worst generals in vietnam worst generals in vietnam

Hannibal. 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. - 3 Best: 1987 Los Angeles Lakers. 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. After occupying Jerusalem and crucifying 2,000 Jewish rebels in Judaea, Varus went off to govern Germania and tame barbarian tribes. Not one to let his own failings stand in the way of personal glory, Pillow submitted fanciful accounts of his actions at the Battles of Contreras and Churubusco to various newspapers, incurring the wrath of overall American commander Winfield Scott. Its quite exclusive: combat leaders who had the fate of their people in their hands and squandered it all. 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. Antonio de Padua Mara Severino Lpez de Santa Anna. Hull responded by ordering the evacuation of Fort Dearborn, and the garrison was promptly massacred by a Potawatomi war band upon leaving the fort. Many historians credit Benedict Arnold and others with being the real victors of Saratoga. 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. Napoleon. It was anotherhistory-changingevent, the birth of a truly exceptional nation. 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. So unused to being challenged, the United States has become so filled with anxiety over China that sober responses are becoming nearly impossible. 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. [1] 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. The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. His war of attrition, search and destroy tactics, and emphasis on body count did nothing to affect the war in the hamlets and villages of South Vietnam, where the enemys covert infrastructure was left free to continue using coercion and terror to dominate the rural populace. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire. As for the British, they had lost the most valuable jewel of the Imperial crown. 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. Seared into all who fought it and many who merely lived through it that conflict remains a bitter stew of second-guessing and recriminations. Todays list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam. The 1970s were scary times. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. 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 Woefully inexperienced U.S. soldiers found themselves against Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps veterans. After eight years at Foreign Policy, here are the ten most popular Best Defense posts. Villeneuve was then to return in secret and help establish naval dominance of the English Channel in preparation for a land invasion of Britain. Starting with the battle of Long Island, he lost way more fights than he wonyet he managed to win the war. Advancing in dispersed columns across the northern half of the peninsula was an invitation to be destroyed piecemeal. 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. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on. 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. Lyndon Johnson had no understanding of military affairs whatever, nor did Robert McNamara. When all is said and done, it doesnt matter how nice, brave, courageous, gutsy, loyal, or brilliant commanders theyve been. McClellan was a proto-Douglas MacArthur who bad-mouthed his president and commander-in-chief. After the war, the phrase lions led by donkeys came to be associated with the British army for what should be obvious reasons. For its part, Washington has made a series of policy choices over the last few years that can be summed Show moreup as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. 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. Not good, Hannibal. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, Chinas Censors Are Afraid of What Chatbots Might Say, The U.S. Santa Anna was found wearing a privates uniform, hiding in a marsh. 88,594. According to formerly classified Army documents, an investigation disclosed that from at least March 1968 through October 1969, "Vietnamese [civilian] detainees were subjected to maltreatment" by. Some captured Romans were placed in wicker cages and burned alive, others were enslaved or ransomed. . Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. 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. What does that mean for trade and globalization? 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. Delivered Monday-Saturday. 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. 336 pages | 16 halftones | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4. Santa Anna, a lifetime gambler, was known for his risk taking in battle, but also his brutality. Although he eventually disavowed Hitler, by that point Ludendorff had become so deeply involved with mysticism that few took him seriously. Instead the enemy proved willing to absorb horrifying losses and keep fighting. Sure, he was the greatest commander of the Second Punic War, a titanic contest between Carthage and Rome. 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. He graduated second in his class at West Point (well ahead of classmates Stonewall Jackson, George H. Gordon, and George Pickett). (You May Also Like: The Five Best Generals in U.S. History). Grachev has also been linked to corruption among the higher ranks of the military, specifically the assassination of journalist Dmitry Kholodov. 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). The premise was that, if he could kill enough of the enemy, they would lose heart and cease their aggression against the South Vietnamese. Pillow suffered slightly more casualties than Grant in the engagement, which possibly makes the Battle of Belmont the high point of Pillows military career. The enemy simply kept sending more and more replacements to make up his losses. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. 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. When two able and progressive Nationalist generals, Pai Chunghsi and Li Tsung-jen, begged the generalissimo to adopt similar methods, Chiang rejected them outright. 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. Yes, Westmoreland was the general who lost Vietnam. Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend The idiot who, seeking self aggrandisement, led his army, Force D, to disaster at Kut in WW1. 5. 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. Alexander, Napoleon, Rommel. In the opening month of World War I, Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg scored a crushing victory over the Russians at Tannenberg. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. Not later than the autumn of 1966 the leaders of both services involved in fighting the ground war in VietnamArmy Chief of Staff General Harold K. Johnson and Marine Commandant General. Horacio Gates of the American Revolution was pretty bad. 