History's 5 Most Useless Generals

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[@madmick3794]

Can we get a chapter marker to skip Ridge?

[@The_Hairy_Hermit]

General-ly everyone who worked at unit 731?, 713? You know that one video they did, absolutely shocking stuff.

[@The_Hairy_Hermit]

​@madmick3794 wooow! Username checks out, you mad lad. They might hear you 🤫🤭

[@robinderoos1166]

You forgot haig and foch...

[@kitso_2b68]

Great video as always! For me the background music seems a little too loud, it's distracting me from Simon's audio

[@philt2170]

One of my Favorite passages from General Grant on Bragg in his Personal Memoirs: I have heard in the old army an anecdote very characteristic of Bragg. On one occasion, when stationed at a post of several companies commanded by a field officer, he was himself commanding one of the companies and at the same time acting as post quartermaster and commissary. He was first lieutenant at the time, but his captain was detached on other duty. As commander of the company, he made a requisition upon the quartermaster-himself-for something he wanted. As quartermaster he declined to fill the requisition and endorsed on the back of it his reasons for so doing. As company commander he responded to this, urging that his requisition called for nothing but what he was entitled to, and that it was the duty of the quartermaster to fill it. As quartermaster he still persisted that he was right. In this condition of affairs Bragg referred the whole matter to the commanding officer of the post. The latter, when he saw the nature of the matter referred, exclaimed: “My God, Mr. Bragg, you have quarreled with every officer in the army, and now you are quarrelling with yourself!”

[@MegaFortinbras]

Bragg claimed the story was false, but I believe Grant.

[@serpent645]

I've heard this one before. I can hardly tell the story without breaking into uncontrollable laughter. Thanks for sharing!

[@unbreakable7633]

@@MegaFortinbras Sounds exactly like Bragg if you ask me, so I believe it too and Grant was a basically honest and decent man and likely wouldn't make this claim without evidence. Bragg quarreled with just about everybody, dithered in the face of one of the great victories of the South, Chickamauga, and wasted the chance to change the course of the war.

[@voiceofraisin3778]

The question is, was that the actions of an intensely rule obsessed man or just the actions of a very bored and frustrated officer trying to kill some time?

[@comettamer]

Sounds pretty spot on for Bragg.

[@Ruosteinenknight]

Luigi Cadorna and his numerous battles of Isonzo are sometimes described as a stoppable force meeting a movable object. He shares that place with austrian field marshall Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, who had similarly disasterous military career.

[@JohnSmith-rw8uh]

ww1 in general .... Haig

[@RCorvinus]

@@JohnSmith-rw8uhSamsonov says hold my vodka.

[@gurk_the_magnificent9008]

Hötzendorf was gloriously incompetent, and Haig hardly covered himself with glory, but Cadorna was criminally negligent. Haig at least tried to attack different locations, and not too often. Cadorna attacked *the same place* with the *same results* not twice, not thrice, but *eleven times*, and then - after all of that - was effortlessly smashed at Caporetto.

[@viktorsov8729]

​@@gurk_the_magnificent9008the definition of insanity

[@voiceofraisin3778]

@@JohnSmith-rw8uh Douglas Haigh was popular with his troops, especially the colonials, thats not the sign of a bad leader. His funeral was attended by tens of thousands of veterans. Its onlywhen he was safely dead and unable to complain that David LLoyd George was able to star smashing his reputation.

[@jocktulloch3499]

One general you missed was the French general Montcalme. He lost Canada to the British by NOT stayng in the impregnible fort of Quebec City. He could have waited the English out because winter would force them to sail back to England. But instead he left the fort and lost to General Wolfe on The Plains Of Abraham. Both generals were killed in the battle, by the way.

[@Mike-hu3pp]

Very true, but unfortunately this is catered to a US audience.

[@Taospark]

The British did learn from his mistakes when the Americans tried to siege the area in winter.

[@murrayscott9546]

Old-school gallantry as opposed to new-school strategy. I'd like to see a re-enactment there. Quebecois would hate it !

[@Trebor74]

General Wolfe practised the assault for months prior to the battle by practicing the assault on a hill in Dorset prior to departure.

[@TheVistula]

Before that general Montcalm had some great victories like in battle of Ticonderoga or battle of Fort Henry so he wasn't incompetent, he just made bad decisions in one battle.

[@althesmith]

I love the description of the struggle between Peter the Great and King Charles of Sweden. I quote from memory here: "Despite all his early bungling, Peter the Great did not achieve the status of being a bad commander by one standard- he did not get men killed for absolutely no reason. In the end, Charles did."

[@EllenACook]

That quote is wonderfully pat and totally wrong. Sweden was a tiny power of 1-3 million people trying to hold Russia’s massive manpower back from something it wanted; doable when Russia was a medieval shambles, but a bit of a questionable proposition when Russia was helmed by a modernizer with so much control over his country that he was capable of ordering everything that an invading army could eat to be destroyed, and be obeyed. Charles XII in 1707 may have landed some whacks on the Russians and have achieved favorable results with his other enemies, but he was well aware that Peter’s military situation was improving and that Russia was on the rise, and perceived that he had a narrow window in which to regain an advantage. (Something that many of those who deride his actions as unreasonably stupid also acknowledge, tossing it on the heap of reasons why his action was doomed, without it ever seeming to occur to them that this might have been a major motive. Or indeed that if he had done what many opining from abroad thought he should have and made peace, he would have been criticized later for a lack of geopolitical foresight.) The Swedish military policy towards Russia going back numerous generations was in line with Gustavus Adolphus’s maxim of ‘making the ditch too wide for the bear to jump’ - ie aggression, something which, combined with the messy results of an earlier attempt to recover Ingria and the particular problems that campaign had suffered, influenced the Swedes towards a full on invasion. And I say ‘the Swedes’ rather than Charles XII, because, while Charles was in command, he had the opinion of the Swedish military establishment behind him, even if parts of the civilian government may have believed that the invasion of Russia was unnecessary. I would also add that contrary to what is frequently said on the basis of remarks aimed at psyching out the Russians and psyching up the Swedes, Charles XII was aware of the difficulty and danger of the situation he was entering into, even if he could not, for instance, have foreseen that the winter of 1708-09 would turn out to be the coldest in living memory. He was not free from error in conducting his campaign, but neither did he make his decisions for silly reasons. The campaign itself was undeniably ill-fated, but the assertion that it was an example of his getting his men killed for absolutely no reason is in fact unreasonable. Also, Charles XII is not generally considered to have been a bad commander.

[@jamiekay133]

@@EllenACookStop making excuses and being an apologist for poor leadership that got innocent people killed. You are obviously Swedish and biased and thus shouldn’t comment.😂😂🤡🤡

[@Timbulathespidermonk]

I submit Major-General William Elphinstone’s name to this debate. He organised what turned into one of the greatest defeats of a British army in history. Realising the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1842 wasn’t going the way he thought it should, he tried to organise a retreat of his forces, staff, families and other non combatants with local Afghan warlords. When his representative was killed at the negotiating table, he sent another, with the same list of demands for his retreat. The Afghans agreed, as long as Elphinstone agreed to leave all his guns (artillery and soldier’s personal weapons) at the fort outside of Kabul. Elphinstone did so and marched his column of about 18500 unarmed men, women and children into the waiting trap. Around 16000 were killed or captured.

