worst generals in vietnam

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. 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. And the number one reason why Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam: With his unavailing approach to conduct of the war he squandered four years of support by much of the American people, the Congress, and even the media. Westmoreland was on a treadmill. Westmorelands first resort in claiming progress in the war was always body count, but in fact this was meaningless. Registration for summer courses begins March 18, 2023 and ends June 7, 2023. Grachev publicly promised to swiftly crush the Chechen separatist forces in a couple of hours with a single airborne regiment. He led the disastrous storming of Grozny while drunk after celebrating his birthday on January 1st. Yes, Westmoreland was the general who lost Vietnam. But its not just the United States. He first demonstrated his ineptitude during the Mexican-American War, where he had received an appointment to the rank of major general from his friend Pres. He effectively pledged to become an agent for the U.S. but found that he had been deposed upon his return to Mexico. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln. While Maximus was conducting negotiations with the Cimbri, a Germanic tribe that had invaded the Roman province of Transalpine Gaul, Caepio rashly attacked the Cimbri army on October 6, 105 BCE. This was true in matters both great and small. Pillow escaped during the night, leaving Simon B. Buckner to surrender the fort and 15,000 Confederate troops. There is no Carthage. Varus was stationed with three of his legions, the 17th, 18th and 19th when news arrived of a revolt growing in the Rhine area. His senior staff lacked diversity of experience and professional outlook, consisting mostly of people with backgrounds similar to his own, especially airborne. Many historians credit Benedict Arnold and others with being the real victors of Saratoga. He lacked the schooling and relevant experience to understand the war and devise a viable approach to prosecuting it. Although he managed to escape the battle unharmed, Caepio was stripped of his Roman citizenship and exiled. What will another year of war look like? But he also displayed remarkably bad judgment, as when he was commander in the Philippines in 1941. Some 15,000 talents of gold (the so-called Gold of Tolosa) had vanished under his watch, never to be recovered. Delivered Wednesday. Caepio may have been a terrible general, but he was apparently an exceptional thief. Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. Fighter Aircraft of All Time, his army being routed by a smaller force of Redcoats and Loyalists at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina in 1780, 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, Listing MacArthur as one of America's worst generals will be controversial, 5 Israeli Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear, But MacArthur's strategy certainly helped unleash 300,000 Chinese "volunteers" who inflicted significant casualties on United Nations forces, But Franks, who commanded the invasion, made a bad situation worse, Critics say that Franks and senior officials, such as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, concocted an invasion plan that used too few troops. America, the Middle East and the rest of the world are still reaping the consequences of those omissions. Finally, when it comes to bad generals, let us remember Truman's immortal words about firing MacArthur: I fired him because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President. To say that he failed in both regards is to dramatically understate the case. Todays list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam. Heres the inaugural class: 6. Not that Fredendall didn't have real issues that would have tried any commander. Fighter Aircraft of All Time). 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. 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. Concurrently with hi. Darius quickly lost everything and became nothing but a fugitive. 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. Scott claimed that Pillow was ''the only person I have ever known who was wholly indifferent in the choice between truth and falsehood. When talk of secession reached Pillows home state of Tennessee, he helped organize the state militia and was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate army. 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. 88,594. Two years later, he lost a leg fighting the French. Its quite exclusive: combat leaders who had the fate of their people in their hands and squandered it all. 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. Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. Caepio was born into a noble family and became consul in 106 BC. Listing MacArthur as one of America's worst generals will be controversial. He would eventually be betrayed and killed by a friend. The Legion numbers XVII, XVIII and XIX never again appeared in the Roman Armys order of battle due to the shame and ill luck they carried. He was a teacher in the Chicago suburbs and Seoul, Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Yet, Hannibal nevertheless ranks as one of the worlds epic fails. 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. 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. - 2 Worst: 2007 Washington Wizards. But with that kind of advantage in troops and firepower, who wouldnt? Its prewar population was reduced by more than half, and perhaps 90 percent of Paraguays fighting-age men perished. The result of his manic commitment to the war of attrition was that Westmoreland squandered four years of his troops bravery and support by the public, the Congress, and even much of the news media for American involvement in the war. 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. Unfortunately the fates of the former Republic Vietnam (Sout. By the end of May 1862, Confederate commanding Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had withdrawn his forces to Richmond, and McClellan was close enough to the Confederate capital to hear its church bells ringing. 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. What will another year of war look like? Some would say that failure on the battlefield warrants censure. Yes, the landing at Inchon unhinged the initial North Korean offensive. Muammar Al-Gaddafi. In a war that saw more than its share of unskilled politically appointed generals, Pillow was arguably the worst on either side. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. 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). Men and material the Union could provide its armies. 