Advancing in dispersed columns across the northern half of the peninsula was an invitation to be destroyed piecemeal. How might Vietnam or Iraq have turned out if a George Washington, a Ulysses Grant or a George Patton had been in command? 1 Erwin Rommel Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was a German field marshal of World War II. 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. 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. Gates thought otherwise, and fancied himself a better commander than George Washington. 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?). Haig had largely dismissed the effect of the machine gun on the battlefield, believing that previous Allied failures owed to something other than an impenetrable wall of lead traveling at ballistic velocity. Without question, many lives would be saved if their tactical professionalism were enhanced.. Outstanding commanders such as George H. Thomas, Phil Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman routinely bested their Confederate opponents. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire. 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. Although he outnumbered Magruders Army of the Peninsula 10-to-1, McClellan settled in for a monthlong siege. While Hull dithered, Brock captured Fort Michilimackinac, establishing British control of the Straits of Mackinac. Not good, Hannibal. 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. General William Childs Westmoreland (1914- 2005) with President Johnson in South Vietnam #1. The alternative was to split the United States asunder. You start by being the only thing that can frustrate Napoleon more than a Russian winter. 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. A very significant instance was his determination to arbitrarily hold down the estimate of enemy strength during a 1967 order of battle controversy. George Custer at the Little Big Horn and Lord Chelmsford at the Battle of Isandlwana leap to mind. In the famous Battle of the Alamo, Santa Anna struggled to defeat about 250 Texans with 2,400 Mexicans and subsequently lost nearly 600 men. Santa Anna was found wearing a privates uniform, hiding in a marsh. 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. And he was able to inflict massive casualties on the enemy. History is not a fixed set of facts. 3. Hundreds of thousands died of disease. He was called the inevitable general. A West Point graduate, he served in World War II and Korea. All the enemys losses were quickly made up. (The leg did get a state funeral). This proved possible only with enemy cooperation, since they could break contact and limit casualties as they wished by withdrawing into sanctuaries across the border. The stabbed in the back myth did much to propel the ascent of Adolf Hitler, and Ludendorff was a key participant in the Beer Hall Putsch. McClellan was a superb organizer, a West Point-trained engineer who did much to build the Union army almost from scratch. He continued to view attrition as the most effective strategy for defeating Germany; the British lost some 420,000 men at the Somme. While British cannons shelled the fort from the Canadian side of the river, Tecumseh marched his warriors through a forest clearing in an endless parade. Delivered Thursday. James Bond Stockdale was flying his A-4 Skyhawk on a mission over North Vietnam, just days after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, when his plane took fire and hurtled d With a few relatively minor changes, thats just about where they stayed for the next four years. Others would say that it is not victory, but success in fulfilling a mission that counts. Explore the benefits included in your subscription. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, Chinas Censors Are Afraid of What Chatbots Might Say, The U.S. It's not the first time that someone thought he was smarter than his boss. While there were a host of bad generals serving on both sides during the American Civil Warmostly on the Union side unfortunatelythe one that usually gets the most credit for dragging out the war as long as he did is Union General George McClellan. The initial assault resulted in very high casualties for the Russians and an almost complete breakdown of morale in the Russian forces. So what is the standard of shame for induction? Nelsons victory at the Battle of Trafalgar was so complete that it established British supremacy on the high seas for more than a century. Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. 4. Many historians have said Bragg was one of the worst generals of the Civil War, having lost most of his battles. Vietnam War. Here's What You Need To Remember:The Soviets saw the American humiliation in Vietnam as a turning point. Is your subtitle The General Who Lost Vietnam fair? Todays list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam. Only recently have those in the defense and military complex begun to look at how we rate generals. up as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. After his defeat by the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna was captured. Russias war is receiving critical assistance from authoritarian regimes around the world. The world over, countries are embarking on ambitious projects of industrial policy. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln and the Union expected great things. Thus the progress Westmoreland claimed in racking up huge body counts did nothing to win the war. Westmorelands devotion to advancing his own interests, even when necessary by misrepresentation, was fundamentally at odds with what Scouting is all about. The Russian president got many things wrong about invading Ukrainebut not everything. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. 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. As the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles crippled Germany, Ludendorff effectively sabotaged the Weimar Republic by propagating the belief that he and his armies had been undefeated on the battlefield. rs worth well over $400 billion. A more minor case, but one revealing of Westmorelands character, stemmed from his unwillingness to level with his senior Marine subordinate at the time of the 1968 Tet Offensive. 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. Here is a list of the 10 most famous Chinese generals in history. Yes, the landing at Inchon unhinged the initial North Korean offensive. At the Battle of Gaugamela, he helped make Alexander great by losing half his army to the Macedonian upstart. 