"Rate Caesar" Topic

On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high), how would you rate Julius Caesar as a military commander?

9-10

High initiative
Seemed to inspire very high morale in his troops
Seemed to have a good feel for the battle field and could size on the right moment
Not overly revolutionary or innovative but he got the best out of the army as it was
I'd say 8-9

9.

Oh. I was going to say his salad and his dressing go together very well.

He also has an awesome death quote.

Rated according to his own account: 11

Rated according to a more unbiased assessment: 8

Opportunist 11
Arrogance 10
Luck 9
Politician 9
Ruthlessness 8

General 7, capable and keen, but not quite outstanding

Don't underestimate the ability of the Roman army to work as a well-oiled war machine, all a commander had to do was point it in the right direction. Even if Caesar had been less capable, the results would have been similar. All the grandstanding and joining the fray is basically Roman Tribune 101.

Caesar never faced a brilliant general like Hannibal who understood how the Roman army fought and campaigned and could use that to his advantage. The rest is basically sound tactics and having a corps of quality officers to give you pointers you can claim as your own later on.

Alexander is often rated the greatest commander of all time, but did he ever face an army or commander as good as Pompey's?

9

As a military commander I would have him as an 8 or 9, based more on his actual sucess rate than the fact that also managed to get himself into some rather tricky situations that might have resulted in defeat if he weren't so good at reacting.

And, as others have noted he was, in wargaming terms, a charismatic leader to the common soldiers.

The problem for me is politics, and sadly for Roman commanders at this point, ability as a politician is integral to opportunity as a general. I suspect that if Pompey hadn't forced the whole Rubicon issue, things may have worked out differently.

We'll never know if he was aiming to be king, or Cincinatus like, to retire to his farm once his duty was done. And that makes it very difficult to allocate a final score.

For me, any way ;)

Having been influenced by these things, Caesar made a march and dragged his impedimenta along with him.

He came out on top fighting political generals and, despite what his press releases said, inferior numbers of moderately trained militia.

Being the best political general….
In our own Civil War, not the Roman kind, would that be Burnsides? Butler? Banks?

I would rate him "pretty darn good overall". I guess that's an 8.

9

Caesar was a solid General but he was beatable. For instance, he did not win in Britannia. 8 is about right.

On Britain, Caesar applied the George Aiken rule: Declate victory and go home.
Naming no names….

I would rate him a 9 and Pompey a 8!!!! Mike Adams

11.

Agree with Patrick R above

I have to admit I have been an admirer of Caesar since I was young when I took out my first library book on him in grade school. Since that time I have read many books and him and have read De Bello Gallico in Latin.

When I think about his skills, talents, and accomplishments, I have to rate him at least a 9 and in the category of one of the greatest generals in the ancient world, if not world history.

He fought barbaric tribes and other Roman generals in multiple terrains and conditions. He came out the victor. If you study his major battles, you have to give him credit for his accomplishments.

No one wins that many battles without being a 10.

And that probably is the definitive point-he kept winning. Was he just lucky?

Certainly see where Patrick R is coming from, but Caesar did face Roman generals, including Pompey, who was no slouch, and defeated them all. He had two reverses at Gergovia and Dyrrachium – and got into a tight spot in Egypt – but these were contained, and the rest were victories.

He could get himself into trouble by overreaching, but was good enough to get himself out of those difficulties.

It seems to be easy to overlook what a feat it was to conquer and pacify Gaul. The fact that he did it in seven or eight years and made it look relatively easy should not blind us to the scale of the achievement.

He understood how to win and won major battles in Gaul, Spain, Greece, Africa, Asia Minor and Spain again. Can anyone else claim that distinction?

Who rivals him? Hannibal? Brilliant, but could not win the war. Alexander? Brilliant, won the wars and won the peace.

Scipio? Brilliant again. Defeated Hannibal, but a Hannibal who was worn out.

He's a 9.5 for me, for the reasons Diocletian284 and BRB give.

Cheers,
Aaron

IX out of X

Assuming that a 10 rank is achievable, I'd rate Caesar a high nine. As has been mentioned the quality of the army he was dealing with has to be taken into account: he inherited a Roman army which had been refined into the best fighting machine in the world, and to which he made no real innovations. As a battlefield commander he was nevertheless excellent, but as a strategist and a conqueror he had some notable weaknesses.

Comparing him with Pompey, as is commonly done, Pompey won battles, but he won hearts and minds as well. He pacified the east and created dozens of loyal client kingdoms. While he had opponents in Rome the only serious threat to his authority came from his own protégé. Caesar's first round of conquest in Gaul led to a major revolt, and he struggled ever to subdue Spain; his ultimate fate in Rome is well-known. And in strategic terms, while Caesar seized and maintained the initative for much of the war, Pompey out-managed him fairly comprehensively over the long term, and ultimately was only defeated because he was forced to push for a decisive engagement against Caesar's higher-quality troops.

If considered in the context of a battlefield commander, Caesar rates higher, I think. The duties of a successful Roman commander of his era, though, were more extensive, and it's on those areas he tends to slide, though to be fair he was a great politician too, perhaps the best of his era.

8-9.

The Bat Cave is correct …

If anyone is a 10, Caesar is.

Mike B