Albert Kesselring vs Michel Suleiman

Kesselring commanded Luftflotte 2 during the Battle of Britain. His air fleet conducted bombing raids against British airfields and cities. The Luftwaffe failed to achieve air superiority, leading to the cancellation of Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of Britain.

Kesselring was appointed Commander-in-Chief of German forces in Italy after the Allied invasion. He organized a successful defensive campaign, delaying the Allied advance up the Italian peninsula. His strategy included the use of fortified lines and delaying actions.

Kesselring commanded the defense of the Gustav Line, anchored by Monte Cassino. German forces held off repeated Allied assaults for months. The battle resulted in the destruction of the Monte Cassino abbey and heavy casualties on both sides before the line was finally breached.

Kesselring surrendered his forces in Italy in May 1945. He was tried by a British military court for war crimes, including the Ardeatine massacre and the shooting of partisans. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in 1952.

Suleiman was appointed Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces in 1998, a position he held until 2008. He oversaw the military during the 2006 Lebanon War and the 2007 Nahr al-Bared conflict with Fatah al-Islam.

As army commander, Suleiman led the Lebanese military in a three-month siege of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp against the militant group Fatah al-Islam. The conflict resulted in hundreds of casualties and the destruction of the camp.

Michel Suleiman was elected President of Lebanon on May 25, 2008, following the Doha Agreement that ended the 2008 political crisis. His election was a compromise between the March 8 and March 14 alliances, ending an 18-month presidential vacuum.

Suleiman's six-year presidential term ended on May 25, 2014, without a successor elected due to political deadlock. He left office as the last president before a 29-month vacuum, during which he remained in a caretaker capacity.