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Turncoat Generals – Commanders From History Who Switched Sides

Khalid Elhassan April 3, 2025 17 min

Turncoat - Benedict Arnold — Benedict Arnold. Smithsonian Magazine

1. A Thorough Revenge

Cambyses II defeats Psamtik III of Egypt. Egypt Museum

Before the Persians reached Egypt, Pharaoh Amasis had died, and was succeeded on the throne by his son, Psamtik III. Enraged at Phanes, Psamtik tricked the mercenary general’s sons to meet with him, took them captive, and had them executed. He then ordered their blood drained and mixed with wine, which he quaffed down and made his subordinates drink as well. Phanes got his revenge by leading the Persian army into Egypt, and acting as Cambyses’ guide and military advisor. The Persians defeated Psamtik, and forced him to retreat to his capital, where they besieged and eventually captured him. Phanes then engineered the execution of his sons’ murderer by uncovering and informing Cambyses of a plot by the captive pharaoh to stir up a revolt.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Andreyev, Catherine – Vlasov and the Russian Liberation Movement (1987)

Arnold, Isaac Newton – The Life of Benedict Arnold: His Patriotism and His Treason (1880)

Briant, Pierre – From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire (2002)

Encyclopedia Britannica – Benedict Arnold

Encyclopedia Britannica – First Jewish Revolt

Gonick, Larry – Cartoon History of the Universe II (1994)

Herodotus – The Histories, Book 3

History Collection – 25 Reasons Why George Washington Was the Most Fascinating President in American History

Mann, Golo – Wallenstein, His Life Narrated (1976)

Military Heritage Magazine, Spring, 2013 – Wallenstein: Generalismo

Thorwald, Jurgen – The Illusion: Soviet Soldiers in Hitler’s Armies (1974)

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.