"Hannibal Barca is the most famous of the three Carthaginian military leaders known as Hannibal, the guy who famously led his forces -- including elephants -- across the Alps and into Rome, where he terrorized Roman forces during the Second Punic War. The son of a general, Hannibal became the commander of the army in 221 B.C. and waged victorious campaigns across northwestern Iberia (modern Spain). Determined to have revenge on Rome for its victory in the First Punic War, Hannibal led his forces in a daring overland campaign in 218 B.C., rather than challenge Roman forces on the Mediterranean. By 211 B.C. he had marched on Rome and had early success, but found it difficult to maintain control and was forced to withdraw and negotiate peace. For the next ten years he failed in his attempts to recapture his earlier military glory, and he ended up taking his own life by swallowing poison."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was one of the most honored generals of the American Civil War, the Confederate general who lost his arm and then his life from "friendly fire." A graduate of West Point (1846), Jackson distinguished himself as a young officer in the U.S. - Mexican War (1846-48), then spent ten years as a professor of natural philosophy and an instructor in artillery tactics at the Virginia Military Institute (1851-61). A disciplined and aggressive master of tactics, he fought at the first Battle of Bull Run and won the nickname "Stonewall" for his calm demeanor and stout defense of Henry Hill. Commander of the forces in the Shenandoah Valley, he succeeded against Union forces throughout the region in battle after battle. He was with Robert E. Lee at the Seven Days' Battles and fought at Manassas Junction, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorville. After the battle at Chancellorville (May 2-4, 1863), Jackson was wounded by his own soldiers and his left arm was amputated. A week later he died, possibly of pneumonia."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Known as "Old Blood and Guts," George S. Patton, Jr. was one of the most colorful generals of World War II. Patton went to the Virginia Military Institute and to West Point, where he was an undistinguished student but a remarkable athlete. A cavalryman and swordsman in the U.S. Army, he served on the staff of General John J. Pershing during the 1916 pursuit of Pancho Villa in Mexico, and during World War I Patton fought in Europe and became an early expert in a radical new form of battle machine: tanks. After the war he continued to study tanks, learned to be a pilot and sailor and held administrative posts in the Army. During World War II he served in North Africa and Sicily before becoming the commander of the Third Army. Highly effective, he was also highly unusual: among other mild eccentricities, he wore ivory-handled Colt. 45 revolvers and (late in the war) travelled with a bull terrier named Willie. Toward the close of the war, with Patton using his tanks to their full effectiveness, the Third Army defied the odds and drove the Nazis across France and back into Germany. Patton was not known for diplomacy -- in one famous incident he slapped a hospitalized soldier for what he believed was cowardice -- and his outspokenness caused him to be relieved of command of the Third Army after the war."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Caesar is remembered as one of history's greatest generals and a key ruler of the Roman empire. As a young man he rose through the administrative ranks of the Roman republic, accumulating power until he was elected consul in 59 BCE. Over the next 15 years he led Roman armies against enemies abroad, especially in Gaul, while fighting Pompey and others for political control at home. In 45 B.C.E. he reached his ultimate success, being named dictator of Rome for life. That rule was short-lived: the next year he was stabbed to death in the Senate by a group led by his follower Marcus Junius Brutus"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Dwight D. Eisenhower was the most famous U.S. Army general of World War II and the 34th president of the United States. A career Army man, he rose to the level of five-star general and oversaw the Allied forces in Europe, including the famous D-Day invasion of France in 1944. After the war he served briefly as president of Columbia University, then was chosen over Robert A. Taft as the Republican candidate for U.S. president in 1952. He won handily in 1952 and again in 1956, defeating Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson both times. Eisenhower was succeeded by John F. Kennedy, who defeated Eisenhower's vice president, Richard Nixon, in the elections of 1960. Ike survived a half-dozen heart attacks over 15 years before succumbing to a final attack in 1969."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Genghis Khan was the official title of a Mongol warrior named Temujin, a 13th century ruler who founded an empire that included parts of China, Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe. After a childhood of violence and enslavement, Temujin became a powerful tribal chieftan. By 1206 he had unified rival clans and taken the title Genghis Khan (or Chinggis Khan), meaning "universal ruler." Over the next three decades he led a constant military campaign that ravaged vast areas and subjugated millions of people, earning him a reputation in the history books as a brutal monster. His successful military tactics included quick cavalry attacks and novel methods of siege warfare, and he is famous for adapting his methods to meet new challenges. In recent years his image in the West as a warmonger has been tempered somewhat with the acknowledgment that under his rule there was a beneficial transfer of culture and technology as his armies moved through Asia, the Middle East and Europe. An able administrator, Genghis Khan established an empire that lasted more than 150 years after his death. Over time his empire was divided and weakened and most of his conquests were lost; his last ruling descendant, Amil Khan of Bukhara, was deposed by Soviet forces in 1920."