Biggest "You Blew it!" moments in History (Pre-1900)
- Thread starter sampleswift
- Start date
Definitely Napoleon not finding some way to make peace. Admittedly this would be contingent on Britain, Austria, and to an extent Russia and Prussia accepting that peace, but Napoleon definitely should have found some way to end the game while he was ahead.
Louis XVI supporting the American rebels, only to bankrupt himself in the process, leading to the French Revolution and his own overthrow and murder.
Rome killing Stilicho and the families of his barbarian foederati, not only depriving the Western Empire of its greatest general at a time of military crisis but also causing his soldiers to defect to the enemy.
Rome killing Stilicho and the families of his barbarian foederati, not only depriving the Western Empire of its greatest general at a time of military crisis but also causing his soldiers to defect to the enemy.
![[totally a legit person]](/forum/data/avatars/m/134/134906.jpg?1617940240){kind=avatar}
He did find a way, he was about to carve up the Ottomans, divvying up the pieces amongst Austria, Russia, and France, it's just that the Ottomans unexpectedly held out. A more appropriate one in this era would've been him not putting Josef on the Spanish throne and instead put a puppet Bourbon on it, would've faced much less resistance overall.
There was no need for a buffer, the land itself is a buffer. It's not like there would ever be any attack out of Alaska into Kamchatka or vice versa, all attacks would come from Vancouver. The Russians would have sold it to Britain if they had paid more because it was basically indefensible.
Selling it was probably a good decision but who knows if Britain would have even bothered to take it, they never tried to seize Commander islands or any part of Siberia
I mean, he didn't, really? He was trying to cajole Stanley into obedience by holding his son captive, after all.
Richard *didn't* trust Stanley, which is why he took his son hostage. If he "blew" Bosworth it was by gambling everything on decapitating the opposition, but even that is doubtful as he seems to have been already losing.
If anyone "blew it" in the WotR, it was surely the Earl of Oxford at Barnet, when he attacked the wrong army.
Last edited:
One of my teachers had "Don't worry, I have everything under control" attributed to him on one of the bilboards.
But as much as it sucked for the 7th Cav. It's not like your country ceased to exist or you were guillotined other cool interesting things.
Napoleon III.
I could just leave it at that, but I'll qualify by saying Nap III in 1870, blundering in to a declaration of war on Prussia over a matter which had already been settled in France's favour. It wasn't his 1st blunder, but it was the one which cost him his throne.
Seldom in modern history has a reasonably intelligent and undoubtedly talented man done so many just plain dumb, DUMB things in relatively rapid succession...
I could just leave it at that, but I'll qualify by saying Nap III in 1870, blundering in to a declaration of war on Prussia over a matter which had already been settled in France's favour. It wasn't his 1st blunder, but it was the one which cost him his throne.
Seldom in modern history has a reasonably intelligent and undoubtedly talented man done so many just plain dumb, DUMB things in relatively rapid succession...
Secession, no. Firing on Ft. Sumter and starting the war, yes.
Let the North be evil aggressors and take the PR hit. Probably gets you Kentucky.
unprincipled peter
Donor
Louis XIV had the entire Spanish Empire (or close to it) in Phillip's grasp, and then stupidly antagonized everyone into fighting him for it.
A couple years later, political infighting/military blunders leading to a loss at Blenheim nearly cost France it all, and certainly blew any chance of victory.
War of Austrian Succession saw the Battle of Dettingen, and giving up Austrian Netherlands. Was it here or 7YW that saw France take Hanover and then give it up, instead of holding it as a bargaining chit?
A couple years later, political infighting/military blunders leading to a loss at Blenheim nearly cost France it all, and certainly blew any chance of victory.
War of Austrian Succession saw the Battle of Dettingen, and giving up Austrian Netherlands. Was it here or 7YW that saw France take Hanover and then give it up, instead of holding it as a bargaining chit?
Abraham Lincoln changing his running mate, and Mary Todd Lincoln rejecting the Grants' invitation for Ford's Theatre
I don't think selling Alaska was that much of a screw-up, because not only was the land basically worthless at the time but Russia knew that there was a large chance of Britain invading it via Canada to add to Canada's territory.
John Tyler as a running mate? He was awful. (Admittedly Harrison wasn't expecting to die)
The Qing Dynasty dismantling the Woosung Road, which was China's first railway and operated for less than a year.
Both the Continental Congress and the British Parliament rejecting plans that would've allowed the Thirteen Colonies to remain within the British Empire, but with greater representation
en.wikipedia.org
Galloway's Plan of Union - Wikipedia
King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies had a huge natural deposit of sulphur in Sicily, and was exporting it to France and Britain to be refined. Admittedly countries over relying on one natural resources never last that that much, but if he instead of getting rich used the money for developing better industrial foundations for Southern Italy, things might have gone a bit better for his people.