It would be nice if all American generals were great. The Texans only suffered 2 casualties, as opposed to hundreds of Mexican casualties. In the end, the Romans leveled Carthage and salted the earth. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. - 4 Worst: 1990 Cleveland Cavaliers. 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. 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. George Custer at the Little Big Horn and Lord Chelmsford at the Battle of Isandlwana leap to mind. 336 pages | 16 halftones | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4. To that Hollings responded, "Westy, the American people don't care about the ten. General Westmorelands close associate, General William DePuy, later admitted the futility of the Westmoreland way of war. 13,091. 5. T he Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict. What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? 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 5 Worst Generals in U.S. History. 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. Hannibal. 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 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. 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. Yet backstabbing your commander-in-chief in the middle of a war is taking ambition a little too far. 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. But all that remains of his would-be empire today is a flaky French pastry. Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with. Delivered Monday-Saturday. This infuriated the Marines, who viewed it as evidence that Westmoreland lacked confidence in them. You may opt out at any time. He was called the "inevitable general." A West Point graduate, he served in World War II and Korea. 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). Its prewar population was reduced by more than half, and perhaps 90 percent of Paraguays fighting-age men perished. He graduated second in his class at West Point (well ahead of classmates Stonewall Jackson, George H. Gordon, and George Pickett). Vast areas dotted with villages were blasted with artillery, bombed from the air. After being taken prisoner (again) by the British, Villeneuve was released but committed suicide rather than face Napoleons wrath. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Delivered Wednesday. Others would say that it is not victory, but success in fulfilling a mission that counts. Michael Peck is a contributing writer at Foreign Policy and a writer for War Is Boring. By Lewis Sorley Best Defense Saigon bureau chief. He decided to conduct of a war of attrition, using search and destroy tactics, in which the measure of merit was body count. Germanic tribes sacrificed Roman officers on altars to their gods. This was heeded about as well as any piece of parental advice, anywhere ever. 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. It was anotherhistory-changingevent, the birth of a truly exceptional nation. If there was a saving grace for America, it was that he wasn't commanding an army. Officially labelled a defector by the Pentagon, many suspected Nolan, an African American, changed sides after suffering a lifetime of racial discrimination. What he did not divulge publicly was that the United States. Would he be upset if he were alive to read this book today? Despite the Union outnumbering the Confederates, McClellan was unable to crush Robert E. Lee after failing to pursue him into Virginia. He effectively pledged to become an agent for the U.S. but found that he had been deposed upon his return to Mexico. 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. 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. Even a string of bad days does not guarantee entry. Assuming you believe the subtitle to be accurate, who were GEN Westmorelands biggest accomplices in the loss? Is the Biden administrations China policy too hawkish? Westmoreland is often described as a Boy Scout, usually implying, it appears, that he was well-intentioned but nave. 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. Santa Anna liked to call himself the Napoleon of the West. And, like Napoleon, he squandered it all in one grand campaign. 6. These two instances are illustrative of many, many more, ranging from his actions or lack of action in combat situations to his determination to take over the war and win it with U.S. forces to his resultant failure to build up South Vietnamese forces to the validity of body count to the decision to close Khe Sanh to his actions when Lang Vei was overrun to denying predictions he had made of an early end to the war to claims of not being surprised at Tet 1968 to denying a post-Tet request for many additional U.S. forces. It would be nice if all American generals were great. (You May Also Like: The Five Best Generals in U.S. History). 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. World War I provided a forum for any number of truly horrible commanders to assert themselves. 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. So unused to being challenged, the United States has become so filled with anxiety over China that sober responses are becoming nearly impossible. This did not, however, achieve the postulated outcome. A common view holds that 138,708 Allied personnel surrendered or were killed by fewer than 30,000 Japanese. Again fighting outnumbered Texans, this time Santa Anna would lose the battle stunningly. 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. Sure, they ganged up on the Spartans at the Pass of Thermopylae. Even now, the easiest way to get into an argument at a V.F.W. A monthly digest of the top articles read by FP subscribers. 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. 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. 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. 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?). 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. On September 2, 1945, hours after the Japanese signed their unconditional surrender in World War II, communist leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, hoping. With the Little Corporal running everything, Europe might have become a very different place. In stereotypically McClellan fashion, he was promptly checked by a vastly inferior force under John Bankhead Magruder. Military greatness can most easily be defined by comparison. Santa Anna would lose Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto. 