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Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. 3. This was true in matters both great and small. 4. 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. Woefully inexperienced U.S. soldiers found themselves against Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps veterans. He bears a lot of responsibility for one the greatest reversals of military fortune ever experienced by a super power. In 1847, U.S. troops once again surprised Santa Anna and captured his prosthetic leg. He was called the inevitable general. A West Point graduate, he served in World War II and Korea. 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. Quintus Servilius Caepio takes the cake amongst the worst Roman generals ever to take command of a legion though. Seriously, who represents The British Empire; had the worlds greatest navy, enough cash to hire half the mercenaries of Europe, and the advantage of having a pretty pathetic-looking foe: a rag-tag army of ill-equipped rebels. 1 Erwin Rommel Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was a German field marshal of World War II. Fighter Aircraft of All Time). Instead of sweeping around the French defenses in a massive flanking movement, the Germans were checked at the First Battle of the Marne. Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. The enemy did not lose heart, did not cease aggression. 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. In a war that saw more than its share of unskilled politically appointed generals, Pillow was arguably the worst on either side. He was an artilleryman who missed out on the Army's great schools system, never attending the Command & General Staff College or the Army War College. 4. Santa Anna liked to call himself the Napoleon of the West. And, like Napoleon, he squandered it all in one grand campaign. Westmoreland held a press conference in which he categorically denied any such loss of confidence. There was no warmth, no apparent interest in his associates as people. The problem begins with the fact that nobody in the chain of command was really competent to critique Westmorelands performance. Sure, they ganged up on the Spartans at the Pass of Thermopylae. Westmorelands general mistake: severely underestimating the Communists. 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. Elmo Zumwalt was a U.S. admiral and commander of American naval forces in Vietnam. Napoleon. Although he managed to escape the battle unharmed, Caepio was stripped of his Roman citizenship and exiled. Alas, as a historian, he passed on the opportunity to answer Battlelands questions about what Vietnam should teach us about Afghanistan, and who, if anyone, is todays Westmoreland, during our email chat earlier this week: Whats the most important thing you learned writing Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam? Darius was a different sort of game-changer. Francisco Solano Lpez managed to stumble into a war with pretty much all of that. 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. 88,594. A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. The Western Front was a much bigger stage upon which to fail, however, and British commander Douglas Haig made the most of the opportunity. Delivered Wednesday. Many historians credit Benedict Arnold and others with being the real victors of Saratoga. Villeneuve was then to return in secret and help establish naval dominance of the English Channel in preparation for a land invasion of Britain. Is Weiss correct? Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future. But with that kind of advantage in troops and firepower, who wouldnt? Todays list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam. While British cannons shelled the fort from the Canadian side of the river, Tecumseh marched his warriors through a forest clearing in an endless parade. Gods and Generals (2003) Loss $61 million These are actually Civil War reenactors and probably the only people who paid to see the movie. Yes, the landing at Inchon unhinged the initial North Korean offensive. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. Thus the progress Westmoreland claimed in racking up huge body counts did nothing to win the war. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. Gamelin was commander of the French forces in World War II and is largely responsible for the fall of France into German control during the Battle of France. When the French deposed Benito Jurez and installed Maximilian as emperor of Mexico, Santa Anna, now 70, reached out to the U.S. for support in deposing the emperor. To accomplish this goal, Vietnam employs repressive policies that often contravene international human rights law. There is no Carthage. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. Not good, Hannibal. Luckily for the colonists, the Empire also had Cornwallis, a peer of the realm and truly pitiful commander. Among them are, of course, Lyndon Johnson himself, Robert McNamara, and General Earle Wheeler. Watchthe conversation onFP Live, the magazines forum for live journalism, orreada condensed transcript. It wouldn't take a large force to slice through the ramshackle Iraqi army and topple Saddam Hussein, but securing a country the size of Iraq required a larger force. 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. In a war that saw more than its share of unskilled politically appointed generals, Pillow was arguably the worst on either side. Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. The pandemics outbreak brought rare reporting freedoms. rs worth well over $400 billion. Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Baines Johnson announced his fateful decision to double the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam. It's not the first time that someone thought he was smarter than his boss. These American commanders have lost the battle for history. Horacio Gates of the American Revolution was pretty bad. He retreated to Malta but was captured when that island fell to the British. When it came to military command, Westmoreland was everybody's all-Americanuntil he met his Waterloo. This piece originally appeared in The National Interest https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/6-worst-military-leaders-ever-167526. Your guide to the most important world stories of the day. 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. And, to further demonstrate progress in reducing enemy strength, Westmoreland arbitrarily and entirely on his own removed from the order of battle several categories of enemy forces that had long been carried there, including during the three years Westmoreland had already been in command of U.S. forces in Vietnam. 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. He decided to conduct of a war of attrition, using search and destroy tactics, in which the measure of merit was body count. You worked for GEN Westmoreland when he was Army Chief of Staff. Hull was taken prisoner by the British and was court-martialed upon his return 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. What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? On a visit to Vietnam Senator Hollings from Westmorelands home state of South Carolina was told by Westmoreland: Were killing these people, the enemy, at a ratio of 10 to 1. Said Hollings, Westy, the American people dont care about the ten. 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. Having amassed roughly twice as many losses in a single day as Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington, had suffered during the entire Peninsular War, Haig saw no reason to change tactics. Rommel is by far the greatest military general of the . Over time Westmoreland asked for and received large numbers of U.S. troops, eventually totaling well over half a million. You start by being the only thing that can frustrate Napoleon more than a Russian winter. The self proclaimed Napoleon of the West didnt quite leave the same legacy as his idol. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln and the Union expected great things. Haig was cruelly mocked, first in the satirical musical Oh! He continued on to suffer defeats at Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz, almost letting the war slip away from the British. Publication of the PROVN Study, whose precepts were later implemented with great success by Westmorelands successor, illustrated a matter of fundamental importance. There were available better concepts of how to prosecute the war. Little Mac would prove himself to be a superb organizer who kept his army well supplied, efficiently run, and happy. The enemy simply kept sending more and more replacements to make up his losses. Still, it is his world-changing defeat at Yorktown that merits memorializing. Even now, the easiest way to get into an argument at a V.F.W. A final humiliation came during Mexican-American War. 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. Russias war is receiving critical assistance from authoritarian regimes around the world. Despite fresh salvos of Western sanctions, Tehran and Moscow are buddying up on defense ties. The Second Battle of the Somme was the first of a series of successful German offensives, but Ludendorff had failed to integrate these tactical victories into a broader strategic plan. Westmoreland is often described as a Boy Scout, usually implying, it appears, that he was well-intentioned but nave. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Pillow pulled the troops back to the fort to resupply them. 336 pages | 16 halftones | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4. America, the Middle East and the rest of the world are still reaping the consequences of those omissions. Michael Ray oversees coverage of European history and military affairs for Britannica. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail. On the night of August 15, 1812, Tecumseh led his forces across the Detroit River, and Brock followed the next morning. 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. His invasion of Canada came to an abrupt halt when he failed to capture Fort Malden, a British position that was a laughably short distance from Hulls headquarters at Fort Detroit. Although he eventually disavowed Hitler, by that point Ludendorff had become so deeply involved with mysticism that few took him seriously. Unfortunately the fates of the former Republic Vietnam (Sout. Then, in an ill-advised comeback, he met his Waterloo. Seared into all who fought it and many who merely lived through it that conflict remains a bitter stew of second-guessing and recriminations. 8. The most important, and also the saddest, is that in Vietnam and thereafter Westmoreland was willing to shade or misremember or deny or invent the record when his perceived interests were at stake. Have your boss report to the French gentleman whose name begins with J at a place which begins with D which is five grid squares to the left of M. The Kasserine disaster had repercussions. Hundreds of thousands died of disease. This strategy inevitably failed as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong maintained control over how the war was fought which was through guerilla warfare. Varus placed his legions in a position where their fighting strengths would be minimized and that of the Germanic Cherusci tribesman maximized. Ludendorff is one of historys greatest examples of a general who can win battles but still loses the war. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1. Concurrently with hi. As a result, American military power and prestige took a dramatic downturn. 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. 