Greatest Armies, or Units Throughout History...

[5fish]

I took this form another forum by a person with this Avatar... it is his list not mine but I changed the title... Your thoughts on the best Military armies, or units throughout history… Feel free to add to the list...

Easy-8

Pre Middle Ages

- Persians under Cyrus the Great
- Spartans at Thermopylae
- Macedonians Army under Alexander the Great
- Romans in almost every war/battle they fought
- Carthaginian Army under Hannibal
- Visigothic heavy Cavalry at Adrianople in 378 and Chalons in 451
- The slave rebellion in Rome under Spartacus
- Germanic tribial fighters at Teutoburg Forest
- Huns under Attila

Middle Ages

- Vikings from 793 to 1066
- Koreans during the First Goryeo-Khitan War
- Normans under William the Conqueror
- Samurai in Japan
- Muslims under Saladin during the 1st crusade
- Knight Templar during the 1st crusade
- Mongols under Genghis Khan
- Scottish Army during their war for independence
- Welsh Longbowmen
- Teutonic Knights and Poles/Lithuanians in their various wars with each other

Post Middle Ages

- Samurai in Japan (again)
- Polish Hussars at Kircholm
- Russians under Peter the Great
- Prussians under Frederick the Great

Colonal/Napoleonic/WWI/other era

- The British (built the worlds largest oversea’s empire enough said)
- Roger’s Rangers during The French and Indian War
- Continental Army during the American Revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- French Grand Armee under Napoleon
- Napoleon’s Imperial Guard
- Russian Winter (during Napoleon’s invasion

)
- Texans at the Alamo
- Americans during the Mexican-American War
- Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during US Civil War
- Confederate Horsemen during US Civil War
- Stonewall Brigade during US Civil War
- Union XIV Corps at Chickamauga
- Union V Corps during the Seven Days Battle
- Prussians during Bismarck’s reign
- Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War
- Serbs during WWI
- German 8th Army
- German Sturmtruppen
- French in WWI
- The US “Lost Battalion” in Argonne Forest
- Marines at Belleau Wood
- Poles during the Soviet/Polish War

WWII

- Finns in Winter/Continuation/Lapland War
- Wehrmacht in France and low countries during the 1940 invasion
- RAF during the Battle of Britian
- Afrika Korps and Desert Rats in the African theater
- Soviet Snipers at Stalingrad
- 62nd Army at Stalingrad (and later on as 8th Tank Army)
- II SS Panzer Korps at Kharkov, Prochorovka and Market Garden
- 82nd Airborne in Italian and Normandy Campiagns
- FallshirmJaeger at Mount Cassino
- Großdeutschland on the Eastern Front
- 12th SS Panzer Division at Caen
- British Paras during Market Garden
- US Marines in Pacific Theater
- US Navy at Midway
- Japanese in Malaysia and Philippines
- 1st Special Service Force in Italy
- US Army Rangers at Normandy
- 101st Airborne at Bastogne
- Tuskegee Airmen in the air war over Europe
- 6th Ranger Battalion in the Pacific War

Post WWII

- 1st Marine Division at Inch’on and Chosin
- Chinese PVA during the first phase offensive in the Korean War
- US 2nd Infantry Division during the May Massacre
- 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam
- Aussie/NZ SASR during the Vietnam War
- IDF in the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War
- SAS/Paras in the Falkland War
- Spetsnaz in Afghanistan
- Iraqi Republican Guard in Iraq/Iran War (although they didn’t do to well later on…)
- Task Force Ranger in Somilia
- Chechens in the First Chechen War
- Task Force 121 in GWOT

Various gullrilia movements threwout the ages

- Scotish in early part of the war to free Scotland from the English
- Spainish fighting against Napoleon
- Minutemen during the American revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- Cubans fighting alongside Castro
- PAVN/VC/Viet Minh in the Vietnam conflict
- Hezbollah during the Civil War in Lebenon
- Afghan tribial fighters (during the Soviet invasion)
- Chechens in the second war with Russia
- Iraqi insurgents (well some of them at least)

 

[Kirk's Raider's]

How exactly do we define " best"?. Each military conflict is unique and is dependent in or composed of many different factors.
Also as in the case of WW2 or Vietnam some units from unmentioned sides fought well that is they inflicted high casualties on their opponents I.e
South Vietnamese Rangers and Marines and certain units of the Italians in WWII.
Kirk's Raider's

 

[Kirk's Raider's]

I took this form another forum by a person with this Avatar... it is his list not mine but I changed the title... Your thoughts on the best Military armies, or units throughout history… Feel free to add to the list...

