11 Worst Military Blunders

The first few months of World War I hurt Austria-Hungary. The invasion of Serbia failed, and a Russian army threatened to cross the Carpathian mountains into Hungary at Przemyśl.The first few months of World War I hurt Austria-Hungary.World War I proved disastrous for Austria-Hungary. The invasion of Serbia failed. A Russian army threatened to break through the Carpathian mountains into Hungary.PrzemyślRussians surrounded an Austrian army of over 100,000 men. The spectacularly incompetent chief of staff, Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf, faced this situation.Franz Conrad von HotzendorfRescuing the trapped army became Hotzendorf's obsession. No account detailed the conditions facing the Austro-Hungarian army.

The region's harsh terrain and lack of infrastructure presented a major problem for the army, even with good leaders. The Austro-Hungarian army also struggled internally. As a multi-ethnic group, the empire's army faced language barriers and group dislikes.

Von Hotzendorf sought a victory. He aimed to boost army morale and stop neutral Italy and Romania from joining. Thus, the Austro-Hungarian army launched an offensive over the Carpathian mountains during winter. Surprise was the only hope for the plan. The Russians did not expect their enemy to act so foolishly.

Initial gains reversed quickly at a high cost, but the Habsburgs kept trying. By March 1915, some 800,000 Austro-Hungarians died or got hurt in the freezing mountains. They saved about 100,000 troops who surrendered on March 23, 1915, after holding out for almost six months. Another wave of Austro-Hungarian troops was sent to lift a siege that was already over.March 1915Around 800,000 Austro-Hungarians died or were wounded in the freezing mountains. They died saving over 100,000 troops who surrendered on March 23, 1915, after holding out for nearly six months. Unaware of this, another wave of Austro-Hungarian troops moved to lift a siege already finished.

Enver Pasha was the OttomanMinister of WarEnver Pasha led the Ottoman entry into World War I in October 1914. He thought Ottoman involvement would revive the empire and fix past mistakes. Instead, it sealed the empire's end.

With the Russian army already stretched thin by the Germans and Austro-Hungarians, Pasha thought an attack through the Caucasus would succeed easily. Pasha wrongly thought the Romanovs' rule would make local people welcome the Ottoman forces as liberators. People disliked the Russians, but they wanted even less Ottoman rule.stretched thinGermans and Austro-Hungarians stretched Enver Pasha thin. Pasha thought an attack through the Caucasus would succeed easily. He wrongly calculated that the Romanovs' rule would make the local people welcome the Ottoman forces as liberators. The people disliked the Russians, but they wanted Ottoman rule even less.

The region's single railway created a logistical nightmare. Pasha worsened this by starting the campaign in winter. The Ottoman army lacked gear for the cold. Thousands of troops froze to death before reaching the front lines atThe Russians repeatedly pushed back Ottoman attacks, but Pasha kept sending troops even as the Russians strengthened their position.The Ottoman attacks were repeatedly repulsed by the Russians, but Pasha continued to pour troops in, even as the Russians reinforced the position.

By year's end, the Ottoman army suffered heavy losses. Russians threatened attacks on the exposed flanks. Ottoman commanders asked for a withdrawal. Pasha ordered more men into another failed assault. Exhausted troops finally withdrew two days later. Six out of seven troops in the 120,000-man army died in the disastrous campaign. Pasha never commanded in the field again. Still, he kept his position through the rest of the conflict.

The Celtic warrior queen’s rebellion ended suddenly. The Romans defeated the rebellion in 60/61 CE. Some still argue about the exact spot. It was somewhere along the Roman road calledWatling StreetSources exaggerate numbers in ancient battles. Take a careful look at the figures from Tacitus and Cassius Dio. The Britons might have had up to 100,000 men. They faced the small, professional army led by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, numbered around 10,000.

