Embarrassing Military Fails in History

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Show Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Narrator:
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[@Simplehistory]

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[@JaBismarck]

Love your videos Keep up the good work

[@AidanStudios]

Pin of shame. Sellout

[@kiggs-piggs]

Stop, I HAVE 10 MILLION POWER IN RISE OF KINGDOMS

[@BGAMERCZROBLOXX396]

I Love Your Videos! And i Like @SimpleHistory!

[@speedfreak8200]

@@engineergaming8920 thanks I will unsubscribe from this biased channel

[@alexanderthoms6704]

Fun fact, after the British Invasion, a British Commander informed Lord West over the phone by saying, “I’m afraid we’ve invaded Spain, but we don’t think they’ve noticed.”

[@Yukifnyu]

Lol

[@Kingthere]

spanish people didnt defend it lol, the mayor do be capping

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

haha, that's a hilarious fact, The British invasion of Spain must have been quite stealthy.

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

@@Kingthere haha, the mayor be capping, huh? That's wild, bro.

[@eddy_malouempereur_du_cong6536]

The Most british explonation i read

[@OscarOSullivan]

The Royal Marines landing on south Spanish coast as opposed to Gibraltar for a training exercise is the only military blunder were you can see the funny side.

[@wilsonweiseng6485]

Imagine this scene recreated by Mr Bean

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

haha, that's a pretty funny military blunder, bro! Gotta love those unexpected training exercises.

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

@@wilsonweiseng6485 Haha, that would be hilarious! Mr. Bean putting his comedic twist on that scene would be pure gold.

[@OscarOSullivan]

@@SOLDAT_MENDES British officers and their poor map reading skills

[@OscarOSullivan]

@@wilsonweiseng6485 More Monty Python

[@BrickSoldierz]

0:32 Operation Tiger 2:40 Sponsor 4:18 Battle of Crete 7:04 British Invasion of Spain 9:17 Charge of the Light Brigade 12:39 Battle of Adwa 15:13 Battle of Karansebes 17:39 Battle of Red Cliffs

[@forrix6294]

You're a hero!

[@BrickSoldierz]

@@forrix6294thank you😊

[@agentgedwards7777]

Not the man we deserved, but the man we needed.

[@cristsan4171]

2:40 *Operation Sponsor

[@astronicss7891]

@@cristsan4171Operation Money*

[@barbadosgelson6815]

That Spanish mayor has a great sense of humor.

[@mrbisshie]

Those Fisherman sure showed those invading Brits!

[@KidarWolf]

I remember that incident of the British invading Spain by mistake. My sibling and I's immediate reaction: "Gibraltar has a big rock, the beach you landed on doesn't - kind of a dead giveaway, chaps!"

[@SuperSaiyanD48]

Lmao!

[@SuperSaiyanD48]

@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist2 Shut up.

[@Espartanica]

​@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist2Take your propoganda elsewhere

[@thomascaduff5731]

Im Swiss and The Swiss Army had a similar incident when a Swiss Infantry Platoon falsely marched into Lichtenstein during a trainig exercice.

[@bastait]

the swiss never invade anyone though lichtenstein must of been wildly confused like um switzerland why are you ending your centuries long none aggression policies. @@thomascaduff5731

[@CT--eb2xr]

That Gibraltar incident reminds me a bit of an incident that happened in the Czech Republic in 2020. Due to a navigation error, several Polish soldiers occupied a chapel on the territory of the Czech Republic and prevented the locals from accessing it until they were informed that they were not in Poland but in the Czech Republic.

[@brucechmiel7964]

You cant fully blame the Pols. They forgot the recipe for ice.

[@newsieboys1171]

Easy mistake to make. I actually entered Poland by mistake from the Czech Republic by train one time. 😄

[@thunderbird1921]

I'm surprised that wasn't mentioned here. That was a bigtime screwup.

[@martinmendl1399]

​@@newsieboys1171How xddd

[@myrcewalda5812]

My great great great grandfather survived the Charge of the Light Brigade, as a corporal in the 17th Lancers. Last summer in London I met a Kazakh gentleman whose ancestors had commanded a cossack unit which tried to plug the gap caused when the Light Brigade eventually reached the Russian gunners. A sobering but tantalising prospect that our ancestors quite possibly crossed swords. We had a jolly good chat over a few drams of whisky.

