The enemy simply kept sending more and more replacements to make up his losses. Military historian Russell Weigley rendered a succinct judgment on LBJ: No capable war President would have allowed an officer of such limited capacities as General William C. Westmoreland to head Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, for so long.. Perhaps Mao would have intervened anyway. Not later than the autumn of 1966 the leaders of both services involved in fighting the ground war in VietnamArmy Chief of Staff General Harold K. Johnson and Marine Commandant General Wallace Greeneboth saw Westmorelands approach as fatally flawed and agreed on a viable alternative. Bombs away! Here are the 13 worst military movies in Hollywood history Lebanon (1982-1984) 240. Westmorelands devotion to advancing his own interests, even when necessary by misrepresentation, was fundamentally at odds with what Scouting is all about. The resulting Peninsular Campaign (AprilJuly 1862) was a marvel of planning but something of a farce in execution. The result of his manic commitment to the war of attrition was that Westmoreland squandered four years of his troops bravery and support by the public, the Congress, and even much of the news media for American involvement in the war. He underestimated the enemys staying power, maintaining that if he could inflict enough casualties the communists would lose heart and cease their aggression against South Vietnam. Not good, Hannibal. This strategy inevitably failed as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong maintained control over how the war was fought which was through guerilla warfare. Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. 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. This was heeded about as well as any piece of parental advice, anywhere ever. Pillow escaped during the night, leaving Simon B. Buckner to surrender the fort and 15,000 Confederate troops. 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. Heres the inaugural class: 6. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. While this century witnessed many great leaders, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi . Lpez, possibly in a fit of madness, ordered the execution of hundreds of people, including some of his own family members. 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. 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. 4. In fifteen thought-provoking essays, each written by a professional military historian, readers are introduced . While serving in Vietnam . He was also supremely gifted at overestimating the size of his opponents armies to a degree that beggared belief. McClellan was removed from command immediately after. Muammar Al-Gaddafi. He was called the "inevitable general." A West Point graduate, he served in World War II and Korea. 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. Nor is being a bad battlefield commander, by itself, sufficient to make the cut. Darius did not take the field against Alexander until a year and a half after Granicus, at the Battle of Issus. And what then? Santa Anna would lose Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto. The British blockaded the port at Cdiz with a numerically inferior force, and Villeneuve, upon learning that he was to be relieved of command, rashly struck out at Nelsons fleet. Lyndon Johnson had no understanding of military affairs whatever, nor did Robert McNamara. He was an artilleryman who missed out on the Army's great schools system, never attending the Command & General Staff College or the Army War College. 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. Corruption is the Worst Enemy of the Vietnamese Army A Brief History. In order, from most culpable down. Delivered Thursday. Two years later, he lost a leg fighting the French. Because he never wanted to face a superior force, he refused to fight. NEW FOR SUBSCRIBERS: 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. World War I provided a forum for any number of truly horrible commanders to assert themselves. Grant left politics to the politicians and did what had to be done. Quintus Servilius Caepio takes the cake amongst the worst Roman generals ever to take command of a legion though. Russias war is receiving critical assistance from authoritarian regimes around the world. So long Fort Bragg, welcome Fort Liberty: The Pentagon's naming Westmoreland is often described as a Boy Scout, usually implying, it appears, that he was well-intentioned but nave. There was no warmth, no apparent interest in his associates as people. up as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. A more positive example is George Washington. When it came to military command, Westmoreland was everybodys all-Americanuntil he met his Waterloo. Little Mac would prove himself to be a superb organizer who kept his army well supplied, efficiently run, and happy. But the award for the biggest Persian loser goes to Darius III. Santa Anna was found wearing a privates uniform, hiding in a marsh. 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. The Persians had a mixed record against the Greeks. If it couldn't or wouldn't govern the country, who would? War is an extension of politics, and if commanders dont help secure the desired political ends, they get a failing grade. Commanders of Chaos: The 5 Worst Generals in U.S. History Critics say that Franks and senior officials, such as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, concocted an invasion plan that used too few troops. That dubious distinction falls to William Hull, the only general officer in American history to be ordered before a firing squad for cowardice and dereliction of duty. 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 the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln. This was the most fearsome army in the Vietnam War Luckily for the colonists, the Empire also had Cornwallis, a peer of the realm and truly pitiful commander. General William Westmoreland. He graduated second in his class at West Point (well ahead of classmates Stonewall Jackson, George H. Gordon, and George Pickett). On the other hand, there was that bad day at the Battle of Salamis when most of the Persian fleet went to the bottom. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on The Worst American Civil War Generals and Commanders Argentina, Brazil, and the Brazilian puppet government in Uruguay formed an alliance, and on May 1, 1865, they declared war on Paraguay. Although he managed to escape the battle unharmed, Caepio was stripped of his Roman citizenship and exiled. Youre on the list! But Franks, who commanded the invasion, made a bad situation worse. Gates thought otherwise, and fancied himself a better commander than George Washington. You worked for GEN Westmoreland when he was Army Chief of Staff. 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. Top 10 Most Underrated Military Generals. 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. In 1847, U.S. troops once again surprised Santa Anna and captured his prosthetic leg. 2. Instead of sweeping around the French defenses in a massive flanking movement, the Germans were checked at the First Battle of the Marne. He ran as a Democrat against Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election. Explore the benefits included in your subscription. 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. . General Failure - The Atlantic MilitaryHistoryOnline.com (You May Also Like: The Five Best Generals in U.S. History).
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