[@kenoliver8913]

Elphinstone's incompetence was far more about getting himself into the desperate position he was in prior to this. The negotiations in reality were about the terms of surrender; he really had no choice but to hope the Afghans would keep their word.

[@jimarcher5255]

The Afghans didn’t keep their word. Why didn’t this information get to Biden?

[@mkvv5687]

@@jimarcher5255 Or Trump. Or Obama. Or Shrub...the guy who started it all.

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

@@mkvv5687 All four President's should have known the lessons of history. The world is NOT a safer place after all that sacrifice.

[@freddieclark]

@@jimarcher5255 Probably because trump had the files in his shower. You do know that Trump negotiated the withdrawal with the Taliban and excluded the Afghan government? or that Trump's timeline for a complete withdrawal was months earlier than Biden's, or do you get all your facts from Fox opinion, or Newsmin??

[@DavidKutzler]

16:00 A small historical note, the commander of a Mountain Battalion that successfully outflanked the Italians at the Battle of Caporetto was a certain German Lieutenant named Erwin Rommel.

[@jffry890]

Never heard of him. He must have just gotten lucky.

[@edscmidt5193]

He got the poure le merite for that

[@bethanbaker7066]

I was about to say the same thing. Didn't he get extremely lucky though, he had had a problem of over extending himself which made him very vulnerable, he was just quite lucky with it.

[@DavidKutzler]

@@bethanbaker7066 Perhaps one may call it luck that the collapse of the Italian army was so complete that Rommel got away with taking big risks that, otherwise, may have bit him in the ass. The Italians were finally able halt their rout at the Piave river, where it became a static campaign for another year. The Italian victory in the Battle of Vittorio Veneto a year after the disaster at Caporetto knocked the Austro-Hungarian Empire out of the war, which made it impossible for Germany to continue the war. The war ended days later.

[@bethanbaker7066]

​@@DavidKutzler That's definitely true. I'm no good strategist with regards to history. I'm more so people and personalities. I'm in my first year of History and Ancient History at Uni. This is more just my own sort of reading though, the book i read about this in was Rommel and Montgomery Parallel Lives but i do have other books I've not read yet including his own Infantry Attacks. I have autism and get hyperfixations, i just went from WW1 airforces to the Afrika Korps a year or two ago.

[@sydhenderson6753]

Bragg's one substantial victory, at Chickamauga, is featured in the book "Fatal Victories." It was mostly due to a mistake by the normally decent Rosecrans who made a whole in his own line, but Bragg's troops were so mauled in the campaign (he actually lost more men than Rosecrans) that they never won another battle. Hence Chattanooga. Prior to the invasion of Kentucky, Kentucky was neutral, which caused severe problems for Union strategy. The invasion forced them into the Union camp which opened up the whole frontier of Tennessee to Union invasion.

[@bman6065]

Attacking forces usually always suffer more losses than defending. Also Bragg intended to starve the army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga. Which was going according to plan until Grant came in. Who with reinforcement reopened the supply lines and attacked Bragg in two major engagements. But the failure of destroying the army of the Cumberland wasn't as much Bragg's fault. As it was general George Thomas's stubborn resistance allowing an orderly retreat.

[@sunkings5972]

We have a military fort named after that guy...

[@bman6065]

@@sunkings5972 is it so still? Surprised they didn't get to that one yet

[@Angel9932]

@@bman6065 Fort Bragg has been renamed Fort Liberty. I'm kind of meh on the new name but anything is an improvement after it being named after an incompetent traitor. I'm curious if the decisions to name military bases in the South wasn't spiked by Army officers naming some of them after the more incompetent Confederate generals. If so, then that was a nice bit of trolling.

[@fbksfrank4]

Man, the guy had subordinates that took their dislike for him on the job! Being slow to follow orders is just plain insubordination.

[@pkt1213]

I have always assumed that Ft Bragg was named because of how many victories he allowed the Union.

[@Kaltagstar96]

God, imagine if Bragg was a Union soldier the entire time, he was just really, REALLY deep undercover and was intentionally sabotaging the Confederates?

[@cgardner85]

So funny 😂

[@johnmiwa6256]

Ft. Hood was so named for the same reason.

[@pkt1213]

@@johnmiwa6256 yep.

[@gomahklawm4446]

Ft. liberty now....

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

Douglas MacArthur. Incompetent in the field, abandoned his men, then almost started WW3 when he lost face to the Chinese Army. One of the few things Truman did right was to fire his a$$.

[@Kaltagstar96]

OK, when Simon mentioned that Bragg's forces tried to have him assassinated, it got me thinking: How did none of Cardona's own men try and kill him? considering he'd probably have executed you anyway for the smallest thing, you might as well have taken your chances.

[@jkausti6737]

I expect Cardona never, ever got so close to the front that the people actually doing the fighting had a chance at him.

[@thingamabob3902]

@@jkausti6737 the truly awful people at least seem to have an inkling that they are hated ... and ofc their lives are so much more important than all the peasants and must be preserved for the greater goodblabla ... by hiding as far from the front as possible ^^

[@TranscendianIntendor]

I've begun to wonder about what I must do if Trump is made the US President again.Wartime I went to Canada before my number came up. When it came up I was safe and could return to the US where milkshakes were superior. Now to go to Canada I'd need big money I do not have. 100 thousand dollars in the bank. And I must consider those of us who will be trapped under the rule of fascists and fools. All that cheating citizens have been accused of are the crimes Trump will employ, (if at all possible). It is past time for Trump to have been jailed. 'Oh sure they say the wheels of justice turn slowly but they are sure." Sure, right

[@MrShaneVicious]

Cardona was the Italian Army's Chief of Staff, he was not a field commander. He wouldn't have been that exposed.

[@MrShaneVicious]

​@@jkausti6737why would the Army Chief of Staff be near that front? There wouldn't be much of a purpose for him to be there. He ran an army with nearly a million men , so he needed to be at a communications hub.

[@DonMeaker]

General Grant's memoirs tells the story of Bragg as a quarrelsome young officer, forced to serve as C company commander and regimental supply officer simultaneously. As C company commander he wrote a letter requesting certain supplies, as supply officer he wrote a response refusing the request. As C company commander he wrote another letter asserting it was his duty to provide these supplies, and as supply officer he claimed that he would retain the supplies, in the event they were needed by another unit. He then took the combined correspondence to the regimental commander to make the decision. The regimental commander stated, "Mr. Bragg, you have quarreled with every officer on the post, and now you are quarreling with yourself!" and threw Mr. Bragg from his officer.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:30 - Chapter 1 - Quintus servilius caepio 3:20 - Mid roll ads 5:25 - Back to the video 5:40 - Chapter 2 - Sigismund of luxembourg 9:15 - Chapter 3 - Braxton brigg 13:00 - Chapter 4 - Luigi cardona 17:05 - Chapter 5 - Grigory kulik

[@LJMpictures]

Enver Pasher was WORSE than Cardona

[@vinceely2906]

17:33 - Chapter 5 (and a bit) - Harry Kane

[@claywest9528]

Never interrupt an enemy General while he is making a mistake! Sage advice from Napoleon Bonaparte.

[@TTTT-oc4eb]

"On the other side of the river was General McClellan and his Army of the Potomac. He had brought his infantry, cavalry and artillery. He had only made one mistake. He had brought himself." Confederate officer.