Dio describesBoudiccaBoudicca (sometimes spelled Buduica or Boadicea) was very tall. Her appearance was terrifying. Her eye glance was fierce. Her voice sounded harsh. That harsh voice delivered a rousing speech to her huge army. The outnumbered Suetonius kept his orders brief. The Britons held a huge number advantage over the Romans. They felt confident of victory, even if the 10:1 ratio was wrong. The baggage train lined the wagons at the battlefield edge. This let the families watch the victory.

As Tacitusrecords:

British forces moved jubilantly in bands of foot and horse. They moved in huge numbers. Confidence was so high they brought their wives to see the victory. They placed them in wagons stationed near the edge of the plain.

The Romans expected no mercy. Suetonius ordered the men to close ranks and maintain discipline. Both accounts show the Roman troops' quiet order against the Britons' wild savagery. Cold Roman steel cut the tribesman with brutal speed. Warriors broke but could not find an escape route.

The wagons watching the victory now condemned the Britons to slaughter. Tacitus claimed 80,000 Britons fell against just 400 Romans.

When can their glory end?

O wild the charge they made!

Thecharge of the Light BrigadeAlfred, Lord Tennyson immortalized the Battle of Balaclava in a poem. The horsemen's courage remained certain. However, the wisdom of a cavalry charge across open ground against an entrenched foe with modern weapons proved lacking. The famous charge resulted from a breakdown in communication between the British army commander and the cavalry officers.

A Russian attack hit the British position atBalaclavaThe British and French beat back the battle on October 25, 1854. Cavalry officers received orders to advance and stop the Russians from taking allied artillery. Infantry was supposed to follow support, but confusion over the location and orders muddied everything.

The commander of the Heavy Brigade, Earl of Lucan, had a strained relationship with the Light Brigade’s leader, Lord Cardigan. Lord Cardigan and his men attacked the wrong position. Six hundred members of the Light Brigade charged into bullets and explosives. Seeing the fighting, Lucan’s Heavy Brigade stopped their support attack. Lucan observed cynically:

Why add to the casualty list?

The doomed Light Bridge reached the Russian lines and gained ground before Russian troops regrouped to block escape. Desperate Light Brigade survivors broke through to get out. Almost half the entire force was lost in that brave but pointless action.

Scotland's history with England features a wild film starring Mel Gibson. Scotland was not always the victim in this tense relationship. When English fortunes dropped, Scotland and France often tried to gain an advantage.

When the Black Death swept England in the 1400s, the Scots saw a chance. They gathered troops to invade England. One chronicler from that timeput it:

The Scots heard of the English plague. They declared it struck them by God's vengeful hand and swore by "the foul death of England".

A large troop gathering during a global pandemic caused disaster. The plague struck the Scottish army, and over 5,000 troops died from the disease. The army broke apart instead of following the plan, bringing the plague back with it. Arounda thirdof Scotland's population died because of the failed invasion.

On February 28, 1896, Italian general Oreste Baratieri met with his staff to plan the end of the invasion of Ethiopia. The general promised to bring the Ethiopian kingMenelik IIBaratieri’s army ran low on supplies, pushed back to Italy in a cage. The Italians severely underestimated the enemy's size and ferocity; they would pay dearly for their arrogance in the fight.

Menelik II knew an invasion was coming for some time and prepared. He got help partly from a Swiss engineer namedAlbert Ilg.Local production of modern weapons increased the year before. The king also worked to unite the local people against a shared enemy.

The Italians planned to lure the Ethiopian forces into attacking on their terms by splitting their forces intoHe used four columns.and covering each other's fire. The main issue with this plan was the Italians lackedHe used accurate maps.The separated brigades confused the landmarks and split apart. By March 1 morning, Italian forces were spread across miles of tough ground, facing many determined enemies.

Ethiopian forces surrounded and overwhelmed the divided Italians, causing heavy losses on both sides. African troops had some modern weapons, but many fought with only swords. By afternoon, Italian forces were disorganized, and two generals were killed.