Easy-8

Pre Middle Ages

- Persians under Cyrus the Great
- Spartans at Thermopylae
- Macedonians Army under Alexander the Great
- Romans in almost every war/battle they fought
- Carthaginian Army under Hannibal
- Visigothic heavy Cavalry at Adrianople in 378 and Chalons in 451
- The slave rebellion in Rome under Spartacus
- Germanic tribial fighters at Teutoburg Forest
- Huns under Attila

Middle Ages

- Vikings from 793 to 1066
- Koreans during the First Goryeo-Khitan War
- Normans under William the Conqueror
- Samurai in Japan
- Muslims under Saladin during the 1st crusade
- Knight Templar during the 1st crusade
- Mongols under Genghis Khan
- Scottish Army during their war for independence
- Welsh Longbowmen
- Teutonic Knights and Poles/Lithuanians in their various wars with each other

Post Middle Ages

- Samurai in Japan (again)
- Polish Hussars at Kircholm
- Russians under Peter the Great
- Prussians under Frederick the Great

Colonal/Napoleonic/WWI/other era

- The British (built the worlds largest oversea’s empire enough said)
- Roger’s Rangers during The French and Indian War
- Continental Army during the American Revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- French Grand Armee under Napoleon
- Napoleon’s Imperial Guard
- Russian Winter (during Napoleon’s invasion

)
- Texans at the Alamo
- Americans during the Mexican-American War
- Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during US Civil War
- Confederate Horsemen during US Civil War
- Stonewall Brigade during US Civil War
- Union XIV Corps at Chickamauga
- Union V Corps during the Seven Days Battle
- Prussians during Bismarck’s reign
- Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War
- Serbs during WWI
- German 8th Army
- German Sturmtruppen
- French in WWI
- The US “Lost Battalion” in Argonne Forest
- Marines at Belleau Wood
- Poles during the Soviet/Polish War

WWII

- Finns in Winter/Continuation/Lapland War
- Wehrmacht in France and low countries during the 1940 invasion
- RAF during the Battle of Britian
- Afrika Korps and Desert Rats in the African theater
- Soviet Snipers at Stalingrad
- 62nd Army at Stalingrad (and later on as 8th Tank Army)
- II SS Panzer Korps at Kharkov, Prochorovka and Market Garden
- 82nd Airborne in Italian and Normandy Campiagns
- FallshirmJaeger at Mount Cassino
- Großdeutschland on the Eastern Front
- 12th SS Panzer Division at Caen
- British Paras during Market Garden
- US Marines in Pacific Theater
- US Navy at Midway
- Japanese in Malaysia and Philippines
- 1st Special Service Force in Italy
- US Army Rangers at Normandy
- 101st Airborne at Bastogne
- Tuskegee Airmen in the air war over Europe
- 6th Ranger Battalion in the Pacific War

Post WWII

- 1st Marine Division at Inch’on and Chosin
- Chinese PVA during the first phase offensive in the Korean War
- US 2nd Infantry Division during the May Massacre
- 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam
- Aussie/NZ SASR during the Vietnam War
- IDF in the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War
- SAS/Paras in the Falkland War
- Spetsnaz in Afghanistan
- Iraqi Republican Guard in Iraq/Iran War (although they didn’t do to well later on…)
- Task Force Ranger in Somilia
- Chechens in the First Chechen War
- Task Force 121 in GWOT

Various gullrilia movements threwout the ages

- Scotish in early part of the war to free Scotland from the English
- Spainish fighting against Napoleon
- Minutemen during the American revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- Cubans fighting alongside Castro
- PAVN/VC/Viet Minh in the Vietnam conflict
- Hezbollah during the Civil War in Lebenon
- Afghan tribial fighters (during the Soviet invasion)
- Chechens in the second war with Russia
- Iraqi insurgents (well some of them at least)

South African and South West African Territorial Force in the battle of Cuito Canavale, Angola 1989.
Kirk's Raider's

 

[Kirk's Raider's]

I took this form another forum by a person with this Avatar... it is his list not mine but I changed the title... Your thoughts on the best Military armies, or units throughout history… Feel free to add to the list...

Easy-8

Pre Middle Ages

- Persians under Cyrus the Great
- Spartans at Thermopylae
- Macedonians Army under Alexander the Great
- Romans in almost every war/battle they fought
- Carthaginian Army under Hannibal
- Visigothic heavy Cavalry at Adrianople in 378 and Chalons in 451
- The slave rebellion in Rome under Spartacus
- Germanic tribial fighters at Teutoburg Forest
- Huns under Attila

Middle Ages

- Vikings from 793 to 1066
- Koreans during the First Goryeo-Khitan War
- Normans under William the Conqueror
- Samurai in Japan
- Muslims under Saladin during the 1st crusade
- Knight Templar during the 1st crusade
- Mongols under Genghis Khan
- Scottish Army during their war for independence
- Welsh Longbowmen
- Teutonic Knights and Poles/Lithuanians in their various wars with each other

Post Middle Ages

- Samurai in Japan (again)
- Polish Hussars at Kircholm
- Russians under Peter the Great
- Prussians under Frederick the Great

