Advancing to the North Korean border with China also was a red flag for Mao-Tse Tung, who feared that American troops on his border were a prelude to U.S. invasion. While this century witnessed many great leaders, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi . Perhaps Mao would have intervened anyway. If Gates had been in command, we might be paying for our groceries with shillings and pence. Hull withdrew after a series of harassing attacks by Tecumsehs highly mobile raiding parties. A very influential visitor, Senator "Fritz" Hollings from Westmoreland's home state of South Carolina, had warned him about reliance on such ratios. 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. 4. Delivered Monday-Saturday. He would eventually be betrayed and killed by a friend. This is, obviously, a problematic quality when ones title is general-in-chief of the entire Union army. When two able and progressive Nationalist generals, Pai Chunghsi and Li Tsung-jen, begged the generalissimo to adopt similar methods, Chiang rejected them outright. Not good, Hannibal. The 20th century is the most violent century in history. 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. These battlefield bumblers serve to provide that contrast. 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. The world over, countries are embarking on ambitious projects of industrial policy. Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future. 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. Sure, he was the greatest commander of the Second Punic War, a titanic contest between Carthage and Rome. Caepio reportedly lived out the remainder of his life in luxury, however. History: Military History. Instead the enemy proved willing to absorb horrifying losses and keep fighting. With the Little Corporal running everything, Europe might have become a very different place. Of course, that is what they did when Ludendorff pushed for the use of unrestricted submarine warfare against Allied shipping. Of course they raised this issue, leading Westmoreland to declare vehemently that establishing MACV Forward had not a damned thing to do with my confidence in General Cushman or the Marines, not a damned thing. That again was not only false but, given the existing paper trail, reckless as well. He effectively pledged to become an agent for the U.S. but found that he had been deposed upon his return to Mexico. While Hull dithered, Brock captured Fort Michilimackinac, establishing British control of the Straits of Mackinac. Despite the Union outnumbering the Confederates, McClellan was unable to crush Robert E. Lee after failing to pursue him into Virginia. How might Vietnam or Iraq have turned out if a George Washington, a Ulysses Grant or a George Patton had been in command? In stereotypically McClellan fashion, he was promptly checked by a vastly inferior force under John Bankhead Magruder. Then, in an ill-advised comeback, he met his Waterloo. It's not the first time that someone thought he was smarter than his boss. Here are five of America's worst generals: Great generals have great talents, and usually egos and ambitions to match. 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. Darius quickly lost everything and became nothing but a fugitive. 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. The next major British offensive came at Passchendaele (July 31November 6, 1917), where Haig lost another 275,000 troops in a battle whose name became synonymous with pointless slaughter. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln and the Union expected great things. You start by being the only thing that can frustrate Napoleon more than a Russian winter. Lewis Sorleys new book, Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, is being published today by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 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. 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. Jacob Zuma is a cherry on the top of the world's worst leader cake. - 3 Best: 1987 Los Angeles Lakers. A curated selection of our very best long reads. In considering who should receive such a dubious honor, Ive consciously excluded bad leaders. By signing up, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy. You may opt out at any time. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1. The man who appealed for Varus help was Arminius, a Romanized Germanic prince. 3. 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. Yet Fredendall's solution was to order an Army engineer company to build a giant bunker a hundred miles from the front lines. He is the dumb ass who gave the order to exfoliate the jungles with agent orange. Because he never wanted to face a superior force, he refused to fight. A key plank in the Democratic platform that year was, appropriately, not fighting, and McClellan lost in a rout. Is Weiss correct? (Photo: Warner Bros.) Roger Ebert called "Gods and Generals" a film "Trent Lott would enjoy," referring to the Senator's praise of segregationist Strom Thurmond. Vietnam War. In a war that saw more than its share of unskilled politically appointed generals, Pillow was arguably the worst on either side. Even now, the easiest way to get into an argument at a V.F.W. This was true in matters both great and small. 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. He lacked the schooling and relevant experience to understand the war and devise a viable approach to prosecuting it. So unused to being challenged, the United States has become so filled with anxiety over China that sober responses are becoming nearly impossible. After early success in the Mexican War for Independence, the rest of his career didnt pan out the way he would have liked. Santa Anna would lose Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto. Keep up with the world without stopping yours. For one thing, we wouldnt haveSpartacuson Netflix. 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). (You May Also Like: The Five Best U.S. Two years later, he lost a leg fighting the French. Hulls nerve was shattered. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. Westmorelands general mistake: severely underestimating the Communists. Instead of holding a natural defense line around Pyongyang, which would have given the United Nations control of most of the peninsula, the UN troops retreated all the way back into South Korea in a humiliating reverse for U.S. power after the crushing victory of World War II. Hull, convinced that he was hopelessly outnumbered (he wasnt), surrendered Fort Detroit and its 2,000-man garrison without firing a shot. 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. McClellan was a superb organizer, a West Point-trained engineer who did much to build the Union army almost from scratch. Horacio Gates of the American Revolution was pretty bad. Westmorelands first resort in claiming progress in the war was always body count, but in fact this was meaningless. The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. When he made public his disagreements with President Truman, Truman rightfully fired him. In a war that saw more than its share of unskilled politically appointed generals, Pillow was arguably the worst on either side. 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. Yet backstabbing your commander-in-chief in the middle of a war is taking ambition a little too far. 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. McClellan truly disappointed president Lincoln at the Battle of Antietam where the North and South would fight the bloodiest battle of the war. [i] However, the list is subjective, and open to debate, as top 10 lists tend to be. The alternative was to split the United States asunder. 