Grachev played a key role in initiating and leading the First Chechen War. You start by being the only thing that can frustrate Napoleon more than a Russian winter. 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. To accomplish this goal, Vietnam employs repressive policies that often contravene international human rights law. Thus, almost by default, Westmoreland was left to go his own way, year after bloody year. Luckily for the colonists, the Empire also had Cornwallis, a peer of the realm and truly pitiful commander. He denied senior civilian officials accurate data on enemy strength and composition, during development of a 1967 Special National Intelligence Estimate imposing a ceiling on the number of enemy forces his intelligence officers could report or agree to and personally removing from the order of battle entire categories that had long been included, thus falsely portraying progress in reducing enemy strength. These American commanders have lost the battle for history. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war. Lincoln relieved McClellan but reinstated him after the devastating Union defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run. This entire list could be populated with Roman commanders, but one manages to rise above the rest with an ineptitude that defies logic. He lacked the schooling and relevant experience to understand the war and devise a viable approach to prosecuting it. 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. General Earle Wheeler was essentially a staff officer with virtually no troop leading experience, much less combat acumen. But Gates could have doomed the American Revolution. If there was a saving grace for America, it was that he wasn't commanding an army. 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. While Hull dithered, Brock captured Fort Michilimackinac, establishing British control of the Straits of Mackinac. Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future. Others would say that it is not victory, but success in fulfilling a mission that counts. What will another year of war look like? Fort Bragg was named in 1918 during the Jim Crow era. A common view holds that 138,708 Allied personnel surrendered or were killed by fewer than 30,000 Japanese. 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. It was anotherhistory-changingevent, the birth of a truly exceptional nation. The British gained control of the fort, dozens of cannons, the brig USS Adams (recommissioned the HMS Detroit), and virtually the entire Michigan Territory. They kept it as a war trophy, exhibiting the leg at. 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. 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). Alexander, Napoleon, Rommel. And how might that be impacting the world? 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. What he did not divulge publicly was that the United States. Horacio Gates of the American Revolution was pretty bad. 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. A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. 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. 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. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. But its not just the United States. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews. 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. 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. And how might that be impacting the world? 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. But the rash advance into North Korea was a blunder of strategic proportions. Still, he choked in the big game. The world over, countries are embarking on ambitious projects of industrial policy. - 3 Best: 1987 Los Angeles Lakers. 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. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, by Lewis Sorley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. . Germanic tribes sacrificed Roman officers on altars to their gods. Darius did not take the field against Alexander until a year and a half after Granicus, at the Battle of Issus. He was also supremely gifted at overestimating the size of his opponents armies to a degree that beggared belief. Thus it was under Darius rule that the Persian Empire fell and was conquered. Over time Westmoreland asked for and received large numbers of U.S. troops, eventually totaling well over half a million. Having several decades of duplicity to draw on at this point, everyone had a pretty good idea of how any such deal would turn out, and the aging general was rebuffed by both parties. FPsRavi Agrawalsat down with U.S. Trade RepresentativeKatherine Tai, the Biden administrations top official tasked with mapping out and implementing the White Houses trade policy. Westmoreland was on a treadmill. Michael Ray oversees coverage of European history and military affairs for Britannica. He gritted his teeth and wore down the Confederacy with incessant attacks until the South could take no more. Arminius cut off his head and sent it to another Germanic leader as a present. A final humiliation came during Mexican-American War. But Franks, who commanded the invasion, made a bad situation worse. Still, it is his world-changing defeat at Yorktown that merits memorializing. Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. So what is the standard of shame for induction? The American Civil War was a factory for producing bad generals such as Braxton Bragg and Ambrose Burnside. Villeneuve was then to return in secret and help establish naval dominance of the English Channel in preparation for a land invasion of Britain. But its not just the United States. Thus there was little internal capacity for debating or evaluating his chosen course of action. 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. McClellan was removed from command immediately after. On the other side of the trenches in World War I was Erich Ludendorff, commanding the armies of Germany. What is the standard of shame for induction? In 1847, U.S. troops once again surprised Santa Anna and captured his prosthetic leg. Want to read more on this topic or region? Francisco Solano Lpez managed to stumble into a war with pretty much all of that. They care about the one. Westmoreland didnt get it. 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. This is one of the more controversial ones, but Douglas MacArthur is incredibly overrated in the annals of the US military, in my . The 20th century is the most violent century in history. On the other hand, there was that bad day at the Battle of Salamis when most of the Persian fleet went to the bottom. 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. He still had his defenders, but they were in the last trench, barely holding on. Westmorelands general mistake: severely underestimating the Communists. A very influential visitor, Senator "Fritz" Hollings from Westmoreland's home state of South Carolina, had warned him about reliance on such ratios. Westmoreland is often described as a Boy Scout, usually implying, it appears, that he was well-intentioned but nave. He served as a National Socialist member of the German parliament before authoring a book about how humanity exists in a state of perpetual war and why that is a good thing. 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. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on. He was certainly nave, but the Boy Scouts need to be defended here. But his crowning achievement was bad generalship in Korea. 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. 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. 3. Some would say that failure on the battlefield warrants censure. Westmorelands devotion to advancing his own interests, even when necessary by misrepresentation, was fundamentally at odds with what Scouting is all about. Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. This would be known as the Tet Offensive and would become a major turning point in the 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. Applications for the Gettysburg College-Gilder Lehrman MA program are open and considered on a rolling basis. 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. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail. The war soon ended in a Russian defeat, with hundreds of thousands of military and civilian casualties. 336 pages | 16 halftones | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4. At Yorktown, he allowed himself to be taken by surprise and outmaneuvered by Washington and the French fleet. One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War. After the war, the phrase lions led by donkeys came to be associated with the British army for what should be obvious reasons. Considering some militants as instruments of regional influence while fighting others has had disastrous consequences. Westmorelands own book about himself gives some indication of how he would react to this more recent one. Evening roundup with our editors favorite stories of the day. His senior staff lacked diversity of experience and professional outlook, consisting mostly of people with backgrounds similar to his own, especially airborne. In considering who should receive such a dubious honor, Ive consciously excluded bad leaders. 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). After eight years at Foreign Policy, here are the ten most popular Best Defense posts. This piece originally appeared in The National Interest https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/6-worst-military-leaders-ever-167526. Quintus Servilius Caepio takes the cake amongst the worst Roman generals ever to take command of a legion though. 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. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1. Again fighting outnumbered Texans, this time Santa Anna would lose the battle stunningly. 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. These are the incompetents, the idiots, the bumblers who have represented armies or nations at war only to lead them to defeat or shame. Alas, as a historian, he passed on the opportunity to answer Battlelands questions about what Vietnam should teach us about Afghanistan, and who, if anyone, is todays Westmoreland, during our email chat earlier this week: Whats the most important thing you learned writing Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam? General Westmoreland had complete freedom of action in deciding how to prosecute the war within South Vietnam. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. What defines Santa Anna is his utter failure to subdue the Texican rebels and block American expansion. 92. On March 24, 1976, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1 st Viscount of Alamein, hero of World War II, died at home in England. Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. Varus himself, seeing all hope was lost, committed suicide. 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. The United States entered the war, forcing Ludendorff to accelerate his time line for a conclusive battle against the Allies on the Western Front. To counter these, Major General William R. Peers commenced Operation Greeley using elements of the 4th Infantry Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam, This Photo Of A 94-Year-Old Widow Receiving Her Husbands Remains Will Break Your Heart, From Messiah to Hitler, What You Can and Cannot Name Your Child. Gods and Generals (2003) Loss $61 million These are actually Civil War reenactors and probably the only people who paid to see the movie. Download the new FP mobile app to read anytime, anywhere. Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security. However, not even they managed to get themselves court-martialed and sentenced to death for ineptitude on the battlefield. Many historians credit Benedict Arnold and others with being the real victors of Saratoga. Military greatness can most easily be defined by comparison. 2. The last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, Darius was not quite as qualified to rule a mighty empire as his predecessors were. 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. Allied with Brock was the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, who was head of the most formidable pan-Indian military force the continent had ever seen. Thats the point. There were available better concepts of how to prosecute the war. History: Military History. Its quite exclusive: combat leaders who had the fate of their people in their hands and squandered it all. 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. When all is said and done, it doesnt matter how nice, brave, courageous, gutsy, loyal, or brilliant commanders theyve been. Yes, eminently. But beyond the goals of one leader in Moscow, it is also clear that Ukraine has suffered horrors of a historic nature. But his persistence and inspiration kept the Continental Army in the field through the worst of times, which is why his face is on the one-dollar bill. A Brief History. 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. McClellan and Burnside in particular. But he also displayed remarkably bad judgment, as when he was commander in the Philippines in 1941. The Western Front was a much bigger stage upon which to fail, however, and British commander Douglas Haig made the most of the opportunity. Feel free to mention any others you may know of in the comments. Yes, Westmoreland was the general who lost Vietnam. How do you measure military leaders? By signing up, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy. 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. Casey was an Army insidera four-star general and the son of the highest-ranking American casualty of the Vietnam War, a division commander who was killed in a July 1970 helicopter crash. 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. 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. By Lewis Sorley Best Defense Saigon bureau chief. His 1812 campaign against Russia ended in complete disaster. General William Westmoreland. Publication of the PROVN Study, whose precepts were later implemented with great success by Westmorelands successor, illustrated a matter of fundamental importance. Elmo Zumwalt was a U.S. admiral and commander of American naval forces in Vietnam. 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. After months of inactivity, McClellan was finally spurred to action by Pres. 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. Some captured Romans were placed in wicker cages and burned alive, others were enslaved or ransomed. Many of the charges leveled against him have also been laid at the feet of . Starting with the battle of Long Island, he lost way more fights than he wonyet he managed to win the war. Hull, convinced that he was hopelessly outnumbered (he wasnt), surrendered Fort Detroit and its 2,000-man garrison without firing a shot. He was killed in combat on March 1, 1870. The most important, and also the saddest, is that in Vietnam and thereafter Westmoreland was willing to shade or misremember or deny or invent the record when his perceived interests were at stake. (You May Also Like: 5 Israeli Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear). This infuriated the Marines, who viewed it as evidence that Westmoreland lacked confidence in them. 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. Two years later, he lost a leg fighting the French. Top 10 Most Underrated Military Generals. 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. In the summer of 1967, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) initiated a series of attacks in western Kontum Province. 1. - 1 Best: 1996 Chicago Bulls. 2. The Cimbri destroyed Caepios force and, emboldened by their success, marched on Maximuss camp. There appeared to be little serious planning for what would happen the day after Saddam was gone. He couldnt. So unused to being challenged, the United States has become so filled with anxiety over China that sober responses are becoming nearly impossible. Its prewar population was reduced by more than half, and perhaps 90 percent of Paraguays fighting-age men perished. 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. The heavily forested, swampy terrain made the Legions maneuvers impossible. Necessarily, more is lost to time than is remembered. Find Paraguay on a map of South America. 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 .