Colonal/Napoleonic/WWI/other era

- The British (built the worlds largest oversea’s empire enough said)
- Roger’s Rangers during The French and Indian War
- Continental Army during the American Revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- French Grand Armee under Napoleon
- Napoleon’s Imperial Guard
- Russian Winter (during Napoleon’s invasion

)
- Texans at the Alamo
- Americans during the Mexican-American War
- Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during US Civil War
- Confederate Horsemen during US Civil War
- Stonewall Brigade during US Civil War
- Union XIV Corps at Chickamauga
- Union V Corps during the Seven Days Battle
- Prussians during Bismarck’s reign
- Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War
- Serbs during WWI
- German 8th Army
- German Sturmtruppen
- French in WWI
- The US “Lost Battalion” in Argonne Forest
- Marines at Belleau Wood
- Poles during the Soviet/Polish War

WWII

- Finns in Winter/Continuation/Lapland War
- Wehrmacht in France and low countries during the 1940 invasion
- RAF during the Battle of Britian
- Afrika Korps and Desert Rats in the African theater
- Soviet Snipers at Stalingrad
- 62nd Army at Stalingrad (and later on as 8th Tank Army)
- II SS Panzer Korps at Kharkov, Prochorovka and Market Garden
- 82nd Airborne in Italian and Normandy Campiagns
- FallshirmJaeger at Mount Cassino
- Großdeutschland on the Eastern Front
- 12th SS Panzer Division at Caen
- British Paras during Market Garden
- US Marines in Pacific Theater
- US Navy at Midway
- Japanese in Malaysia and Philippines
- 1st Special Service Force in Italy
- US Army Rangers at Normandy
- 101st Airborne at Bastogne
- Tuskegee Airmen in the air war over Europe
- 6th Ranger Battalion in the Pacific War

Post WWII

- 1st Marine Division at Inch’on and Chosin
- Chinese PVA during the first phase offensive in the Korean War
- US 2nd Infantry Division during the May Massacre
- 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam
- Aussie/NZ SASR during the Vietnam War
- IDF in the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War
- SAS/Paras in the Falkland War
- Spetsnaz in Afghanistan
- Iraqi Republican Guard in Iraq/Iran War (although they didn’t do to well later on…)
- Task Force Ranger in Somilia
- Chechens in the First Chechen War
- Task Force 121 in GWOT

Various gullrilia movements threwout the ages

- Scotish in early part of the war to free Scotland from the English
- Spainish fighting against Napoleon
- Minutemen during the American revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- Cubans fighting alongside Castro
- PAVN/VC/Viet Minh in the Vietnam conflict
- Hezbollah during the Civil War in Lebenon
- Afghan tribial fighters (during the Soviet invasion)
- Chechens in the second war with Russia
- Iraqi insurgents (well some of them at least)

ISIS Battle of Mosul. South Korean Army and Marines in Vietnam although very brutal to civilians.
Kirk's Raider's

 

[Kirk's Raider's]

I took this form another forum by a person with this Avatar... it is his list not mine but I changed the title... Your thoughts on the best Military armies, or units throughout history… Feel free to add to the list...

Easy-8

Pre Middle Ages

- Persians under Cyrus the Great
- Spartans at Thermopylae
- Macedonians Army under Alexander the Great
- Romans in almost every war/battle they fought
- Carthaginian Army under Hannibal
- Visigothic heavy Cavalry at Adrianople in 378 and Chalons in 451
- The slave rebellion in Rome under Spartacus
- Germanic tribial fighters at Teutoburg Forest
- Huns under Attila

Middle Ages

- Vikings from 793 to 1066
- Koreans during the First Goryeo-Khitan War
- Normans under William the Conqueror
- Samurai in Japan
- Muslims under Saladin during the 1st crusade
- Knight Templar during the 1st crusade
- Mongols under Genghis Khan
- Scottish Army during their war for independence
- Welsh Longbowmen
- Teutonic Knights and Poles/Lithuanians in their various wars with each other

Post Middle Ages

- Samurai in Japan (again)
- Polish Hussars at Kircholm
- Russians under Peter the Great
- Prussians under Frederick the Great

Colonal/Napoleonic/WWI/other era

- The British (built the worlds largest oversea’s empire enough said)
- Roger’s Rangers during The French and Indian War
- Continental Army during the American Revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- French Grand Armee under Napoleon
- Napoleon’s Imperial Guard
- Russian Winter (during Napoleon’s invasion

)
- Texans at the Alamo
- Americans during the Mexican-American War
- Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during US Civil War
- Confederate Horsemen during US Civil War
- Stonewall Brigade during US Civil War
- Union XIV Corps at Chickamauga
- Union V Corps during the Seven Days Battle
- Prussians during Bismarck’s reign
- Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War
- Serbs during WWI
- German 8th Army
- German Sturmtruppen
- French in WWI
- The US “Lost Battalion” in Argonne Forest
- Marines at Belleau Wood
- Poles during the Soviet/Polish War