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. Napoleon. If it couldn't or wouldn't govern the country, who would? As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he theoretically had some influence there, at least to the extent he could shape the collective viewpoint, but even then LBJ and McNamara were famously impervious to advice from the Joint Chiefs. Many of the charges leveled against him have also been laid at the feet of . Some captured Romans were placed in wicker cages and burned alive, others were enslaved or ransomed. Grachev has also been linked to corruption among the higher ranks of the military, specifically the assassination of journalist Dmitry Kholodov. Caepio may have been a terrible general, but he was apparently an exceptional thief. But all that remains of his would-be empire today is a flaky French pastry. The suppression of drug consumption and trade is high on the Government of Vietnam's agenda. HANOI, VIETNAMForty years ago, on April 30, 1975, Nguyen Dang Phat experienced the happiest day of his life . The Western Front was a much bigger stage upon which to fail, however, and British commander Douglas Haig made the most of the opportunity. He was found guilty of 11 counts, and only the intervention by Pres. If Gates had been in command, we might be paying for our groceries with shillings and pence. He was killed in combat on March 1, 1870. 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. 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. The Germanic fighters demolished the three Roman legions. 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 he made public his disagreements with President Truman, Truman rightfully fired him. Jacob Zuma is a cherry on the top of the world's worst leader cake. Santa Anna liked to call himself the Napoleon of the West. And, like Napoleon, he squandered it all in one grand campaign. Alexander, Napoleon, Rommel. Of course, that is what they did when Ludendorff pushed for the use of unrestricted submarine warfare against Allied shipping. When all is said and done, it doesnt matter how nice, brave, courageous, gutsy, loyal, or brilliant commanders theyve been. 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. 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 . Westmoreland was on a treadmill. DE AGOSTINI PICTURE LIBRARY/Contributor/Getty Images, Biden Proposal Puts Climate Agenda Above Americas Defense, Russias New START Breach Means U.S. Nuclear Weapons Modernization Is a Must. After only 10 weeks into the Pacific War, Percival became responsible for the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. [1] Even now, the easiest way to get into an argument at a V.F.W. Among them are, of course, Lyndon Johnson himself, Robert McNamara, and General Earle Wheeler. Unfortunately the fates of the former Republic Vietnam (Sout. Hull was taken prisoner by the British and was court-martialed upon his return to the United States. How do you measure military leaders? Implementing the attrition strategy, Westmoreland typically employed a series of large unit sweeps conducted in the deep jungle regions along South Vietnams western borders. These operations were designed to seek out enemy forces and engage them in decisive battle. As a military commander, Napoleon may have thebest batting averageof all time. This was true in matters both great and small. It doesnt matter if theyve won more often than theyve lost. 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. 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. Ulysses S. Grant, who replaced McClellan, understood this. There are a number of contenders for the top places on such a roster. My generation would likely vote for the year exactly one-half century ago as the absolutely worst year in our lifetimes. Its quite exclusive: combat leaders who had the fate of their people in their hands and squandered it all. The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files contains records of 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. The unprecedented violence of battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and Gettysburg shocked citizens and international observers alike. The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. 336 pages | 16 halftones | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4. This is, obviously, a problematic quality when ones title is general-in-chief of the entire Union army. He is the dumb ass who gave the order to exfoliate the jungles with agent orange. On the night of August 15, 1812, Tecumseh led his forces across the Detroit River, and Brock followed the next morning. 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. Operational Culture General Training LREC SME Support Training Course Catalog Cognitive Dimension Training Additional Resources . Darius never showed up for the first battle and defeat (Battle of Granicus) because he didnt see Alexander as much of a threat to his empire. He ran as a Democrat against Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election. Like it or not, the U.S. military would become the governing authority. But for whatever reason, some American commanders have lost the battle for history. 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. He decided to conduct of a war of attrition, using search and destroy tactics, in which the measure of merit was body count. Gen. Charles Cornwallis. Thus there was little internal capacity for debating or evaluating his chosen course of action. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. Michael Peck is a contributing writer at Foreign Policy and a writer for War Is Boring. 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. The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. 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. 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. 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. Applications for the Gettysburg College-Gilder Lehrman MA program are open and considered on a rolling basis. He was certainly nave, but the Boy Scouts need to be defended here. Hull responded by ordering the evacuation of Fort Dearborn, and the garrison was promptly massacred by a Potawatomi war band upon leaving the fort. 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. Although he eventually disavowed Hitler, by that point Ludendorff had become so deeply involved with mysticism that few took him seriously. The man who appealed for Varus help was Arminius, a Romanized Germanic prince. - 1 Best: 1996 Chicago Bulls. 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. 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. Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Baines Johnson announced his fateful decision to double the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam. Gods and Generals (2003) Loss $61 million These are actually Civil War reenactors and probably the only people who paid to see the movie. For one thing, we wouldnt haveSpartacuson Netflix. 9 Noteworthy Bog Bodies (And What They Tell Us), 12 Novels Considered the Greatest Book Ever Written, Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution, https://www.britannica.com/list/9-worst-generals-in-history. 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. Grant left politics to the politicians and did what had to be done. 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. Hannibal. 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. Known as Reverse Buller by his troops during the Second Boer War, the Englishman was first defeated at the Battle of Colenso and subsequently lost his position as overall commander.

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