Military Commanders of World War I

Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby was the last great British leader of mounted cavalry. He directed the Palestine campaign in World War I.

David Beatty commanded Britain’s battle cruisers in the Battle of Jutland (1916).

Tasker Howard Bliss directed the American mobilization effort when the United States entered World War I.

Aleksey Alekseyevich Brusilov directed a Russian offensive on the Eastern Front against Austria-Hungary (June–August 1916), which aided the Western allies at a crucial time during World War I.

Julian Hedworth George Byng was a British field marshal who conducted the first large-scale tank attack in history (at Cambrai, France, November 20, 1917).

Luigi Cadorna completely reorganized Italy’s ill-prepared army on the eve of World War I.

Sir Arthur William Currie rose through the ranks from enlisted militiaman to lieutenant general and commander of the Canadian Corps. He was one of the most-gifted general officers in any army during the war.

After the catastrophic Italian defeat at Caporetto (October 1917), Armando Diaz stabilized the Italian army and mounted a strong counteroffensive. His decisive victory at Vittorio Veneto, Italy (October 24–November 3, 1918), signaled the defeat of the Austrian forces.

French general Ferdinand Foch commanded the Allied forces during the closing months of World War I and is generally considered the leader most responsible for the Allied victory.

John French commanded the British army on the Western Front between August 1914, when World War I began, and December 1915.

J.F.C. Fuller was a British army officer and military theoretician who became one of the founders of modern armored warfare.

As military commander of Paris, Joseph-Simon Gallieni directed the counteroffensive that checked the German advance at the Marne and saved the French capital.

Douglas Haig was commander in chief of the British forces in France during most of World War I. His strategy of attrition (tautly summarized as “kill more Germans”) resulted in enormous numbers of British casualties but little immediate gain.

John Rushworth Jellicoe was a British admiral of the fleet who commanded at the crucial Battle of Jutland (May 31, 1916) during World War I.

Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre, commander in chief (1914–16) of the French armies on the Western Front in World War I, won fame as “the Victor of the Marne.”

As secretary of state for war at the beginning of World War I, Horatio Herbert Kitchener organized armies on a scale unprecedented in British history and became a symbol of the national will to victory.

As British admiral of the fleet and first sea lord, Louis Alexander Mountbatten was responsible, with Winston Churchill, for the total mobilization of the fleet prior to World War I.

Sir John Monash was commander of the Australian army corps in France during World War I.

John J. Pershing commanded the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe during World War I.

Philippe Pétain was a national hero in France for his victory at the Battle of Verdun, but he was discredited as chief of state of the French government at Vichy in World War II.

Radomir Putnik commanded the Serbian army to victory against the Austrians in 1914.

Hugh Montague Trenchard helped lay the foundations of the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Enver Paşa played a key role in the Ottoman entry into World War I on the side of Germany.

Erich von Falkenhayn was Prussian minister of war and chief of the imperial German General Staff early in World War I.

Colmar, Freiherr von der Goltz was an imperial German field marshal who reorganized the Turkish army (1883–96) and served as commander in chief of Turkish forces against the British in Mesopotamia (Iraq) during World War I.

Paul von Hindenburg won a crushing victory for Germany on the Eastern Front, but he was unable to translate that success to triumph in the West.

Max Hoffmann was the architect of several striking German victories on the Eastern Front in World War I, most notably at the Battle of Tannenberg (1914).

Alexander von Kluck commanded the First Army in the German offensive against Paris at the beginning of World War I.

Erich Ludendorff was mainly responsible for Germany’s military policy and strategy in the latter years of World War I.

August von Mackensen was one of the most successful commanders in World War I, leading German armies to a string of victories on the Eastern Front.

Helmuth von Moltke’s modification of the German attack plan in the west and his inability to retain control of his rapidly advancing armies significantly contributed to the halt of the German offensive on the Marne in September 1914 and the frustration of German efforts for a rapid decisive victory.

Józef Piłsudski deftly utilized support from Austria-Hungary and Germany to bring about a postwar independent Poland.

Reinhard Scheer commanded the German High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland (1916).

Alfred von Tirpitz was the chief builder of the German navy in the 17 years preceding World War I.