After the battle, Menelik II showed surprise restraint. Instead of pursuing the win and driving the Italians out of Eritrea, he offered fair terms for immediate peace. The Italian government ransomed European prisoners, but local helpers got no such aid. The captiveThe askari fought.troops had their right hands and left feet cut off for fighting the Italians. This huge victory became a symbol of African pride, and the battle anniversary is a day ofA national celebration occurred..

A French army with more soldiers lost badly to the English at theBattle of Agincourt in 1415. The English army, worn out by a hard campaign in northern France, faced a much larger French army. The English found their way back to England blocked and had to fight. Few things are more dangerous than men with nothing left to lose.

The overconfident French lacked discipline, and Charles d’Albret had little control over the mounted nobles under his command. Heavy rain before the fight made the open ground between the armies a slippery mess. The French pushed on and met a deadly rain of arrows from the English longbows. The specially trained archers held a huge range advantage over the French crossbows.

The French got through faced wooden stakes planted in the ground to stop their charge. Archers with light armor entered the fight and cut down French troops trapped by their own armor. More than 6,000 Frenchmen died. Only about 400 Englishmen perished.6,000 Frenchman lay dead, with d’Albret among them.Only about 400 Englishmen perished.

Heroic efforts by Yi Sun-shin kept the Japanese invasion of Korea at bay.Yi Sun-shin.At sea, the new admiral won major victories against huge Japanese fleets despite lacking prior naval experience. However, Yi's success caused jealousy among his peers. When Yi refused to attack based on a spy's words, generals removed him and put Won Gyun (Kyun), another naval novice who liked wine and women (at least according to Yi), in his place.Yi's war diary.War diary.

Yi was arrested and tortured. He narrowly avoided the death penalty because of his past service. He was demoted, a worse fate than death, but Yi followed his orders.

His replacement planned to undo all his good work in one bad fight with the Japanese fleet atChilcheollyang.Won Gyun arrived and saw the transport fleet was a fully armed force twice his size. He ordered a direct attack, which allowed the Japanese to get close enough to board the ships.

After the first attack failed, Won Gyun ordered a retreat to an island to regroup and gather supplies. The Koreans did not know Japanese soldiers waited on the island to ambush them and cause more losses. After several days of doing nothing, the Japanese fleet attacked and destroyed all but 12 Korean ships. All the turtle ships (pictured) sank in the disaster. Won Gyun fled to the Korean mainland and a Japanese soldier killed him under a pine tree.

Yi later returned to his old post and won his biggest victory with the few ships that escaped atMyeongnyang.

Over two days in June 1314, Scotland won its biggest victory over England atBannockburn.Scottish King.Scottish King Robert the BruceRobert the Bruce made key changes to the Scottish army. These changes countered weaknesses that caused an earlier disaster at Falkirk. He drilled his pike-armed infantry to move and attack instead of defending still.Edward II's. army had more men and weapons, but lacked the experience or discipline of Bruce’s troops.

The first day of battle featured English mounted knights clashing with Scottish pikemen on ground Bruce's men set up ahead; this set the stage for their struggle. Henry de Bohun, an impetuous knight, saw the king surveying the field without protection. He sought glory and charged. He earned fame, though not by killing the king.

Bruce’s small pony dodged de Bohun's warhorse at the last second. This gave the king a chance to strike the knight's head with his ax, killing him instantly. That small clash mirrored the whole battle: a smaller force used limited resources better against a larger force that wasted its advantages.

The second day mirrored the first. The Scots took the lead while the English failed to act as one group. English archers played little part before Scottish cavalry drove them off. Scottish infantry pushed the English army back between two rivers, slowly gaining ground. Edward II almost became a prisoner, but the English king fought hard to avoid capture. His knights took him from the field.As the Scots gained ground, a group of camp followers appeared. These small folk put the tired English army into a panic. Many people drowned retreating across the river. Many others would not survive the dangerous trip back to England.The weary English army panicked. Many drowned during the river retreat. Many more would not survive the journey back to England.

