There is no doubt many impressive Generals in history from Hannibal to Napoleon.
Each one had their own story, background, style that drove them to be great.
There is many good documentaries about Generals that show what made them who they become.
Here we list our favorite documentaries about Generals and will update as we find more.
If you have a favorite let us know in the comments below.
Best Documentaries About Generals
- Alexander the Great
- Julius Caesar
- Hannibal versus Rome
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Douglas MacArthur
Watch Our Pick for the Best Alexander the Great Documentary Here
Alexander stands out too many as the best General of all time and studied for his brilliance and Boldness in battle.
Many other great Generals in history have looked at Alexander as the template for what they wanted to become.
Julius Caesar once cried in front of a statue of Alexander which is friends asked him about.
“His friends were surprised, and asked him the reason of it. ‘Do you think,’ said he, ‘I have not just cause to weep, when I consider that Alexander at my age had conquered so many nations, and I have all this time done nothing that is memorable?’”
Watch Our Pick for the the Best Julius Caesar Documentary Here
Julius Caesar was one of Rome’s greatest generals and leaders but also a divider as well as uniter.
He was one of the best generals in history conquering much of Gaul (modern France) and invaded Britain for a short time.
After conquering many foreign lands his many enemies in Rome called him back which they new without his army would be helpless.
Many in Rome looked at him as a threat since he had become very popular with his many victories abroad.
Eventually, Caesar did return crossing an infamous river called the Rubicon which no General or army was to cross.
The Rubicon was a small river that by law no Roman general could cross with a Roman army.
If he did not take his army he would be helpless and at the mercy of his many enemies.
After much thought, he crossed the Rubicon uttering the famous phrase ālea iacta est (“the die has been cast”).
Today, the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” is a metaphor that means to pass a point of no return.
Once into mainland Italy, a civil war began between his followers and the old guard of Rome.
The old guard was lead by Pompey, C. Claudius Marcellus, L. Cornelius Lentulus Crus, and a large part of the Roman Senate which fled Rome in fear.
The old guard viewed him as a dictator wanting to take the power away from the Senate and the people.
Before Cesar, a leader (Console) in Rome could only be in charge of Rome for 1 year.
Cesar looked to become a leader for life which eventually he did ending the Roman Republic in 27 BC that stood for 400 years.
After Cesar Rome carried on for another 400 years but as a Roman Empire led mainly by one person called, of course, Cesar.
Watch Our Pick for the the Hannibal Documentary Here
Hannibal is no doubt one of the greatest generals of all time with unrelenting all-out war on the Romans.
Set during the Punic wars Hannibal inherited from his father a hatred of Rome which he set out to destroy.
Best known for crossing the Alps with elephants he entered Italy quickly killing hundreds of thousand of Romans.
The Romans could not stop him with Hannibal roaming around Italy conquering any army that came at him.
Even though Hannibal was unstoppable he had one weakness that he never could bring Rome to its knees.
One of his men best summed it up saying “You know how to win a battle but not a war”.
Hannibal waged war against Rome his entire life until an old man after losing everything.
During the war he lost his father, brothers, home city Carthage, and finally his life.
Watch Our Pick for the Napoleon Bonaparte Documentary Here
Napoleon is a General known for his brilliant tactics.
Born on the island of Corsica he went on to become the best General in French history as well as its Emperor.
He was a lieutenant that command artillery when the French Revolution broke out that would eventually catapult him onto the work stage.
Known for his quick mind he was the first to use canned meals for troops as well as many other ingenious battle innovations.
There is much more to Napoleon than a General from his domineering mother to his final loss at Waterloo his story is one to last the ages.
Watch Our Pick for the Best Douglas MacArthur Documentary Here
Douglas MacArthur was an American five-star general and Field Marshal located in the Philippines. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines Campaign (1944-45).
In 1942, with his position in the Philippines made hopeless by Japan’s destruction of more than half the planes in his Far East Command, MacArthur leaves pledging “I shall return!” MacArthur does return, with riveting victories in the Pacific and the handling of of Japan after the war, he was also armed with Presidential aspirations.
The beginning of an extraordinary career young Douglas with his father General Arthur MacArthur was a Colonel in the Civil War and veteran of the Philippine campaign in the Spanish-American war. He had opportunities to study the entire far eastern area gaining an insight into the attitudes and feelings of people’s hardly known by the West at the beginning of World War.
McArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt who regarded him as our greatest general to leave the Philippines and to carry on the fight from Australia. Leaving the Philippines hurt him deeply as he always wished to be at the front beside his comrades.