Most irrational and counter intuitive decisions ever made

[Gancio The Ranter]

To celebrate and remember the chaotic nature of history I would like to have a discussion about all the many times in history that somebody in power made a dumb or irrational decision, and what would have happened if he or she had taken the more rational route.
My definition of an irrational decision is a decision made relying on stuff not grounded in reality, for example a king starting a war he can't possibly win due to his own miscalculations or pride

 

[Saint_007]

I had one in mind, but it's 18th century. Peter III of Russia halting his war against Prussia so he can pursue a claim in Holstein in Denmark, thus robbing the Russians of a much-needed victory and reparations right when they needed it most, and right when the Prussians would have been downright fucked.

Needless to say, the Russian military and nobility never forgave that mistake, and Catherine the Great quickly gained power in a coup.

 

[tbguy1992]

The War of the Triple Alliance, aka the Paraguayan War. Francisco Solano López goes to war against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and basically destroys the whole nation: after being defeated in a conventional war, retreats into the jungles and launches a years long guerilla war until finally hunted down and killed... depending on the numbers cited, over 60% of Paraguay's population died.

All because he tried to emulate Napoleon (egged on by his wife, an Irish courtesan with dreams of being an empress) and make Paraguay a major power against two much larger, wealthier, more populous and sane nations.

 

[fastmongrel]

Invading Russia

 

[bobbobbins3]

Germany not pressing the attack and therefore allowing the Dunkirk pocket to escape during the fall of France. Chances are the UK would have had no choice but to pursue peace if such a large section of their combat-ready army was annihilated, even if some of Germany’s top generals feared of an Allied breakout at the pocket.

 

[Veiovis]

Germany not pressing the attack and therefore allowing the Dunkirk pocket to escape during the fall of France. Chances are the UK would have had no choice but to pursue peace if such a large section of their combat-ready army was annihilated, even if some of Germany’s top generals feared of an Allied breakout at the pocket.

thats not really "irrational",there were extremly valid reasons for not pressing the attack,even with hindsight.

 

[Onkel Willie]

Not allowing the Sixth Army to break out of Stalingrad when it still could is up there with irrational decisions.

 

[dandan_noodles]

I had one in mind, but it's 18th century. Peter III of Russia halting his war against Prussia so he can pursue a claim in Holstein in Denmark, thus robbing the Russians of a much-needed victory and reparations right when they needed it most, and right when the Prussians would have been downright fucked.

Needless to say, the Russian military and nobility never forgave that mistake, and Catherine the Great quickly gained power in a coup.

For what its worth, there had always been a faction in the Russian court skeptical of the war with Prussia, so it's by no means out of left field.

 

[jerseyguy]

The War of the Triple Alliance, aka the Paraguayan War. Francisco Solano López goes to war against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and basically destroys the whole nation: after being defeated in a conventional war, retreats into the jungles and launches a years long guerilla war until finally hunted down and killed... depending on the numbers cited, over 60% of Paraguay's population died.

All because he tried to emulate Napoleon (egged on by his wife, an Irish courtesan with dreams of being an empress) and make Paraguay a major power against two much larger, wealthier, more populous and sane nations.

This sounds like the plot of Macbeth where Lady Macbeth basically calls Macbeth a weak-willed cuck for not being a psychopath willing to do anything for power. There's a really graphic line in the play where she describes how she would be willing to kill a child if she had agreed to do so when Macbeth is getting cold feet in Act II.

 

[The Byronic Hero]

The sheer insanity of the Khmer Rouge. Abandoning the cities and modernity, embarking on policies whose only end was the complete collapse of the state and potentially genocide, invading it's neighbor because, hell, why not; it was incomprehensible on so many levels.

 

[UCB79]

Richard Nixon NOT destroying the tapes(in
my reading I’ve yet to come up with virtually
ANY kind of explanation as to why he didn’t
make the move which would have deprived
his opponents of the very evidence that
would eventually do him in).

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

Germany not pressing the attack and therefore allowing the Dunkirk pocket to escape during the fall of France. Chances are the UK would have had no choice but to pursue peace if such a large section of their combat-ready army was annihilated, even if some of Germany’s top generals feared of an Allied breakout at the pocket.

Given WWII Germany's record with urban combat against numerically strong opponents with their backs to the wall...

 

[Gancio The Ranter]

One that comes to my mind is the offensive of the bulge. Hitler could have used those divisions in the east, against the Russians. He would have saved a lot of Germans and would have made the survival of the german state much more likely at a time when it was at stake
He decided to deliver an impossible "final" blow to the allies instead

 

[FBKampfer]

One that comes to my mind is the offensive of the bulge. Hitler could have used those divisions in the east, against the Russians. He would have saved a lot of Germans and would have made the survival of the german state much more likely at a time when it was at stake
He decided to deliver an impossible "final" blow to the allies instead

He was insane for his views on the feasibility of making such an attack, but not for the reasons behind it.

View it as a redux of the schlieffen plan from WWI.

Split the Allied armies, Dunkirk everything north of their forces and drive everything else back into the sea.

Take everything, including Divisions already posted on the Western Front, and send them East. It wasn't some last middle finger to the Western Allies.

And it's worth noting that Germany was beyond fucked at this point. You'd have to butterfly away the collapse during Bagration to give them any chance of holding out much longer.

After AGC collapsed and AGN mostly got encircled, their casualty rate skyrocketed as they threw literally anyone able to carry a rifle at the Russians.

 

[Jellico]

thats not really "irrational",there were extremly valid reasons for not pressing the attack,even with hindsight.

I found this reading a history of the Spanish Amarda. Using a general rather than an admiral. All round nepotism. Some of the tactical stuff. But when looked at from the Spanish side it made sense and you don't really get an idea of the challenges that they were facing.

It actually changed my views on nepotism. You might not get the best candidate, but as a noble he is going to be better educated than most, have command experience, and as family he is less likely to stab you in the back.

History is making the best of bad choices and hoping luck falls your way.

 

[jerseyguy]

The sheer insanity of the Khymer Rouge. Abandoning the cities and modernity, embarking on policies whose only end was the complete collapse of the state and potentially genocide, invading it's neighbor because, hell, why not; it was incomprehensible on so many levels.

Democratic Kampuchea was like an orwell novel come to a life. Most people didn't even know who their country's leader was, the party simply called the leadership Angkar (literally just "the organization" in Khmer).

 

[Max Sinister]

I had one in mind, but it's 18th century. Peter III of Russia halting his war against Prussia so he can pursue a claim in Holstein in Denmark, thus robbing the Russians of a much-needed victory and reparations right when they needed it most, and right when the Prussians would have been downright fucked.

Well, he was a huge fan of Frederick.

 

[Megafighter3]

"Fans, as Hollywood Hogan walks away and you look at this 40,000 plus on hand, if you're even thinking about changing the channel to our competition, fans, do not, because we understand that Mick Foley, who wrestled here one time as Cactus Jack, is going to win their world title. Ha! That's gonna put some butts in the seats, heh." - Tony Schiavone on the January 4, 1999 Nitro in a call forced on him by Eric Bischoff to keep fans from tuning into RAW.

 

[Saint_007]

Well, he was a huge fan of Frederick.

True, he even considered himself a peer to Frederick the Great. But Frederick didn't return that sentiment, and even held him in contempt at times, even though Peter III was the reason he still had a throne. When Catherine overthrew him, Frederick merely joked about it.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Nearly everything that happened in Europe during the second half of 1914.