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These Vietnam War photos taken by U.S. Army photographers reveal a side of the conflict that few people have ever seen. Informed that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and were certain to attack the Philippines next, MacArthur failed to disperse his aircraftthe only force that could disrupt the Japanese offensive in the absence of the American fleetand to attack Japanese airfields before the enemy wiped out his air force. Yet Fredendall's solution was to order an Army engineer company to build a giant bunker a hundred miles from the front lines. Indeed they are brave and proud, but their standards, tactics, and lack of command supervision throughout their ranks requires improvement in the national interest. And, he added, I would be less than frank if I did not say that I feel somewhat insecure with the situation in Quang Tri province, in view of my knowledge of their shortcomings. 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. Lpez was the son of Carlos Antonio Lpez, a dictator who had done much to modernize Paraguay in the mid-19th century. Percival surrendered Malaya to Japanese forces in early 1942, defying Winston Churchills own instructions for prolonged resistance. 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 Pierre de Villeneuve had his first brush with history when he bravely ran away at the Battle of the Nile. rs worth well over $400 billion. Loyalty to himself and himself alone would be something of a running theme in the narrative of Santa Annas life, and his rise to power in Mexico was characterized by near-constant vacillation and betrayal of his allies. Opportunistic firms in Asia and Europe have already begun to relocate investments to the United States. How theyve practiced the art of war is immaterial, too. Westmoreland established a headquarters known as MACV Forward in the northern provinces of South Vietnam and put his deputy, General Creighton Abrams, in charge, placing him over the Marines and also the Army forces in that region. Driven into exile in 1845, he contacted U.S. Pres. A monthly digest of the top articles read by FP subscribers. 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. Thus it was under Darius rule that the Persian Empire fell and was conquered. Following on from our list of the greatest and most successful military commanders, we are presenting this list of the worst. Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War. Westmorelands devotion to advancing his own interests, even when necessary by misrepresentation, was fundamentally at odds with what Scouting is all about. 4. In 1847, U.S. troops once again surprised Santa Anna and captured his prosthetic leg. 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. Grachev has also been linked to corruption among the higher ranks of the military, specifically the assassination of journalist Dmitry Kholodov. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Pillow pulled the troops back to the fort to resupply them. Years later, when Marine Corps historians were at work on their history of the war, Westmoreland met with them. Todays list: The top ten reasons Gen. Westmoreland lost the war in Vietnam. But Gates could have doomed the American Revolution. 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 resulting Peninsular Campaign (AprilJuly 1862) was a marvel of planning but something of a farce in execution. 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. If Gates had been in command, we might be paying for our groceries with shillings and pence. In 1975, when the Vietnam War ended, the Vietnamese army had only 36 generals, but by 2018, peace-time Vietnam had 415 military officers holding general ranks. When it came to military command, Westmoreland was everybodys all-Americanuntil he met his Waterloo. While there are plenty of books that analyze the keys to success, The Worst Military Leaders in History offers lessons of failure to avoid. Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future. 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. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail. 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. 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. 1. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. 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. 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. And what then? Abraham Lincoln. Franz Conrad von Htzendorf of Austria couldnt decide which country he wanted to invade, so the German General Staff eventually took his armies away. 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. Is the Biden administrations China policy too hawkish? Outstanding commanders such as George H. Thomas, Phil Sheridan, and William Tecumseh Sherman routinely bested their Confederate opponents. Seared into all who fought it and many who merely lived through it that conflict remains a bitter stew of second-guessing and recriminations. In reality, it is a collection of ideas, images, and information that enough people have chosen to preserve and disseminate. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. 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. Keep up with the world without stopping yours. What can we glean from the current state of play on the battlefield? Want to read more on this topic or region? Once again, McClellan worked his organizational magic, restoring the morale of a shattered Union army. Michael Peck is a contributing writer at Foreign Policy and a writer for War Is Boring. 