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. Contrarily, I would not so stigmatize another important player often criticized by others, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. Thus there was little internal capacity for debating or evaluating his chosen course of action. McClellan was a superb organizer, a West Point-trained engineer who did much to build the Union army almost from . Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. Villeneuve was then to return in secret and help establish naval dominance of the English Channel in preparation for a land invasion of Britain. 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. 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. A final humiliation came during Mexican-American War. The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. While this century witnessed many great leaders, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi . Think about how history would have been different if Hannibal had a military plan to outlast Roman might. After his performance at Belmonta spectacular success by Pillow standardshe was tasked with the defense of Fort Donelson, a key strongpoint on the Mississippi River. By Lewis Sorley Best Defense Saigon bureau chief. Despite reports of the build-up of German forces and even knowing the date of the Germans attack, Gamelin did nothing, stating that he would await events. in history from Michigan State University in 1995. Historian Lewis Sorley author of 1999s well-regarded A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of Americans Last Years in Vietnam now zeroes in on General William Westmoreland. While there are plenty of books that analyze the keys to success, The Worst Military Leaders in History offers lessons of failure to avoid. General William Westmoreland. But its not just the United States. General Wheeler was often just flat wrong in what he told the President. rs worth well over $400 billion. General and presidential candidate Douglas MacArthur (1880 - 1964) at his headquarters in Yokohama, Japan with US Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright (1883 - 1953) (right), and British Lieutenant-General A E Percival (1887 - 1966) (left) who were taken prisoner by the Japanese after the US retreat in the Bataan peninsula and released in 1945. But then MacArthur thrived on controversy like bread thrives on yeast. 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. 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. 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 inept Luigi Cadorna of Italy fought a dozen battles on the Isonzo before his army completely collapsed at Caporetto. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. The 1970s were scary times. Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent. 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. Your guide to the most important world stories of the day. 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. Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security. 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. When two able and progressive Nationalist generals, Pai Chunghsi and Li Tsung-jen, begged the generalissimo to adopt similar methods, Chiang rejected them outright. History is not a fixed set of facts. My generation would likely vote for the year exactly one-half century ago as the absolutely worst year in our lifetimes. As military professionals, we should think about more . It would be nice if all American generals were great. He called for bombing China, as if liberating Korea was worth risking 550 million Chinese and possibly war with Russia as well. At the height of the Cold War, he dealt decisively with neither. Haste risked casualties and defeats at the hands of a formidable opponent like Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. General Westmoreland had complete freedom of action in deciding how to prosecute the war within South Vietnam. As Lincoln well knew, the only way the Union could lose the war was if the North eventually grew tired and agreed to allow the South to secede. Yes, eminently. Advancing in dispersed columns across the northern half of the peninsula was an invitation to be destroyed piecemeal. Once again, McClellan worked his organizational magic, restoring the morale of a shattered Union army. 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?). 4. But the award for the biggest Persian loser goes to Darius III. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. Thuong, 52, is the youngest member of the party's Politburo, the country's top decision-making body, and is widely regarded as being close to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam's most . George Custer at the Little Big Horn and Lord Chelmsford at the Battle of Isandlwana leap to mind. His bad luck didnt end at San Jacinto. 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. He spoke up in Honolulu, during an important U.S. planning conference in February 1966, observing that we can beat up North Vietnamese regiments in the high plateau for the next twenty years and it will not end the war. Westmorelands later dismissive comment was that Ambassador Lodge does not have a deep feel of military tactics and strategy.. As for the British, they had lost the most valuable jewel of the Imperial crown. 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. The Romans marched right into the ambush that Arminius laid thus leading to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. A curated selection of our very best long reads. James K. Polk. 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. At Yorktown, he allowed himself to be taken by surprise and outmaneuvered by Washington and the French fleet. 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. T he Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict. In considering who should receive such a dubious honor, Ive consciously excluded bad leaders. 7. Military Sure, they ganged up on the Spartans at the Pass of Thermopylae. Delivered Friday. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. At the Battle of Gaugamela, he helped make Alexander great by losing half his army to the Macedonian upstart. Overseas during World War II he had limited line duty (16 months of battalion command, then 13 months in staff positions) and of 14 months of command during the Korean War and its immediate aftermath he spent eight months in reserve in Japan and only six months in Korea, and that during the mostly static final months of the war. Hundreds of thousands died of disease. Alexander, Napoleon, Rommel. Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend The idiot who, seeking self aggrandisement, led his army, Force D, to disaster at Kut in WW1. 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. Pillow suffered slightly more casualties than Grant in the engagement, which possibly makes the Battle of Belmont the high point of Pillows military career.

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