WWII

- Finns in Winter/Continuation/Lapland War
- Wehrmacht in France and low countries during the 1940 invasion
- RAF during the Battle of Britian
- Afrika Korps and Desert Rats in the African theater
- Soviet Snipers at Stalingrad
- 62nd Army at Stalingrad (and later on as 8th Tank Army)
- II SS Panzer Korps at Kharkov, Prochorovka and Market Garden
- 82nd Airborne in Italian and Normandy Campiagns
- FallshirmJaeger at Mount Cassino
- Großdeutschland on the Eastern Front
- 12th SS Panzer Division at Caen
- British Paras during Market Garden
- US Marines in Pacific Theater
- US Navy at Midway
- Japanese in Malaysia and Philippines
- 1st Special Service Force in Italy
- US Army Rangers at Normandy
- 101st Airborne at Bastogne
- Tuskegee Airmen in the air war over Europe
- 6th Ranger Battalion in the Pacific War

Post WWII

- 1st Marine Division at Inch’on and Chosin
- Chinese PVA during the first phase offensive in the Korean War
- US 2nd Infantry Division during the May Massacre
- 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam
- Aussie/NZ SASR during the Vietnam War
- IDF in the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War
- SAS/Paras in the Falkland War
- Spetsnaz in Afghanistan
- Iraqi Republican Guard in Iraq/Iran War (although they didn’t do to well later on…)
- Task Force Ranger in Somilia
- Chechens in the First Chechen War
- Task Force 121 in GWOT

Various gullrilia movements threwout the ages

- Scotish in early part of the war to free Scotland from the English
- Spainish fighting against Napoleon
- Minutemen during the American revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- Cubans fighting alongside Castro
- PAVN/VC/Viet Minh in the Vietnam conflict
- Hezbollah during the Civil War in Lebenon
- Afghan tribial fighters (during the Soviet invasion)
- Chechens in the second war with Russia
- Iraqi insurgents (well some of them at least)

Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts 1970s Rhodesia.
Kirk's Raider's

 

[Kirk's Raider's]

I took this form another forum by a person with this Avatar... it is his list not mine but I changed the title... Your thoughts on the best Military armies, or units throughout history… Feel free to add to the list...

Easy-8

Pre Middle Ages

- Persians under Cyrus the Great
- Spartans at Thermopylae
- Macedonians Army under Alexander the Great
- Romans in almost every war/battle they fought
- Carthaginian Army under Hannibal
- Visigothic heavy Cavalry at Adrianople in 378 and Chalons in 451
- The slave rebellion in Rome under Spartacus
- Germanic tribial fighters at Teutoburg Forest
- Huns under Attila

Middle Ages

- Vikings from 793 to 1066
- Koreans during the First Goryeo-Khitan War
- Normans under William the Conqueror
- Samurai in Japan
- Muslims under Saladin during the 1st crusade
- Knight Templar during the 1st crusade
- Mongols under Genghis Khan
- Scottish Army during their war for independence
- Welsh Longbowmen
- Teutonic Knights and Poles/Lithuanians in their various wars with each other

Post Middle Ages

- Samurai in Japan (again)
- Polish Hussars at Kircholm
- Russians under Peter the Great
- Prussians under Frederick the Great

Colonal/Napoleonic/WWI/other era

- The British (built the worlds largest oversea’s empire enough said)
- Roger’s Rangers during The French and Indian War
- Continental Army during the American Revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- French Grand Armee under Napoleon
- Napoleon’s Imperial Guard
- Russian Winter (during Napoleon’s invasion

)
- Texans at the Alamo
- Americans during the Mexican-American War
- Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during US Civil War
- Confederate Horsemen during US Civil War
- Stonewall Brigade during US Civil War
- Union XIV Corps at Chickamauga
- Union V Corps during the Seven Days Battle
- Prussians during Bismarck’s reign
- Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War
- Serbs during WWI
- German 8th Army
- German Sturmtruppen
- French in WWI
- The US “Lost Battalion” in Argonne Forest
- Marines at Belleau Wood
- Poles during the Soviet/Polish War

WWII

- Finns in Winter/Continuation/Lapland War
- Wehrmacht in France and low countries during the 1940 invasion
- RAF during the Battle of Britian
- Afrika Korps and Desert Rats in the African theater
- Soviet Snipers at Stalingrad
- 62nd Army at Stalingrad (and later on as 8th Tank Army)
- II SS Panzer Korps at Kharkov, Prochorovka and Market Garden
- 82nd Airborne in Italian and Normandy Campiagns
- FallshirmJaeger at Mount Cassino
- Großdeutschland on the Eastern Front
- 12th SS Panzer Division at Caen
- British Paras during Market Garden
- US Marines in Pacific Theater
- US Navy at Midway
- Japanese in Malaysia and Philippines
- 1st Special Service Force in Italy
- US Army Rangers at Normandy
- 101st Airborne at Bastogne
- Tuskegee Airmen in the air war over Europe
- 6th Ranger Battalion in the Pacific War