[@TheNonChillDude9182]

Damn your great great great grandpa must be a veteran 🗿🍷

[@muhammadishfaq3907]

Kazakhstan, greatest country in the world All other countries are run by little girls Kazakhstan, number one exporter of potassium All other countries have inferior potassium Kazakhstan, home of Tinshein swimming pool It's length thirty meter, width six meter Filtration system a marvel to behold It remove 80% of human solid waste Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, you very nice place From plains of Tarashek to northern fence of Jewtown Kazakhstan friend of all except Uzbekistan They very nosey people, with bone in their brain Kazakhstan, industry best in world We invented toffee and trouser belt Kazakhstan's ----------, cleanest in the region Except of course for Turkmenistan's Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, you very nice place From plains of Tarashek to northern fence of Jewtown Come grasp mighty ----- of our leader From junction with the testes to tip of its face!

[@smgdfcmfah]

@@muhammadishfaq3907 You need a lesson in bragging! 🤣

[@hansofaxalia]

My great great grandpa was actually the pontoon boat your great great grandpa was on, they might have known each other

[@bastait]

a turk and a brit walk into a bar.....

[@johnrust592]

For the British marines accidentally invading Spain, I half expected John Cleese as Sir Lancelot to pop out and say, "Sorry. Sorry, everyone. We sometimes get carried away."

[@WanderlustZero]

'We've invaded Spain, but I think we got away with it;

[@williammitchell4417]

And Eric Idle would pop up from the crowd and yell "Albatross!!!"

[@johnrust592]

@@williammitchell4417 What flavor is it?

[@MacedoinaChoirs]

Haha, That s what I was thinking. It sounds like a Monte Python skit.

[@timtheskeptic1147]

I imagine the scene from Life of Brian where an entire Roman legion is searching a tiny apartment.

[@Erreul]

The fact the Para’s in Crete got smoked so heavily and still went on to do what they did is an absolute testimate to their program.

[@hawkmattz4215]

I mean their loss to capture ratio was insane. Far from failure for the Germans

[@TheWoollyFrog]

@@hawkmattz4215 I mean their loses were so high that this was the last major para operation the no-no Germans attempted. And don't forget that they captured Crete only after the gliders and transport planes continued to land and bring in reinforcements... while the Allies had communication problems.

[@Joseph-ic8xd]

@@TheWoollyFrog Communication problems? The entire first day was a shooting gallery of gently floating Nazi's.

[@bertiemascaro2385]

​@@Joseph-ic8xdand the Allied suffered almost 3,500 casualties (of which just over 1,700 were killed) and almost 12,000 were taken prisoner. The Royal Navy suffered 1 aircraft carrier, two battleships, six cruisers and seven destroyers badly damaged and another three cruisers and six destroyers sunk... German troops surrendered on march 1945.

[@armija]

@@hawkmattz4215 Why is the myth of Crete "disaster" still a thing?? It was a costly victory by Axis, but it is by no means a fail, let alone an embarrassing one. German paratroopers captured an Island that was defended by force twice their size and they inflicted significantly higher casualties on an opponent. The capture of Crete was a very important task since it staying in British hands would be a significant headache for the Axis. Axis didn't have naval superiority or capacity to mount a naval invasion so airborne invasion was the only option. Yes, it was a costly one, but still, it was a victory and a rather impressive one at that.

[@JAlucard77]

My favorite military disaster has to the MISADVENTURES of the Baltic fleet sailing to Port Arthur during the Ruso-Japanesse war

[@edwardhuggins84]

It wasn't the Baltic Fleet but the second pacific squadron

[@RadioactiveSherbet]

Do you see torpedo boats? (cookie if you get the reference)

[@edwardhuggins84]

@RadioactiveSherbet what Japanese one's in the north sea

[@RadioactiveSherbet]

@@edwardhuggins84 Yeah. That "event" is mentioned in video about the 2nd Pacific Squadron by Drachinifel (which is where I learned of it.)

[@johnrust592]

@@RadioactiveSherbet No torpedo boats, but I did see snakes and lizards all over the deck . . . and a parrot called me the most disagreeable name.

