The 7 Most Badass War Leaders of all Time

The 7 Most Badass War Leaders of all Time

#1 Adolf Hitler

Born April 20, 1889 Died April 30, 1945 Being so high in command, he was the cause of WWII. He was the founder and the leader of the Nazi Party from 1933-1945, as well as the Reich Chancellor of the Third Reich. He focused, mainly, on the Jews. Him and his army created the first phase of WWII.

Childhood Adolph Hitler was the child of Alois Schickelgruber Hitler and Klara Hitler. He had three siblings, two died from diphtheria and one at birth. Adolph wasn t the most content child. His father was extremely strict and hard on him. He was also very unhappy due to his mother s death from cancer in 1907. Hitler went to school, and in 1906 he was accepted into an art school in Vienna. While living in Vienna for six years, he had a few Jewish friends, but that is where his prejudice for Jews began. Enemies Hitler s main enemies would be the Jewish people, the Marxists, and the November Criminals. Also, he had people who spoke out against the Nazi party arrested and sometimes murdered. Battles In his young adult years, Adolph fought in WWI with the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. In WWII, him and his army invaded Poland, Denmark, Norway, Luxemburg, Holland, Belgium, and France. He also invaded Britain and Soviet Russia. By 1939, he had already abolished much of the Jewish population.

Motives It is really debatable what Hitler s real motive was for killing the Jews. His hate for the Jews and Marxists only began when he went to Vienna, went to art school, and was then rejected from the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts. Also, it was said that the Jews were the cause of Germany s domestic problems and that may have been a motive for him. Interesting Facts Hitler was to serve five years in prison, but only served nine months He wrote a book called, Mein Kampf, while he was in prison.

(18 December 1878-5 March 1953) Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Soviet Unions Central Committee, and the leader of the Communist party. He was in power from 1922 until his death in 1953. Stalin is most known for creating the Great Terror. He was responsible for deporting and killing millions of ethnic minority peoples. He is also known for his wide spread industrialization, and for the roll he played in defeating the axis powers during WW2. Stalin has become famous for being a mass murderer. He organized great Purges in which millions were killed because of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, etc. His efforts to destroy private farms in Ukraine led to millions starving to death. Millions more died in various industrialization projects, and it is estimated that he was responsible for around 20 million deaths during WW2 alone. His mass killings continued until his death, and it has been said that when all of these factors were added up, Stalin killed anywhere from 30 to 60 million people.

Stalin was raised mainly by his mother; his father was an abusive alcoholic who was rarely in the picture. He had two siblings who died young, so essentially he was an only child. By the age of sixteen he had been expelled from church school, and became an outlaw. Stalin was exiled seven times because of several bank robberies and murders. He was quickly recognized and advanced quickly to the top. Stalin played a huge part in the Russian revolution. Stalin s motives for killing millions of people, seemingly on a whim, will never truly be known. It has been said that he was mentally ill, but it is more widely believed that he was simply power hungry and murder worked as a good motivator for people to carry out his commands.

The relationship between Hitler and Stalin during WW2 has become famous. Stalin and Hitler had agreed to a non aggression pact, and in 1941 Hitler broke this pact by invading soviet held territories. After this event Stalin and Hitler became mortal enemies and did much to harm one another. After the war Stalin tried to make the Soviet Union dominant in Europe and to impose Communism on the world. His actions threatened to plunge the world into a third world war. Instead it became the start of the cold war, making former allies such as Great Britain and the United States new Enemies. Stalin's original name was Losif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. In 1913, he began using the pseudonym Stalin meaning "Man of Steel". Stalin was known as being a particularly harsh father to his children. Two of his three children are alleged to have committed suicide, with the other known for abusing alcohol excessively.

#3 Genghis Khan

Birth: 1162 Death:1227 Mongolian Leader. Known for conquering and impregnating most of Eurasia Genghis Khan, whose real name was Tamujin, was one of the most notorious warriors throughout the centuries. He was known for his war tactics as well as his leadership skills. He stretched the Mongolian Empire by capturing land between the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Japan. Khan s achievements are in the same category as Alexander The Great, Julius Caesar, and Hannibal.

Genghis Khan, like most notorious leaders, didn t have a good childhood. He was born into a noble family, but once his father was murdered, he was filled with hardships. Even through numerous difficulties, like the kidnapping of his wife, Genghis rose to the top, becoming the greatest Mongolian leader Genghis Khan had many enemies. He conquered empires and gained land in the Middle East and most of China. At the time China had been separated in to three empires. He obtained land by conquering one dynasty at a time. He also killed many people. This caused Genghis to have many enemies all through Eurasia.

