Santa Anna was found wearing a privates uniform, hiding in a marsh. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. By one estimate from Harvard University, more than 130,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or severely wounded, in addition to the deaths of more than 7,000 Ukrainian civilians. Lpez was the son of Carlos Antonio Lpez, a dictator who had done much to modernize Paraguay in the mid-19th century. 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. 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). A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. From Kaiser Wilhelm to Hitler and Saddam Hussein and Gadhafi, there is no end of national leaders who squandered their nations blood and treasure in futile conflicts. Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. [i] However, the list is subjective, and open to debate, as top 10 lists tend to be. History: Military History. The alternative was to split the United States asunder. Although he managed to escape the battle unharmed, Caepio was stripped of his Roman citizenship and exiled. On September 9, 1965, Navy Cmdr. Sure, they ganged up on the Spartans at the Pass of Thermopylae. James Jay Carafano is a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges. The Summer 2023 term begins June 1, 2023 and ends August 24, 2023. Under Westmorelands command, the Vietnam war began smoothly as the U.S. won every battle. But in 1968, when Westmoreland became Army Chief of Staff, Communist forces baited Westmoreland into committing nearly 40% of his strength to the military outpost at Khe Sanh, then attacked cities and towns throughout South Vietnam. The unprecedented violence of battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and Gettysburg shocked citizens and international observers alike. Horacio Gates of the American Revolution was pretty bad. Operational Culture General Training LREC SME Support Training Course Catalog Cognitive Dimension Training Additional Resources . Alas, call it the laws of probability or just cosmic karma, but every nation produces bad generals as well as good onesand . What was the worst battle of Vietnam? Lpez, possibly in a fit of madness, ordered the execution of hundreds of people, including some of his own family members. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. Having several decades of duplicity to draw on at this point, everyone had a pretty good idea of how any such deal would turn out, and the aging general was rebuffed by both parties. How might Vietnam or Iraq have turned out if a George Washington, a Ulysses Grant or a George Patton had been in command? While there were a host of bad generals serving on both sides during the American Civil Warmostly on the Union side unfortunatelythe one that usually gets the most credit for dragging out the war as long as he did is Union General George McClellan. 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. The resulting Peninsular Campaign (AprilJuly 1862) was a marvel of planning but something of a farce in execution. These operations were designed to seek out enemy forces and engage them in decisive battle. A key plank in the Democratic platform that year was, appropriately, not fighting, and McClellan lost in a rout. After the Germans attacked, Gamelin was eventually removed from his post, but by then it was too late. Percival was off mistreating Irish Republican Army (IRA) leaders during the Anglo-Irish War before commanding British Malaya in World War II. Gamelin made the mistake of viewing the Ardennes as impenetrable and chose to defend it with ten of his weakest, least well equipped and least well trained divisions. Because he never wanted to face a superior force, he refused to fight. A more positive example is George Washington. The Biden administration has passed landmark legislations such as theInflation Reduction Act(IRA) and theCHIPS and Science Act, which provide subsidies in clean energy and semiconductoShow morers worth well over $400 billion. This entire list could be populated with Roman commanders, but one manages to rise above the rest with an ineptitude that defies logic. Many historians have said Bragg was one of the worst generals of the Civil War, having lost most of his battles. What does that mean for trade and globalization? Seldom included in. Varus placed his legions in a position where their fighting strengths would be minimized and that of the Germanic Cherusci tribesman maximized. Hull had served with distinction in the Revolutionary War and was appointed governor of the Michigan Territory in 1805. What is a bad general? HANOI, VIETNAMForty years ago, on April 30, 1975, Nguyen Dang Phat experienced the happiest day of his life . Your guide to the most important world stories of the day. Simultaneously, he contacted Maximilian to offer the young emperor his services. [1] What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? 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. Haste risked casualties and defeats at the hands of a formidable opponent like Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. Today's list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam By the way, here is the first review I have seen of Sorley's new biography of Westmoreland, which I read in galleys. Vast areas dotted with villages were blasted with artillery, bombed from the air. He was called the inevitable general. A West Point graduate, he served in World War II and Korea. James K. Polk. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln and the Union expected great things. Unfortunately the fates of the former Republic Vietnam (Sout. Many have described his activities as "possibly the worst intelligence disaster in US history." 3 Nidal Malik Hasan Nidal Malik Hasan was a U.S. Army Major, and the sole suspect in a shooting at the Fort Hood military base, only weeks before he would have deployed to Afghanistan. Caepio was born into a noble family and became consul in 106 BC. Following on from our list of the greatest and most successful military commanders, we are presenting this list of the worst. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. Although Nelson was killed in combat at Trafalgar, Villeneuve outlived him only by six months. 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. There was no warmth, no apparent interest in his associates as people. Although Westmoreland denied it, he imposed a ceiling on the reported number of enemy by instructing his intelligence officers to adhere to a command position of not more than 300,000, even though newly acquired and more accurate data developed in his own headquarters then indicated a much higher figure. Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. These Vietnam War photos taken by U.S. Army photographers reveal a side of the conflict that few people have ever seen. Despite Lincoln's pleas for aggressive action, his Army of the Potomac moved hesitantly, its commander McClellan convinced himself that the Southern armies vastly outnumbered him when logic should have told him that it was the North that enjoyed an abundance of resources. His work as an observer during the Crimean War gave him insight into the importance of logistics for an industrialized army, and years spent as the chief of engineering for the Illinois Central Railroad made him aware of the transformative nature of rail transport. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln. Some historians are a little more sympathetic towards Percivals legacy nowadays arguing that Percival had been dealt an unusually bad hand. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews. Here's What You Need To Remember:The Soviets saw the American humiliation in Vietnam as a turning point. But the argument is unbalanced. Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future. Varus himself, seeing all hope was lost, committed suicide. Contrarily, I would not so stigmatize another important player often criticized by others, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. When he made public his disagreements with President Truman, Truman rightfully fired him. 336 pages | 16 halftones | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4. 15. 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?). These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. He still had his defenders, but they were in the last trench, barely holding on. The Russian president got many things wrong about invading Ukrainebut not everything. Indeed they are brave and proud, but their standards, tactics, and lack of command supervision throughout their ranks requires improvement in the national interest. And, he added, I would be less than frank if I did not say that I feel somewhat insecure with the situation in Quang Tri province, in view of my knowledge of their shortcomings. A U.S. ship conveyed him to Mexico, and upon his arrivalto the surprise of virtually no onehe executed a volte-face and took charge of the Mexican troops. Delivered Monday-Saturday. For many soldiers, a major tipping point happened when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968, news of which reaches the soldiers in Da 5 Bloods during one particularly stirring scene . He was found guilty of 11 counts, and only the intervention by Pres. Caepio may have been a terrible general, but he was apparently an exceptional thief. 5. The self proclaimed Napoleon of the West didnt quite leave the same legacy as his idol. By December 1864 Paraguay was at war with Brazil, and, when Argentina denied a request for the transit of a Paraguayan army across its territory, Lpez declared war on that country as well. Driven into exile in 1845, he contacted U.S. Pres. Quintus Servilius Caepio takes the cake amongst the worst Roman generals ever to take command of a legion though. Delivered Monday-Friday. Over time Westmoreland asked for and received large numbers of U.S. troops, eventually totaling well over half a million. James Madison spared him from execution. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. General Wheeler was often just flat wrong in what he told the President. Test yourself on the week of Feb. 25: Nigeria votes, Finland builds a border wall, and Israel escalates repression. While serving in Vietnam . 3. And how might that be impacting the world? The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. 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. Two of the more prominent of these mistakes, both with wide and sweeping results, were the June 22, 1941 invasion of the USSROperation Barbarossaand the December 11, 1941 unprovoked and unwarranted declaration of war on the United Statesagainst the advice of Hitler's Foreign Minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop. On the night of August 15, 1812, Tecumseh led his forces across the Detroit River, and Brock followed the next morning. Want to read more on this topic or region? This strategy inevitably failed as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong maintained control over how the war was fought which was through guerilla warfare. The suppression of drug consumption and trade is high on the Government of Vietnam's agenda. This infuriated the Marines, who viewed it as evidence that Westmoreland lacked confidence in them. The curation of this content is at the discretion of the author, and not necessarily reflective of the views of Encyclopaedia Britannica or its editorial staff. The South Vietnamese thus went for years equipped with castoff WWII-vintage U.S. equipment while outgunned by the communists, who were armed with the AK-47 assault rifle and other top of the line equipment. Little Mac would prove himself to be a superb organizer who kept his army well supplied, efficiently run, and happy. 10. Is the Biden administrations China policy too hawkish? Others were experienced military men who should have known better than to take the risks they took - or not take the risks they should have. 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. And how might that be impacting the world? Outstanding commanders such as George H. Thomas, Phil Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman routinely bested their Confederate opponents. Santa Anna liked to call himself the Napoleon of the West. And, like Napoleon, he squandered it all in one grand campaign. Sun Wu Sun Zi, or Sun Tzu, was a prominent military general during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) who is always regarded as one of the greatest military strategists in China and even the World. A Texan with the U.S. Army's 1 st Infantry Division, Nolan reportedly slipped away from his basecamp in Tay Ninh Province on Nov. 22, 1967 and turned himself over to the Viet Cong. Haig was cruelly mocked, first in the satirical musical Oh! But the inducements encourage U.S. companies to invest only at homenot elsewhere. Among the most detrimental and problematic policies are the incarceration of drug users in compulsory treatment centers, and the stigmatization and abuse of consumers by the police.
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