Post WWII

- 1st Marine Division at Inch’on and Chosin
- Chinese PVA during the first phase offensive in the Korean War
- US 2nd Infantry Division during the May Massacre
- 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam
- Aussie/NZ SASR during the Vietnam War
- IDF in the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War
- SAS/Paras in the Falkland War
- Spetsnaz in Afghanistan
- Iraqi Republican Guard in Iraq/Iran War (although they didn’t do to well later on…)
- Task Force Ranger in Somilia
- Chechens in the First Chechen War
- Task Force 121 in GWOT

Various gullrilia movements threwout the ages

- Scotish in early part of the war to free Scotland from the English
- Spainish fighting against Napoleon
- Minutemen during the American revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- Cubans fighting alongside Castro
- PAVN/VC/Viet Minh in the Vietnam conflict
- Hezbollah during the Civil War in Lebenon
- Afghan tribial fighters (during the Soviet invasion)
- Chechens in the second war with Russia
- Iraqi insurgents (well some of them at least)

Hezbollah 2006 Sumner War against the Israelis. Very impressive without CV air or heavy artillery they forced Israel out of Lebanon also they did the same previously although slowly after the 1983 invasion of Lebanon " Operation Peace for the Galilie".
Kirk's Raider's

 

[Kirk's Raider's]

I took this form another forum by a person with this Avatar... it is his list not mine but I changed the title... Your thoughts on the best Military armies, or units throughout history… Feel free to add to the list...

Easy-8

Pre Middle Ages

- Persians under Cyrus the Great
- Spartans at Thermopylae
- Macedonians Army under Alexander the Great
- Romans in almost every war/battle they fought
- Carthaginian Army under Hannibal
- Visigothic heavy Cavalry at Adrianople in 378 and Chalons in 451
- The slave rebellion in Rome under Spartacus
- Germanic tribial fighters at Teutoburg Forest
- Huns under Attila

Middle Ages

- Vikings from 793 to 1066
- Koreans during the First Goryeo-Khitan War
- Normans under William the Conqueror
- Samurai in Japan
- Muslims under Saladin during the 1st crusade
- Knight Templar during the 1st crusade
- Mongols under Genghis Khan
- Scottish Army during their war for independence
- Welsh Longbowmen
- Teutonic Knights and Poles/Lithuanians in their various wars with each other

Post Middle Ages

- Samurai in Japan (again)
- Polish Hussars at Kircholm
- Russians under Peter the Great
- Prussians under Frederick the Great

Colonal/Napoleonic/WWI/other era

- The British (built the worlds largest oversea’s empire enough said)
- Roger’s Rangers during The French and Indian War
- Continental Army during the American Revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- French Grand Armee under Napoleon
- Napoleon’s Imperial Guard
- Russian Winter (during Napoleon’s invasion

)
- Texans at the Alamo
- Americans during the Mexican-American War
- Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during US Civil War
- Confederate Horsemen during US Civil War
- Stonewall Brigade during US Civil War
- Union XIV Corps at Chickamauga
- Union V Corps during the Seven Days Battle
- Prussians during Bismarck’s reign
- Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War
- Serbs during WWI
- German 8th Army
- German Sturmtruppen
- French in WWI
- The US “Lost Battalion” in Argonne Forest
- Marines at Belleau Wood
- Poles during the Soviet/Polish War

WWII

- Finns in Winter/Continuation/Lapland War
- Wehrmacht in France and low countries during the 1940 invasion
- RAF during the Battle of Britian
- Afrika Korps and Desert Rats in the African theater
- Soviet Snipers at Stalingrad
- 62nd Army at Stalingrad (and later on as 8th Tank Army)
- II SS Panzer Korps at Kharkov, Prochorovka and Market Garden
- 82nd Airborne in Italian and Normandy Campiagns
- FallshirmJaeger at Mount Cassino
- Großdeutschland on the Eastern Front
- 12th SS Panzer Division at Caen
- British Paras during Market Garden
- US Marines in Pacific Theater
- US Navy at Midway
- Japanese in Malaysia and Philippines
- 1st Special Service Force in Italy
- US Army Rangers at Normandy
- 101st Airborne at Bastogne
- Tuskegee Airmen in the air war over Europe
- 6th Ranger Battalion in the Pacific War