[@John2r1]

Almost as bad as Union Brig. General Edward S. Bragg showing up for a battle lol. You know you suck at command when Abraham Lincoln calls you back to Washington DC and sends you up to Baltimore to supervise transportation of conscripts. Aka puts you in a desk job because every unit you are put into command of suffers heavy casualties. Dude seriously walked his troops straight into an obvious ambush. Edward S. Bragg was a lawyer before the war who organized a group of men into a military force and showed up with them claiming to be their commander lol. So that was the state of affairs for the Union Army in the beginning of the war . And somehow this lawyer with absolutely no military experience managed to command troops until February 1865 when he marched the Union's Iron Brigade which was composed of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiments, the 19th Indiana, Battery B of the 4th U.S. Light Artillery and the at the time the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment . They suffered heavy casualties, and, following the Battle of Hatcher's Run, had to be significantly reorganized. All because a lawyer wanted to play military officer and the Union let him for some damn reason. So I am not sure which is worst Braxton Bragg making the list or the fact his cousin isn't on the list . The Union had it's fair share of Incompetent officers. Being the point of the above.

[@1112viggo]

He won all his battles, his men loved him, and his first replacement performed so much worse they had to give command back to McClellan. He is hardly among the worst even of that war. He is mainly criticized for being to cautious, always overestimating enemy strength, thus not following up on his victories and destroying the enemy complete. Even there historians will disagree whether it was due to his poor judgement or the poor intelligence gathering of his scouting company.

[@keithwalmsley1830]

I think truly great commanders need to be as much diplomats as tactically great generals, look at Eisenhower in World War II, he was no "fighting" general and had never led troops in battle but by God he held together an incredibly varied, diverse and often tense and squabbling alliance to bring liberation to Western Europe and a pivotal role in the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany.

[@andywomack3414]

He would be unacceptably progressive for both modern political parties.

[@aasphaltmueller5178]

think of the Austrian General Schwarzenberg in the end of the Napoleonic wars ( Battle of Leipzig) - he was chosen for command because of his diplomatic skills so he might hold the alliance together and not the so-so military ones. He succedded by arriving to move the Austrian, Prussian and Russian Army from different directions onto the field of battle for an actually synchronized attack.

[@andywomack3414]

I don't think any President since Ike can match him for the positive effect he has had. LBJ maybe.

[@Kaltagstar96]

@@andywomack3414 Wasn't Theodore Roosevelt quite well liked? I don't know if that's the same thing, though?

[@williamcurtin5692]

Marlborough, even if he had to sneak the march to the Danube past the Dutch.

[@bluevol1976]

This video is hysterical! The music and sound effects are top notch. I’ll have to watch it again to catch all the details I missed. Thanks for the giggles. Sigismund had fantastic hair, though. And, the icing on the cake is misspelling Bragg’s last name on the title slide.

[@chrismichael7519]

This video needs a little more editing, it took a few tries to start calling Braxton Bragg by the correct name instead of calling him Braxton Brigg.

[@ramonribascasasayas7877]

And then, CadoRna...

[@vickibamman8333]

In your segment about Sigismund, where you talk about Emperor Bayazid, you've got a painting that shows Sultan Bayazid and Timur, the Mongol leader, who captured Bayazid in 1403. The painting is by Stanisław Chlebowski.

[@mussyeg]

Beyazid was a Sultan not an Emperor.

[@harryhanz1690]

Bragg got kicked upstairs because Jefferson Davis was his boy. Less than year later, he talked Davis into replacing his replacement, Joseph Johnston, with John Bell Hood, who was probably even worse than Bragg. In a little over two months after taking command of the Army of Tennessee, Hood led it into utter destruction in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. On November 24, 1864, Hood moved into Tennessee with somewhere north of 30, 000 troops under his command. When he crossed back into Alabama Christmas day, he led 15,000-20, 000 men. Most of which were suffering from any combination typhus, cholera, malnutrition, frostbite and any number of common mid-19th Century ailments. So even after Bragg was pulled from combat command, his incompetence still managed to get thousands of men, men his side desperately needed, killed in of the most inept and unnecessary military campaigns of all time.

[@GeorgieB1965]

Sounds like Bragg was the kind of general that even the timid McClellan could actually defeat.

[@rixxroxxk1620]

⁠@@GeorgieB1965probably not. McClellan just didn’t want to fight. He chose numbers over tactics.

[@fukkitful]

That's why cronyism is a bad idea in the military.

[@rixxroxxk1620]

@@fukkitfulamen!

[@EclecticHillbilly]

@@rixxroxxk1620 In defense of McClellan, while his obvious flaws are true, he was also often going on faulty intelligence reports that overestimated the strength of his enemy. Those reports were provided by Allan Pinkerton who somehow never has had that stain his own reputation.

[@PopeSixtusVI]

Never ask a man his salary, a woman her age and Braxton Bragg who lost Tennessee and Kentucky.

[@lajoyalobos2009]

Please do the Baltic Fleet's 1905 wild and absurd adventures, which led up to the battle of Tsushima.

[@Philip271828]

With more sarcasm than Drach?

[@gurk_the_magnificent9008]

Do you see torpedo boats?

[@lajoyalobos2009]

@@gurk_the_magnificent9008 yes, Japanese torpedo boats, near the English coast! Open fire! Oh wait, those are fishermen 😂

[@thingamabob3902]

@@lajoyalobos2009 evil and dangerous fishermen !

[@wilsonj4705]

What is really truly mind-boggling about Cadorna is not only his incompetence and seemingly complete inability to change tactics in the face of reality but the fact he was allowed to stay in command for so long. The man was the Kathleen Kennedy of WW-I

[@jedimasterdraco6950]

Except Cadorna, like McClellan, at least implemented a fairly robust logistical network. Not to mention he was responsible for the defenses prepared at Monte Grappa where the Central Powers advance was stopped. I can't think of a single redeemable thing that Kathleen Kennedy has accomplished.

[@specialnewb9821]

Say this for Luigi, he wasn't Conrad von Hotzendorf.

[@specialnewb9821]

​@@jedimasterdraco6950kennedy produced the clasic indiana jones trilogy the good ones

[@wilsonj4705]

@@specialnewb9821 What? No, that would be George Lucas.She did work as associate producer to Spielberg but her role was minor as it was more of a running errands and learning type role. Apparently she didn't learn anything.

[@TranscendianIntendor]

I am surprised at the omission of General Fredenhall of the Second World War. He is the one who was markedly fearful of getting anywhere near the combat endured by his troops as he had 200 innovative engineers build him an impregnable cave. Flamethrowers were used inside of this cave to fire the clay within. He was living then inside of a clay pot. Eventually he was relieved of his command and promoted returned to the states to a position training soldiers, which possibly redeemed him since apparently he was good at that job far from danger to him personally.

[@ramonribascasasayas7877]

As lousy as he was, he cannot hold a candle against the selected ones. CadoRna was totally out of his mind. And if you read about von Hötzendorf you will be astonished.

