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Few figures in modern French history have aroused more controversy than Marshal Philippe Petain, who rose from obscurity to great fame in the First World War only to fall into infamy during the dark days of Nazi occupation in World War II.

No one in the early days of the British ventures in India was as well known or as controversial as Clive became.

Starting with twenty-eight followers, Francisco Pancho Villa rose out of banditry to become a dynamic strategist who mastered the tactical use of a diverse array of weapons, including modern railroads and cavalry, to contest control of Mexico.

Charles George Gordon was the preeminent military hero of the late-Victorian British Empire. A lifetime officer in the Royal Engineers, he served in several theaters of war and imperial contest, most notably China and the Sudan.

One of the Duke of Wellington's officers once remarked, "We would rather see his long nose in the sight than a reinforcement of ten thousand men.

Born into a Quaker family, Nathanael Greene had nothing in his background that pointed to a military career. His total military training before mid-1775, when he abandoned pacifism, consisted of serving as a private in the Rhode Island militia for a few hours each week. Yet, no doubt because of his leadership ability, the Rhode Island Assembly in May 1775 appointed Greene commander of the Rhode Island Army of Observation at the siege of Boston. In June, at age thirty-two, Greene became the youngest general in the Continental Army and the only general who had never held a military commission. When the Revolutionary War ended eight years later, he was the only one of George Washington's generals who had served continuously from its start. Resourceful and courageous, Greene combined common sense, a keen intellect, fine organizational skills, and a remarkable aptitude for using topographical and geographical information. Indeed, he became Washington's most trusted adviser and eventually ranked second in the command structure of the Continental Army. After distinguishing himself in the northern campaign and providing invaluable service as quartermaster general, Greene became commander of the Southern Department with orders to rebuild its forces following devastating losses in South Carolina in 1780. With Georgia and South Carolina under British control and North Carolina and Virginia threatened by invasion, the situation seemed hopeless. Greene, however, combined regulars, militia, and guerrillas into a force that used rapid movement and continuous pressure against the British, outmaneuvering and outguessing them. By 1782, British forces were restricted to just two Southern seaports. With his understanding of unconventional warfare, Greene thus played a significant role in undoing Great Britain's power in North America during the War for Independence.

Most students of the American Civil War know the name George Gordon Meade, but few can tell you about the man. With this addition to Potomac's Military Profiles series, historian Richard Sauers examines the life of one of the Union Army's most notable generals.

It was through bitter experience growing up on the harsh and unforgiving steppes of Mongolia that Genghis Khan learned to trust few people and to be vigilant of the personalities and events around him.

Hyman G. Rickover was not long removed from his Jewish roots in Poland when he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1922. After a respectable career spent mostly in unglamorous submarine and engineering billets, he took command of the U.S.

One man-Capt. Raphael Semmes-dominates the history of Confederate naval operations in the American Civil War.