worst generals in vietnam

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. The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. Listing MacArthur as one of America's worst generals will be controversial. But the rash advance into North Korea was a blunder of strategic proportions. 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. 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. Explore the benefits included in your subscription. [i] However, the list is subjective, and open to debate, as top 10 lists tend to be. But the argument is unbalanced. Its quite exclusive: combat leaders who had the fate of their people in their hands and squandered it all. 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. Most younger officers who worked around General Westmoreland, excepting only a very few among his many aides-de-camp or executive officers and the like, had no personal relationship with this difficult and distant man. 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. 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. Download the FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. Eschewing a direct overland march to the Confederate capital of Richmond, McClellan orchestrated an impressive amphibious landing of more than 100,000 troops at Fort Monroe, at the southeast end of the peninsula between the James and York rivers. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire. James K. Polk. He was certainly nave, but the Boy Scouts need to be defended here. Routed by U.S. forces under Winfield Scott, Santa Anna was again driven into exile. Military greatness can most easily be defined by comparison. It would be nice if all American generals were great. His work as an observer during the Crimean War gave him insight into the importance of logistics for an industrialized army, and years spent as the chief of engineering for the Illinois Central Railroad made him aware of the transformative nature of rail transport. Delivered Friday. Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. Darius III. To counter these, Major General William R. Peers commenced Operation Greeley using elements of the 4th Infantry Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. 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. 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. Others were experienced military men who should have known better than to take the risks they took - or not take the risks they should have. The self proclaimed Napoleon of the West didnt quite leave the same legacy as his idol. Thats the point. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War. Test yourself on the week of Feb. 25: Nigeria votes, Finland builds a border wall, and Israel escalates repression. (You May Also Like: 5 Israeli Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear). The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. 3. To that Hollings responded, "Westy, the American people don't care about the ten. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. But there was something that not even the factories of New York and Chicago could produce, and that was time. He overestimated the American peoples patience and tolerance of friendly losses. This piece originally appeared in The National Interest https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/6-worst-military-leaders-ever-167526. As a result, American military power and prestige took a dramatic downturn. General Earle Wheeler was essentially a staff officer with virtually no troop leading experience, much less combat acumen. Evening roundup with our editors favorite stories of the day. After eight years at Foreign Policy, here are the ten most popular Best Defense posts. 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. A final humiliation came during Mexican-American War. Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) 24. 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. Westmorelands general mistake: severely underestimating the Communists. A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. Yet Fredendall's solution was to order an Army engineer company to build a giant bunker a hundred miles from the front lines. Washington also suffered his share of defeats. Some historians are a little more sympathetic towards Percivals legacy nowadays arguing that Percival had been dealt an unusually bad hand. James Madison spared him from execution. 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. What does that mean for trade and globalization? 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. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, consult individual encyclopedia entries about the topics. 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. And how might that be impacting the world? Horacio Gates of the American Revolution was pretty bad. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. The Summer 2023 term begins June 1, 2023 and ends August 24, 2023. It would be nice if all American generals were great. He lacked the schooling and relevant experience to understand the war and devise a viable approach to prosecuting it. A key plank in the Democratic platform that year was, appropriately, not fighting, and McClellan lost in a rout. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. 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. Still, he choked in the big game. Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with. Westmoreland told him, "We're killing these people at a ratio of 10 to 1.". 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. Today's list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam By the way, here is the first review I have seen of Sorley's new biography of Westmoreland, which I read in galleys. Following on from our list of the greatest and most successful military commanders, we are presenting this list of the worst. What a Lovely War and then in the 1989 television comedy series Blackadder Goes Forth. While Hull dithered, Brock captured Fort Michilimackinac, establishing British control of the Straits of Mackinac. The Vietnam War body count controversy centers on the counting of enemy dead by the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). After early success in the Mexican War for Independence, the rest of his career didnt pan out the way he would have liked. Delivered Wednesday & Sunday. But the inducements encourage U.S. companies to invest only at homenot elsewhere. 