Between the years 1215 and 1218, Khan attacked both the Xia Xia kingdom and the Jin Dynasty. These two places are in what is now known as China. For reasons unknown, Khan moved from China and started attacking places in central Asia. This occurred from 1218 to 1223. In 2003, a study showed that approximately eight percent of the male population held similar DNA markers. The only explanation was that they were direct descendents of Genghis Khan and his brothers. Genghis Khan s motivation for being leader was very common. He wanted to first take over all of Mongolia. From there, he wanted to obtain enough land to control the rest of the world.

# 4 Attila the Hun

Birth: 406 Death: 453 Attila was also called The Scourge of God. He is known for his great battles against the Romans. Attila the Hun is best know for being the biggest, or one of the biggest, threats to ever oppose the Roman Empire. The ruling over the empire was passed down to Attila and his brother and they both ruled over it for quite some time, that is until Attila murdered him. His death was the beginning of the end for the Hun Empire.

Attila was born into a very influential family. His uncle was a famous ruler and his empire had already conquered places up to the Roman Empire. Attila was used by the Huns as a peace offering between them and the Romans. He was held captive there for over two years and that is why he wanted to destroy them. Attila had many great battles, most of them being against the Romans. What is referred to as his most famous battle, the Battle of Chalons, was also his greatest defeat. It happened in 451 and it was a clash of two of the most powerful forces, the Romans and the Huns.

Attila s greatest enemies were the Romans. As a child, he was used as a hostage in an exchange by the Romans and the Huns. Because of this, he grew to hate the Romans. He wanted his empire to grow as powerful as theirs. Attila wanted the Romans to pay for what they did to him and he wanted to control all of their land. The more land for him, the better. He wanted to fulfill his promise as a child of making them pay. Attila was such a great leader so that must mean that he died in battle, right? Wrong. Attila died on his wedding night. He had too much to drink and passed out. He then had a massive nosebleed and suffocated to death. Of course, this theory is widely questioned. Some people think that his death was a conspiracy and he was murdered.

"We will either find a way, or make one."

Born in 248 BC, Hannibal Barca was one of the great generals of the ancient world, and Rome s deadliest enemy. He commanded the armies of Carthage from 221 to 195 BC, and won many massive battles against the Roman Empire. Upon his father, Hamilcar s, assassination in 221 BC, Hannibal took command of Carthage s army in Iberia, or modern day Spain. In 218 BC, he began his famous march across the Alps with 40,000 foot soldiers and 12,000 cavalry, destined for Italy. He fought three large battles on Italian soil, and emerged victorious every time. At the battle of Trebia in 218 BC, Hannibal s army routed the Roman force and killed 28,000 men. The next year, at the battle of Lake Trasimene, the Carthaginians won another victory at the expense of 15,000 Roman lives. The year after that, the Romans suffered their worst casualties yet at the Battle of Cannae. They lost over 48,000 men, while the Carthaginians only lost 8,000. Cannae was the peak of Carthage s and Hannibal s power, and the Roman empire soon after became the central power in the Mediterranean.

Very little is known of Hannibal Barca s childhood, besides the fact that he grew up in Carthage, and had several sisters and two brothers. His father s name was Hamilcar, and his brother-in-law was the king of Numidia, which explains the close ties between the two kingdoms. Hannibal s father Hamilcar instilled in his son a great hate for Rome. From an early age, Hannibal was taught that Rome was the greatest adversary at Carthage, and must be destroyed in order for Carthage to become the great power of the Mediterranean. Hannibal s principle enemy throughout his life was Rome, but he also had several conflicts with other factions. The Celts and Gauls both did their fair share of fighting against Hannibal, but were also quick to join with him when the prospect of plundering Rome came up.

Hannibal led the Carthaginian army to victory in three massive battles on Italian soil. He was responsible for the deaths of over 90,000 Roman soldiers and untold numbers of civilians during this campaign. Hannibal s role was reversed at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. He was defeated by the superior tactics of the invading Roman General Scipio Africanus. Carthage s power was never the same after this defeat, and Hannibal was relieved of his post as commander-in-chief of the Carthaginian armies. Hannibal had become such a figure of fear in Rome that afterwards, when disaster struck, the Roman senators would exclaim, Hannibal ante portas" ( Hannibal before the gates! ) to express their fear or anxiety.

