Which is the biggest military blunder ever?

iwasnotanazipolka

Hitler invading Russia, 1941.

Hussein"s invasion of Kuwait has to be up there with many mentioned previously.

mark c

I think agincourt where Henry V destroyed the french army outnumbered 10 to 1 or something like that. They decimated the french with longbow men and killed so many noble men it took the French nearly a century to recover. Failing that WW1 at Somme.

Clive

Pickett's charge must be a contender.

Gallipoli

Ricky D

Battle of the Somme, 1st world war. Tens of thousands died predictably.

Everyone knew the germans had machine guns. But the information was ignored. It's now taught as a classic example of blinkered decision-making in management studies.

Pete J

Hannibal not taking Rome when he had the chance - just think how different world history would have turned out if he had.

David

Well......................

WW1 - The Somme and other major battles - the strategy of walking slowly forward into enemy machine guns is always a bit flawed.

D-day landings (from the German point of view) - If they had woken Hitler (he gave orders NOT to be disturbed) and he directed the nearby tanks to the landing site, the Allies would have been beaten.

Charge of the Light Brigade - This is classed as a military Blunder due to the heavy losses BUT - They did actually complete the task they were set, so it, sort of was a success.

Hitler into Russia "It can be taken it six weeks!!" WRONG !!! Took longer and thus the winter set in giving a MASSIVE advantage to the Russians who held out.

'Brits fighting for Hitler' - This is little known, but a number of Brits were recruited to fight for the Nazi's - The person they decided to head this 'Brit army' - A man called Brown, who happened to be a double agent & infact fed info back to the Brits about what really was going on !!!!

Iraq - Nuff said

Custer's last stand comes to mind.

284561

Yanks with Guns...

CLIVE H

Lots of these - The Charge of the Light Brigade to Gallipoli and beyond.

Leogirl0804

I'm thinking Napoleon at Waterloo, or was it Hitler knowing what happened to Napoleon and doing the same thing. Its a toss up.

KEVIN M

the russians at tannenburg durihg ww1

robert x

The biggest military blunder must go to napoleon march on Moscow!, in the 1812 war .

Germany thinking she could take over the world. TWICE!!

spannerbox

America's war of Independence, Just think if they had have stayed under the the British rule, they would have not got themselves involved in the S*** that they have over the years and drag us into conflicts,not only that, they would still be speaking proper English and they would not have all been overweight and living off buggers and chips, oh and they would know the difference between football and soccer :- )

simon_sainteclaire

It depends whose side you were on I guess but from a western Allies point of view I would say

In terms of wasted life , the Somme Offensive 1915
In terms of unpreparedness and understanding the enemy - vietnam
In terms of Political expediency - Iraq
In terms of meglomaniac drive - The french (1812) and the German(1941) invasion of Russia ( The retreat from Russia and Stalingrad)
In terms of just bad leadership overall - the bay of pigs

There are so many others Spion Kop( Boer war), Isandalwhana(Zulu war), Crimea (charge of the light brigade, actually the whole campaign was a disaster), Dunkirk,
Agincourt and Crecy( good for the brits a bad couple of days for the frogs),Culloden Moor ( a bad day for the scots), Fredericksburg ( union troops were massacred)

Its not me Its u

1.Hitler started too late in the year (1941), by the time they reached Moscow, the coldest winter in years hit and the Werhmact was totally unprepared.

2. Guderian's Panzers were diverted south at the gates to Moscow in 1941. Moscow was there for the taking.

3. Again in 1942, the Germans made the fatal mistake of splitting Army Group South in two culminating in the debacle at Stalingrad and the failure to reach to Caucasus oil fields.

4. The Soviets were into a mindset of ordering important and troop saving withdrawals. At Stalingrad the Germans lost 25% of their entire operational strength in the Eastern Front, a heavy blow by all accounts but NOT decisive. It would however be the main factor for Germany's not being able to complete the conquest of Russia.

5. The Germans blew another chance during their offensive in the summer of 1943. Against Guderian's opinion that the production of Tiger and Panther tanks should be up to operational standards, Hitler launched the ill fated offensive at Kursk. The results being the destruction of the panzer armies. The fact that the German still had the capability to launch an offensive of this magnitude in 1943 proves that Stalingrad was not a decisive turning point in the war. From then on, it was just a delaying tactical war against the Red Army.

6. On the western front, two mistakes come to mind: stopping his tanks and allowing the BEF to escape to Britain via Dunkirk, and switching from the bombing of airfields and radar stations to London and other cities....the RAF was nearly brought to its knees before that 'miracle.'

7. Hitler made the mistake of diverting resources to multiple designs, rather than picking the best and staying with it... example is the multiple tank designs.

8. The Russians were resilient, as one German officer stated, "attacking Russia was like an elephant stamping out ants, you killed thousands, maybe millions, but in the end their number told and you were eaten to the bone." Attacking Russia and creating a two-front war was a total blunder.

9. Bobby Lee's blunder across an open field against entrenched infantry and massed artillery meant the South lost the strategic initiative in the Civil war.

10. Union General Pope's blunder for ordering the attack against entrenched rebs posted on high ground meant the death of many yankees at Fredrickburg.

11. Yamamoto's sneak attack at Pearl meant the blunder caused the 'sleeping giant to awake.'

12. Harold's right part of the line chased a retreating Norman line, only to be undone by the deed, as William the Conqueror took advantage of the blunder.

My pick is Hitler's use of a mobile army to fight urban warfare at Stalingrad, it cost him the war.

Ramirez

Hitler not taking a look at history and learning from Napoleons mistake in invading Russia. Without the Eastern Front, Hitler could of stayed in power and taken the rest of Europe with the resources he wasted in Russia, and the Allied invasion would more than likely been repelled, back into the channel. We have a lot more to thank the Russians for than the Americans that say they won the war for us...

George

I would think either Napoleon's invasion or Russia or Hitler's.Blairs invasion of Iraq is more of a political blunder, for which I hope, he will eventually answer for.

Madagann

Making George of the Jungle, I mean, George of the Bush, Commander and Chief.

The Great and Glorious Chase

Napolean"s invasion of Russia which cost over 400,000 lives, Waterloo, Russia in WWI, France in WWII, The two Roman Generals at the Battle of Cannae. There have been a few over the millenia.

Billy M

I would say either the charge of the light brigade, or the battle of Culloden. I mean being fired at by cannons, losing half the line in one shot and then being to told to bunch up again. It's ridiculous

seadog23185

The Somme. Aw, hell, the entire first world war.

A question or two...

Hitler's decision to not keep on going to Moscow the year after he invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Instead he went to Stalingrad and lost one of his best armies.

the_angel_and_the_vampire

Bush and Blair Iraq

3 para

going into iraq

EMMAÂ©

Sending our boys to Iraq!

K. Marx iii

There are many. Hannibals failure to capture the City of X is a good one and the Iraq war rates pretty high.

True B

Blair in Iraq.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: