoking. Let us conclude this preface with the painting he drew for his son, depicting war—ruined houses, fallen trees, mud, and slaughter. May peace and humanity endure forever.