who was most intelligent and brilliant general of germany.and who was the most intelligent general/field marshal in ww2 and why. explain in detail.and many thanks to" red coat" for his replies. [img]http://[/img]

thats a tough one. depends on what type of warfare. in mobile warfare the germans had many great generals, such as rommel, guderien and hoth. in defence there was kesselring, model and vietenghoff. this list is by no means complete as they were many capable german general. certainly germans best general of airborne force was general student. it is easier to tell you the worst, keitel, the man was hitlers yes man and refused to give him the full details of the problems facing the wehrmacht.

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Thoughts on Military History
Cornish Scale Modellers
Ross' Military Modelling and Art

I would answer Rommel and Rommel.I know this is a question of taste as well, but here´s some short commentary:

1. he had the instinct
2. he had the charisma
3. he was able to change his strategy without hesitation if the situation required
4. He inspired troops
5. He used the troops he had to the maximum
( except with the Italians he had had enough )
6.The enemy feared and respected him

I know Friedrich´s gonna kick my butt for this but I´m ready...

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Of course I am, Kai!!! [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

All the things you said are true, indeed. But Rommel was not as good when it came to frontal attacks, defense, static and attrition fighting. Look at El Alamein (and of course, he had many disadvantages on his side). He also was not very good when commanding a very large number of men. He was a tactician more than a strategist. His inventions for the desert warfare and his improvements for the dfense of Normandy were spectacular, there is no doubt that the man was a genious, but he was not as incredible as oftenly is thought. I think Erich von Manstein was far better, more complete, he had some weaknesses, but were very little and in general, his skills included every kind of tactic and therefore, he was a strategist.

What about Eduard Dietl? He was a kind of ugly Rommel, because he was not as handsome, but he did have the same charm, genious tactics and the love of his men... [img]smile.gif[/img]

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun