Forgotten Generals

The answer to the question posed on the left is Belisarius, who became known to history as 'the last of the Romans'. But how many can honestly say they know much about this man, who, as well as being the victor at the Battle of Dara that brought peace to Persia, suppressed an uprising at the hippodrome in Constantinople by massacring 30,000? The same can be said of Albrecht von Wallenstein, Supreme Commander of the Habsburg Armies during the bloody Thirty Years War - the first 'World War'; and Maurice de Saxe, Marshal of France, one of the most successful Generals of the 18th century.

Author Dorian Bond's meticulous selection of military leaders reveals what it is to be a General - and how circumstance can write even the greatest out of history. Count Suvarov, the last Generalissimus of the Russian Empire, never lost a battle. Ennobled by both Catherine the Great and the Emperor Joseph II and undoubtedly one of the greatest commanders in history, he was exiled, recalled to fight the French revolutionary forces in Italy to great effect, but died forgotten in St Petersburg in 1800.

What did General Sir Richard O'Connor do in the Second World War? He took Tobruk and half of Libya, capturing 100,000 prisoners, 400 tanks and 1,000 guns. So why is he nowhere near as famous as Montgomery? The author answers this and many other questions about leadership and fame in these dozen portraits gleaned from primary sources.