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. How well that would have worked can be seen when Gates was sent to command American troops in the South. Yes, Westmoreland was the general who lost Vietnam. Whatever its military wisdom or lack thereof, it was a decision that should not have been made by generals under the American political system. 336 pages | 16 halftones | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4. Not good, Hannibal. Westmoreland is often described as a Boy Scout, usually implying, it appears, that he was well-intentioned but nave. Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) 24. Villeneuve lost 20 ships, while Nelson lost none. 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. Needs to Talk About the Risk of War With China, Putin Has Assembled an Axis of Autocrats Against Ukraine, The Conversation About Ukraine Is Cracking Apart. 1. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. Lewis Sorleys new book, Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, is being published today by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. But his persistence and inspiration kept the Continental Army in the field through the worst of times, which is why his face is on the one-dollar bill. General Westmorelands close associate, General William DePuy, later admitted the futility of the Westmoreland way of war. 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. - 2 Worst: 2007 Washington Wizards. Simultaneously, he contacted Maximilian to offer the young emperor his services. The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. And how might that be impacting the world? Little Mac would prove himself to be a superb organizer who kept his army well supplied, efficiently run, and happy. Driven into exile in 1845, he contacted U.S. Pres. Jessica Chen Weiss, formerly a senior advisor for policy planning at the State Department under the Biden administration, makes the case that the United States is becoming consumed by competition with China, a strategy that could lead to dangerous conflict. What is the standard of shame for induction? T he Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict. . 10 Redvers Buller Varus was stationed with three of his legions, the 17th, 18th and 19th when news arrived of a revolt growing in the Rhine area. 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 . 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. 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. He couldnt. But there was something that not even the factories of New York and Chicago could produce, and that was time. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Feel free to mention any others you may know of in the comments. After being taken prisoner (again) by the British, Villeneuve was released but committed suicide rather than face Napoleons wrath. But with that kind of advantage in troops and firepower, who wouldnt? 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. 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. 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. Argentina, Brazil, and the Brazilian puppet government in Uruguay formed an alliance, and on May 1, 1865, they declared war on Paraguay. 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. 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. Francisco Solano Lpez managed to stumble into a war with pretty much all of that. Keep up with the world without stopping yours. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 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. 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. Darius did not take the field against Alexander until a year and a half after Granicus, at the Battle of Issus. 15. Pillow suffered slightly more casualties than Grant in the engagement, which possibly makes the Battle of Belmont the high point of Pillows military career. (You May Also Like: The Five Best Generals in U.S. History). To accomplish this goal, Vietnam employs repressive policies that often contravene international human rights law. In his single-minded pursuit of that objective, Westmoreland (despite his repeated claims to the contrary) essentially ignored two other crucial aspects of the war, improvement of South Vietnams armed forces and pacification. The Germanic fighters demolished the three Roman legions. There appeared to be little serious planning for what would happen the day after Saddam was gone. Creighton Abrams was an U.S. Army General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972. The British gained control of the fort, dozens of cannons, the brig USS Adams (recommissioned the HMS Detroit), and virtually the entire Michigan Territory. 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. When all is said and done, it doesnt matter how nice, brave, courageous, gutsy, loyal, or brilliant commanders theyve been. Hull responded by ordering the evacuation of Fort Dearborn, and the garrison was promptly massacred by a Potawatomi war band upon leaving the fort. But he was overly cautious by nature. In order, from most culpable down. 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. Not that Fredendall didn't have real issues that would have tried any commander. 9. Delivered Thursday. Nor is being a bad battlefield commander, by itself, sufficient to make the cut. Again fighting outnumbered Texans, this time Santa Anna would lose the battle stunningly. Test yourself on the week of Feb. 25: Nigeria votes, Finland builds a border wall, and Israel escalates repression. Hundreds of thousands died of disease. Westmoreland held a press conference in which he categorically denied any such loss of confidence. Somalia (1992-1994) 2. 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. Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend The idiot who, seeking self aggrandisement, led his army, Force D, to disaster at Kut in WW1. Listing MacArthur as one of America's worst generals will be controversial. 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. 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. Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Baines Johnson announced his fateful decision to double the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam. The loss of Fort Donelson opened the door to Kentucky and Tennessee to Union forces and marked the beginning of the end of Confederate resistance in the west. Sure, they ganged up on the Spartans at the Pass of Thermopylae. in history from Michigan State University in 1995. 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. 3. History: Military History. Despite the Union outnumbering the Confederates, McClellan was unable to crush Robert E. Lee after failing to pursue him into Virginia. Still, it is his world-changing defeat at Yorktown that merits memorializing. Unfortunately the fates of the former Republic Vietnam (Sout. But the inducements encourage U.S. companies to invest only at homenot elsewhere. Todays list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam, Want to read more on this topic or region? He was indeed a capable warrior, as shown by the South Pacific campaign and the Inchon landing in Korea. 