Saul David reviews a surprising study of military failure and names his own five most infamous generals Saul David Thursday February 17 2022, 12.00am , The Times But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln. That may have been true in the east (the worst of the Union generals in that theater rates his own entry on this list), but in the west it was a much different affair. Pillow faced a court-martial for stealing a Mexican cannon and attempting to spirit it home in his personal baggage, but Polk intervened to clear Pillows record. Grachev once said that only an incompetent commander would order tanks into the streets of central Grozny, where they would be vulnerable. Yet near the end of the war he did exactly that. The 1970s were scary times. The Germanic fighters demolished the three Roman legions. Judging GOFOs The Decisive Point 4. Battle of Dak To in the Vietnam War - ThoughtCo He decided to conduct of a war of attrition, using search and destroy tactics, in which the measure of merit was body count. Sorley skillfully uses Westmoreland's own words to show time and again his duplicity at worst and his lack of touch with reality at best. Top 10 Most Underrated Military Generals - TheTopTens His forces outnumbered Alexanders men by at least a 2 to 1 ratio, but Darius was still outflanked, defeated and forced to flee. T he Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict. As a military commander, Napoleon may have thebest batting averageof all time. Varus himself, seeing all hope was lost, committed suicide. Many of these generals had their worst defeats when their countries were least prepared for conflict, such as the hapless Soviet generals who faced the German infiltration of Russia in 1941. Who was the worst US general during the Vietnam War? up as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. After making a laughingstock of himself by ordering his men to entrench on the wrong side of fortifications at Camargo, Pillow bungled his role at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, making himself the low point of a resounding American victory. Still, it is his world-changing defeat at Yorktown that merits memorializing. Gen. Charles Cornwallis. Nor is being a bad battlefield commander, by itself, sufficient to make the cut. Pillow escaped during the night, leaving Simon B. Buckner to surrender the fort and 15,000 Confederate troops. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. Thus, on July 1, 1916, Haig ordered his men to go over the top at the First Battle of the Somme, and 20,000 of them had the audacity to die almost immediately (there were 60,000 total British casualties on the first day of the attack). A very influential visitor, Senator "Fritz" Hollings from Westmoreland's home state of South Carolina, had warned him about reliance on such ratios. Like it or not, the U.S. military would become the governing authority. What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? Alas, call it the laws of probability or just cosmic karma, but every nation produces bad generals as well as good onesand America is no exception. Vietnam War - Encyclopedia Britannica | Britannica In the end, the Romans leveled Carthage and salted the earth. Yes, Westmoreland was the general who lost Vietnam. 0. The Roman Empire has a long, proud tradition of producing some of the finest generals in human history- and just as many of the worst. General Westmorelands close associate, General William DePuy, later admitted the futility of the Westmoreland way of war. The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. Even a string of bad days does not guarantee entry. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1. Sure, he won big at the Alamo. This might have ended okay for Germany, provided they didnt do something like provoke a previously neutral country with Allied sympathies and an effectively bottomless war chest. The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. The Viet Cong Committed Atrocities, Too - The New York Times Weekly update on whats driving U.S. national security policy. Top 10 Greatest Generals of Chinese History | ChinaWhisper And if they not only fail to deliver, but wind up sinking their own side in the process, and change history, they earn a spot in the Hall of Military Shame. Michael Peck is a contributing writer at Foreign Policy and a writer for War Is Boring. Mexican general Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna probably wished that everyone really did remember the Alamo, because: (1) he actually did win that battle (he outnumbered his opponents between 10- and 30-to-1); and (2) during the 13-day siege, he somehow resisted the urge to betray all his allegiances and change sides. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, by Lewis Sorley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. . 