[@TranscendianIntendor]

@@ramonribascasasayas7877 I have to admit while I have read a good deal of military history I have not read widely at all on this particular subject, meaning bad generals. Just read Scramble and learned a good deal about AirPower strategy. And then read about the North African Campaign. FDR comes off as a Great War president: Desperate Venture, Norman Gelb. I use a Kindle Fire. As ebooks and unlimited these books are free to read and inexpensive to purchase. Reading Paul Fussell's "War Time" now. I've read most of FuSSell"s books since "The First World War and Modern Memory". I know of the Civil war mostly from Shelby Foote. Paulette Jiles Books are great centered in Western campaigns and she shares environments with Larry McMurtry. Amazing they named Fort Bragg Fort Bragg. Really thanks. I had never heard of these guys.

[@alessiodecarolis]

At least he was sacked by Ike after the disaster at Kasserine, and replaced by Patton, on the contrary Cadorna was sacked only after Caporetto, after 2+ war 's years!

[@billwilson-es5yn]

My grandfather had a nephew that might have worked on Fredenhall's bunker. He was a M4 driver that got bored during the delay after landing so started building camp furniture out of the shipping crates since he was a carpenter. He was assisted by other tankers that were tradesmen. Some Army brass noticed their work so figured they would be handy to keep around to repair damaged structures for use as headquarters. His nephew was given a battlefield commission to be a lieutenant so he could command a platoon of tradesmen. He was well in the rear when his M4 was destroyed during its first combat engagement when it took a direct hit from a large artillery shell. Said he spent the war repairing buildings and building crates to the officers war booty that they could have shipped back to the States for free.

[@TranscendianIntendor]

Good story. An M4 is what? Is it a Tank Destroyer? I was poor and have often been poor. The last thing I knew how to do was carpentry and I built most of my furniture from pallets and scraps. I had some 4 by 4 Birch ply and I painted on it. Seriously. The terrible thing about Army shipping container builds was they were never given the Flyleafs required to moderate interior temperatures. I am impressed that flame throwers were used to fire the clay walls of the Fredenhall headquarters. It seems to me that this ought be done more often & protocols developed. @@billwilson-es5yn

[@jcbillman]

Thank you for covering Bragg. I grew up at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville and always thought it was dumb such an important base was named after such a bad general.

[@michaeltelson9798]

Another American Civil War general that I would include would be the politically appointed Major General Franz Sigel. The NYC German immigrant controlled government appointed this German officer with experience in Europe without investigating his resume’. It turns out of about a dozen battles he won only one, a minor cavalry skirmish. Sigel as appointed to attack the Shenandoah Valley. Prior his proud troops would exclaim “Who fight mit Sigel” which got changed to “Who runs mit Sigel “ afterwards. His opponent was the former US Vice President John C. Breckinridge. This is also the battle where the VMI cadets participated. Breckinridge wanted only the very modern Austrian made artillery battery of VMI was given the whole Cadet Corps. He placed the cadets in the furthest reserves. During the rout phase of the battle two forward advancing units parted padding a house. The cadets filled in the now produced gap, but the battle was essentially over. Breckinridge got off of his horse as his army chased the running Yankees to talk to two of his officers who were VMI graduates and cousins, George Smith and George Patton. Sigel would die of old age and obscurity in a residential hotel in NYC as a sad neglected individual.

[@bkohatl]

Chelmsford who divided his force without know where the Zulu were and what their strength were, something Napoleon and Julius Caesar said you never did.

[@brs690]

I thought this video was going to be talking about modern Russian generals.

[@quasinfinity]

Ba-dum tsh!

[@mmareks9865]

Me too

[@franzxaverjosephconradgraf6850]

They are nowhere close to the buffons that were Cadorna and Hotzendorff. And just saying (only to be called a Russian Propagandist) don't believe every pro -Ukrainian propaganda at CNN and BBC says..They are as true as they claim how untrue Russian propaganda is , for example in RT

[@blakekenley1000]

Nah we're still giving them time to really screw up their resumes.

[@wmairsoft5238]

Educate yourselves friends! What you hear on Facebook and CNN isn't the whole story!

[@DukeWeIIington]

Yes, Kulik was incompetent, but the Finnish army was also badass, especially in winter conditions.

[@simonmagid4205]

To be fair, it rarely helps to send an incompetent general against crack well-led enemy forces who have home ground advantage and the weather on their side. o.O

[@Dudewithguns-ww7wc]

@@simonmagid4205to be fair it doesn’t help as an authoritarian ruler to kill all your best generals and a fits of paranoia at a a time when a crazy man with a silly mustache said that your country must die in the 1920s… and attacking another nation also wasn’t a great idea

[@cocacola4blood365]

I believe Luigi Cardona was the inspiration for the film _Many Wars Ago,_ where an incompetent Italian general led a disastrous campaign against the Austro-Hungarians. In one scene, he sent a company of men clad in armor straight out of Warner bros to clear the wire to the enemy trenches. They were gunned down to the last.

[@DerekS-g2z]

I've never understood why Bragg's name was attached to one of the largest military installations in the US. 1) He was a Confederate and 2) He was an idiot.

[@roedl08]

How did Westmorland not get on this list. If ever there was an example of arrogance and incompetence leading an ever deepening spiral of disaster and corruption, he was it. Arguably, MacArthur could be on this list also

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

American Exceptionalism, and WW2 and the Vietnam War are too recent and the real stories of these two incompetent Generals contradict present American hagiography.

[@JB-yb4wn]

No argument, MacArthur should be on this list.

[@johndetlie7853]

MacArthur had his moments (WWI, Inchon), but by all rights he should have been sacked after losing the Philippines. Kimmel and Short were relieved after Pearl, Fredendall was fired after the Kasserine Pass debacle, and other general officers were relieved of command throughout the war for less serious lapses.

[@JB-yb4wn]

@@johndetlie7853 Family connections, what can I say? They eventually got him in Korea though.

[@ItzNiekoyo]

Sigismund’s largest mistake was burning Skalitz, igniting Sir Henry’s quest for revenge.

[@jonathanallard2128]

I feel quite hungry.

[@WhiteCossack]

absolutely disagree about Sigismund, the problem was with french knights who did not follow orders while Sigismund had a good strategy, unfortunately it was ignored by the french

[@jeffdroog]

You were there?

[@cedriclee7110]

@@jeffdroog i was. sigismund and his generals who had been fighting the ottomans for years had a better idea of what to do. the french cavalry thought they were better than everyone and criticized it. they also insisted on engaging the ottomans first so they could claim glory. sigismund told them not to do it cuz they would get their asses kicked. after hearing this warning, the french cavalry proceeded to charge the enemy and got all of their asses kicked.

[@jeffdroog]

@@cedriclee7110 Pictures,or it didn't happen lol

[@cedriclee7110]

@@jeffdroog no cameras back then. also, at the battlefield, even the older french knights had advised to wait for the main army to arrive before engaging the ottomans. the younger knights called them cowards and proceeded to charge. they got completely annihilated. sigismund and the germans fought to prevent a total envelopment and were last to leave the field.

[@RCorvinus]

@@jeffdroogthe French kept making the same damn mistake. Their impetuousness and desire fore glory caused their own crushing defeats from the 100 Years War to Nicopolis to Varna.

[@Infodumptruck]

It needs to be acknowledged more how often "epic" stories are just about a dumb and mean person being dumb and mean

[@andywomack3414]

Great men theory, no good guys.

[@stephenbritton9297]

Then there is General Sickles… first man to successfully use the temporary insanity defense in a murder trial, becomes a Union General, almost screws the whole thing up at Gettysburg…

[@collapseofthewest]

As far as Union generals go, I don't think it is possible to top Franz Sigel. I've seen weird revisionist claims made about Sickles, and also Butler, that neither was as bad as claimed. Never seen that about Sigel, nobody even tries to excuse his incompetence. (Most of the stuff around Butler focuses on the fact that he was an unabashed Democrat, so he was a convenient scapegoat for Lincoln's Republican administration.)

[@CurtTheRed]

Kinda disappointed that General George McClellan didn’t make the list… his unwillingness to act and follow orders may have saved many lives of the soldiers under his direct command but it also is likely the reason the civil war didn’t end much sooner.

[@northerner3861]

McClellan was a bad field general (Antietam is inexcusable), but he could *build* a good army. He's not in the same league as these losers, some of whom destroyed perfectly good armies... Ambrose Burnside would deserve mention before McClellan.

[@m0nkEz]

I would say Custer is more suited than either Burnside or McClellan. Burnside knew he was bad and only took the job because they threatened to give it to someone worse.

[@michalsoukup1021]

McClellan is an example of great soldier places in wrong position. He would be best used if he got overall command over training and unit build up in the armies of the Union. He was absolutely fucking brilliant at that. As to his abilities as a frontline commander, I would say uninspired competence.

[@nadapuesnada7716]

@@m0nkEz: "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." (from "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance".)

[@Bronco46tube]

I would have included Lt General Arthur Percival on this list. He surrendered 85,00 men to just 35,000 Japanese soldiers in what could be called the Bicycle Blitxkreg. Unbelievably he was willing to carry the white flag of surrender himself. Granted he was under equipped. But he also was maintaining a poorly trained and poorly prepared force. Which is the fault of the commander.

[@memofromessex]

💯

[@philiphumphrey1548]

I suspect the bleak reality was that Singapore would have fallen eventually anyway. The royal navy didn't have the resources to defend and supply it, Prince of Wales and Repulse had been sunk and no aircraft carrier was available. The US pacific fleet was out of action except for a small number of carriers and smaller ships and overstretch was everywhere. It was going to be at least a year before the situation substantially improved.

[@RCorvinus]

All that being true, he still ignores intel about where Japanese staging areas were, there were things he could have done to make the Japanese work for the win. And most unforgivable in my eyes, he refused to allow his troops to dig in because “it was bad for morale”. You k ow what else is bad for morale? Getting overrun because you didn’t dig in.

[@Mondo762]

On the other hand, the US Army did make a stand in the Philippines under MacArthur. They fought on bravely until retreating to Corregidor Island. There they held out for months until running out of food and ammo, then having to surrender.

[@PeterC5263]

@@Mondo762MacArthur showed up on the Bataan peninsula exactly once during that whole debacle. They didn't call him "Dugout Doug" for nothing. A behavior that continued during the New Guinea campaign. He had exactly no idea of what the Australians were facing on the Kokoda Track. But he had he best public relations department of any general in history.

[@charlesvanzee4879]

Cardona's record was especially bad considering the Austro-Hungarians were one of the most dysfunctional armies in that war.

[@russjudge]

It's Braxton Bragg, not Braxton Brigg. Before he was promoted, he was quartermaster and filed a request for supplies. He was then promoted and soon received his own request, which he subsequently denied. He was said to argue with himself.

[@marshallrobinson1019]

Bragg served as his own quartermaster at one point and even denied his own requests for supplies. N.B. Forrest animosity towards Bragg reached the point of declaring to his face, "if you ever give me another order again, I'll **** you." Forrest then requested a transfer, to which, Bragg wisely approved.

[@tillposer]

For a very astute and amusing commentary on British incompetence, the book "On the Psychology of Military Incompetence" by Norman Dixon, former engineer officer and later professor of psycology, cannot be overrated.

[@stephendavies6949]

This is why us Brits used to spend all our defence budget cash on the Royal Navy!

[@tillposer]

@@stephendavies6949 Ahhh, but the book gives the Royal Navy its fair share...

[@williamcurtin5692]

Great stuff. But you need to make it six to get in Conrad (A-H WWI). A Renaissance man of f-ups. A bad field commander, a bad chief of staff, a bad War Minister, and a bad political influence. He wanted a go at Serbia and somehow didn't care if it also meant a war with Russia. Under Conrad's leadership, the AH army which had plans for all sorts of contingencies had no plan for a simultaneous war with Russia and Serbia in 1914. Conrad sneered at artillery, saying that it "distracted from the spirit of the bayonet".

[@TheMarkemmy]

John Bell Hood of the Confederate Army could be right up there with Bragg. He was a great brigade commander,(4th Texas Infantry Brigade) however the higher he went, he ended up being the architect of some of the most ill-advised frontal assaults of the Civil War. Atlanta, where he lost 20,000 troops for no gain, and Franklin where he lost 1/3rd of his remaining forces. (around 7,000) He then moved the tattered remnant to Nashville to lay siege on the place, outnumbered and without adequate winter clothing or supplies where they were decimated by the superior force there.

[@StevenBanks123]

“ when it comes to incompetent generals, we really are rather spoiled for choices in World War I, A conflict that showcases a grim parade of tactical obstinacy and tragic miscalculations.”

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

I think it was a case of the technology of War was beyond the comprehension of the old school generals, on all sides. The Generals were fighting a Napoleonic War with machine guns and quick firing cannons. The description of Lions led by Donkeys is very appropriate, my apologies to Donkeys.

[@StevenBanks123]

@@Tiglath-PileserXIX and fighting the previous war

[@zephyer-gp1ju]

They could probably do a Parts 2 & 3 on this subject. The US General in charge of US Troops in North Africa during WW 2 at the onset of Operation Torch. General Mark Clark, I think should have been tried on something for his cock up in Italy.

[@grandadmiralraeder9608]

or Gen. Lloyd Fredendall - he was spectacularly incompetent in North Africa

[@mikep3226]

And I'd nominate Union General Burnside (after whom sideburns were named, possibly his only positive accomplishment) as a flip side to General Bragg. The other Union officers were sometimes known to suggest that the best thing he could do for the Union Army was to defect and command troops for the Confederacy.

[@JakeGordon-cp7eo]

who the fuck names a kid Mark Clark? My enlgish teacher Mrs Farkas has a son named Marcus. WTF is wrong with people?!?!?!?

[@grandadmiralraeder9608]

@@arisnothelesI'm aware

[@grandadmiralraeder9608]

@@mikep3226 McClellan was pretty bad too in many ways

[@JPMadden]

I am surprised, but not angry, that you ranked another general of the U.S. Civil War below Ambrose Burnside. He was so unqualified to be a general that even he admitted it. Ironically, he was quite accomplished in several endeavors as a civilian.

[@MrGksarathy]

I dunno, I'd say John Bell Hood ranks below Burnside. At least Burnside's mistakes weren't as catastrophic as Hood's.

[@JPMadden]

@@MrGksarathy Hood lost several battles in the last year of the war trying to defend Atlanta and then during his campaign in Tennessee. But the war was a lost cause by then. I know the Battle of Franklin was a disaster. Burnside lost the Battle of Fredericksburg, performed badly at Antietam, and was blamed, perhaps unfairly, for the debacle of the Battle of the Crater during the Siege of Petersburg. It seems Burnside has the worse historical reputation today.

