History of Warfare

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History of Warfare

• Military Blunders of the 20th Century

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The Problem with Blunders

• Its a judgment with the benefit of hindsight
• Can be defined broadly or specifically, which can
  result in widely diverging lists (both
  quantitatively and qualitatively)
• Blunder has a negative connotation but sometimes
  a blunder can work to a nations or militarys
  advantage

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Germany Sinking of the Lusitania (1915)

• Germany was already in trouble during World War I
  by the time their sub sunk this ship.
• But this incident just drew in another active
  combatant against them the United States. This
  would seal their defeat.

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Germany Operation Barbarossa (1941)

• Germany decides to attack the Soviet Union during
  World War II.
• This was just plain stupid since Germany had a
  non-aggression treaty with the Soviets, which
  meant that they would not have been threatened on
  their eastern border allowing them to concentrate
  their forces against England on their western
  side.
• Now, Germany would have to spread their forces
  out in a two front war.

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The United States (at first), but actually Japan
Pearl Harbor (1941)

• United States caught with its pants down.
• Luckily, U.S. carriers away at the time.
• War with Japan was inevitable. However, this
  strengthened U.S. resolve.
• Now, U.S would accept nothing but unconditional
  surrender from Japan.

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Germany Hitler Declares War on the U.S. (1941)

• German treaty with Japan was defensive in nature.
• Any offensive action by Japan against a country
  (i.e. Pearl Harbor) did not mean Germany had to
  declare war against that country also.
• U.S. government was itching to go to war with
  Germany, but U.S. public not ready.
• So Hitlers action just made it easy for the U.S.
  government to justify involvement in European war.

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Great Britain, France, and Israel Suez Crisis
(1956)

• In response to the nationalization of the Suez
  Canal by Egypt, Britain (who had previously
  occupied and ran the canal), France and Israel
  launched an attack against Egypt.
• Although Egyptian forces would likely have been
  defeated, intense pressure from the United States
  and the Soviet Union would result in the
  withdrawal of the three nations forces from the
  canal.
• This event marked the end of British dominance in
  Middle Eastern affairs.

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United States Bay of Pigs (1961)

• In an attempt to remove Fidel Castros communist
  regime from Cuba, the United States trained a
  group of Cuban exiles and inserted them into
  Cuba.
• It was a disaster. They were soundly defeated by
  the Cuban army.
• The plan depended on the exiles garnering support
  from the local population. But that never
  materialized. In addition, the U.S. did not
  provide them with air support.
• About 100 of the 1500 exiles died with the rest
  taken as prisoners.

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North Vietnam (at first), but actually the United
States Tet Offensive (1968)

• This North Vietnamese offensive came during a
  cease-fire and caught U.S. forces off guard.
• But since the U.S. forces were better at the
  conventional style of warfare employed during the
  battles and, since the VC and its leaders exposed
  themselves in order to arouse support amongst the
  South Vietnamese (which did not materialize),
  this was a tactical defeat for the North
  Vietnamese.
• Strategically, however, it was a victory, since
  the surprising depth and coordination of the
  attack served to turn the American publics
  support of the war.

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United States Operation Eagle Claw (1979)

• After Iran had taken American hostages, U.S.
  president Jimmy Carter ordered a rescue operation
  in order to extract them.
• The operation began but eventually had to be
  aborted due to mechanical failures and some
  flawed planning.
• After this, there was disaster. During take-off,
  one of the helicopters collided with a plane
  resulting in a massive explosion and the loss of
  8 lives.
• Also, in all the confusion, they never received
  the order to destroy the damaged aircraft.
  Iranians would end up finding top secret plans
  within it.
• The Iranians would scatter the hostages across
  the country to prevent another rescue attempt.

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Iraq Invasion of Kuwait (1990)

• In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, in part due to past
  grievances regarding oil.
• A coalition force set up in Saudi Arabia,
  initially, to prevent further Iraqi aggression.
• The coalition, however, would eventually use
  those bases as a platform to drive the Iraqis out
  of Kuwait.
• Militarily, the Iraqi army was soundly defeated
  by coalition forces that had superior resources
  and military technologies.
• For more info, check out a website run by PBS
  http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/

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QUIZ!!!!!!!

• Click here for quiz