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. Little Mac would prove himself to be a superb organizer who kept his army well supplied, efficiently run, and happy. Despite fresh salvos of Western sanctions, Tehran and Moscow are buddying up on defense ties. By the end of May 1862, Confederate commanding Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had withdrawn his forces to Richmond, and McClellan was close enough to the Confederate capital to hear its church bells ringing. There are issues around killing and counting unarmed civilians (non-combatants) as enemy combatants, as well as inflating the number of actual enemy who were killed in action (KIA).For search and destroy operations, as the objective was not to . Without question, many lives would be saved if their tactical professionalism were enhanced.. Thus there was little internal capacity for debating or evaluating his chosen course of action. These operations were designed to seek out enemy forces and engage them in decisive battle. 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. A Brief History. This week marks exactly one year since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine. Best Defense: What does that mean for trade and globalization? 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. But the rash advance into North Korea was a blunder of strategic proportions. If there was a saving grace for America, it was that he wasn't commanding an army. Caepio reportedly lived out the remainder of his life in luxury, however. 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. 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 [1] They dramatically upped their game, pressing the U.S. worldwide. Although Westmoreland denied it, he imposed a ceiling on the reported number of enemy by instructing his intelligence officers to adhere to a command position of not more than 300,000, even though newly acquired and more accurate data developed in his own headquarters then indicated a much higher figure. 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. - 1 Best: 1996 Chicago Bulls. With the Little Corporal running everything, Europe might have become a very different place. Explore the benefits of your FP subscription. Santa Anna was found wearing a privates uniform, hiding in a marsh. 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. Starting with the battle of Long Island, he lost way more fights than he wonyet he managed to win the war. 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. 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. General Earle Wheeler was essentially a staff officer with virtually no troop leading experience, much less combat acumen. Is your subtitle The General Who Lost Vietnam fair? in history from Michigan State University in 1995. He lacked the schooling and relevant experience to understand the war and devise a viable approach to prosecuting it. 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. How the North Vietnamese remember the conflict 40 years after the fall of Saigon. Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) 24. In considering who should receive such a dubious honor, Ive consciously excluded bad leaders. All the enemys losses were quickly made up. The Worst Civil War Generals on the Confederacy Confederate Maj. Gen. Gideon Pillow. Francisco Solano Lpez managed to stumble into a war with pretty much all of that. While Hull dithered, Brock captured Fort Michilimackinac, establishing British control of the Straits of Mackinac. Here is a list of the 10 most famous Chinese generals in history. 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. Although he eventually disavowed Hitler, by that point Ludendorff had become so deeply involved with mysticism that few took him seriously. My generation would likely vote for the year exactly one-half century ago as the absolutely worst year in our lifetimes. On the night of August 15, 1812, Tecumseh led his forces across the Detroit River, and Brock followed the next morning. Over time Westmoreland asked for and received large numbers of U.S. troops, eventually totaling well over half a million. Varus was stationed with three of his legions, the 17th, 18th and 19th when news arrived of a revolt growing in the Rhine area. Routed by U.S. forces under Winfield Scott, Santa Anna was again driven into exile. 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. 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. Men and material the Union could provide its armies. Cornwallis later did redeem himself militarily. (You May Also Like: 5 Israeli Weapons of War ISIS Should Fear). War is an extension of politics, and if commanders dont help secure the desired political ends, they get a failing grade. The early days of the 2003 Iraq War were bound to be a graveyard for military and political reputations, given the misperceptions and misjudgments behind America's ill-fated adventure in regime change and nation-building. But the inducements encourage U.S. companies to invest only at homenot elsewhere. Pillow suffered slightly more casualties than Grant in the engagement, which possibly makes the Battle of Belmont the high point of Pillows military career. 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. 3. After occupying Jerusalem and crucifying 2,000 Jewish rebels in Judaea, Varus went off to govern Germania and tame barbarian tribes. As Lincoln well knew, the only way the Union could lose the war was if the North eventually grew tired and agreed to allow the South to secede. 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. After being taken prisoner (again) by the British, Villeneuve was released but committed suicide rather than face Napoleons wrath. Hannibal. His battlefield losses marked the end of the Persian Empire. 