[@pdxcorgidad]

But those sideburns...

[@mst3KGf]

Something not mentioned here is that the big reason Bragg kept his command as long as he did is because Jefferson Davis personally liked him (while Jefferson had personal feuds with more capable alternatives like Joe Johnston). Eventually, after Chatanooga, even Davis had to wake up to the fact that his buddy was an incompetent.

[@nicolashugli9661]

When Caepio doesn't listen to his superior and charges the enemy, it's his fault. When the french Knights do it, it's Sigismunds fault.

[@philiphumphrey1548]

Despite being British and coming from her part of the world, I would include Boudicca. She started off well, but if the accounts of Watling Street are correct she fought a pitched battle with the Romans when every lesson from the previous 17 years was that was a very bad idea - Caractacus learned that lesson well. A better strategy might have been to refuse battle, prevent the Roman army from foraging the surrounding countryside and wait for them to march, when they become far more vulnerable.

[@davidtomkins2152]

70 to 80 000 killed by the romans in a day

[@gomahklawm4446]

If, IG IF.....she ever existed anyway. There isn't consensus for a reason....

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

Boudicca was likely not a trained soldier and only became one as a result of circumstances. Why don't we stick to factual and proven incompetents? Brits have their fair share and some even went to Sandhurst and Eton - the bastions of British Society, and even have pretentious and pompous titles. Let's see ... names like Elphinstone, Percival, Hamilton, Chelmsford, Brudenell, Cornwallis, Gordon, Beresford and the victim of his time, Douglas Haig - all in a span of 200 years. At least Boudicca had the decency to die for her cause. These "gentlemen" (except Elphinstone) subsequently lived a life of luxury and some even had fawning apologia written about them.

[@paulc6471]

General Mark Clark General Lloyd Fredendall General George McClellan General Mark Miley

[@johnbruce2868]

What!! No British general automatically in the top five? I'm shocked. That makes a remarkable change from what is to be anticipated ordinarily from the average YT channel. Excellent video. A hierarchical list of generals of all ages and nations, commencing from grossly incompetent, through competent, to genius would be intriguing. Do it.

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

British Generals you say; there are plenty to choose from. Here is a short list: 1. Lieutenant General Arthur Percival - WW2 - Singapore 2. Lieutenant General Sir Ian Hamilton - WW1 - Gallipoli 3. Field Marshal Haig - WW1 - Western Front 4. Major General Chelmsford - Anglo-Zulu War - Isandlwana 5. Major General Charles Gordon - Khartoum 6. Lieutenant General Brudenell, Lord Cardigan - Charge of the Light Brigade 7. Lord Cornwallis, we know what he did 8. General Beresford, Viscount Beresford - Lost the British Invasion of River Plate. There you go, a list that only covers about 200 odd years.

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

Amazed to not have the usual nonsense about Haig repeated here (he was an average and often bad general such as with passchendaele but there are hundreds worse, even in the first world war.

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

​​​​@@Tiglath-PileserXIXoh i see i spoke to soon. And charles Gordon? You know nothing. Im guessing you just read about his death and mad period in africa and decided on that rather than his unbelievable victories and war engineering in places like china Lord cardigan wasnt even the commanding officer at balaclava. Cornwallis is basically unknown of in britain. Among military historians hes very highly thought of for his actions in india and ireland against the french. The whole revolutionary war thing isnt even in the top 5 priorities of the period compared to india, ireland, the French, spanish and gibralter

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

@@Ukraineaissance2014 Charles Gordon may have had "unbelievable victories and war engineering ...: but all it takes is one cock up and he not only lost his command but his life. Lord Cardigan ... confusion all around. The end result - a disaster. Cornwallis - of course he was "unknown" in Brtiain. He should be, he lost a continental colony. Lucky for him he was "unknown in Britain" or he would be the worst of the dreadful bunch.

[@grimjimreaper]

Imagine all your years of training and education crumbling to the point. Where your only legacy is to land on this video.

[@aokiji9468]

I would have put John Bell Hood as the worst general of the civil war. Braxton at least managed a couple victories, John just threw away 3/4 of his army in 6 months

[@DMS-pq8]

Hood was a very good division commander but was promoted above his abilities

[@claywest9528]

The gallant Hood of Texas played Hell in Tennessee! They even wrote a song about him.

[@MrEnvirocat]

Hood had lost an arm and a leg in previous battles. He was taking opiates and whatever else for pain which probably affected his decision making abilities. That said, it would have been better for the CSA troops under his command if Hood had lost his head to a cannonball or minie ball instead.

[@markr418]

I was half expecting Custer to be on this one

[@trevormillar1576]

What about Lord Elphinstone. Architect of the Retreat from Kabul, "the biggest.military idiot of his age and every other "- George Macdonald Fraser.

[@northerner3861]

I especially like how, had he been even remotely active or decisive in the early stages of the crisis, the retreat might not have even been necessary.

[@KPW2137]

Cadorna also had no grasp of reality when planning his grand strategy. His original plans for the war called for a surprise attack, quickly overcoming the enemy defenses in the Alps and then a quick march - through Alps - into Tirol and then, within two weeks reaching Vienna, thus knocking Austro Hungarian empire out in less than a month. He treated harsh mountains as if they simply weren't there, weren't an obstacle and wouldn't slow down the army. Needless to say, his army never even managed to actually break through the Alpine defenses of the KuK forces.

[@bigdaddyrat7854]

Lord Raglan from the Crimean war would have made honorable mention.

[@Eazy-ERyder]

I wouldn't have hesitated to put General George McClellan on this list. No general in ANY American army I can think of did so LITTLE with so MUCH.

[@foxymetroid]

He may lose battles, but at least he'd still have an intact army afterward.

[@aaronfleming9426]

Indeed. He enjoyed every possible advantage, yet repeatedly managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

[@ravenhill_the_crusader_1968]

when Simon covers historic content, he is at his best.

[@howtoitall76]

I miss him in biographics

[@ravenhill_the_crusader_1968]

@@howtoitall76 me too.

[@Chiller11]

Well he could have gotten Braxton Bragg’s name right.

[@JakeGordon-cp7eo]

pronunciation blows tho. Seems like brits intentionally Anglicize foreign words, Simon certainly seems to

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

The following places in the United States are or were named for Bragg: •Bragg, Texas -- ghost town founded in 1902 and disappeared by the 1930s. •Fort Bragg, California -- founded in 1857 and named by Horatio Gates Gibson in honor of Bragg's exploits in the Mexican-American war prior to the Civil War. •Fort Liberty -- a military post founded in 1918 as Camp Bragg (later Fort Bragg), but renamed Fort Liberty in 2023.

[@LoneWolfOfHouseStark1989]

What’s your point?

[@williamstocker584]

Nice bonus facts

[@pop5678eye]

Shameful.

[@MegaFortinbras]

If I were talking about an incompetent Roman general, the one I would choose would be Publius Quinctilius Varus, who in 9 CE, commanded three Roman legions at the Battle of the Teutoburgerwald. Varus was a prime example of the general appointed for purely political reasons, an shows why this is almost always a bad idea. Varus was going through what is now Saxony in Germany, failed to send out scouts, and was hit by an ambush. Varus lost three legions and six cohorts of auxiliaries, with casualties of somewhere between 14000 and 22000 men. There were no subsequent Roman attempts to conquer Germany east of the Rhine.