Post WWII

- 1st Marine Division at Inch’on and Chosin
- Chinese PVA during the first phase offensive in the Korean War
- US 2nd Infantry Division during the May Massacre
- 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam
- Aussie/NZ SASR during the Vietnam War
- IDF in the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War
- SAS/Paras in the Falkland War
- Spetsnaz in Afghanistan
- Iraqi Republican Guard in Iraq/Iran War (although they didn’t do to well later on…)
- Task Force Ranger in Somilia
- Chechens in the First Chechen War
- Task Force 121 in GWOT

Various gullrilia movements threwout the ages

- Scotish in early part of the war to free Scotland from the English
- Spainish fighting against Napoleon
- Minutemen during the American revolution
- South African Boers during the wars with Britian
- Cubans fighting alongside Castro
- PAVN/VC/Viet Minh in the Vietnam conflict
- Hezbollah during the Civil War in Lebenon
- Afghan tribial fighters (during the Soviet invasion)
- Chechens in the second war with Russia
- Iraqi insurgents (well some of them at least)

Khmer Rouge vs Vietnam when Vietnam invaded Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge were evil but they can fight very well.
Kirk's Raider's

 

[5fish]

How exactly do we define " best"?. Each military conflict is unique and is dependent in or composed of many different factors.

I agree there are many factors that go into this simple question. I everyone has their favorite military units form history...

- Normans under William the Conqueror

Easy-8 pick these Normans lead by William the Conquer but there as many French knights in William's army as Normans... If you interrupt the Bayonne Tapestry one way it was the French knights that won the battle of Hastening in 1066 for William.

But it was the Normans that conquered South Itlay and Sicily started in 999 and later invade the Byzantine Empire was impressive. Robert "Guiscard" Hauteville was the one the led these conquests after 1057 and went on to Sicily and Byzantine's.

A wiki link... It was Norman leadership that was the difference in these Norman armies
Norman conquest of southern Italy - Wikipedia

 

[5fish]

Here is something most people do not realize is that Norman's were in leadership positions only in the First Crusade and many others were children whose fathers were at the Battle of Hastings
1066.

I highlighted the Normans and the ones who were children of men who fought at Hastings... The nobles from Bois, Flanders, and Boulogne are French nobles... If you read the Batonne tapestry Eustace II of Boulogne won the battle of Hastings... Bohemond was a southern Norman son of Robert "Guiscard" Hauteville and Tancred was a Souther Norman while Robert Curthose was a Northern Norman and son of William the Conquerer.

First Crusade - Wikipedia


Adhemar of Le Puy and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, and instantly the expedition had the support of two of southern France's most important leaders. Adhemar himself was present at the Council and was the first to "take the cross".

Despite this popular enthusiasm, however, Urban ensured that there would be an army of knights, drawn from the French aristocracy. Aside from Adhemar and Raymond, other leaders he recruited throughout 1096 included Bohemond of Taranto, a southern Italian ally of the reform popes; Bohemond's nephew Tancred; Godfrey of Bouillon, who had previously been an anti-reform ally of the Holy Roman Emperor; his brother Baldwin of Boulogne; Hugh I, Count of Vermandois, brother of the excommunicated Philip I of France; Robert Curthose, brother of William II of England; and his relatives Stephen II, Count of Blois and Robert II, Count of Flanders. The crusaders represented northern and southern France, Flanders, Germany, and southern Italy, and so were divided into four separate armies that were not always cooperative, though they were held together by their common ultimate goal.[51]

Tancred and Bohemond, as well as Godfrey, Baldwin, and their older brother Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, are examples of families who crusaded together. Riley-Smith argues that the enthusiasm for the crusade was perhaps based on family relations, as most of the French crusaders were distant relatives.[

The First Crusade was amazing for it was a small army the won battles and sieges against bigger opponents in their opponents' backyard...

 

[O' Be Joyful]

101st Airborne at Bastogne

I knew one of the battling bastards and hunted w/ him.

God bless him, he had the pleasure to piss in der furher's bavarsian berghof toilet. I never about knew it until after he died and the 101st sent reps from Ft Campbell to his funeral. He never talked.

 

[Kirk's Raider's]

@5fish ,
Not sure how the French in WWI get special mention. The French Army had a major mutiny in 1916 although perfectly understandable. France only held out thanks to the British and Commonwealth Forces. It took the American Army and Marines to actually expel the Bosch from France. France's population was comparable to Germanies and unlike the Germans the French didn't have to fight a two front war.
Kirk's Raider's

 

[5fish]

The French Army had a major mutiny in 1916 although perfectly understandable.

Yes, a little munity... this Easy-8 should have used the French at Verdun but if you look at the battle the German broke their line more than once. They never exploited the breakthroughs. The German plan was not to take land but to bleed the French white...

 

[5fish]

I just want to point out Norman's were Northmen (Vikings, Norsemen)

From wiki...

