After occupying Jerusalem and crucifying 2,000 Jewish rebels in Judaea, Varus went off to govern Germania and tame barbarian tribes. Seared into all who fought it and many who merely lived through it that conflict remains a bitter stew of second-guessing and recriminations. A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln and the Union expected great things. Frederick C. Weyand was a U.S. Army General who was the last commander of American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1972 to 1973. To that Hollings responded, "Westy, the American people don't care about the ten. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1. Then, in an ill-advised comeback, he met his Waterloo. How do you measure military leaders? Keep up with the world without stopping yours. George Brinton McClellan, a self-proclaimed Young Napoleon, ran dreadful campaigns, but he doesnt make the grade because he was canned before he could lose the entire war. Fort Bragg was named in 1918 during the Jim Crow era. These battlefield bumblers serve to provide that contrast. Argentina, Brazil, and the Brazilian puppet government in Uruguay formed an alliance, and on May 1, 1865, they declared war on Paraguay. In considering who should receive such a dubious honor, Ive consciously excluded bad leaders. With high hopes set upon his shoulders at the beginning of the American Civil war, quickly becoming General-in-Chief of the Union Army, McClellan would earn the distinction as a general of little action. He effectively pledged to become an agent for the U.S. but found that he had been deposed upon his return to Mexico. The 1970s were scary times. He continued to view attrition as the most effective strategy for defeating Germany; the British lost some 420,000 men at the Somme. James Jay Carafano is a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges. It's not the first time that someone thought he was smarter than his boss. General Harold K. Johnson was an authentic battlefield hero, and as noted above was fundamentally at odds with Westmorelands approach, but he was not in the chain of command. Westmorelands devotion to advancing his own interests, even when necessary by misrepresentation, was fundamentally at odds with what Scouting is all about. But MacArthur's strategy certainly helped unleash 300,000 Chinese "volunteers" who inflicted significant casualties on United Nations forces. The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. The Worst Military Leaders in History is meant to be thought-provoking, and it surely is that." ARMY Magazine "Few subjects get military historians and history buffs talking like a debate over the best military leaders in history. Nelsons victory at the Battle of Trafalgar was so complete that it established British supremacy on the high seas for more than a century. He couldnt. The self proclaimed Napoleon of the West didnt quite leave the same legacy as his idol. He called for bombing China, as if liberating Korea was worth risking 550 million Chinese and possibly war with Russia as well. Germanic tribes sacrificed Roman officers on altars to their gods. Ulysses S. Grant, who replaced McClellan, understood this. The deplorable conduct of Charles Lee at the Battle of Monmouth has been immortalized by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Benedict Arnolds name is synonymous with traitorous behavior. In a war that saw more than its share of unskilled politically appointed generals, Pillow was arguably the worst on either side. 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. Contrarily, I would not so stigmatize another important player often criticized by others, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. Simultaneously, he contacted Maximilian to offer the young emperor his services. Despite the Union outnumbering the Confederates, McClellan was unable to crush Robert E. Lee after failing to pursue him into Virginia. What is a bad general? Along with Communist China and other Communist movements in the region, who were fighting to reunite the Vietnams under the red banner, there were other belligerent, free countries in the region who had an interest in keeping South Vietnam away from the Commies. When the Germans shattered his troops and his reputation at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia in early 1943, Fredendall was only a major general and a corps commander. Nor is being a bad battlefield commander, by itself, sufficient to make the cut. Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. After the Germans attacked, Gamelin was eventually removed from his post, but by then it was too late. A more positive example is George Washington. Santa Anna, a lifetime gambler, was known for his risk taking in battle, but also his brutality. Darius was a different sort of game-changer. Years later, when Marine Corps historians were at work on their history of the war, Westmoreland met with them. It was anotherhistory-changingevent, the birth of a truly exceptional nation. The 20th century is the most violent century in history. Elmo Zumwalt was a U.S. admiral and commander of American naval forces in Vietnam. Loyalty to himself and himself alone would be something of a running theme in the narrative of Santa Annas life, and his rise to power in Mexico was characterized by near-constant vacillation and betrayal of his allies. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he theoretically had some influence there, at least to the extent he could shape the collective viewpoint, but even then LBJ and McNamara were famously impervious to advice from the Joint Chiefs. But there was something that not even the factories of New York and Chicago could produce, and that was time. The world over, countries are embarking on ambitious projects of industrial policy. Again fighting outnumbered Texans, this time Santa Anna would lose the battle stunningly. In 1847, U.S. troops once again surprised Santa Anna and captured his prosthetic leg. 9 Noteworthy Bog Bodies (And What They Tell Us), 12 Novels Considered the Greatest Book Ever Written, Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution, https://www.britannica.com/list/9-worst-generals-in-history. Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security. Innumerable battlefield commanders have had disastrous days at the office. However, Ludendorff and German General Staff chief Helmuth von Moltke had altered the Schlieffen PlanGermanys overall battle plan for fighting a two-front warin a way that had weakened the attacking army on the Western Front. What was your impression of the man when you were working for him? That dubious distinction falls to William Hull, the only general officer in American history to be ordered before a firing squad for cowardice and dereliction of duty. Delivered Thursday. 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. What defines Santa Anna is his utter failure to subdue the Texican rebels and block American expansion. Seldom included in. Want to read more on this topic or region? 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. rs worth well over $400 billion. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. My generation would likely vote for the year exactly one-half century ago as the absolutely worst year in our lifetimes. He overestimated the American peoples patience and tolerance of friendly losses. 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. Heres the inaugural class: 6. Yet, Hannibal nevertheless ranks as one of the worlds epic fails. 15. On the night of August 15, 1812, Tecumseh led his forces across the Detroit River, and Brock followed the next morning. 88,594. Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. Russias war is receiving critical assistance from authoritarian regimes around the world. Routed by U.S. forces under Winfield Scott, Santa Anna was again driven into exile. But its not just the United States. Its prewar population was reduced by more than half, and perhaps 90 percent of Paraguays fighting-age men perished. As a result, American military power and prestige took a dramatic downturn. When he made public his disagreements with President Truman, Truman rightfully fired him. General William Childs Westmoreland (1914- 2005) with President Johnson in South Vietnam #1. Yet Fredendall's solution was to order an Army engineer company to build a giant bunker a hundred miles from the front lines. in history from Michigan State University in 1995. Francisco Solano Lpez managed to stumble into a war with pretty much all of that. He was killed in combat on March 1, 1870. But his crowning achievement was bad generalship in Korea. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. The War of the Triple Alliance devastated Paraguay. Explore the benefits included in your subscription. However, not even they managed to get themselves court-martialed and sentenced to death for ineptitude on the battlefield. Its quite exclusive: combat leaders who had the fate of their people in their hands and squandered it all. Quintus Servilius Caepio takes the cake amongst the worst Roman generals ever to take command of a legion though. Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. There was no warmth, no apparent interest in his associates as people. 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. By Lewis Sorley Best Defense Saigon bureau chief. General Wheeler was often just flat wrong in what he told the President. Delivered Wednesday & Sunday. A Brief History. A key plank in the Democratic platform that year was, appropriately, not fighting, and McClellan lost in a rout. After an initial attack drove back Grants troops, Pillow snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by retreating to the fort rather than breaking through Union lines to Nashville. Maximus managed to form up his men but to no avail. Grachev has also been linked to corruption among the higher ranks of the military, specifically the assassination of journalist Dmitry Kholodov. When major U.S. ground force deployments were under consideration in July 1965, for example, LBJ worried that North Vietnam would respond by pouring in more men of its own. Alexander went on to march halfway across Asia, creating an empire, albeit short-lived, that changed the history of three continentsnot bad for an ancient millennial. Two years later, he lost a leg fighting the French. Allied with Brock was the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, who was head of the most formidable pan-Indian military force the continent had ever seen. 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. Lee demonstrated an immediate grasp of McClellans demeanor, and, during the Seven Days Battles (June 25July 1, 1862), Lee drove back the Union armies from Richmonds doorstep. The Russian president got many things wrong about invading Ukrainebut not everything. In the autumn of 1804 he was placed in charge of the French fleet at Toulon and tasked with drawing the British fleet under Horatio Nelson to the Caribbean. Tom Ricks, on his "Best Defense" blog has discussed the top 10 worst generals in U.S. history. And what then? Read More. What is the standard of shame for induction? 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. He graduated second in his class at West Point (well ahead of classmates Stonewall Jackson, George H. Gordon, and George Pickett). He would eventually be betrayed and killed by a friend. 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. More ways to stay updated on global news: By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. His battlefield losses marked the end of the Persian Empire. Still, he choked in the big game. This strategy inevitably failed as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong maintained control over how the war was fought which was through guerilla warfare. 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.
5 Signs A Widower Is Serious About Your Relationship, Articles W