[@jonathanallard2128]

He didn't fail to send out scouts. His scouts, however, were traitors (or not depending on how you see it, as they were Germanics) and willfully brought him and his army into the trap.

[@Kenshiroit]

What about Germanicus counter attack who went all the way to that damn forest and beyond? The only reason he failed was because emperor Tiberius was jealous of his Victorias and recalled him back to Rome

[@g1015m]

U.S.: We have a few incompetent generals, many from our civil war. 2020's Russia: Hold my vodka.

[@EclecticHillbilly]

The critique of Bragg is a tad off the mark. Chickamauga was more than a minor victory but it became that after he failed to capitalize on it by marching into Chattanooga, which all his subordinate generals were telling him he should do. He often didn't follow up his successes.

[@pepagacy]

There would have not been a battle at Chickamauga Creek were it not for Bragg's army being outflanked repeatedly during the Tullahoma campaign. Of course, Rosecrans made the error of pushing out of Chattanooga (at the insistence of Edward Stanton) and assumed that Bragg was going to act the same at Chickamauga, leading to that loss.

[@donaldboyer8182]

Sounds like Hannibal at Cannae.

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

Should have included Westmoreland. He got distracted at the Battle of Khe San and was completely taken of guard with the subsequent Tet offensive, which lead to America losing support for the war. The rest is history.

[@joeszymaszek1146]

Bragg was definitely the kind of guy who successfully managed to run away from victory as well as defeat. There supposedly was a confederate joke that Bragg would never get to heaven because when he was invited in by St Peter, he would fall back.

[@vojtechpribyl7386]

I'm not sure about Sigismund whether it's entirely his fault when part of his forces were apparently pompous idiots that he was formally leading, but they didn't care for that.

[@jonathanallard2128]

''But...muh K/D ratio!'' -some vain French knight

[@TongorBlackHawk]

20:00 По последним данным - это не была "осада" в полном смысле слова: немцы и не пытались "принудить город к сдаче", они изначально планировали выморить его голодом. Такая же судьба, по планам, ждала и Москву, но - не сложилось (к счастью).

[@jansundvall2082]

I miss Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf in this team

[@peterstadlmaier3107]

As an Austrian, I sadly agree.

[@JimTheFly]

Ironically, Braxton Bragg ended up having his name attached to one of the largest military installations in the U.S., the formerly-named Fort Bragg in North Carolina, which has since been renamed Fort Liberty.

[@cameraman502]

That's a pretty name change. At least pick another general. Surely there are a few worth of a fort. How about Fort Schwarzkopf?

[@russelljohnson6267]

Yeah that is the only name change that I agree with. They should have looked at the men as a whole and not focused on the fact that they had fought for the Confederacy during the civil war.

[@jamesfitzpatrick8853]

​@@russelljohnson6267They were traitors, full stop.

[@Mondo762]

@@jamesfitzpatrick8853 Oh shut up. They were fighting for their home states. That is how it was back then. Loyalty to your state was foremost.

[@Mondo762]

Fort Bragg, California is a town on the northern coast. It was established by a former Confederate Soldier and named after his commander.

[@DSS-jj2cw]

Braxton BRAGG! Simon. As in Ft. Bragg. How did you get this wrong? You spelled Chickamauga wrong also.

[@barackobama9343]

I love how Nepotism eventually destroys EVERYTHING it touches... like Hollywood and the Government!

[@stevetheduck1425]

It happens at small businesses, but stays out of the papers. Only the really incompetent ever teach anyone anything with their incompetence.

[@derekmills3001]

While I agree with the inclusion of Bragg on this list, it has to be said he had good strategic sense in the invasion of Kentucky following the loss of Corinth, also his subordinate Leonidas Polk might warrant consideration in this video, as he easily is in the running for top inept corps commander in the American Civil War. Keep up the good work!

[@dumpsterfiremike8936]

The fart noise brother.... I'm stoned and drunk doing dishes trying to act cool in front of the better half and the kids and I lost myself laughing

[@jwhite146]

Bragg was one the best Generals the North had, following closely by Hood

[@ericbarkman4478]

And the best general the Confederate army had was McClellan

[@elliottkolker4321]

How the West Was Lost: C.S.A. For: Gen. John Bell Hood The Village Elliott: 5/'06 Leading "West Rebs" to Tennessee, Hood Led "All Shot-Up" not like when "All-Good;" Unlike ex, Braxton Bragg, Whom all troops rather frag, "One-Eyed" * let Hood destroy them; John would! Maimed commanders on opiates creak, Don’t think straight, tend to nod, wake then freak, Like all men, despite rank; Blitzkrieg works best on crank! Men at war wage war best while they tweak! Time Bell's rung by "Rock" jn Tennessee, "Uncle Billy's" Blues just reached the Sea, "Cump"s March" led Yank drummers, "Blue Bellies" and bummers; "Georgia's burn" still howls "Hood’s Legacy." * "Massa Jeff" A nickname given by Confederate soldiers to President Jefferson Davis. It was affectionate but had the bitter recognition that soldiers were little better than slaves. This was vividly brought home when they cried "Give us something to eat, Massa Jeff," as he passed by hungry troops of Braxton Bragg's camped on Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga, Tennessee on November, 1863.... The work of "General Thomas" alluded to by Lincoln was the defeat and destruction of the Hood's army the previous week. Gen George Thomas , a native Virginia who stayed loyal to the Union, was "The Rock of Chickamauga" who had saved the army by rallying the retreating Yanks to prevent pursuit by the Rebs, becoming a rout. After Atlanta, Thomas was given the duty to pursue Hood. Hood, taking massive doses os opium for his constant pain, was erratic, missing their main chance, nodding away advantages. To compensate, he crippled the army by recklessly assaulting fortifications at Franklin (11/20/64), then destroyed two weeks later at Nashville. Five weeks after crossing their namesake river into the like named state, the tattered remnants of the once proud Army of the Tennessee crossed back over their namesake. Like Savannah, the Army of the Tennessee was also Lincoln's Christmas present, this one from Thomas. "One-eyed Jeff" a rude nickname for Jefferson Davis, who had a chronic eye infection causing virtual blindness. The following Christmas, one Confederate soldier in General John B. Hood's army, when retreating , after the disastrous battle of Nashville, moaned. "Ain't we in a hell of a fix: a one-eyed President, a one-legged general, and a one-horse Confederacy!"

[@northerner3861]

@@arisnotheles What, no love for the Hero of Fredericksburg, Ambrose E. Burnside?

[@EwanCumia]

Hood was at least brave, and was respected by his peers. Bragg singlehandedly lost the West for the Confederates.

[@elliottkolker4321]

@@EwanCumia Hood was brave. I'm not sure how respected he was after Spring Hill and Franklin. Bragg had help losing the Wesr, lest we forget Floyd and Pillow.

[@tsarbomb_chan2537]

You guys did my boy Beyezid dirty by showing a scene after his defeat against Timur while talking about his victory and skills.

[@hanglee5586]

That dude who led the defense of the Malayan Peninsula should be on this # list too.

[@DarrenSloan]

Also the deserter who left his men on the Philippines with the good bye message I shall return

[@Fastwinstondoom]

I think you might have been too hard on poor old Sigisimund. Keeping control of crusading french knights was something not even Richard the Lionheart had much success with...

