Tokugawa Ieyasu wasthe founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which lasted over 250 years. Hefinally ended the Sengoku Period of Japan, and pacified and unified Japan. Hedid this by defeating the Forces loyal to the Toyotomi clan, and several clansof Western Japan. He was a great leader who is believed to have fought in over90 battles. He is considered to have united Japan after the people’s morale hasbeen weakened, following their defeat by the Koreans in the Imjin War.
Lê L?i was thefounder of the Lê Dynasty, which became the longest ruling Dynasty in VietnamsHistory (1428-1788). In 1407, Ming China attacked Vietnam, conquering thecountry. In 1418, Lê L?i started an army to fight Ming, whom he successfullydefeated in 1427. Lê L?i is among the most famous figures from the medieva1period of Vietnamese history, and one of its greatest heroes.
Eulji Mundeok was aKorean General in the Goguryeo-Sui Wars. The Goguryeo-Sui wars were a series ofcampaigns launched by Sui Dynasty China against Goguryeo Dynasty Korea in 598and 612-614. Eulji Mundeok’s army was heavily outnumbered, with about 300,000Korean soldiers against over 1 million Sui soldiers, in both invasions. Theincredible outcome was Eulji Mundeok’s successful defence of Goguryeo. Thevictory contributed to the downfall of the Sui Dynasty.
Han Shizhong was aChinese general of Song Dynasty China. General Han was considered to be amilitary inventor for modifying and improving bows and armor. General Han alsofought in the Jurchen Invasions of China, resulting in a Chinese Victory.Today, Han Shizhong is remembered as a hero in China for dedicating his life tothe Song Dynasty and successfully defeating the Jurchen invaders.
Tōgō Heihachirō isconsidered one of Japan’s greatest naval heroes. Heihachirō is known for beingthe Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy in Russo-Japanese War. Thewar resulted in a Japanese Victory, with one of the most notable battles beingthe Battle of Tsushima. Under the command of Heihachirō, the battle ended withtwo-thirds of the Russian fleet destroyed, and very few casualties to theJapanese navy. Heihachirō was deemed the “Nelson of the East.”
朝鲜，1537-1599
Kwon Yul was asuccessful Korean army general in the Imjin War. He is best known for hisvictory in the Battle of Ichi and the Battle of Haengju. Inthe battle of Ichi, Kwon Yul’s army of 1,000 fought 10,000 Japanese soldiers.Kwon Yul’s victory resulted in the recapture of the Jeollan province fromJapan. In the Battle of Haengju, Kwon Yul’s army of 2,800 defeated JapaneseCommander, Kato Kiyomasa’s, army of 30,000. The battle resulted in over 10,000casualties for the Japanese, and it was considered one of the three mostimportant victories for the Koreans in the Imjin War.
阮文惠(越南语：Nguy?n V?n Hu?，1753年-1792年9月16日)，又名阮惠(越南语：Nguy?n Hu?)，后改名阮光平(越南语：Nguy?n Quang Bình)
Nguyen Hue, alsoknown as Emperor Quang Trung, was the second emperor of the Tay S?n Dynasty ofVietnam. In the 18th century, the Lê Dynasty of Vietnam was in the control of 2feuding families: the Trinh Lords of the North, and the Nguy?n Lords of theSouth. Both sides frequently fought each other for control of the nation,whilst claiming to be loyal to the king. Nguyen Hue became the leader of thefamous Tay S?n Rebellion, where he defeated the Trinh Lords, and overthrew theLê Dynasty. The Lê emperor fled to Qing China, and begged the Emperor for aid.He sent an army to Vietnam but the campaign ended in utter defeat for the Qingarmy. Today, Nguy?n Hu? is considered one of the most successful militarycommanders in Vietnam history.
Now how can you notknow this guy? Sun Tzu is known for his book of “The Art of War”, whichpresents a philosophy of war for managing conflicts and being victorious inbattles. The book is considered to be a masterpiece on strategy, and isfrequently referred to and cited by generals since its publication. Sun Tzu’s,“The Art of War,” has inspired and helped many military generals achievesuccess – including Napoleon and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Another famouscommander, even to westerners. Genghis Khan was the founder of the MongolEmpire, the largest empire in history. Khan conquered several empires ofcentral Asia, East Asia, Eurasian, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Heachieved this incredible feat by uniting many nomadic tribes of north-eastAsia, and through excellent military intelligence and tactics. In present day,Genghis Khan is highly regarded as the founding father of Mongolia.
朝鲜，1545-1598
Admiral Yi Sun-Sinwas a Korean naval leader in the Imjin War, who won all 23 of his battles byusing excellent military tactics and strategies, even though he wasout-numbered in every battle he fought. The Battle of Hansando, which was themost important battle in that it turned the tide of the war. Admiral Yi’s navywas heavily outnumbered by the Japanese vessels (56 Korean ships against 73Japanese ships), but Yi was victorious through excellent military tactics.Japanese casualties were 66 ships destroyed, and over 9000 soldiers dead, whileKorea lost no ships, and only 19 soldiers.
Perhaps Yi’s mostamazing victory was in the Battle of Myeongnyang, where he did the impossibleby defeating 333 Japanese ships with only 13 ships. The end results were 123ships disabled and/or destroyed, and 18,000 Japanese soldiers dead, while Yi’sfleet lost no ships and lost only 36 soldiers at most.
Admiral Yi is alsocredited for his invention of the effective Turtle Ship. Theship had a spiked top, making boarding almost impossible, and had a dragon headthe front, which could shoot out smoke or cannon balls.
李舜臣将军也是龟船的发明人。这种船以单顶覆盖，使敌人无法登陆，船头装有龙头，可射出烟雾和炮弹。
Admiral Yi was evencredited by Japanese Admiral, Tetsutaro Sato, where he chose AdmiralYi over Lord Nelson as the better military Commander:
“Throughouthistory there have been few generals accomplished at the tactics of frontalattack, sudden attack, concentration and dilation. Napoleon, who mastered theart of conquering the part with the whole, can be held tohave been such a general, and among admirals, two further tactical geniuses maybe named: in the East, Yi Sun-sin of Korea, and in the West, Horatio Nelson ofEngland. Undoubtedly, Yi is a supreme naval commander even on the basis of thelimited literature of the Seven-Year War, and despite the fact that his braveryand brilliance are not known to the West, since he had the misfortune to beborn in Joseon Dynasty. Anyone who can be compared to Yi should be better thanMichiel de Ruyter from the Netherlands. Nelson is far behind Yi in terms ofpersonal character and integrity. Yi was the inventor of the covered warshipknown as the turtle ship. He was a truly great commander and a master of thenaval tactics of three hundred years ago.”
“在历史中只有极少的几位将领通晓正面进攻、奇袭、集中于扩张兵力的奥妙。拿破仑最精通进攻一项，大概可以算作一位。而在海军之中，有两位战术天才也值得 一提：在东方，就是朝鲜的李舜臣;在西方，就是英格兰的纳尔逊。无可怀疑的是，即使记录壬辰战争的文字是那么有限，而且因为出生在朝鲜王朝，他本人的勇气 与智慧在西方又那么不为人所知，李舜臣也堪称是一位顶级的海军将领。李舜臣这样的人物远超尼德兰的Michiel de Ruyter，甚至是纳尔逊，在个人品质和廉正方面也不及李舜臣。李舜臣也是龟船的发明者。他确实是一位真正出色的将领，也是三百年前的海战战术大师。”
Today, Admiral Yi isremembered as Korea’s greatest hero, and the one of the greatest militaryleaders in history.