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. 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. 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. History: Military History. Following on from our list of the greatest and most successful military commanders, we are presenting this list of the worst. In the famous Battle of the Alamo, Santa Anna struggled to defeat about 250 Texans with 2,400 Mexicans and subsequently lost nearly 600 men. Westmoreland held a press conference in which he categorically denied any such loss of confidence. The unprecedented violence of battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and Gettysburg shocked citizens and international observers alike. 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. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. See the vast swaths of land to the north and south that arent Paraguay? What was your impression of the man when you were working for him? This proved possible only with enemy cooperation, since they could break contact and limit casualties as they wished by withdrawing into sanctuaries across the border. Is Weiss correct? The problem begins with the fact that nobody in the chain of command was really competent to critique Westmorelands performance. 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. Implementing the attrition strategy, Westmoreland typically employed a series of large unit sweeps conducted in the deep jungle regions along South Vietnams western borders. But all that remains of his would-be empire today is a flaky French pastry. His senior staff lacked diversity of experience and professional outlook, consisting mostly of people with backgrounds similar to his own, especially airborne. These battlefield bumblers serve to provide that contrast. Caepio reportedly lived out the remainder of his life in luxury, however. This strategy inevitably failed as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong maintained control over how the war was fought which was through guerilla warfare. Its quite exclusive: combat leaders who had the fate of their people in their hands and squandered it all. They kept it as a war trophy, exhibiting the leg at county fairs. Caepio was born into a noble family and became consul in 106 BC. standing, Ukrainians are determined to keep fighting, and the West has so far stayed resolute in its support of Ukraine. Some historians are a little more sympathetic towards Percivals legacy nowadays arguing that Percival had been dealt an unusually bad hand. Nor is being a bad battlefield commander, by itself, sufficient to make the cut. Then, in an ill-advised comeback, he met his Waterloo. FPsRavi Agrawalsat down with U.S. Trade RepresentativeKatherine Tai, the Biden administrations top official tasked with mapping out and implementing the White Houses trade policy. His 1812 campaign against Russia ended in complete disaster. This would be known as the Tet Offensive and would become a major turning point in the war. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. This entire list could be populated with Roman commanders, but one manages to rise above the rest with an ineptitude that defies logic. A Brief History. Their orientation, indeed the core of Scoutings values, is selflessness and service to others. Percival was off mistreating Irish Republican Army (IRA) leaders during the Anglo-Irish War before commanding British Malaya in World War II. Routed by U.S. forces under Winfield Scott, Santa Anna was again driven into exile. 1. 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. 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. Caepio may have been a terrible general, but he was apparently an exceptional thief. Santa Anna would lose Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto. Again fighting outnumbered Texans, this time Santa Anna would lose the battle stunningly. With a few relatively minor changes, thats just about where they stayed for the next four years. 1 Erwin Rommel Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was a German field marshal of World War II. (The leg did get a state funeral). The Summer 2023 term begins June 1, 2023 and ends August 24, 2023. Although Nelson was killed in combat at Trafalgar, Villeneuve outlived him only by six months. The rise of American-made chatbots has kicked off a flurry of Chinese activity. All rights reserved. A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. McClellan was a superb organizer, a West Point-trained engineer who did much to build the Union army almost from scratch. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln and the Union expected great things. 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. Finally, there was MacArthur's insubordination. The Top Ten. 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. Still, he choked in the big game. They care about the one. Westmoreland didnt get it. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. Instead he simply sent more and more replacements to make up his losses. Diem's family was one of the earliest to convert to Catholicism, a religion he took . Pillow escaped during the night, leaving Simon B. Buckner to surrender the fort and 15,000 Confederate troops. To say that he failed in both regards is to dramatically understate the case. Keep up with the world without stopping yours. Feel free to mention any others you may know of in the comments. 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. Michael Peck is a contributing writer at Foreign Policy and a writer for War Is Boring. Arminius cut off his head and sent it to another Germanic leader as a present. 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. 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 . Innumerable battlefield commanders have had disastrous days at the office. Download the FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. The War of the Triple Alliance devastated Paraguay. By the way, here is the first review I have seen of Sorleys new biography of Westmoreland, which I read in galleys last summer, and enjoyed. He decided to conduct of a war of attrition, using search and destroy tactics, in which the measure of merit was body count. Years later, when Marine Corps historians were at work on their history of the war, Westmoreland met with them. 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. Michael Ray oversees coverage of European history and military affairs for Britannica. The Russian president got many things wrong about invading Ukrainebut not everything. Some would say that failure on the battlefield warrants censure. How theyve practiced the art of war is immaterial, too. The British gained control of the fort, dozens of cannons, the brig USS Adams (recommissioned the HMS Detroit), and virtually the entire Michigan Territory. Who was the worst general in history? The last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, Darius was not quite as qualified to rule a mighty empire as his predecessors were. If Gates had been in command, we might be paying for our groceries with shillings and pence. If Putin had hoped to weaken NATO, the very opposite has happened, with Finland and Sweden on the cusp of joining the transatlantic military alliance. Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. As a military commander, Napoleon may have thebest batting averageof all time. The stabbed in the back myth did much to propel the ascent of Adolf Hitler, and Ludendorff was a key participant in the Beer Hall Putsch. They kept it as a war trophy, exhibiting the leg at. Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. Darius was a different sort of game-changer. Weekly update on whats driving U.S. national security policy. Instead of sweeping around the French defenses in a massive flanking movement, the Germans were checked at the First Battle of the Marne. 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 retreated to Malta but was captured when that island fell to the British. McClellan truly disappointed president Lincoln at the Battle of Antietam where the North and South would fight the bloodiest battle of the war. Relations between the United States and China seem to be getting frostier by the day. 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. Of course, that is what they did when Ludendorff pushed for the use of unrestricted submarine warfare against Allied shipping. What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? He lacked the schooling and relevant experience to understand the war and devise a viable approach to prosecuting it. General Wheeler was often just flat wrong in what he told the President. A former British officer, Gates rose to fame as Continental Army commander during the momentous American defeat of a British army at Saratoga in 1777. Varus was stationed with three of his legions, the 17th, 18th and 19th when news arrived of a revolt growing in the Rhine area. 10. This week marks exactly one year since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine. 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. 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. He served as a National Socialist member of the German parliament before authoring a book about how humanity exists in a state of perpetual war and why that is a good thing. Although he managed to escape the battle unharmed, Caepio was stripped of his Roman citizenship and exiled. James Madison spared him from execution. The Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Memorial LectureThomas E. Ricks is a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Washington also suffered his share of defeats. He would eventually be betrayed and killed by a friend. 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. But then MacArthur thrived on controversy like bread thrives on yeast. A very significant instance was his determination to arbitrarily hold down the estimate of enemy strength during a 1967 order of battle controversy. 3. On March 24, 1976, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1 st Viscount of Alamein, hero of World War II, died at home in England. Yes, eminently. These operations were designed to seek out enemy forces and engage them in decisive battle. Concurrently with hi. Darius III. But its not just the United States. 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. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. He was uninterested in other viewpoints on how the war might be prosecuted, dismissing the PROVN Study sponsored by Army Chief of Staff General Harold K. Johnson (which concluded that Westmorelands way of war was not working and could not work) and basic disagreements with Westmorelands organization and approach voiced by his brilliant classmate General Bruce Palmer Jr. 7. Seldom included in. 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. Dispatched to India, he led campaigns to help subdue the subcontinent, replacing the crown jewel he had lost. Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) 24. Evening roundup with our editors favorite stories of the day. He earned a B.A. General William Westmoreland. By the way, here is the first review I have seen of Sorley's new biography of Westmoreland, which I read in galleys last summer, and enjoyed. Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future. Not only is Sorley a third-generation graduate of West Point a Vietnam veteran and a historian, but he worked for Westmoreland as well. Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. Operational Culture General Training LREC SME Support Training Course Catalog Cognitive Dimension Training Additional Resources . Exactly. My generation would likely vote for the year exactly one-half century ago as the absolutely worst year in our lifetimes. During the darkest days of the rebellion, when Washington's army had been kicked out of New York and King George's star seemed ascendant, the "Conway cabal" of disgruntled officers and politicians unsuccessfully schemed to out Washington and appoint Gates. - 2 Worst: 2007 Washington Wizards. Many historians have said Bragg was one of the worst generals of the Civil War, having lost most of his battles. But his crowning achievement was bad generalship in Korea. However, not even they managed to get themselves court-martialed and sentenced to death for ineptitude on the battlefield. 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. Publication of the PROVN Study, whose precepts were later implemented with great success by Westmorelands successor, illustrated a matter of fundamental importance. 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. Is the Biden administrations China policy too hawkish? Varus placed his legions in a position where their fighting strengths would be minimized and that of the Germanic Cherusci tribesman maximized. He couldnt. Quintus Servilius Caepio takes the cake amongst the worst Roman generals ever to take command of a legion though. Hundreds of thousands died of disease. The world over, countries are embarking on ambitious projects of industrial policy. 1. Feel free to mention any others you may know of in the comments. 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. Others would say that it is not victory, but success in fulfilling a mission that counts. They dramatically upped their game, pressing the U.S. worldwide. 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. The Soviets saw the American humiliation in Vietnam as a turning point. They dramatically upped their game, pressing the U.S. worldwide. General Westmorelands close associate, General William DePuy, later admitted the futility of the Westmoreland way of war. 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. 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). To accomplish this goal, Vietnam employs repressive policies that often contravene international human rights law.