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. To counter these, Major General William R. Peers commenced Operation Greeley using elements of the 4th Infantry Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade. 6. Gamelin made the mistake of viewing the Ardennes as impenetrable and chose to defend it with ten of his weakest, least well equipped and least well trained divisions. The South Vietnamese thus went for years equipped with castoff WWII-vintage U.S. equipment while outgunned by the communists, who were armed with the AK-47 assault rifle and other top of the line equipment. But all that remains of his would-be empire today is a flaky French pastry. 1. Darius quickly lost everything and became nothing but a fugitive. Concurrently with hi. A common view holds that 138,708 Allied personnel surrendered or were killed by fewer than 30,000 Japanese. Ukraines economy and infrastructure have been dealt blows that will take decades to recover from. How do you measure military leaders? Nor is being a bad battlefield commander, by itself, sufficient to make the cut. There were available better concepts of how to prosecute the war. The unprecedented violence of battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and Gettysburg shocked citizens and international observers alike. Is Weiss correct? Their orientation, indeed the core of Scoutings values, is selflessness and service to others. Yes, Westmoreland was the general who lost Vietnam. 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 . In other words, this book is a "how-not-to" guide to leadership. As military professionals, we should think about more . 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. So unused to being challenged, the United States has become so filled with anxiety over China that sober responses are becoming nearly impossible. Delivered Wednesday. (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. Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. Registration for summer courses begins March 18, 2023 and ends June 7, 2023. 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. After eight years at Foreign Policy, here are the ten most popular Best Defense posts. Your guide to the most important world stories of the day. Military greatness can most easily be defined by comparison. He also issued orders to his troops in a personal code that no one else understood, such as this gem of command clarity: Move your command, i. e., the walking boys, pop guns, Baker's outfit and the outfit which is the reverse of Baker's outfit and the big fellows to M, which is due north of where you are now, as soon as possible. He bears a lot of responsibility for one the greatest reversals of military fortune ever experienced by a super power. His work as an observer during the Crimean War gave him insight into the importance of logistics for an industrialized army, and years spent as the chief of engineering for the Illinois Central Railroad made him aware of the transformative nature of rail transport. By Lewis Sorley Best Defense Saigon bureau chief. Implementing the attrition strategy, Westmoreland typically employed a series of large unit sweeps conducted in the deep jungle regions along South Vietnams western borders. But in a contemporaneous cable to General Earle Wheeler, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Westmoreland complained that the military professionalism of the Marines falls far short of the standards that should be demanded by our armed forces. Hulls nerve was shattered. What was the worst battle of Vietnam? 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. The Top Ten. His was one of just two French ships of the line to escape the destruction of the French fleet there. 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. There's an entire myriad of generals from the American Civil War that fought for the Union that were incredibly inept. Follow him on Twitter:@Mipeck1. James K. Polk. What was your impression of the man when you were working for him? He effectively pledged to become an agent for the U.S. but found that he had been deposed upon his return to Mexico. 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. Instead the enemy proved willing to absorb horrifying losses and keep fighting. In the summer of 1967, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) initiated a series of attacks in western Kontum Province. 10. 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. But its not just the United States. He was called the "inevitable general." A West Point graduate, he served in World War II and Korea. Dispatched to India, he led campaigns to help subdue the subcontinent, replacing the crown jewel he had lost. Caepio may have been a terrible general, but he was apparently an exceptional thief. To say that he failed in both regards is to dramatically understate the case. His bad luck didnt end at San Jacinto. The 20th century is the most violent century in history. 336 pages | 16 halftones | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4. Although he outnumbered Magruders Army of the Peninsula 10-to-1, McClellan settled in for a monthlong siege. America, the Middle East and the rest of the world are still reaping the consequences of those omissions. Johnston was wounded on the first day of the Battle of Seven Pines, six miles east of Richmond, and he was replaced by Robert E. Lee. Fortunately, along came Reaganif not for that, Westmorelands military reversals could well have signaled the beginning of our end. They kept it as a war trophy, exhibiting the leg at. Think about how history would have been different if Hannibal had a military plan to outlast Roman might. Thats the point. Then, in an ill-advised comeback, he met his Waterloo. 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. 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. 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