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. In the summer of 1967, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) initiated a series of attacks in western Kontum Province. After his defeat by the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna was captured. While Muammer Al-Gaddafi isn't into the funny business in his politician reign, he most certainly is one of a highly egotistical leader and a member who represents more of the "self" rather than all else. 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. The British blockaded the port at Cdiz with a numerically inferior force, and Villeneuve, upon learning that he was to be relieved of command, rashly struck out at Nelsons fleet. What a Lovely War and then in the 1989 television comedy series Blackadder Goes Forth. 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. What myths or misperceptions surround Westmoreland that you would like to clear up, if any? Assuming you believe the subtitle to be accurate, who were GEN Westmorelands biggest accomplices in the loss? Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, Chinas Censors Are Afraid of What Chatbots Might Say, The U.S. Evening roundup with our editors favorite stories of the day. Applications for the Gettysburg College-Gilder Lehrman MA program are open and considered on a rolling basis. Westmorelands strategy throughout the war was to win through Attrition Warfare (pounding the enemy through greater numbers and resources) which military strategists including Sun Tzu caution against using. Varus himself, seeing all hope was lost, committed suicide. History: Military History. The 1970s were scary times. 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. To say that he failed in both regards is to dramatically understate the case. 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. Relations between the United States and China seem to be getting frostier by the day. James K. Polk. 5. Seldom included in. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. His 1812 campaign against Russia ended in complete disaster. Darius III. 1. The initial assault resulted in very high casualties for the Russians and an almost complete breakdown of morale in the Russian forces. 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. 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. Finally, there was MacArthur's insubordination. Youre on the list! After the war, the phrase lions led by donkeys came to be associated with the British army for what should be obvious reasons. The last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, Darius was not quite as qualified to rule a mighty empire as his predecessors were. How the North Vietnamese remember the conflict 40 years after the fall of Saigon. 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. Following on from our list of the greatest and most successful military commanders, we are presenting this list of the worst. 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. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln and the Union expected great things. When all is said and done, it doesnt matter how nice, brave, courageous, gutsy, loyal, or brilliant commanders theyve been. A curated selection of our very best long reads. Routed by U.S. forces under Winfield Scott, Santa Anna was again driven into exile. How does an admiral make a list of the worst generals? 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. Darius again was the first to flee the battle, abandoning all of his soldiers and his property to be taken by Alexander. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. 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He would eventually be betrayed and killed by a friend. 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. Want to read more on this topic or region? Who was the worst general in history? However, not even they managed to get themselves court-martialed and sentenced to death for ineptitude on the battlefield. While this century witnessed many great leaders, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi . He need not be concerned, soothed Wheeler, because the weight of judgment was that the enemy cant match us on a buildup. That turned out to be one of the classic misjudgments of the war, comparable in magnitude and consequence to General MacArthurs assurances to President Truman that Chinese forces would not enter the Korean War. They kept it as a war trophy, exhibiting the leg at county fairs. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. Pierre de Villeneuve had his first brush with history when he bravely ran away at the Battle of the Nile. 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. Germanic tribes sacrificed Roman officers on altars to their gods. If pressed to rank the miscreants, I would place Wheeler first, then LBJ, and then McNamara, with all entitled to recognition as important accomplices in dooming the endeavor. Many historians have said Bragg was one of the worst generals of the Civil War, having lost most of his battles. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. Westmoreland told him, "We're killing these people at a ratio of 10 to 1.". 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). In 1975, when the Vietnam War ended, the Vietnamese army had only 36 generals, but by 2018, peace-time Vietnam had 415 military officers holding general ranks. 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. The Summer 2023 term begins June 1, 2023 and ends August 24, 2023. He continued to view attrition as the most effective strategy for defeating Germany; the British lost some 420,000 men at the Somme. What will another year of war look like? Darius family would be captured and even lost the Battle of Gaugamela, where so many factors were in his favor. Delivered Friday.