Born 1138 Died March 4, 1193 A sultan of Egypt, he united and lead the Muslim world. Salah al-din Yusuf Ibn Ayyub, known commonly as Saladin, was born into a prominent Kurdish family. He distinguished himself as a military man during his campaigns against the crusaders. Even his enemies admired him for his sense of chivalry, staying true to the Islamic beliefs of violence. He completely transformed the city of Cairo, introducing a new governmental system and building a defensive wall around its perimeter. He was not just trying to defend a territory, but an entire culture.

Saladin was born into a prominent Kurdish family. His father was the governor of their town. As a child he was supposedly very undistinguished. He preferred religious studies over military training. When he was fourteen, he went into the service of the Syrian ruler, Nureddin. He married an Egyptian woman at age fourteen and she bore him 16 sons. He never took the three other wives that Islam allowed him. Saladin was driven by his need to protect the Muslim way of life. The Crusaders had taken Jerusalem during their campaign. His spiritual beliefs and morals motivated him to recapture the Holy City. When his wife died, his people kept it from him for an entire year, censoring his letters and keeping him distracted. Al Queda idolizes Saladin and study his military tactics. Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Colonel Gaddafi all claim to be his military and spiritual heir.

Saladin recaptured Jerusalem from the crusaders in 1187. It was then that the Battle of the Horns of Hattin occurred, near the lake of Galilee. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the crusades, Saladin versus the Christian Army. Learning of Saladin's victory, the pope immediately sent out more men, causing the third crusade. Saladin fought the Christians from 1189 to 1192. By the time that Saladin died in 1193, he had successfully liberated almost all of Palestine from under the Pope s power. Saladin s main enemy was the Christian Crusaders, specifically Richard I. The enemy that worried him the most however, were the Hashishiyun. Hashishiyun were Kurdish martyr-assassins opposed to Saladin's vast power in the Muslim world. all of Saladin s enemies, his worst and final enemy was his family. When he died, he decreed that his kingdom was to be divided amongst his sons. This weakened the state and his sons feuding and incompetence was the downfall of all he had worked for.

Birth: 28 April 1937 Death: 30 December 2006 Prime Minister and President of Iraq. Known for both Gulf Wars and killing 148 Iraqi Shi ites. President of Iraq (1979-2003). Saddam joined the Ba ath Party in 1957, fled to Cairo after participating in a failed assignation attempt of the Iraqi President. He gained power in 1963, lost power when was jailed when the Ba ath Party was over-run, and regained power in 1968. He became leader of the oil industry in 1972, became president. He launched the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf Wars, unsuccessful in all three. The United States invaded and captured Saddam Hussein in 2003 for cruelty to his countries minorities.

Saddam Hussein was born in the town of Al-Awja. Saddam lived with his mother till he was three, then was sent to live with his Uncle Khairallah Talfah in Baghdad. When he was ten he returned to his home and was greeted by his mother, stepfather, and three half brothers. His step father would beat him and treat him harshly, so Saddam ran away to go back to live with his Uncle. He attended nationalistic high school in Baghdad. He went to Law school for three years, dropped out in 1957, then joined the Ba ath Party at the age of 20, while supporting himself as a secondary school teacher. Saddam Hussein fought in the Iran-Iraq War and both Gulf Wars.

Iran Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq Islamic Movement of Kurdistan Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq Saddam s father disappeared six months before he was born. Saddam s brother died from cancer at the age of thirteen. During the Iran-Iraq war Iraq and its allies lost 500 billion US. Kuwait United States Saudi Arabia United Kingdom France Egypt Syria His motives were simple, he never wanted anyone to assassinate him, so he made people fear him. The Iran-Iraq war was started for the control of oil. The first Gulf War was started because Kuwait wouldn't forgive Iraq s 30 billion dollar debt from the Iran-Iraq war so Saddam attacked them. The second Gulf War Iraq was invaded because they thought Saddam Hussein had weapons of Mass Destruction, they captured Saddam Hussein and tried him for crimes against humanity.

Criteria 7 Most Badass War Leaders Jessica, Andrew B., Melissa, April W., Evan, Tanis, and Andrew K. 1. War leader has to be real/ had to have existed 2. The people featured in the magazine must have been leaders of some form. 3. They had to have been badass. 4. Leaders had to have been responsible for a large body count. 5. Had to have been a leader in times of war.