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Lee was the Confederacy's most famous general in the American Civil War. He attended West Point (graduating second in his class) and became an engineer in the United States Army, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War. As the Civil War broke out he resigned his commission and joined the forces of the South. In 1862 he was made commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and over the next three years became famous as he led the army to a series of victories over the larger and better-equipped Union forces. He was defeated at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg and finally surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on 9 April 1865, effectively ending the war."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Isoroku Yamamoto studied at Harvard from 1919 to 1921, and returned to the United States in 1925 on a diplomatic mission. He didn't want to go to war with the United States, but when called upon by his country Yamamoto planned the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and then led the Japanese navy to its early victories in World War II. When the U.S. decoded a Japanese message in 1943 that included Admiral Yamamoto's itinerary, they ambushed his plane in the south Pacific and killed him."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was one of the most celebrated Nazi commanders during World War II, a sly tactician whose exploits in North Africa earned him the nickname "The Desert Fox." Rommel joined the German army in 1910 and served with distinction during World War I, in campaigns in France, Romania and Italy. His courage and daring gave him a reputation among German soldiers that spawned the saying, "Where Rommel is, there is the front." After the war he remained in the German army as an instructor, a role that led to his publishing a book on infantry tactics in 1936. Around this time he caught the attention of Adolf Hitler, who put him in charge of security for the rallies at Nüremberg. In the early part of World War II, Rommel commanded Hitler's personal military escort, but in 1940 he was given command of the 7th Panzer Division for the invasion of France. In 1941 Rommel was directed to shore up Italian defenses in Libya; instead of merely holding the line, he attacked British forces and soon drove them as far as Egypt. His fearlessness on the battlefield and his skill at deceiving the Allies made him a Hitler favorite and the most talked-about Nazi commander throughout 1941 and 1942. Even his defeat at El Alamein in the fall of 1942 is considered proof of his tactical skill: he led his army on a rapid 700-mile retreat with minimal losses.

In late 1943 Rommel was sent to France to direct the defenses for an expected Allied invasion. In July 1944 a British aircraft fired on Rommel's car, killing his driver and causing a crash that gave Rommel a serious head injury. While recuperating he found out he had been implicated in a plot to assassinate Hitler (an attempt on 20 July 1944 by Claus von Stauffenberg failed). Rather than face trial, Rommel was allowed to take a fatal dose of poison on 14 October 1944. The public was told he had died of complications from his head wound, and Rommel was given a state funeral. It is generally agreed that Rommel was not involved in the plot against Hitler, and he has gone down in history as an admired military tactician loyal to Hitler and the German army."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Being a fervorous adept of blitzkrieg's doctrine, Erwin brought that knowledge to the field (+MA). He can now go deep inside opposing defenses.

"Ernest "Che" Guevara worked and studied medicine in various parts of Latin America, teaming up with Fidel Castro in 1959 to force a revolution in Cuba. After the revolution, Guevara was second only to Castro in power. In 1965 he left Cuba and travelled the world, working unsuccessfully toward Marxist/Leninist revolutions in the Congo and Bolivia. Known for his flamboyance and ruthless dedication to revolution, Guevara became an anti-capitalist icon in the 1960s. He was captured in Bolivia by U.S.-backed military forces and executed in 1967."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Lenin was a driving force behind the Russian Revolution of 1917 and became the first great dictator of the Soviet Union. After his brother was executed in 1887 (for plotting to kill the Czar), Lenin gave up studying law and became a full-time revolutionary. He studied Karl Marx and formed workers' groups, but was arrested and exiled to Siberia in 1895. In 1900 he went to Europe, and in 1903 he led the Bolsheviks in the split of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' party. When revolution broke out in Russia in 1917, he led the Bolsheviks to control the government. Lenin had complete political control over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) until his death, and is remembered as the man who put Marx's ideas to practical use."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"A hero of the Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc remains a French national hero six centuries later. As a teenager she heard voices from on high urging her to save France from English domination. Despite being a young woman, she was placed at the head of an army; she attacked the English and forced them to retreat from Orléans. Later she was captured by the English, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. In 1920 she was canonized by the Catholic Church."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++ Natural Leaders Team Captain ++++++++++