The greatest military force of all-time would be the Russians in 1945. No other group of people could lose so many millions and still be able to defeat the other greatest military force, the Germans of 1941. Consider that Germany conquered most of Europe, defended territory in Africa, and then pushed as far as East as Moscow and Stalingrad. In 1941, they seemed unbeatable. In 1945, they were crushed. While it took a world to do it, the brunt of the fighting was performed by the Russians. Seven out of eight German soldiers died fighting on the Eastern Front.
You can put any military commander in the same position as Hitler in 1941 and there would have been no real solution for defeating Russia. It was truly the unbeatable military force.
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I'm thinking of the "Grande Armee" of 1805 , Ulm & Austerlitz...yes they were guided by a military genius but it was an army at its best ,the french soldier of 1805 was the zenit of the war in the age of the powder and musket, the march from the Channel to the depth of Europe is without equals, and on top of this they fought 2 great battles with 2 armies superior in numbers and logistics, and won.The French army had its leaders at their best too, think at Davout..I'd go with the French Army in 1805 all my life.
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I’m going to cheat and say the Special Night Squads, Gideon Force and the Chindits. The reason I’m listing three is that they were all created by Orde Wingate and all three were similar in their approach to operations.
The Special Night Squads (SNS) were a joint British-Jewish force consisting of British soldiers and Jewish Settlement Police, established by Orde Wingate in Palestine in 1936, during the 1936-1939 Arab revolt. Wingate hand-picked his men, among them Moshe Dayan and trained them to form mobile ambushes. The force was highly successful in bringing attacks by Arab guerrillas on the pipeline of the Iraqi Petroleum Company to a halt. However, the squads were known for their ruthless efficiency and brutal methods. It has been suggested that training included how to kill without compunction, how to interrogate prisoners by shooting every tenth man to make the rest talk; and how to deter future terrorists by pushing the heads of captured ones into pools of oil and then freeing them to tell the story. What is interesting is the British viewed Wingate as a security risk and the SNS were disbanded in 1938. Wingate was posted out of the country and his passport was stamped "NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER PALESTINE".
Gideon Force another of Wingate’s units was a small British-led African regular force which acted as a Corps d'Elite amongst the irregular Ethiopian forces fighting the Italian occupation forces in Ethiopia during the East African Campaign of World War II. The Gideon Force, with the aid of local resistance fighters, harassed Italian forts and their supply lines while the regular army took on the main forces of the Italian army. The small Gideon Force of no more than 1,700 men took the surrender of about 20,000 Italians toward the end of the campaign.
The Chindits were formed into long range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines. Most of the members of the Chindits were from units of the British Army and Gurkha units of the British Indian Army. Both operations; Operation Longcloth and Thursday proved successful against the Japanese forces in the Burmese jungle.
All three of these units were created with the intent to surprise and harass the enemy through unconventional warfare. Their objects might have been small but they achieved great things considering their size. Their approach to operations is an inspiration for all the modern Special Forces we see around the world today.
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Mike-I know the feeling of irritation when you read about these match ups that are impossible to judge, but then you get sucked into the argument. I have been involved in a few, at least two on these blog pages-10 world changing weapons and who is greatest British (or was that English?) hero. So in spite of my past experience, I will dive in again and nominate the British Royal Navy as the greatest military force. Yes, I know the title of the blog is “greatest military force”, not “greatest naval force”, but read me out. (And please, no jokes about “Rum, the lash, and sodomy.”)
To qualify for the honor of being named the “Greatest Military Force,” first and foremost the honoree must have had a substantial influence on world we live in. Their accomplishments must be recognizable in the societies we live in today. Their influence must have been sustained through one or more historical periods and the effects must be long lasting. Courage, dash, efficiency, technological leadership, and a few beneficial non-military byproducts add bonus points. But at the end of the day, you should be able to answer the question “why do the accomplishments of this armed force matter?”
I present to you the Royal Navy as an example of an armed force that has made a difference in the world we live in today. The short version of this line of argument is the Royal Navy made possible the development of the British Empire and with it the foundations of a world-wide network of trade. This trade network is the origin of today’s “global economy”. In times of peace the Royal Navy also suppressed piracy and eventually suppressed the African slave trade. (Of course it also allowed plantations operated by slave labor to profit from trade in a global market.) The Royal Navy in conjunction with British entrepreneurs, settlers, and diplomats introduced the rule of law, representative government, and modern economies to many parts of the world. The Royal Navy was the dominate sea power from about 1700 to 1942 and exercised unrivaled influence on all activities at sea during this period. The service has an impressive list of great leaders and hero, and a longer list of great victories. The service has also made impressive contributions to science on both land and sea, to the technologies of navigation, weapons, and shipbuilding. We live in a world where free, unimpeded trade on the oceans is taken for granted, and are shocked when an outbreak of piracy erupts. We live in a world where economic activity and international affairs are dominated by free-trading, representative democracies. The Royal Navy does not deserve all of the credit for these developments, but among the world’s armed forces, the Royal Navy is in the front rank of those that help create and sustain the conditions that shaped the modern world.
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I would suggest the Mongols as they created a large empire through adapting to new techniques, learning from their mistakes and trying again. They fought many adversaries from Russian knights to Syrian Muslims to Samurai, these battles spanned oceans, jungles, deserts, snow covered plains and everything in between. Unlike the Army of Alexander the Great, upon the death of a leader the Mongol armies remained relatively stable and focussed on their assigned conquests. They changed from a military force based on horseback (hit and run tactics ) to one that was adept at siege and diplomacy (as well as terror). They remain the only army that i am aware of that has successfully invaded Russia and of course they battled China and won. (although it took a while ). Thats my 2 cents worth anyway. Thanks for the opportunity.
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I would suggest the Mongols as they created a large empire through adapting to new techniques, learning from their mistakes and trying again. They fought many adversaries from Russian knights to Syrian Muslims to Samurai, these battles spanned oceans, jungles, deserts, snow covered plains and everything in between. Unlike the Army of Alexander the Great, upon the death of a leader the Mongol armies remained relatively stable and focussed on their assigned conquests. They changed from a military force based on horseback (hit and run tactics ) to one that was adept at siege and diplomacy (as well as terror). They remain the only army that i am aware of that has successfully invaded Russia and of course they battled China and won. (although it took a while ). Thats my 2 cents worth anyway. Thanks for the opportunity.
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Hi, so many to choose from and would have difficulty in choosing The Mongols, Royal Navy and Alexander, however, in purely conventional warfare I would choose the combined might of the USA at the end of World War 2. Reason being the capability to conduct large operations anywhere on the globe in all three theatres (Air, sea and land) witha vast re-supply system to conduct these operations over a very long period. US manufacturing would quickly make up lost equipment and with their intelligence gathering (again world wide) I believe would have defeated even the powerful Russian forces then available in 1945.
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