Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here is my worst list 1.GUY DE LUSIGNAN 2.ARTHUR PERCIVAL 3.FIELD MARSHAL HAIG 4.WW2 ITALIAN GENERAL STAFF 5.1938-42 RUSSIAN GENERAL STAFF 6.1940 FRENCH GENERAL STAFF 7.ETHELRED THE UNREADY 8. CHARLES THE FAT 8.KING JOHN OF ENGLAND 9.DARIUS II 10.MARK CLARK
Apologies if anyone has already said this as I did skip ahead...but I would have to say Paul Revere.
He has erroneously been touted up because of a poem, but his first help in warning the American's that the "British were coming", was something like a 12 mile ride, while his partner William Dawes rode almost non-stop from Boston to Phily. His exploits in the Battle of Lexington and Concord were sensationalized and glorified, while his complete inability to lead at the Penobscot Expedition caused this country to lose most of its naval fleet and send him to court martial for being so blundering as a commander.
To me he is the epitimy of what happens when someone has no leadership, is touted up as being so, and then fails miserably under pressure.
The only thing I can say in his defense is this...his inability to lead probably did not cost a whole lot of lives, but he was definately one of the worst leaders this country ever had.
The mention of Revere reminded me of General William Hull who lost Detroit to the British early in the War of 1812. A court martial actually sentenced him to be shot for his incompetence but was let off the hook. I don't know of any other American general so treated.
In Hull's defense it must be said that he was poorly supported by the War Department and was up against a VERY talented British opponent, Issac Brock.
fail to see how a freedom fighter making errors can compare to a guy like lusignan who inherits a sound defensive network built up over a 100 year period and then pisses it all away by marching into the desert. now that is incompetence
A case could be made for Vice Admiral Joseph Metcalf, III, who led the comical US invasion of Grenada. Victory was as absolute an assurance as it it possible to be, but yet seems to have been hard won, even though the enemy barely returned fire. That was the invasion where US troops needed to use their cell phones to call the Grenada Tourism Commission in New York, to ask directions to their targets. A Canadian aircraft was standing by with orders to fly in and evacuate all US civilians upon request, but that relatively simple tactic, which would have obtained the primary goal of the exercise and obviated the attack, was immediately rejected out of hand.
What about Major Frank Burns? Not only was he incompetent as an army surgeon, but as a military man he turned into a petty martinet whenever given authority, was cowardly in the face of the enemy, neglected his duties to pursue a personal love affair with a nurse, was unable to handle firearms safely, and was unable to get those under his command to respect him in any manner.
And then there was Colonel Klink, assigned to command a POW camp apparently because of his unfitness in the field. He was easily hoodwinked by flattery, cared more for the appearance of things going well than actual smooth functioning, retained Sgt. Schultz in a position of authority despite that soldier's repeated cooperation with the enemy, and was utterly unaware that the prisoners in his charge were running a counter intelligence operation from his camp.
The worst military leader-The Commander in Chief-Bill Clinton!!!! Let's hope that is HISTORY!!!!
Bombing the aspirin factory was pretty impressive. We penetrated its defenses with surgical precision, and didn't lose a single man. But you are being unfair. Clinton wasn't the only Democrat to ever hold a post in which all Democrats must of necessity sink into dismal infamy, and all Republicans cannot fail to be gloriously heroic. The miracle of subjective partisanship applied to historical analysis, laying waste to all the factual irrelevancies.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
