4. Miltiades the Younger
Battle of Marathon (Loss ratio 1:33); according to Herodotus Miltiades the Younger was a member of the Philaid clan and a skilled chariot racer in ancient Greek Olympic. In 490 BC, King Darius I of Persia attempted to secure his western border by incorporating Greek into his Persian Empire. The Battle of Marathon was notable for the first recorded use of double-envelopment tactic, although this might happen by chance, not by Miltiades’ conscious decision. Even so, Miltiades had fought the Persians before and he knew their weaknesses. The double envelopment tactic is regularly used afterwards in countless battles when opposing forces try to outflank one another, but it’s especially useful against an inflexible enemy formation. For example, the tactic was employed with a great degree of success by German in the First World War, during the Battle of Tannenberg.