5. Gen. Charles Cornwallis. What was the worst battle of Vietnam? Alas, call it the laws of probability or just cosmic karma, but every nation produces bad generals as well as good onesand . Westmoreland established a headquarters known as MACV Forward in the northern provinces of South Vietnam and put his deputy, General Creighton Abrams, in charge, placing him over the Marines and also the Army forces in that region. His prestige restored by his conduct during the Pastry War with France, Santa Anna once again claimed dictatorial powers. On September 9, 1965, Navy Cmdr. Lewis Sorleys new book, Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, is being published today by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. You may opt out at any time. How does an admiral make a list of the worst generals? But the award for the biggest Persian loser goes to Darius III. He was killed in combat on March 1, 1870. Santa Anna would lose Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto. After being taken prisoner (again) by the British, Villeneuve was released but committed suicide rather than face Napoleons wrath. The early days of the 2003 Iraq War were bound to be a graveyard for military and political reputations, given the misperceptions and misjudgments behind America's ill-fated adventure in regime change and nation-building. Even now, the easiest way to get into an argument at a V.F.W. Assuming you believe the subtitle to be accurate, who were GEN Westmorelands biggest accomplices in the loss? Still, it is his world-changing defeat at Yorktown that merits memorializing. Somalia (1992-1994) 2. Maximus managed to form up his men but to no avail. Is the Biden administrations China policy too hawkish? What does that mean for trade and globalization? 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 problem begins with the fact that nobody in the chain of command was really competent to critique Westmorelands performance. His 1812 campaign against Russia ended in complete disaster. Delivered Wednesday. 4. Despite fresh salvos of Western sanctions, Tehran and Moscow are buddying up on defense ties. The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. 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. There appeared to be little serious planning for what would happen the day after Saddam was gone. Alexander, Napoleon, Rommel. To say that he failed in both regards is to dramatically understate the case. 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. But his crowning achievement was bad generalship in Korea. Who was the worst US general during the Vietnam War? Despite the Union outnumbering the Confederates, McClellan was unable to crush Robert E. Lee after failing to pursue him into Virginia. 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. 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). Woefully inexperienced U.S. soldiers found themselves against Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps veterans. 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. History: Military History. 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. Where is Carthage you ask? But the inducements encourage U.S. companies to invest only at homenot elsewhere. 15. In 1847, U.S. troops once again surprised Santa Anna and captured his prosthetic leg. It doesnt matter if theyve won more often than theyve lost. Its prewar population was reduced by more than half, and perhaps 90 percent of Paraguays fighting-age men perished. At the Battle of Gaugamela, he helped make Alexander great by losing half his army to the Macedonian upstart. Antonio de Padua Mara Severino Lpez de Santa Anna. Xi Jinpings signature foreign policy is a shadow of its former self.. After only 10 weeks into the Pacific War, Percival became responsible for the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. Lpez, possibly in a fit of madness, ordered the execution of hundreds of people, including some of his own family members. There was no warmth, no apparent interest in his associates as people. Applications for the Gettysburg College-Gilder Lehrman MA program are open and considered on a rolling basis. 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. Simultaneously, he contacted Maximilian to offer the young emperor his services. 1 Erwin Rommel Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was a German field marshal of World War II. Muammar Al-Gaddafi. Thus, almost by default, Westmoreland was left to go his own way, year after bloody year. He was found guilty of 11 counts, and only the intervention by Pres. 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. 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. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln. The war soon ended in a Russian defeat, with hundreds of thousands of military and civilian casualties. Delivered Monday-Saturday. He earned a B.A. Ultimately, he was denied his final showdown with the Allies by German political leaders who realized that the Americans could produce soldiers faster than Germany could produce bullets. He was soon released, however, and, as more capable French admirals either died or somehow incurred Napoleons disfavor, a path to the top echelons of command was opened for Villeneuve. General Westmorelands close associate, General William DePuy, later admitted the futility of the Westmoreland way of war. He was called the inevitable general. A West Point graduate, he served in World War II and Korea. Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. 1. 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. To accomplish this goal, Vietnam employs repressive policies that often contravene international human rights law. Advancing in dispersed columns across the northern half of the peninsula was an invitation to be destroyed piecemeal. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Seldom included in. And how might that be impacting the world? What will another year of war look like? Diem's family was one of the earliest to convert to Catholicism, a religion he took . Pillow suffered slightly more casualties than Grant in the engagement, which possibly makes the Battle of Belmont the high point of Pillows military career. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. 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. Watch the conversation or read the condensed transcript. Instead the enemy proved willing to absorb horrifying losses and keep fighting. It was a humiliating baptism of fire for the U.S. Army in Europe, and more important, caused British commanders to dismiss their Yank allies as amateur soldiers for the rest of the war. 7. When it came to military command, Westmoreland was everybodys all-Americanuntil he met his Waterloo. Feel free to mention any others you may know of in the comments. 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. 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. All the enemys losses were quickly made up. But Franks, who commanded the invasion, made a bad situation worse. Innumerable battlefield commanders have had disastrous days at the office. Arminius cut off his head and sent it to another Germanic leader as a present. In the opening month of World War I, Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg scored a crushing victory over the Russians at Tannenberg. 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. See the vast swaths of land to the north and south that arent Paraguay? When two able and progressive Nationalist generals, Pai Chunghsi and Li Tsung-jen, begged the generalissimo to adopt similar methods, Chiang rejected them outright. 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. Delivered Thursday. 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. Here's What You Need To Remember:The Soviets saw the American humiliation in Vietnam as a turning point. Grant left politics to the politicians and did what had to be done. Keep up with the world without stopping yours. 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. 1. bar is to mention Vietnam.

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