First a little background:
Flavius Aetius was born around the year 396 in the Town of Durostorum (Silistria) Bulgaria. Durostorum was a military frontier town, as it had previously been the home of LEGIO XI CLAVDIA PIA FIDELIS. Not much is known about his early life, but we know he served as a page in the camp of Alaric from approx. 406-408 and in the camp of Rua from approx. 410-414. In his childhood he made many important friends, including Marcellinus, and most importantly, Attila. In 423, Honorius Died and Ioannes ursurped against the Theodosians. Placidia, Valentinian and Honoria fled to Constantinoplolis, to seek help. Meanwhile Ioannes had sent Flavius Aetius to the camp of Rua, to seek help from the Huns. He Retuned in October or November, 425 to find that Valentinian III had been placed on the throne earlier that month on the 23 by the Praesentalis army. Aetius engaged the Praesentalis and Italian field army, led by Ardabarus Asparus and Flavius Gaudentius, respecticvely. Aetius, outnumbered, drew them into a stalemate, and was granted the title of Magister Militum per Gallias, as they had no other options at that point. Aetius campaigned against the Franks and Visigoths sucessfully for the next 4 years, until Placidia pitted him in civil war against Felix and Bonifacius. Aetius killed them both; Felix in may, 430, and Bonifacius outside Rimini in 432. Bonifacius actually defeated Aetius, but died from a fatal injury. Ridiculed, Aetius returned in 433 at the head of a massive army of huns, in return for granting them Pannonia Savia. Aetius went again to Gaul and spain, as Aspar helped fight the Vandals in africa. In 439, Carthage was captured, and Litorius destroyed Aetius' foederati army after a mistake outside Tolosa, due to his lack of knowledge of the Huns. Fortunately he had rebuilt most of the western Field armie, and was launching a Campaign in late 440 to retake Africa, when Attila attacked the East. Without support, he redeployed his armies wherever it was necessary, preparing for a hunnish attack. The 440s were quiet, with only Merobaudes and Vitus campaining agianst the Suebes in spain between 443-446, and a campaign agianst the Alans and Franks from 448-449. In 450, Aetius prediction was made correct. Attila moved on gaul. His excuses were a wedding ring from Honoria and succession of the Franksih throne. Either way what happenned net is the part that actually matters. On June 20th, 451, Aetius and Theodoric with their Burgundian, Frankish, Alanic and Librone Allies engaged Attila's co-alition of Goths, Gepids, Huns, Alamanni, Franks, Sarmatians, Slavs, Thuringians and whatever else he could scrape out of his empire. The battle was relatively large, comparably to most. Each side averaged an estimated 70000 troops, with the Romans making up around 60-70% of he Allied forces. After a brutal battle, which resulted in the Death of Theodoric, Attila suffered his first actical Defeat and Retreat. He Returned in 452 only to retreat because of a shortage of Food, Plauge, and Attacks by the organized and readily supplied Roman Field Armies of Aetius, Marcellinus, and Marcian. In 453, Attila Died. Valentinian III saw that there was no need for him anymore, although there was in the long term. After the break up of the hunnic empire after Neado in 454, Aetius was murdered by Valentinian on September 21 of that year. Marcellinus usurped immediately, and Aegidius after the Death of Avitus, one of Aetius' patrons, in 457. Valentinian III was murdered on March 16, 455.
I think he's the hero he's cut out to be. And that he rates as the one of the Top 5 Greatest Roman Generals. What do you think? Feel free to state your opinion.
A few sources for this:
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians by Peter Heather
Priscus
Jordanes' Getica
Merobaudes Pangeyrics of 432, 439, and 443.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavius_Aetius
Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Abridged Edition
The Ruin of the Roman Empire by James J. O'Donnel
A Brief History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich
Hydatius, Chronicla 154
Sidonius Apollinaris, Carmen VII, xii, 3
This was based on breif excerpts from their books