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. They kept it as a war trophy, exhibiting the leg at. Creighton Abrams was an U.S. Army General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972. 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. 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. 8. 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. He thought he could take over the war from the South Vietnamese, bring it to a successful conclusion, and then hand their country back to them and go home in triumph. Perhaps Mao would have intervened anyway. The inept Luigi Cadorna of Italy fought a dozen battles on the Isonzo before his army completely collapsed at Caporetto. 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. Delivered Thursday. How might Vietnam or Iraq have turned out if a George Washington, a Ulysses Grant or a George Patton had been in command? 3. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. He was found guilty of 11 counts, and only the intervention by Pres. He continued on to suffer defeats at Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz, almost letting the war slip away from the British. In a war that saw more than its share of unskilled politically appointed generals, Pillow was arguably the worst on either side. After his defeat by the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna was captured. 9. Starting with the battle of Long Island, he lost way more fights than he wonyet he managed to win the war. bar is to mention Vietnam. Of course, that is what they did when Ludendorff pushed for the use of unrestricted submarine warfare against Allied shipping. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. But MacArthur's strategy certainly helped unleash 300,000 Chinese "volunteers" who inflicted significant casualties on United Nations forces. Westmoreland was on a treadmill. Hull withdrew after a series of harassing attacks by Tecumsehs highly mobile raiding parties. The last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, Darius was not quite as qualified to rule a mighty empire as his predecessors were. General William Childs Westmoreland (1914- 2005) with President Johnson in South Vietnam #1. Alexander, Napoleon, Rommel. A final humiliation came during Mexican-American War. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on. General Westmoreland had complete freedom of action in deciding how to prosecute the war within South Vietnam. Yet, Hannibal nevertheless ranks as one of the worlds epic fails. Percival surrendered Malaya to Japanese forces in early 1942, defying Winston Churchills own instructions for prolonged resistance. Sure, he won big at the Alamo. Feel free to mention any others you may know of in the comments. Darius quickly lost everything and became nothing but a fugitive. Gamelin also chose not to disperse Frances vast number of superior tanks. Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. Hull responded by ordering the evacuation of Fort Dearborn, and the garrison was promptly massacred by a Potawatomi war band upon leaving the fort. When it came to military command, Westmoreland was everybody's all-Americanuntil he met his Waterloo. Vice President, Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute. 2. Westmorelands devotion to advancing his own interests, even when necessary by misrepresentation, was fundamentally at odds with what Scouting is all about. As the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, he faced a two-front war, an insurgency in the South and an invading army from the North. To accomplish this goal, Vietnam employs repressive policies that often contravene international human rights law. Grenada (1983) 3. 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 . - 3 Best: 1987 Los Angeles Lakers. As a military commander, Napoleon may have thebest batting averageof all time. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail. The enemy simply kept sending more and more replacements to make up his losses. A more positive example is George Washington. On the other hand, there was that bad day at the Battle of Salamis when most of the Persian fleet went to the bottom. Keep up with the world without stopping yours. This strategy inevitably failed as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong maintained control over how the war was fought which was through guerilla warfare. Driven into exile in 1845, he contacted U.S. Pres. Where is Carthage you ask? 15. Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend The idiot who, seeking self aggrandisement, led his army, Force D, to disaster at Kut in WW1. Because he never wanted to face a superior force, he refused to fight. He earned a B.A. What will another year of war look like? In the autumn of 1804 he was placed in charge of the French fleet at Toulon and tasked with drawing the British fleet under Horatio Nelson to the Caribbean. Tom Ricks, on his "Best Defense" blog has discussed the top 10 worst generals in U.S. history. But his crowning achievement was bad generalship in Korea. As for the British, they had lost the most valuable jewel of the Imperial crown. Sure, he was the greatest commander of the Second Punic War, a titanic contest between Carthage and Rome. Hundreds of thousands died of disease. Cornwallis later did redeem himself militarily. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. 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. War is an extension of politics, and if commanders dont help secure the desired political ends, they get a failing grade. Washington also suffered his share of defeats. 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. 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. They kept it as a war trophy, exhibiting the leg at county fairs. Gen. Charles Cornwallis. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. 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. We ended up, he said, with no operational plan that had the slightest chance of ending the war favorably. Westmoreland could not or would not ever bring himself to acknowledge that reality. 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. At this point, things somehow got worse for Hull. However, not even they managed to get themselves court-martialed and sentenced to death for ineptitude on the battlefield.