History's greatest war leader?

I would add MacArthur to that list.
He defeated Japan, then he oversaw the rebuilding of Japan and was instrumental in it becoming the economic powerhouse it is today.

Erwin Rommel, was a brilliant tactician and a smart commander.
He was able to handle everything the allies threw at him, till he was finally just outgunned and outmanned.

For pure military genius, lets not forget people like Geronimo, and Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce.
Geronimo led a small band of warriors, and for years he was able to outthink, outmanuever, and outrun the entire US army.

Chief Joseph was an unwilling warrior.
He didnt want war, and he led his people on a fighting retreat that came very close to suceeding.

The list of military and civilian leaders that would fit your criteria is endless.

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While I agree that MacArthur was a man of many gifts and excelled as a division commander during WWI, and as our Viceroy in Japan after WWII, his military prowess as a Theater commander during WWII and the Korean conflict is much overrated.

He was caught utterly unprepared in the Philippines at the outset of WWII. The Japanese attacks from Formosa were entirely predictable, and his forces were poorly deployed and unready. He did a creditable job in his South Asaia campaign later on, but that was really a sideshow. Japan was defeated at Midway and in the Marianas campaign in the opening years of the war. These operations; and the real "Island hopping" that led to the creation of bases near japan from which we could attack them directly; as well as the submarine campaign that destroyed Japanese vital imports of raw materials, were what brought about Japan's defeat were all led by Admiral Chester Nimitz. MacArthur was but a political force who commanded resources only to avoid embarassment, he was even an annoying distraction to the real effort.

His brilliance in orchestrating the amphibious landings at Inchon in Korea made up for his earlier unpreparedness in his theater. His folly in pressing the attack to the Yalu river, while ignoring the basic strategic interests of China and even specific intelligence pointing to their intervention almost cost us the whole thing.

A great figure, no doubt, but certainly not one of the best.

Shouldn't the following be included as they formed Empires:

Alexander the Great - The Greek Empire

Julius Caesar - the Roman Empire

Genghis Khan - the Mongol Empire, world's largest empire in terms of land mass

Peter the Great - The Russian Empire

Charlemagne - the Holy Roman Empire

Alexander the Great (died at age 32) and Julius Caesar were so close in time it would be great if they met and battled each other and see who won.