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. The elder Lpez had bequeathed to his son a relatively powerful military by regional standards but had cautioned Francisco against using it to settle diplomatic issues. 5. If there was a saving grace for America, it was that he wasn't commanding an army. Westmoreland is often described as a Boy Scout, usually implying, it appears, that he was well-intentioned but nave. He was also supremely gifted at overestimating the size of his opponents armies to a degree that beggared belief. 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. A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. Like it or not, the U.S. military would become the governing authority. 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. 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. Westmorelands strategy throughout the war was to win through Attrition Warfare (pounding the enemy through greater numbers and resources) which military strategists including Sun Tzu caution against using. Varus himself, seeing all hope was lost, committed suicide. His invasion of Canada came to an abrupt halt when he failed to capture Fort Malden, a British position that was a laughably short distance from Hulls headquarters at Fort Detroit. Nor is being a bad battlefield commander, by itself, sufficient to make the cut. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on 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. Haste risked casualties and defeats at the hands of a formidable opponent like Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. Seldom included in. Michael Peck is a contributing writer at Foreign Policy and a writer for War Is Boring. (You May Also Like: 5 Israeli Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear). 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 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. 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. But all that remains of his would-be empire today is a flaky French pastry. 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. After months of inactivity, McClellan was finally spurred to action by Pres. Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. Outstanding commanders such as George H. Thomas, Phil Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman routinely bested their Confederate opponents. 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. To say that he failed in both regards is to dramatically understate the case. HANOI, VIETNAMForty years ago, on April 30, 1975, Nguyen Dang Phat experienced the happiest day of his life . 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. 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 Top Ten. Military greatness can most easily be defined by comparison. The Persians had a mixed record against the Greeks. Tom Ricks, on his "Best Defense" blog has discussed the top 10 worst generals in U.S. history. Others would say that it is not victory, but success in fulfilling a mission that counts. What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? General Westmoreland had complete freedom of action in deciding how to prosecute the war within South Vietnam. T he Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict. Creighton Abrams was an U.S. Army General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972. Its prewar population was reduced by more than half, and perhaps 90 percent of Paraguays fighting-age men perished. Explore the benefits included in your subscription. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Xi Jinpings signature foreign policy is a shadow of its former self.. The deplorable conduct of Charles Lee at the Battle of Monmouth has been immortalized by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Benedict Arnolds name is synonymous with traitorous behavior. 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. This piece originally appeared in The National Interest https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/6-worst-military-leaders-ever-167526. A monthly digest of the top articles read by FP subscribers. As a result, American military power and prestige took a dramatic downturn. Varus trust in Arminius was an obvious and terrible misjudgment. 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. Brock, sensing an opportunity, advised an immediate march on Fort Detroit. But there was something that not even the factories of New York and Chicago could produce, and that was time. And how might that be impacting the world? Persian Gulf (1988) (Oil Platforms) 2. 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. Somalia (1992-1994) 2. Hull had served with distinction in the Revolutionary War and was appointed governor of the Michigan Territory in 1805. 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. He was killed in combat on March 1, 1870. 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.. 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. While serving in Vietnam . Allied with Brock was the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, who was head of the most formidable pan-Indian military force the continent had ever seen. How might Vietnam or Iraq have turned out if a George Washington, a Ulysses Grant or a George Patton had been in command? Sure, he won big at the Alamo. In reality, it is a collection of ideas, images, and information that enough people have chosen to preserve and disseminate. Watchthe conversation onFP Live, the magazines forum for live journalism, orreada condensed transcript. Germanic tribes sacrificed Roman officers on altars to their gods. Best Defense: Years later, when Marine Corps historians were at work on their history of the war, Westmoreland met with them. Michael Ray oversees coverage of European history and military affairs for Britannica. 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. Lpez, possibly in a fit of madness, ordered the execution of hundreds of people, including some of his own family members. Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with. 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. Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security. in history from Michigan State University in 1995. 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. Santa Anna, a lifetime gambler, was known for his risk taking in battle, but also his brutality. Darius III. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January - 9 July 1968) was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Qung Tr Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), during the Vietnam War. Create an FP account to save articles to read later and in the FP mobile app. 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. When the War of 1812 began, Hull was commissioned a brigadier general and tasked with defending Michigan and invading Upper Canada. 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. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. In 1847, U.S. troops once again surprised Santa Anna and captured his prosthetic leg. Concurrently with hi. Alas, call it the laws of probability or just cosmic karma, but every nation produces bad generals as well as good onesand America is no exception. He continued on to suffer defeats at Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz, almost letting the war slip away from the British.

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