1. It is probably not a coincidence that corruption in the military appears to have escalated since 2006, when the number of military generals started to jump sharply. This is one of the more controversial ones, but Douglas MacArthur is incredibly overrated in the annals of the US military, in my . [i] However, the list is subjective, and open to debate, as top 10 lists tend to be. Find Paraguay on a map of South America. The pandemics outbreak brought rare reporting freedoms. Explore the benefits included in your subscription. All rights reserved. Gamelin also chose not to disperse Frances vast number of superior tanks. Darius did not take the field against Alexander until a year and a half after Granicus, at the Battle of Issus. He called for bombing China, as if liberating Korea was worth risking 550 million Chinese and possibly war with Russia as well. This is, obviously, a problematic quality when ones title is general-in-chief of the entire Union army. George McClellan is one of those generals who really looks great on paper. Is the Biden administrations China policy too hawkish? Men and material the Union could provide its armies. Vast areas dotted with villages were blasted with artillery, bombed from the air. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. Contrarily, I would not so stigmatize another important player often criticized by others, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. He lacked the schooling and relevant experience to understand the war and devise a viable approach to prosecuting it. In 1941, Graziani resigned his commission after the British counterattacked and the Tenth Army was completely defeated during Operation Compass. Considering some militants as instruments of regional influence while fighting others has had disastrous consequences. General William Westmoreland. Following on from our list of the greatest and most successful military commanders, we are presenting this list of the worst. History: Military History. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, This Photo Of A 94-Year-Old Widow Receiving Her Husbands Remains Will Break Your Heart, From Messiah to Hitler, What You Can and Cannot Name Your Child. Westmorelands first resort in claiming progress in the war was always body count, but in fact this was meaningless. Percival was off mistreating Irish Republican Army (IRA) leaders during the Anglo-Irish War before commanding British Malaya in World War II. Jessica Chen Weiss, formerly a senior advisor for policy planning at the State Department under the Biden administration, makes the case that the United States is becoming consumed by competition with China, a strategy that could lead to dangerous conflict. The 1970s were scary times. In considering who should receive such a dubious honor, Ive consciously excluded bad leaders. Todays list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War. He was found guilty of 11 counts, and only the intervention by Pres. Santa Anna would lose Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto. Even now, the easiest way to get into an argument at a V.F.W. In All U.S. Military History, These Are the 5 Worst Generals Antonio de Padua Mara Severino Lpez de Santa Anna. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. Panama (1989) 2. He was indeed a capable warrior, as shown by the South Pacific campaign and the Inchon landing in Korea. Top 10 Traitors In US History - Listverse Only recently have those in the defense and military complex begun to look at how we rate generals. Varus trust in Arminius was an obvious and terrible misjudgment. The elder Lpez had bequeathed to his son a relatively powerful military by regional standards but had cautioned Francisco against using it to settle diplomatic issues. This was the most fearsome army in the Vietnam War Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) 24. When the War of 1812 began, Hull was commissioned a brigadier general and tasked with defending Michigan and invading Upper Canada. McClellan and Burnside in particular. How might Vietnam or Iraq have turned out if a George Washington, a Ulysses Grant or a George Patton had been in command? Nelsons victory at the Battle of Trafalgar was so complete that it established British supremacy on the high seas for more than a century. His poor tactical decisions resulted in his army being routed by a smaller force of Redcoats and Loyalists at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina in 1780. Grant left politics to the politicians and did what had to be done. Haste risked casualties and defeats at the hands of a formidable opponent like Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. They care about the one. Westmoreland didnt get it. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. 9. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. While there is much to criticize LBJ for in his conduct of the war, one cannot help having some sympathy for the dilemma posed by the often wildly conflicting advice he was getting from his senior aides and advisors, including those in uniform. So what is the standard of shame for induction? The resulting Peninsular Campaign (AprilJuly 1862) was a marvel of planning but something of a farce in execution. Westmoreland told him, "We're killing these people at a ratio of 10 to 1.". He was responsible for coming up with the idea of using force to restore constitutional order in Chechnya. Some staff officers who briefed him one-on-one at deskside were dismayed when Westmoreland occupied himself by signing photographs of himself, one after another, during their presentations. Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest darkened Emperor Augustus remaining years and he was heard, upon occasion, to moan, Quinctilius Varus, give me back my Legions!, Notable mention: George Custer, Joseph Hooker, Ambrose Burnside, Charles Cornwallis, John II of France, Top 10 Utterly Bizarre Things Banned In China, Top 10 Military Bases Linked To UFOs (That Aren't Area 51), 10 Bizarre Military Inventions That Almost Saw Deployment, 10 Futuristic Sci-Fi Military Technologies That, 10 Awesome French Military Victories You've Never Heard Of, 10 Oddities That Interrupted Military Battles, Top 10 Top-Level Domains That Caused Controversies, 10 Controversial Toys You Might Already Have in Your Home, Ten Absolutely Vicious Fights over Inherited Fortunes, 10 Female Film Pioneers Who Shaped the Movies, Ten True Tales from Americas Toughest Prison, 10 Times Members of Secretive Societies and Organizations Spilled the Beans, 10 Common Idioms with Unexpectedly Dark Origins, 10 North American Animals with Misplaced Reputations, 10 Japanese Weapons Invented Too Late To Win World War II, 10 Ways The History Of Thanksgiving Is Nothing Like You Imagined, 10 Great Buildings That Were Not Built Quite Well Enough. What is a bad general? Rommel is by far the greatest military general of the . Westmorelands general mistake: severely underestimating the Communists. James Bond Stockdale was flying his A-4 Skyhawk on a mission over North Vietnam, just days after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, when his plane took fire and hurtled d 1 Erwin Rommel Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was a German field marshal of World War II. Napoleon. 5. Little Mac would prove himself to be a superb organizer who kept his army well supplied, efficiently run, and happy. The Worst American Civil War Generals and Commanders Argentina, Brazil, and the Brazilian puppet government in Uruguay formed an alliance, and on May 1, 1865, they declared war on Paraguay. He is the dumb ass who gave the order to exfoliate the jungles with agent orange. Disobeying orders, he sailed for Cdiz instead of the Channel, allowing Nelsons fleet time to return and effectively scuttling Napoleons plans for a cross-Channel invasion. He denied senior civilian officials accurate data on enemy strength and composition, during development of a 1967 Special National Intelligence Estimate imposing a ceiling on the number of enemy forces his intelligence officers could report or agree to and personally removing from the order of battle entire categories that had long been included, thus falsely portraying progress in reducing enemy strength. And how might that be impacting the world? Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, as Continental Army commander during the momentous American defeat of a British army at Saratoga in 1777, The Five Best U.S. FPs Ravi Agrawal spoke with two of the very best Russia experts:Angela Stent, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author ofPutins World: Russia Against the West and With the Rest, and Michael Kofman, the research program director of the Russia studies program at the Center for Naval Analyses. Hull was thoroughly outclassed. A key plank in the Democratic platform that year was, appropriately, not fighting, and McClellan lost in a rout. A final humiliation came during Mexican-American War. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. Haig had largely dismissed the effect of the machine gun on the battlefield, believing that previous Allied failures owed to something other than an impenetrable wall of lead traveling at ballistic velocity. But his crowning achievement was bad generalship in Korea. He gritted his teeth and wore down the Confederacy with incessant attacks until the South could take no more. Read More. Of course they raised this issue, leading Westmoreland to declare vehemently that establishing MACV Forward had not a damned thing to do with my confidence in General Cushman or the Marines, not a damned thing. That again was not only false but, given the existing paper trail, reckless as well. Sure, they ganged up on the Spartans at the Pass of Thermopylae. What he did not divulge publicly was that the United States. Yet, Hannibal nevertheless ranks as one of the worlds epic fails. After achieving moderate success in Libya and Ethiopia, the Butcher of Ethiopia became Commander-in-Chief of the Italian Royal Armys General Staff and of Italian North Africa at the start of World War II. Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Baines Johnson announced his fateful decision to double the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam. Casey was an Army insidera four-star general and the son of the highest-ranking American casualty of the Vietnam War, a division commander who was killed in a July 1970 helicopter crash. After eight years at Foreign Policy, here are the ten most popular Best Defense posts. Is your subtitle The General Who Lost Vietnam fair? Army Chief of Staff General Harold K. Johnson put one forth in the PROVN Study, a Program for the Pacification and Long-Term Development of Vietnam. That document held that Westmorelands approach was not working and could not work because it ignored the real war in South Vietnams hamlets and villages, where the covert enemy infrastructure was through coercion and terror dominating the rural populace. Top 10 Worst World Leaders - Wonderslist General Westmoreland had complete freedom of action in deciding how to prosecute the war within South Vietnam. James K. Polk upon the outbreak of war between Mexico and the U.S. and offered to become an agent for the U.S. (again). If there was a saving grace for America, it was that he wasn't commanding an army. 7. Was My Lai just one of many massacres in Vietnam War? The War of the Triple Alliance devastated Paraguay. Persian Gulf (1988) (Oil Platforms) 2. General Wheeler was often just flat wrong in what he told the President. Muammar Al-Gaddafi. He thought he could take over the war from the South Vietnamese, bring it to a successful conclusion, and then hand their country back to them and go home in triumph. Franz Conrad von Htzendorf of Austria couldnt decide which country he wanted to invade, so the German General Staff eventually took his armies away. Cornwallis later did redeem himself militarily. Publication of the PROVN Study, whose precepts were later implemented with great success by Westmorelands successor, illustrated a matter of fundamental importance. Somalia (1992-1994) 2. Examining the Leaders of North and South Vietnam - dummies The alternative was to split the United States asunder. The rise of American-made chatbots has kicked off a flurry of Chinese activity. He was also supremely gifted at overestimating the size of his opponents armies to a degree that beggared belief. Necessarily, more is lost to time than is remembered. As the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles crippled Germany, Ludendorff effectively sabotaged the Weimar Republic by propagating the belief that he and his armies had been undefeated on the battlefield. The Americans lacked sufficient troops, supplies and air cover (when was the last time an American general had to fight a battle while being pounded by enemy bombers?). Grachev has also been linked to corruption among the higher ranks of the military, specifically the assassination of journalist Dmitry Kholodov. He deprived the South Vietnamese of modern weaponry, giving U.S. and other allied forces priority for issue of the new M-16 rifle and other advanced military wherewithal. Instead of sweeping around the French defenses in a massive flanking movement, the Germans were checked at the First Battle of the Marne. What will another year of war look like? Military greatness can most easily be defined by comparison. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail. A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. We ended up, he said, with no operational plan that had the slightest chance of ending the war favorably. Westmoreland could not or would not ever bring himself to acknowledge that reality. Delivered Monday-Saturday. The self proclaimed Napoleon of the West didnt quite leave the same legacy as his idol. He graduated second in his class at West Point (well ahead of classmates Stonewall Jackson, George H. Gordon, and George Pickett). After gaining ground trying to cut an escape path for the Confederates during the February 1862 siege of Fort Donelson by Union forces led Brig. In fifteen thought-provoking essays, each written by a professional military historian, readers are introduced . Applications for the Gettysburg College-Gilder Lehrman MA program are open and considered on a rolling basis. British Gen. Isaac Brock possessed a remarkable ability to anticipate his opponents moves and reactions, and it was not long before he had taken full measure of Hull. After his defeat by the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna was captured. 5. After early success in the Mexican War for Independence, the rest of his career didnt pan out the way he would have liked. When two able and progressive Nationalist generals, Pai Chunghsi and Li Tsung-jen, begged the generalissimo to adopt similar methods, Chiang rejected them outright. Scilit | Article - A Slow March from Social Evil to Harm Reduction He ran as a Democrat against Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election. His prestige restored by his conduct during the Pastry War with France, Santa Anna once again claimed dictatorial powers. rs worth well over $400 billion. Approaching his 60th birthday and exhibiting a timidity that had no place in a general about to lead an invasion, Hull also had the misfortune of facing two of the most gifted commanders ever to operate in North America. My daughter thinks 2018 was the worst year ever. I'd nominate 1968 In order, from most culpable down. How well that would have worked can be seen when Gates was sent to command American troops in the South. He also issued orders to his troops in a personal code that no one else understood, such as this