Rollo or Gaange Rolf[5] (Norman: Rou; Old Norse: Hrólfr; French: Rollon; c. 860 – c. 930 AD) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in northern France. He is sometimes called the first Duke of Normandy. His son and grandson, William Longsword and Richard I, used the titles "count" (Latin comes or consul) and "prince" (princeps). His great-grandson Richard II was the first to officially use the title of Duke of Normandy.

Rollo is first recorded as the leader of these Viking settlers in a charter of 918, and he continued to reign over the region of Normandy until at least 928. He was succeeded by his son William Longsword in the Duchy of Normandy that he had founded.[8] The offspring of Rollo and his followers became known as the Normans. After the Norman conquest of England and their conquest of southern Italy and Sicily over the following two centuries, their descendants came to rule Norman England (the House of Normandy), the Kingdom of Sicily (the Kings of Sicily) as well as the Principality of Antioch from the 10th to 12th century, leaving behind an enduring legacy in the histories of Europe and the Near East.[9]

The Norman dynasty had a major political, cultural and military impact on medieval Europe and the Near East.[4][5] The Normans were famed for their martial spirit and eventually for their Catholic piety, becoming exponents of the Catholic orthodoxy of the Romance community into which they assimilated.[2] They adopted the Gallo-Romance language of the Frankish land they settled, their dialect becoming known as Norman, Normaund or Norman French, an important literary language which is still spoken today in parts of Normandy and the nearby Channel Islands. The Duchy of Normandy, which they formed by treaty with the French crown, was a great fief of medieval France, and under Richard I of Normandy was forged into a cohesive and formidable principality in feudal tenure.[6][7]

 

[Kirk's Raider's]

Yes, a little munity... this Easy-8 should have used the French at Verdun but if you look at the battle the German broke their line more than once. They never exploited the breakthroughs. The German plan was not to take land but to bleed the French white...

Also @jgoodguy ,
Actually the French Army mutinies of 1917 were very large involving half of the French troops on the Western Front. Desertion was also high. For a time the French Army was only willing to fight on the defensive. Wiki has a good article on it.
Kirk's Raider's

 

[jgoodguy]

Also @jgoodguy ,
Actually the French Army mutinies of 1917 were very large involving half of the French troops on the Western Front. Desertion was also high. For a time the French Army was only willing to fight on the defensive. Wiki has a good article on it.
Kirk's Raider's

I've read about that.

 

[5fish]

Medieval Ages … Easy-8 Missed King Richard III... 3rd Crusade...

King Richard III, on his crusade his men helped the Portuguese to defeat the Almohad Muslims, he conquered Cypress, he brought the Siege of Acer to a successful end, and secured Christians lands to Jaffa. His opponent was the Great Saladin …

Snip... wiki... ...

On 2 September 1192, following his defeat at Jaffa, Saladin was forced to finalize a treaty with Richard providing that Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control while allowing unarmed Christian pilgrims and traders to visit the city. Ascalon was a contentious issue as it threatened communication between Saladin's dominions in Egypt and Syria; it was eventually agreed that Ascalon, with its defenses demolished, be returned to Saladin's control. Richard departed the Holy Land on 9 October 1192.

 

[5fish]

What about the Vikings had a fame army in England called the Great Heathen Army ...

Wiki Link:
Great Heathen Army - Wikipedia

The Great Danish[a] Army, known by the Anglo-Saxons as the Great Heathen Army (Old English: mycel hæþen here), was a coalition of Norse warriors, originating in Denmark but including warbands from Norway and Sweden, who came together under a unified command to invade the four Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that constituted England in AD 865.

The name Great Heathen Army is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 865. Legend has it that the force was led by four of the five sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, including Hvitserk, Ivar the Boneless, Bjorn Ironside and possibly Ubba. The campaign of invasion and conquest against the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms lasted 14 years. Surviving sources give no firm indication of its numbers, but it was amongst the largest forces of its kind.

Snip... King Alfred put an end to them...

According to Asser, the second band was led by Guthrum, Oscetel, and Anwend. This group also left Repton in 874 and established a base at Cambridge for the winter of 874–75. In late 875 they moved onto Wareham, where they raided the surrounding area and occupied a fortified position. Asser reports that Alfred made a treaty with the Vikings to get them to leave Wessex.[39][42] The Vikings left Wareham, but it was not long before they were raiding other parts of Wessex, and initially they were successful. Alfred fought back, however, and eventually won victory over them at the Battle of Edington in 878. This was followed closely by what was described by Asser as the Treaty of Wedmore, under which England was divided between the Anglo-Saxons of Wessex and the Vikings. Guthrum also agreed to be baptised.[43]

 

[5fish]

Here are some more sites about the Heathen Army... It was one of the first Viking armies create for conquest not for raiding and plundering...

The four leaders are of the army are historical people but their father Ragnor Lodbrok is only known in Viking poems and song...

Here are those links to the Heathen Army... LInk more details...
The Great Heathen Army: Viking Coalition Becomes an Anglo ...

