Top 5 Military Tacticians
What the title says. Who are your Top 5 most impressive military tacticians in the mythos? Mine would include, in no order
-Thrawn
-Revan
-Grievous
-Boba Fett
-Palpatine
Honourable mentions: Maul, Jango Fett, Tor Vizsla, Mandalore the Ultimate (maybe), Anakin Skywalker, Tarkin, Yoda, probably more I'm forgetting.
Really, it's hard to think of a 5th ^^
But I will note knowing when to retreat is often a sign of a good tactician, not a bad one. "Preserve your forces, harass the other side without losing too much of your military, and let other pressures make things hard on the opposition," is a strategy that smaller powers often need to follow to win. And he did pull off stuff like the attack on Coruscant, getting past the defense fleets and shields.
Originally posted by Tzeentch
Didn't the CIS droid army number in the sextillions?
Quadrillions actually and as I recall reading somewhere, the entirety of the CIS was held back tremendously so that they wouldn't have stomped the Republic through sheer numbers.
Although for the life of me I can't remember the source...I recall reading it somewhere though....unless I was imagining it, but pretty sure I wasn't. Although this would make sense, seeing as Palps was pulling strings on both sides.
.The Star Wars galaxy's mighty starfleets and vast armies don't command themselves--they need strong leaders who can grasp the intricacies of huge battles while remaining calm in the face of imminent death.
These are Jason Fry suggestions for the 10 best . . . and the most ruthless.
1. Ackbar: Warrior, starship designer, master tactician, and organizational genius. Won key victories at Endor, Bilbringi, and at Coruscant twice. Highly effective commander, made the Alliance into a formidable fighting force. "Skywalker destroyed the Emperor, but Ackbar destroyed the Empire."
2. Tarkin: Son of an ambitious Outer Rim family, came to distrust the Republic's civilian leadership in fighting effectively against its enemies. First of the New Order's grand moffs, he created the Empire's most influential military doctrine. If the Empire could and would destroy entire planets to quell insurgencies, then no Imperial citizen would tolerate his neighbor's rebellion.
3. Thrawn: One of the Emperor's most valuable--as well as least appreciated--servants, he eliminated many threats to galactic civilization without their even knowing such threats existed. Despite his being a Grand Admiral, the New Order's anti-alien bias denied him much of the credit he deserved for his tactics and leadership. Despite his death 9 ABY, mere rumors of his return caused a wave of fear throughout the galaxy.
4. Xim: Pirate prince from the Tion Hegemony who conquered huge swaths of territory 25,000 years before the existence of the Empire, the line between history and legend regarding Xim has become hopelessly blurred. Vain and ceaselessly aggressive, yet also remembered for his empire with vast fleets, 'droid armies, and highly efficient war machines.
5. Nantz: A public relations nightmare, he was kept away from politicians and civilians alike out of fear that the stooped, cadaverous, and brutally candid admiral would yet again utter an insensitive or offensive remark about his latest military campaign. While Nantz made life difficult for public affairs officers, he made life utter hell for Imperials facing him, masterminding New Republic's drive into the Core Worlds.
6. Mandalore the Indomitable: After a vision while on the world of Shogun, the Taung warrior and clan leader ordered his people to prepare for an invasion of Republic space. The Crusaders overran worlds such as Vevoota, Basilisk, and Kuar, aiming for the carbonite-rich Empress Teta sytem. Dueling the fallen Jedi Ullic Qel-Droma there in 3996, Mandalore the Indomitable was defeated, his forces serving the Qel-Droma in assault on Coruscant at the climax of the Great Sith War. The Taung was to die on Dxun, but the Republic would again receive the assaults of the Mandalorians.
7. Revan: Continued raids by the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders a generation after the Great Sith War leaves the Republic tottering. The Jedi Council refuses to be drawn into the conflict, drawing sharp disagreement from many within the Order who argued that the Jedi were abdicating their duties toward the peoples of the galaxy. Led by the one later known as Revan, these Jedi served the Republic's military, with Revan eventually taking command of the campaign against Mandalore. With his ally Malak, he relentlessly hounded the Mandalorians until their defeat at Malchor V in 3960 BBY. Though his later was tragic, he was heralded as the Republic's savior at the time.
8. Pradeux: A Pius Dea admiral and key part of the Renunciate conspiracy to overthrow the Contispex Chancellors. Turning Prefsbelt IV into a hidden base for Renunciate naval officers, it was there that the downfall of the Pius Dea Faithful was plotted. With victory at Uquine, Pradeux led the effort to reorganize the Republic Navy, and generations of naval cadets still pay homage to the Father of the Navy.
9. Stazi: Escaping the Imperial ambush at the Battle of Camaas in 130 ABY, Stazi took his surviving warships and began a guerilla campaign against his foes. Proving adept at both fleet actions and supply raids, the defiant, determined, and fearless admiral became the living symbol of the Alliance. His officers and pilots would die for him; Stazi himself would rather die than kneel to the Sith.
10. Pellaeon: The epitome of a naval officer, his life was spent aboard Republic, Imperial, Remnant, and Galactic Alliance warships. Though not an ardent supporter of the New Order's policies, his belief in order, discipline, continuity, and tradition kept him in the Navy with no thought of joining the Rebel Alliance. His service under Thrawn showed Pellaeon that he could never be in the Grand Admiral's league as a strategist, but he learned the value of flexibility and perhaps, a certain amount of ambition. Tiring of the machinations of power-hungry Moffs and warlords, Pellaeon learned to dictate to them rather than reflexively accepting their orders. By the time of his assassination in 41 ABY, Pellaeon was almost universally respected.