Hull was taken prisoner by the British and was court-martialed upon his return to the United States. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire. But all that remains of his would-be empire today is a flaky French pastry. Arminius cut off his head and sent it to another Germanic leader as a present. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Only recently have those in the defense and military complex begun to look at how we rate generals. Some staff officers who briefed him one-on-one at deskside were dismayed when Westmoreland occupied himself by signing photographs of himself, one after another, during their presentations. The pandemics outbreak brought rare reporting freedoms. And he was able to inflict massive casualties on the enemy. Santa Anna, a lifetime gambler, was known for his risk taking in battle, but also his brutality. 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. 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. 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. Yet backstabbing your commander-in-chief in the middle of a war is taking ambition a little too far. After his performance at Belmonta spectacular success by Pillow standardshe was tasked with the defense of Fort Donelson, a key strongpoint on the Mississippi River. What he did not divulge publicly was that the United States. Vietnam War. At Brownstown, south of Detroit, two dozen warriors under Tecumseh routed more than 200 American militiamen escorting a supply column intended for Detroit. Despite the Union outnumbering the Confederates, McClellan was unable to crush Robert E. Lee after failing to pursue him into Virginia. 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. 4. They kept it as a war trophy, exhibiting the leg at. While serving in Vietnam . What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? He still had his defenders, but they were in the last trench, barely holding on. Todays list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam, Want to read more on this topic or region? 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. Tom Ricks, on his "Best Defense" blog has discussed the top 10 worst generals in U.S. history. Westmoreland is often described as a Boy Scout, usually implying, it appears, that he was well-intentioned but nave. Without question, many lives would be saved if their tactical professionalism were enhanced.. War is an extension of politics, and if commanders dont help secure the desired political ends, they get a failing grade. Varus trust in Arminius was an obvious and terrible misjudgment. 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. Soon after declaring himself dictator of Mexico, rebels who opposed the Mexican dictatorship created three new republics, one of them being the Republic of Texas. Michael Ray oversees coverage of European history and military affairs for Britannica. 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. Saul David reviews a surprising study of military failure and names his own five most infamous generals Saul David Thursday February 17 2022, 12.00am , The Times 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. 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. By December 1864 Paraguay was at war with Brazil, and, when Argentina denied a request for the transit of a Paraguayan army across its territory, Lpez declared war on that country as well. Finally, there was MacArthur's insubordination. A more positive example is George Washington. You may opt out at any time. After gaining ground trying to cut an escape path for the Confederates during the February 1862 siege of Fort Donelson by Union forces led Brig. 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 . The Cimbri destroyed Caepios force and, emboldened by their success, marched on Maximuss camp. Thus the progress Westmoreland claimed in racking up huge body counts did nothing to win the war. But the worst of all was McClellan, the so-called "Young Napoleon" from whom Lincoln and the Union expected great things. 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. 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? In 1940, after increasing pressure from dictator Benito Mussolini and facing demotion, Graziani followed orders and invaded Egypt with his Tenth Army. Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. Two years later, he lost a leg fighting the French. [i] However, the list is subjective, and open to debate, as top 10 lists tend to be. How well that would have worked can be seen when Gates was sent to command American troops in the South. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Pillow pulled the troops back to the fort to resupply them. Many historians credit Benedict Arnold and others with being the real victors of Saratoga. Delivered Wednesday. It would be nice if all American generals were great. They dramatically upped their game, pressing the U.S. worldwide. He would eventually be betrayed and killed by a friend. The problem begins with the fact that nobody in the chain of command was really competent to critique Westmorelands performance. 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. But the inducements encourage U.S. companies to invest only at homenot elsewhere. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a frank discussion about the Biden administrations China policy and alternatives that it ought to consider. Cue the protests from other parts of the globe: A chorus of nations are accusing Washington of fostering unfair competition. But the rash advance into North Korea was a blunder of strategic proportions. The initial assault resulted in very high casualties for the Russians and an almost complete breakdown of morale in the Russian forces. Unfortunately the fates of the former Republic Vietnam (Sout. But he also displayed remarkably bad judgment, as when he was commander in the Philippines in 1941. 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. 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. The war soon ended in a Russian defeat, with hundreds of thousands of military and civilian casualties. On September 9, 1965, Navy Cmdr. Although he outnumbered Magruders Army of the Peninsula 10-to-1, McClellan settled in for a monthlong siege. These operations were designed to seek out enemy forces and engage them in decisive battle. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, as Continental Army commander during the momentous American defeat of a British army at Saratoga in 1777, The Five Best U.S. In fact, he did a lot to ensure that Germany would find itself in another war that it couldnt win, but, since he died in 1937, he gets extra credit for being a bad World War II general from beyond the grave. 2. He earned a B.A. He was called the "inevitable general." A West Point graduate, he served in World War II and Korea. What does that mean for trade and globalization? 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 alternative was to split the United States asunder. But his crowning achievement was bad generalship in Korea. NEW FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Gamelin also chose not to disperse Frances vast number of superior tanks. A dull, unfeeling, unimaginative, smug "Colonel Blimp" of the worst sort. 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. Starting with the battle of Long Island, he lost way more fights than he wonyet he managed to win the war. 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). 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. 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..
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