gem of command clarity: Move your command, i. e., the walking boys, pop guns, Baker's outfit and the outfit which is the reverse of Baker's outfit and the big fellows to M, which is due north of where you are now, as soon as possible. Born in 1901 in Quang Binh Province (part of North Vietnam), Diem was the son of a well-educated mandarin (Vietnamese civil servant who took part in running the country) who served as the Minister of Rites and Grand Chamberlain to Emperor Thanh-Thai (1889-1907). Once again, McClellan worked his organizational magic, restoring the morale of a shattered Union army. One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture. Turncoats and Traitors - Seven Americans Who Defected to the Enemy in By Lewis Sorley Best Defense Saigon bureau chief. Warfare: Who was the worst General/military commander in history Routed by U.S. forces under Winfield Scott, Santa Anna was again driven into exile. Again fighting outnumbered Texans, this time Santa Anna would lose the battle stunningly. While Hull dithered, Brock captured Fort Michilimackinac, establishing British control of the Straits of Mackinac. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. Thus it was under Darius rule that the Persian Empire fell and was conquered. Although he outnumbered Magruders Army of the Peninsula 10-to-1, McClellan settled in for a monthlong siege. With a few relatively minor changes, thats just about where they stayed for the next four years. Hundreds of thousands died of disease. And how might that be impacting the world? The 20th century is the most violent century in history. The Vietnam War Crimes You Never Heard Of | History News Network Stay updated on the topics you care about with email alerts. It would be nice if all American generals were great. He was killed in combat on March 1, 1870. Registration for summer courses begins March 18, 2023 and ends June 7, 2023. The Cimbri destroyed Caepios force and, emboldened by their success, marched on Maximuss camp. He was soon released, however, and, as more capable French admirals either died or somehow incurred Napoleons disfavor, a path to the top echelons of command was opened for Villeneuve. Along with Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Montgomery is the most celebrated of British generals and had the ego to match, or even exceed, his reputation. But the inducements encourage U.S. companies to invest only at homenot elsewhere. The heavily forested, swampy terrain made the Legions maneuvers impossible. In the summer of 1967, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) initiated a series of attacks in western Kontum Province. It doesnt matter if theyve won more often than theyve lost. Leaders of the Vietnam War - Wikipedia standing, Ukrainians are determined to keep fighting, and the West has so far stayed resolute in its support of Ukraine. A very significant instance was his determination to arbitrarily hold down the estimate of enemy strength during a 1967 order of battle controversy. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, Chinas Censors Are Afraid of What Chatbots Might Say, The U.S. Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security. He underestimated the enemys staying power, maintaining that if he could inflict enough casualties the communists would lose heart and cease their aggression against South Vietnam. He bears a lot of responsibility for one the greatest reversals of military fortune ever experienced by a super power. Is Weiss correct? Marcus Licinius Crassus was a self-aggrandizing opportunist who started a pointless war with the Parthians, and Publius Quinctilius Varus lost three legions at Teutoburg Forest, but Proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio manages to top them both with his actions at the Battle of Arausio. But Franks, who commanded the invasion, made a bad situation worse. He was certainly nave, but the Boy Scouts need to be defended here. Lebanon (1982-1984) 240. James K. Polk. In a war that saw more than its share of unskilled politically appointed generals, Pillow was arguably the worst on either side. But the award for the biggest Persian loser goes to Darius III. The Romans marched right into the ambush that Arminius laid thus leading to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Who were the most feared soldiers in Vietnam? - 2023 Answer (1 of 4): The former Cham general/leader Che Bong Nga was killed in the battle against the enemy Dai Viet (old Vietnam) but Che Bong Nga was LUCKY to be mentioned by the enemy Dai Viet historians to allow people to remember him. Of course, that is what they did when Ludendorff pushed for the use of unrestricted submarine warfare against Allied shipping. According to a Time magazine reporter who wrote about the Dak Son massacre, Viet Cong guerrillas shouted "Sons of Americans!" as they launched their assault on the village. There is now little doubt that Putin failed in his initial goals: Kyiv is still Show morestanding, Ukrainians are determined to keep fighting, and the West has so far stayed resolute in its support of Ukraine.
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