While [missing text], Bannockburn didn't actually settle the First Scottish War of Independence; it was a major win for the Scots.BannockburnBannockburn did not end the First Scottish War of Independence; it was a major win for the Scots.

The US had only 16,000 troops stationed on the frontiers. This created a severe shortage of trained officers during the American Civil War. Both sides drew from the same shallow pool of personnel. This made the lack of military staff worse. Vast numbers of troops were raised in 1861. Unqualified men led these new armies. The war brought forward "political generals": men whose rank came from political ties.

The record for political generals varied. Some succeeded; some were average; others failed completely.Benjamin ButlerBenjamin Butler was one of the failures. A lawyer, he took Fort Fisher, one of the last Confederate coastal forts, in December 1864. This fort protected Wilmington, a port still under Confederate control, and its capture would have hurt the South badly.

A joint operation planned with the navy failed due to service rivalries that had plagued similar efforts in the conflict. Admiral [missing name]David Dixon PorterBenjamin Butler bucked this trend by cooperating well with Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman during the Vicksburg Campaign. Grant and Sherman were trained generals who understood combat and knew how to bring out Porter's best. Butler did not. Porter supported the first move, using a dummy ship rigged with explosives to create a breach for the attack.

The navy tried to pound the Confederate fort after the ruse failed, but they had no success. Union troops landed on the beaches the next day to start a siege. When Butler heard a relieving Confederate army was coming, he lost nerve and canceled the operation. He believed the fort was undamaged and an assault would fail, so he told the men on the ground the fort was too strong and ordered a withdrawal.

In his postwar memoirs, Butler used his legal experience to defend his decision.Butler used his legal experience to defend his decision.Butler argued his decision to withdraw his men was "the best and bravest act of my life." This argument was difficult for even the kindest readers to accept.

Benjamin Butler appears in the list '11 Worst Military Blunders'.The second operation launched just two weeks later saw Porter team up with Alfred Howe Terry, another military novice. They took the fort in two days.The second operation launched just two weeks later saw Porter team up with Alfred Howe Terry, another military novice. They took the fort in two days.

During the Second Punic War, Tiberius Sempronius Longus faced multiple catastrophic defeats at the hands of the legendary Carthaginian general.The Second Punic War is listed.Between Rome and Carthage, the Romans suffered several major defeats by the Carthaginian general.Hannibal is listed.Hannibal possessed a great strength: he understood his opponents and used their weaknesses against them. The first major battle showed this skill more than any other.

After a brutal march through the Alps, the Carthaginian army reached northern Italy in December 218 BCE. Ancient armies rarely fought in winter because of supply limits. The other key factor involved the Roman command structure. Rome elected two consuls yearly to share command of the Roman army. With his term ending and knowing the armies would soon need to shelter for winter, the Roman consulTiberius Sempronius Longus is listed.Tiberius Sempronius Longus wanted to fight and claim a great victory to end his term.

This situation benefited Hannibal. He knew his opponent wanted a fight and planned to force the Romans to fight on his terms. Sempronius Longus ignored warnings from his co-consul Publius Cornelius Scipio (father ofScipio Africanus is listed.Scipio Africanus) not to engage with Hannibal on bad terms.

One late December morning, possibly the 22nd or 23rd, Hannibal woke his army early. He fed them breakfast. He sent a Numidian cavalry detachment to harass the Roman camp. At the same time, he sent troops under his brother's command.Mago is listed.Sempronius hid out of sight (item 4 on the illustration). The provocation succeeded; Sempronius sent his hungry men across freezing rivers to fight a prepared enemy.

When the battle lines met, Mago's detachment sprung the trap. His men hit the Roman army's rear, starting a rout that scattered Roman legions in disarray. This was the first of three major battlefield wins Hannibal achieved. Sempronius's need for glory gave Hannibal a deciding advantage.