Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener

Horatio Herbert Kitchener built his reputation in empire's distant wars: the 1898 Battle of Omdurman earned him a barony and control of the Sudan. He served as chief of staff in the Second Boer War under Lord Roberts, then took command as Boer fighters turned to guerrilla tactics and British forces interned civilians in concentration camps. A stint commanding the Army in India ended in a bitter feud with Viceroy Lord Curzon, who resigned; Kitchener moved on to Egypt as de facto administrator. In 1914 he became secretary of state for war and one of the few who grasped the conflict ahead would last at least three years - he raised the largest volunteer army Britain had ever fielded and pushed production to meet a grinding Western Front. When shell shortages hit in spring 1915 he took the blame, lost control of munitions and strategy as a coalition government formed, and a year later went down with HMS Hampshire 1.5 miles off Scotland, one of 737 dead.