[@johnwalsh4857]

many Russian generals in the current Ukraine war would fall in this category. Shoigu chief of them.

[@americandissident9062]

Even though they’ve captured territory that will never be retaken?

[@lordofnothing3201]

@@americandissident9062Yes

[@johnwalsh4857]

@@americandissident9062 really how about Izyum, Kiev, Kherson LOL

[@americandissident9062]

@@johnwalsh4857 Russians never took Kiev. They also withdrew from Kherson and Ukrainians took their time moving back in. But if you’ll pay attention to the where the trench lines are now, they haven’t budged in months. And now that the Israelis have asserted themselves as much more important than Ukraine, Zelenskyy will be told to make nice with the Russians and accept the loss of territory. I’m what works can a country lose major portions of their territory and call it a victory? The territory Russia holds now, like I stated, will not revert to Ukraine.

[@johnwalsh4857]

@@americandissident9062 hey pay attention , the Russians took almost surrounded Kiev took large areas in the Kiev and Kharkov areas, ahd yah withdrawng from Kherson means the RUsskies lost it and yah where are the Russians now , just holding 20 percent of Ukraine down from 40 percent last year, this is a good sign that Russia is losing this war when the trolls gang up on me hahahhaha, very amusing. Hey I suggest you tell your boss to pay you in USD or how about Pepe coin, since the Russian ruble will be worth less than even refund coin.

[@Theegreygaming]

I'm sure you're sick of hearing it by now but... it's Braxton Bragg, not Brigg.

[@xfall5004]

Sidenote it's braxton Bragg LOL 😆

[@jayt9608]

I was wanting to say that myself. His pronunciation improved, but, sadly, the general did not, even after being relieved of his command. His career was salvaged by Jefferson Davis, who provided him a civilian post that he mismanaged for much of the remainder of the war.

[@ralean3099]

A few others: Gideon Pillow (CSA) William Elphinstone (UK) Santa Ana (Mexico)

[@howietune3386]

Braxton WAS an incompetent general but his last name was Bragg, not Brigg.

[@mindinmybiscuits]

The music is throwing loops and I love it.

[@bluesdoggg]

Honorable mention: G.A Custer of the US Cavalry

[@JakeGordon-cp7eo]

Custer was actually a decent officer in the civil war, he earned his rank, and didn't come about it like the rich as*holes mentioned here. Plus he had bad intel. He just got annihilatd, i don't think it was 100% ineptitude, although he obviously dun Faqt up sum SHEEIT

[@tillposer]

Well, he was, at that time, only a regimental CO, just a LtCol, not a general. During the War of Southern Insurrection, is record as a cavalry commander is quite decent...

[@Aoderic]

Now that you mentioned the battle of Cannae, then Gaius Terentius Varro should also be mentioned, he was also part of the horrible tradition of putting ambitious politicians in charge of armies.

[@DizzPants]

The pronunciations of the names of the Roman generals in this video is just hilarious. Gnaeus are pronounced as "Naius" (Not Nas) and Caepio are pronounced "Keipio" (Not Sepeo). The C was always pronounced as a K and the G in Gnaeus are silent. :)

[@nkohu]

Don’t think anyone cares lol. Everyone pronounces Caesar’s name with a c and not k “kaizer”

[@DizzPants]

@@nkohu But who says "Nas" or "Sepeo"?

[@Pinkeltje1988]

English speaking people are not known for their proper pronunciations. They seem to struggle with the C and the U and AE sounds. Or avoid them alltogether (Homer, Ovid)

[@dougcook7507]

I watched this just to see if Bragg was on this list, and you didn't disappoint. Many of my screen names on many platforms is Braggsux.

[@houstonsam6163]

Like McClellan on the Union side, Bragg was a capable administrator but a failure as a field commander. Had Davis managed his generals in the west the way Lincoln managed his in the east - replace them until finding someone competent - the Confederate Army of Tennessee might have accomplished more. But strategically the western campaign was almost unwinnable for the Confederates regardless of who led the army, and failure in the west would inevitably lead to defeat.

[@gordonbrinkmann]

Good that you reconsidered Bragg's last name after the chapter's beginning 😅

[@brianrunyon266]

Love this video. Bragg and Kulik were terrible commanders, from what I've read about them.

[@iainlyall6475]

great as always. any chance of reducing or eliminating that so annoying background noise?

[@jaymacpherson8167]

Maybe you could do a whole episode on Douglas MacArthur: horrible “General” and commander to subordinates, adulterous lover of a 16 year-old Philippine girl, receiver of the Medal of Honor for which he somehow was awarded without actually being in the battle. On the plus side, good administrator after the war, though that role was not as a general.

[@StabbinJoeScarborough]

I couldn't agree more 👍👍He was awful awful awful

[@northerner3861]

MacArthur at the Dai Ichi? Legend, masterstroke, no notes. MacArthur in the Philippines in 1940-1941.... yeeeeeeeeeeeah. Get the bucket. I'm gonna be sick.

[@donaldboyer8182]

MacArthur was a glory hound.

[@Tiglath-PileserXIX]

Douglas MacArthur: Incompetent in the field (Philippines 1941-42), abandoned his men (1942), then almost started WW3 when he lost face to the Chinese Army (Korean War). One of the few things Truman did right was to fire his a$$. Some say he won the Pacific War. That is wrong. By 1944-45 the US Armed Forces was generously well equipped compared to their opponents, and better led. By then America had better generals and admirals, with the exception of MacArthur. If the fight was even, like it was in 1941-42, the outcome may have been different.

[@arx3516]

Didn't he try to nuke North Korea?

[@armorer94]

Braxton BRAGG. You're welcome.

[@ksoule1985]

Sigimund: attempts to form a strategy for battle The French: "LEEROY JENKINS!"😂😂😂

[@gpolonia]

Cadorna in his writings later down the line made fun of Italian soldiers and how terrible they were... In his mind he was a genius.

[@kenoliver8913]

The mistake is to think he actually sought a breakthrough. Cadorna was one of the Italian elite (including a prominent newspaper editor called Beniito Mussolini) who believed the only way to properly unite Italy was a long hard war with lots of sacrifice - so heavy casualties were a feature, not a bug. That is evil, not incompetence.

[@foxymetroid]

In his younger years, he was actually more progressive and willing to try new things. By the time WWI came along, he had become more "conservative" in that he wanted to rely more on traditional strategies and tactics that date back to before every army had a machine gun.

[@cy8ercat771]

Sam Watkins' 'Company Aytch" is a great book

[@nilo9456]

I agree. It's available via Guttenburg.

[@TeamOT]

I don't know whether Simon did this on purpose, but it's absolutely brilliant. He has comedy channels (Brain Blaze), funny but not yet comedy channels (Cas Crim), funny but purely educational channels (this one), serious channels (TIFO), and very serious info channels (Into the Shadows). There's something for my every mood.

[@garylynch9206]

I always expect Elphinstone to feature in these!

[@TSimo113]

I think William Westmoreland deserves honorable mention.

[@pauldourlet]

How about General Ripley -the Head quartermaster of the Union Army.He was a Veteran of the War of 1812 .He refused to buy Repeating Rifles .He thought soldiers would waste ammo.Those rifles would have saved soldiers lives because they would have been able to load and fire kneeling or laying down .