Who was the best Roman general?

[SwissBarbar]

fraoula, that's why Caesar is such a great general. He not only defeated underpowered Barbarians but also equally equipped Roman armies, led by quite able generals (Pompey)

[anubis88]

I agree that this is a very broad subject, that's one of the reasons i posted it... It will be really interesting what people think...

[Aulus Caecina Severus]

Aulus Caecina Severus, of course.
The best roman general under Augustus.
He defeated Arminius, the hero of Germani.
Roman revenge after Teutoburg.

[Macilrille]

Aulus Caecina Severus, of course.
The best roman general under Augustus.
He defeated Arminius, the hero of Germani.
Roman revenge after Teutoburg.

I protest!!!

Arminus beat Caecina mightily and convincingly using quite innovative tactics to turn the terrain and his own troops' advantages/disadvantages against the Romans. Meanwhile Caecina had to struggle to merely survive. Until the other German chiefs chose Uncle Inguiomerus' plan of direct assault instead of Arminus' cunning one of continued guerrila. Caecina and his army would have faced an even worse defeat than Varus suffered if the Germans did not use the AI tactic of charging mindless against the enemy. Now Caecina was no Varus and was a grizzled and wise campaigner who used all the resources available to him to win. But that one was the Germans' loosing the battle that enabled him and his four legions to survive.

En Varus eodemque iterum fato vinctae legiones!. And, with the word, he cut through the column at the head of a picked band...

Now that is cunning and heroic German warlord at their best :-)

Oh I am tempted to post all Tacitus' account of that battle, if nothing else, old Cornelius was a good writer.

[vartan]

I vote ACS the best general. He has silver manus o_O

[gollum]

Fabius Maximus - the only Roman that used brain and not brawn in his time.

[L.C. SVLLA]

Sulla or Caesar just because I'm a sulla/caesar fan.

[Cambyses]

Well, in terms of pure tactical ability, I would have to say Sertorius, given he was able to hold off and defeat a vastly superior opponent. However, truly great generals IMO are often best defined by who they fought against - and I never rated money-bags Pompey.

So, for me its between Caesar, Scipio Africanus and Marius. Caesar defeated Celts, Greeks and Romans while creating a group of veterans that could defeat anyone. In fact that's the point, for him it almost seemed too easy once he had finished preparing his troops. Marius beat Germano-Celts, Africans and most importantly he was so decisive in Italy itself, beating all comers. And he had the nous to reform the army. But in the end Scipio Africanus beat Hasdrubal, conquered Spain and defeated Hanibal when the best that Rome could muster previously had been utterly destroyed by him - and were too afraid to even look him in the eye again. So, for me its Scipio. Maybe thats not "fair" on the others as they didnt have a Hannibal to fight, but that's my view.

[fraoula]

fraoula, that's why Caesar is such a great general. He not only defeated underpowered Barbarians but also equally equipped Roman armies, led by quite able generals (Pompey)

Well I agree that he was trully outsanding. He conducted many succesful campaings against very complex forces.
It really is difficult to narrow it down to just one. Still I'll stick with Scipio.