Worst miltary commander

[Vertriculin]

I thought i might do a questionaire

Who was your worst miltary commander of the 20th century?

you can send in your opinions of who and why they were terrible. Also if they could have been replaced or would you replace them with?

It can be from any country.

[Shimbo]

Italian Marshall Graziani must be a candidate. His attack on Egypt in 1940 resulted in a retreat of 800 km, loss of 400 tanks and 1,292 artillery pieces, and the surrender of 130,000 men to a British and Commonwealth force about a tenth of its size and which suffered 494 dead and 1,225 wounded whilst utterly routing him.

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodolfo_Graziani
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Compass

[fhaessig]

Gamelin. reason obvious

[Calgacus]

Buller must be a candidate.

Also Hitler maybe?

[Darkling]

Originally Posted by Calgacus

Buller must be a candidate.

No he mustn't.

Buller's problem was made entirely by White being insubordinate and staying north of Tugela.

Had White done as ordered Buller would have won the war with ease and unlike Bobs he wouldn't have concentrated on taking territory instead of capturing the Boers (which he correctly warned would lead to Guerilla warfare).

Even after Bobs was put in charge Buller was left fighting WW1 (in essence) and invented the creeping barrage after a few months, it took his successors in France a decade later a good while longer and a few 10,000s of lives more.

Add in the fact that he won a VC, was a technophile (pioneering the use of steam tractors in warfare) and didn't need to look up "logistics" (unlike Bobs and his ideological offspring) and we find Britain would have been blessed to have had him on hand during ww1.

[Michel Van]

Originally Posted by Calgacus

Buller must be a candidate.

Also Hitler maybe?

Adolf Hitler IS the worst miltary commander of the 20th century
maybe the Worst of Wordhistory !

after winter 1941 Hitler take Personaly the Miltary Command

Lucky for us, he had NO sense for Miltary Strategy and think in WWI tatik
in World of Blitzkrieg....

wat you want ?
he was a good Artpainter with one on insanity persistent.

[Max Sinister]

That's not true what you said about Hitler. His painting wasn't that good either.

[merlin]

Howabout 'Percival' of Singapore?

It may stretch the defination of 'Military Commander' but anybody for including Hugh Trenchard?
Long thought of, as the founding father of the RAF. But was his obsession with strategic bombing, really an advantage for the RAF and Britain? The RAF certainly would not have had enough fighter squadrons if he had his way! He wanted an 'independant airforce' but independant of what!

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

Originally Posted by merlin

Howabout 'Percival' of Singapore?

It may stretch the defination of 'Military Commander' but anybody for including Hugh Trenchard?
Long thought of, as the founding father of the RAF. But was his obsession with strategic bombing, really an advantage for the RAF and Britain? The RAF certainly would not have had enough fighter squadrons if he had his way! He wanted an 'independant airforce' but independant of what!

I vote for Percival. I'm not sure anyone else has ever lost a defensive battle entrenched on an Island while in supply before or since. Refusing to fortify the landward side for morale reasons has to be the most singly stupid justification of incompetence, ever.

[Grimm Reaper]

Buller was indeed the victim of circumstances far outside his control, nor did I notice his successor, with 2 years and vastly greater resources, wind things up quickly.

[maverick]

Originally Posted by Max Sinister

That's not true what you said about Hitler. His painting wasn't that good either.

Actually, he made several good decisions in 1940, especially by ignoring the olde prussian staff and listening to Von Manstein and the new generation that didn't want to fight the french with 1871 tactics...

Gamelin too.

[Berra]

I think General Ivanov sucked. I mean, his invasion of Australia...

[Ibn Warraq]

I think Nasser, based on the way he allowed his air force to be wiped out by the Israelis during the Six Day War while it was still on the ground.

[LightInfa]

Originally Posted by Ibn Warraq

I think Nasser, based on the way he allowed his air force to be wiped out by the Israelis during the Six Day War while it was still on the ground.

I think the fault mainly lies with the guy he appointed to command his military (I can't remember the name, something like Amer). That guy also panicked once the Israeli army began its ground offensive and he ordered the retreat of the Egyptian Army from Sinai.

[Peter Cowan]

Well, there are a fair number of candidates other than those already mentioned

Rennenkampf / Samsonov in East Prussia 1914

Conrad - lost big time to the Russians in 1914

Corap and Huntziger - France 1940

Budenny - SU 1941

Saddam Hussein - GW1 and 2

Galtieri / Menendez - Falklands 1982

[Calgacus]

Varus?
Mark Clark?
James IV of Scotland?
Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie)?
Custer?
Burnside?
Banks?

[LightInfa]

Originally Posted by Calgacus

Varus?
Mark Clark?
James IV of Scotland?
Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie)?
Custer?
Burnside?
Banks?

I don't think Burnside should be counted. He never wanted the command of the Army of the Potomac, and he knew he wasn't qualified for it. Lincoln insisted, so he got the job. His plan to fight the Confederate Army while it was divided might have worked, but he had to wait for pontoon bridges and by that time, Jackson had linked up with Lee.

[Calgacus]

Originally Posted by Peter Cowan

Well, there are a fair number of candidates other than those already mentioned

Rennenkampf / Samsonov in East Prussia 1914

Conrad - lost big time to the Russians in 1914

Corap and Huntziger - France 1940

Budenny - SU 1941

Saddam Hussein - GW1 and 2

Galtieri / Menendez - Falklands 1982

I think you mean Hotzendorf.

Special mention also goes to Cadorna...

[Calgacus]

Originally Posted by LightInfa

I don't think Burnside should be counted. He never wanted the command of the Army of the Potomac, and he knew he wasn't qualified for it. Lincoln insisted, so he got the job. His plan to fight the Confederate Army while it was divided might have worked, but he had to wait for pontoon bridges and by that time, Jackson had linked up with Lee.

Whether he wanted to or not is immaterial, and Fredericksburg is a military folly all of its own.

[Abdul Hadi Pasha]

Originally Posted by Calgacus

I think you mean Hotzendorf.

No, it's Conrad. That's his surname, Hotzendorf is his peerage title. Let's say Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk is a WWI British general. You would call him General Grey, not General Suffolk.

Likewise, it's General Conrad, who is Count of Hotzendorf.