[QUOTE=cegorach1]
Quote Originally Posted by Pindar
Yamashite, the Tiger of Singapore is fairly impressive.

With a numerically inferior force, he soundly beat Britain's Percival in Malaysia and followed it up with taking the prize Singapore itself netting some 100,000 prisoners. Due to in-house rivalries Yamashita was afterwards assigned to secondary front duties for the remainder of the war, if I recall correctly.
Quote Originally Posted by Pindar

He was really good indeed.

In the later stage of war was defending the Philippines capitulating with the rest of his troops on Luzon.

My favourite naval commander is Raizo ( sp ?) Tanaka - an excellent commander of destroyer squadrons.
When Yamashite surrendered Manila his Marines (Naval Special Landing Forces) disobeyed the order and continued fighting. Their decision would lead to Manila being the second most destroyed city of the war (Berlin holds the honor of being the most destroyed). Yamashite was blamed even though he ordered the surrender and later executed.

Other distinguished Commanders would be,
General Kuribayashi- Iwo Jima, his forces inflicted heavily casualties on the Marines 25,581 KIA/WIA approximately 1/3 and virtually his entire command of 21,000 men was killed.

Admiral Nagumo- The most famous Carrier commander of the war, he commanded Carriers at Pearl Harbor and Midway. He is often criticized for losing at Midway but it was a very close run battle.