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. In other words, this book is a "how-not-to" guide to leadership. Grachev has also been linked to corruption among the higher ranks of the military, specifically the assassination of journalist Dmitry Kholodov. Watchthe conversation onFP Live, the magazines forum for live journalism, orreada condensed transcript. Informed that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and were certain to attack the Philippines next, MacArthur failed to disperse his aircraftthe only force that could disrupt the Japanese offensive in the absence of the American fleetand to attack Japanese airfields before the enemy wiped out his air force. What a Lovely War and then in the 1989 television comedy series Blackadder Goes Forth. 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 The Summer 2023 term begins June 1, 2023 and ends August 24, 2023. He overestimated the American peoples patience and tolerance of friendly losses. Among them are, of course, Lyndon Johnson himself, Robert McNamara, and General Earle Wheeler. 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. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, This Photo Of A 94-Year-Old Widow Receiving Her Husbands Remains Will Break Your Heart, From Messiah to Hitler, What You Can and Cannot Name Your Child. 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. James K. Polk. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. Officially labelled a defector by the Pentagon, many suspected Nolan, an African American, changed sides after suffering a lifetime of racial discrimination. 8. (You May Also Like: 5 Israeli Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear). After the Germans attacked, Gamelin was eventually removed from his post, but by then it was too late. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War. At the height of the Cold War, he dealt decisively with neither. The world over, countries are embarking on ambitious projects of industrial policy. At Yorktown, he allowed himself to be taken by surprise and outmaneuvered by Washington and the French fleet. 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). 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. Hull was taken prisoner by the British and was court-martialed upon his return to the United States. Santa Anna was found wearing a privates uniform, hiding in a marsh. Vietnam War. Ulysses S. Grant, who replaced McClellan, understood this. 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. Westmorelands first resort in claiming progress in the war was always body count, but in fact this was meaningless. Ludendorff is one of historys greatest examples of a general who can win battles but still loses the war. Without question, many lives would be saved if their tactical professionalism were enhanced.. 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 was certainly nave, but the Boy Scouts need to be defended here. He was an artilleryman who missed out on the Armys great schools system, never attending the Command & General Staff College or the Army War College. I flew into Vietnam in June 1968 as a young . On the other side of the trenches in World War I was Erich Ludendorff, commanding the armies of Germany. He also issued orders to his troops in a personal code that no one else understood, such as this gem of command clarity: Move your command, i. e., the walking boys, pop guns, Baker's outfit and the outfit which is the reverse of Baker's outfit and the big fellows to M, which is due north of where you are now, as soon as possible. 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. But the argument is unbalanced. But his crowning achievement was bad generalship in Korea. Armchair historians often generalize that during the American Civil War, while the Union held a clear advantage in material, the Confederacy could field superior commanders. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, as Continental Army commander during the momentous American defeat of a British army at Saratoga in 1777, The Five Best U.S. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1. These American commanders have lost the battle for history. There was no warmth, no apparent interest in his associates as people. Its prewar population was reduced by more than half, and perhaps 90 percent of Paraguays fighting-age men perished. 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. The Romans lost an estimated 80,000 infantry and perhaps 40,000 auxiliaries and cavalry, numbers that dwarf the staggering totals at Cannae. One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture. The rise of American-made chatbots has kicked off a flurry of Chinese activity. The Romans marched right into the ambush that Arminius laid thus leading to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Grant had encircled the fort. Darius family would be captured and even lost the Battle of Gaugamela, where so many factors were in his favor. His prestige restored by his conduct during the Pastry War with France, Santa Anna once again claimed dictatorial powers. This was heeded about as well as any piece of parental advice, anywhere ever. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security. 4. And once again, at the Battle of Antietam, McClellans terminal case of the slows (as Lincoln called it) prevented the exploitation of a possible war-ending vulnerability in Confederate defenses. The Roman Empire has a long, proud tradition of producing some of the finest generals in human history- and just as many of the worst. Of course, that is what they did when Ludendorff pushed for the use of unrestricted submarine warfare against Allied shipping. In 1941, Graziani resigned his commission after the British counterattacked and the Tenth Army was completely defeated during Operation Compass. He decided to conduct of a war of attrition, using search and destroy tactics, in which the measure of merit was body count. Critics say that Franks and senior officials, such as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, concocted an invasion plan that used too few troops. On the other hand, there was that bad day at the Battle of Salamis when most of the Persian fleet went to the bottom. Fort Bragg was named in 1918 during the Jim Crow era. When the War of 1812 began, Hull was commissioned a brigadier general and tasked with defending Michigan and invading Upper Canada. Read More. In fact, he did a lot to ensure that Germany would find itself in another war that it couldnt win, but, since he died in 1937, he gets extra credit for being a bad World War II general from beyond the grave. 1968 takes the cake for me. Ulysses S. Grant made his Civil War debut at the Battle of Belmont against Confederate Gen. Gideon Pillow.