Questions Remain on the Great Heathen Army
In spite of the available written sources, there are numerous questions about the Great Heathen Army that are still left unanswered. For instance, neither the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle nor the Tale of Ragnar’s Sons mentions the size of the Great Heathen Army. The goal of this army is also another question open to debate. Although the Tale of Ragnar’s Sons provides the reason for the invasion of England, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not. Instead, it seems to be treated as another Viking raid, albeit one that was on a much larger scale than usual.

• [URL='https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/strange-death-and-afterlife-king-edmund-part-1-unfortunate-friendship-ragnor-021624']The Strange Death and Afterlife of King Edmund Part 1: The Unfortunate Friendship With Ragnor Lodbrok that Led to Edmund’s Beheading

• Æthelflæd, The Medieval Queen Who Took on the Vikings to Save Her Kingdom
• Born for Valhalla: How Viking Children Learned the Art of War

Archaeology has been able to shed some light on the mysterious Great Heathen Army. For instance, a 2016 article published in The Antiquaries Journal presents the results of a project concerning the Great Heathen Army. This project revealed the location, extent, and character of the Great Heathen Army’s winter camp at Torksey, Lincolnshire (872/873 AD).

Additionally, it was reported recently that a mass grave from Derbyshire may contain the remains of some of the warriors in the Great Heathen Army. Such archaeological research has the potential to provide valuable information about the Great Heathen Army and may complement the already available written records.

Battered and broken bodies of Viking warriors unearthed in Derbyshire, England, now identified as soldiers of the Viking Great Army. ( Martin Biddle / University of Bristol )


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[O' Be Joyful]

Here are those links to the Heathen Army... LInk more details...
The Great Heathen Army: Viking Coalition Becomes an Anglo ...

Even "so-called or self-called" Great men, make mistakes.

 

[5fish]

The Viking keeps on giving the famed Varangian Guard of Byzantine Army started out as Rus Viking and later it included other Europeans... If you read Medeivel history the Varangian Guard fought heroically in many Byzantine battles... King Harald Hardrada led the Vanagian Guard in his younger days before returning to Norway to claim the throne and later died at the Battle of Stambridge in 1066...
Varangian Guard - Wikipedia

The Varangian Guard (Greek: Τάγμα τῶν Βαραγγῶν, Tágma tōn Varángōn) was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century, whose members served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine Emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from northern Europe, including Norsemen from Scandinavia and Anglo-Saxons from England.[1] The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor's personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions.[2]

Varangians - Wikipedia

The Varangians (/vəˈrændʒiənz/; Old Norse: Væringjar; Greek: Βάραγγοι, Várangoi, Βαριάγοι, Variágoi) was the name given by Greeks, Rus' people, and others to Vikings,[1][2][3][4] who between the 9th and 11th centuries ruled the medieval state of Kievan Rus', settled among many territories of modern Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, and formed the Byzantine Varangian Guard.[5][6] According to the 12th century Kievan Primary Chronicle, a group of Varangians known as the Rus'[7] settled in Novgorod in 862 under the leadership of Rurik. Before Rurik, the Rus' might have ruled an earlier hypothetical polity. Rurik's relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882 and established the state of Kievan Rus', which was later ruled by Rurik's descendants.[8][9]

Their birth: https://www.realmofhistory.com/2016/04/20/10-fascinating-facts-varangian-guard/

As with innumerable episodes of history, it was internal turmoil that brought about a significant change in the affairs of an empire. This time around, it was brought on by a civil war in the Eastern Roman Empire that pitted Emperor Basil II Porphyrogenitus against the rebel Vardhas Phokas – who audaciously marched on to Constantinople with his army by 987 AD. Desperate for reinforcements, the emperor called for aid from Vladimir the Great, the Grand Prince of Kievan Rus. Vladimir saw his opportunity in this deal and promptly send away around 6,000 men to the Roman emperor’s aid. According to old sources (like the Russian Primary Chronicle, compiled in 1113 AD), these men were supposedly unruly and unpaid – and hence the Prince was rather happy to ‘ship’ them away to the ‘Greeks’ of the distant realm.

However, on entering the service of Basil II, the group proved its mettle in various encounters, thus ultimately allowing the emperor to crush the rebel army and its commanders. On the political side of affairs, there was another significant development – Vladimir the Great converted to Orthodox Christianity (the state religion of the Eastern Roman Empire) and even married Princess Anna of Byzantine.

This paved the way for further ‘supply’ of warriors from Rus. So by the end of the 10th century (and the beginning of the 11th century), Basil II wholeheartedly made use of his ‘Varangians’, and successfully campaigned far and wide, ranging from the Levant to Georgia. These success ratios tempered the ‘foreign’ Rus warriors into a disciplined body of troops who formed the core of the imperial guard. And so the famed Varangian Guard was forged – symbolizing the might of the Eastern Roman emperor himself.