Five Great Captains

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The Five Great Captains is a collective name used by fans for the five finest generals alive in the Westlands in the last years of the Third Age. They are known for their supreme skills in the ways of war and strategy. 
== Origin ==
The term is normally used with lower case in the books and is first mentioned by Nuhel Dromand:
The fact that he says "few" means that there were more of them in the past. How these men achieved the title is not mentioned. Eamon Valda recalls that Pedron Niall was "accounted a great captain" and Alviarin Freidhen that Gareth Bryne was "acknowledged a great captain". Queen Ethenielle, on the other hand, mentions that her general and Sword-Bearer, Baldhere, "was not counted among the great captains, but he knew when to fight and when not, as well as how to win." Some clue on how a general becomes a great captain come in Winter's Heart where Mat thinks "Great captains earned their reputation not just for laying brilliant plans, but for still being able to find victory after those plans began to fall apart." This suggests that the great captains may become so by reputation after winning a great and surprising victory and that they have done so more than once.
In Crossroads of Twilight, the term is capitalised for the first time as "Great Captain" in Egwene's PoV. Sanderson also capitalises it in every instance in The Gathering Storm, but then uses mostly lower case in Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light.
Great Captain is a term used only in the Westlands and not in Seanchan.
==The Great Captains==
The five men who are known as the Five Great Captains and their main achievements are as follows:
Pedron Niall
Former Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light until his assassination. He was the oldest of the Great Captains by some margin, having been born in . 
He is possibly most famous for his bold moves that instigated the Whitecloak War in a power grab for nothern Altara. He defeated the army of Illian as well as capturing and ransoming the king, Mattin Stepaneos den Balgar. While the Children of the Light were eventually pushed back, the border of Amadicia sill pushes up against the River Eldar and villages along the Altaran side, such as Salidar remained abandoned.
Niall also was one of the commanders of the Grand Alliance during the Aiel War.
Even in his late eighties, he was a force to be reckoned with. He had a plan to re-establish the nation of Almoth and then use his controlled territories to gain control of Tarabon. This plan was disrupted by the arrival of the Seanchan on Toman Head and possible sabotage by Jaichim Carridin.
Agelmar Jagad
The Lord of Fal Dara in Shienar and nephew to King Easar Togita. 
Since the fall of Malkier, he has defended the northern border of the Westlands from the encroaching Blight and armies of Shadowspawn. The area of Tarwin's Gap was 
He commanded 29,000 men against the Aiel during the Aiel War, the largest single force within the Grand Alliance.
During the Last Battle, he was given command of the forces at Tarwin's Gap, including those led by Lan Mandragoran.
Gareth Bryne
Former Captain-General of the Queen's Guards in Andor and a younger son of a minor noble House.
Bryne served as Captain-General under three different Queens: Dolera Mantear, Mordrellen Mantear and later Morgase Trakand. He was not Captain-General during the Aiel War.
He later became commander of the forces recruited by the Rebel Aes Sedai and besieged Tar Valon.
During the Last Battle, he commanded the forces on the Field of Merrilor, advising the Amyrlin Seat and the Hall of the Tower. 
Davram Bashere
Marshal-General of the Saldaean army.
Rodel Ituralde
Commander of the armies of Arad Doman. As a result of his PTSD from the Battle of Maradon, he was able to resist the commands given by Hessalam in Thakan'dar during Tarmon Gai'don.
==Other Candidates==
Due to the memories received from the Eelfinn, Matrim Cauthon is the most obvious candidate. After the four remaining great captains were compromised by Hessalam during the Last Battle, he was given complete command over all the forces of the Light, including the Seanchan forces. His tactics and the fact the fate of the world partially relied on their success would undoubtedly make him acknowledged as a Great Captain.
One other place to consider Great Captains is among the Seanchan, notably the head of Lunal Galgan (and his predecessor Kennar Miraj). Rand discusses the abilities of the Seanchan generals with Cadsuane Melaidhrin: "They call their army the Ever Victorious Army for a reason. It’s never lost a war. Battles, yes, but never a war. When they lose a battle, they sit down and work out what they did wrong, or what the enemy did right. Then they change what needs changing for them to win." Cadsuane likens this ability to adapt to the Five Great Captains and Rand says: "The Seanchan all do it. That’s been their way for a thousand years. They change what they have to change, but they don’t give up. It appears that the Seanchan generals are a lot more skilled at war, but partly due to their method of training. Given that the term "great captain" is a term used only in the Westlands, however, it is unlikely that these enemy generals would be acknowledged as such. The concept is not unknown in Seanchan, however, given Lieutenant-General Turan acknowledges Ituralde as one after the Battle of Darluna. On the other hand, Pedron Niall was a great captain regardless of the opinion people had of the Children of the Light and the conflicts and unrest they have caused. 
Given that, even after the above, Rand believes he could eventually defeat the Seanchan and he has the memories of Lews Therin Telamon, it would also be plausible that he is at least as skilled a commander as any of the great captains. One might also consider Forsaken like Demandred to be highly skilled commanders, but their allegiance to the Shadow would preclude them from any accolades, though Matrim Cauthon does acknowledge that Demandred is the better general.
Roedran Almaric do Arreloa a'Naloy thinks his memorisation of Madoc Comadrin's book will make him a great captain, but this is unlikely to ever come to pass.
es:Cinco Grandes Capitanes
 Five Great Captains
Category:Military
 Five Great Captains
es:Cinco Grandes Capitanes
 Five Great Captains
Category:Military
 Five Great Captains