[@pabcu2507]

Also never forget, a Toilet destroyed an entire submarine

[@thirdanimator3347]

And then the surviving crew got captured

[@safariman6710]

Bruh moment

[@SeanDahle]

U-1206 to be exact

[@pabcu2507]

@@SeanDahle correct

[@arturvasques3376]

My dad if he workerd in a dock

[@samuel10125]

I wouldn't call the accidental invasion of Spain an embarrassment because Spain themselves clearly took it in stride and both side had their fun with it.

[@holdencolfield6676]

amazing how not so long ago they were mortal enemies, but then such a foible happening later on after a long war had already happened previously is a matter of humor. it's the thing about wars of money. wars of money end when the rich have made enough or die. on the other hand, wars of religion or ideals continue killing for millennia. it's a major relief, when the leader says "do it for your country" instead of "do it for your god". because you know it'll be over relatively soon or at least in the space of just one human lifetime instead of several.

[@konnerkramer329]

​@holdencolfield6676 well to be fair if the British were to actually invade Spain I think they would bring more than a few guys... it was pretty obvious it wasn't an invasion force and was a few confused men

[@holdencolfield6676]

@@konnerkramer329 fair point!

[@byrons1339]

What about the USA's incompetent retreat from Afghanistan?

[@samuel10125]

@byrons1339 That was Bidens fault everyone from day one including Trump said if we just pull the ripcord on the drawdown things will spiral out of control quickly Trump while in office had a plan properly drawn up that involved a somewhat steady and slow evacuation that would have kept things somewhat calm and gave less problems but obviously Bidens ilk threw the plan out once he took office and like everything he done since day one he made a complete shambles of it.

[@Nicky2414]

Honestly, I was fully expecting The Battle Of Little Bighorn to be on here. General Custer was way in over his head believing that superior firepower was gonna take down the Sioux, never realizing the enemy had a superior positional advantage and outnumbered them 3,000 to 700.

[@lordjazoijua94]

And superior firearms.

[@commonsenseking6386]

Right, Bay of Pigs 1961 as well.

[@TheBraderz67]

It's an Amercian chanel they tend to gloss over their owns mistakes.

[@HunterBidenscrack]

@@TheBraderz67 we don’t make mistakes, just happy accidents.

[@patricksmith5282]

@@TheBraderz67no really, I’m sure your side never made any mistakes at all, probably someone else’s fault.

[@Roofus1212]

Bro shoulda mentioned the navy seals who got caught storming a beach in mogadishu and were met with cameras and tourists.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Literally the thumbnail.

[@C_Eagle]

@@v.emiltheii-nd.8094royal marines and Navy seals are abit different my friend

[@Roofus1212]

@@v.emiltheii-nd.8094 yeah but those arent seals lol, it was also at night

[@ButcherSevenActual]

It was SEALs and Marine Force Reconnaissance, and the reporters had been tipped off by the Pentagon ahead of time about the landing site for the purpose of getting good coverage, but the notice to keep the reporters away from the landing site until after the troops landed was sent out too late.

[@jokodihaynes419]

"Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Winston Churchill.

[@Krizzylys]

He spoke facts.

[@zane5805]

Ghost Winston Churchill: I'm looking at you Putin.

[@honor_et_patria2]

time for the 2nd battle of posada

[@Interdictiondeltawing]

And here we are

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Says the guy who tossed away lives at Gallipoli like they were scraps off his plate.

[@kyle93watson]

The battle of Karansebes has to be THE most embarrassing defeat. Defeat? I don't even think it could be considered a defeat if you're firing on your own guys.

[@villiamanimelover]

The absolute worst case of friendly fire where you get a perma-ban from life if killed.

[@maddoxmonteza]

Germans: *land on Crete* meanwhile the local Cretans: Time for the durability test.

[@BibleBlack666]

Yes and then they got tested too, the durability of Kandanos (and its population) wasn't that high.

[@averagejoe8358]

Cretans*

[@stephanos2758]

@@BibleBlack666laughs in Berlin getting razed

[@Bluepizza1684]

the spanish mayor's speech about defending the town the british accidentaly landed on, is pretty tounge and cheeck about the incdent imo. as other than giving some fisherman a mini heartattack, nothing else really happened

[@lpedr0l]

Propaganda

[@tonypeppermint5329]

So good.

[@Bluepizza1684]

@@lpedr0l that to tho who would use that as proaganda?

[@sushiwushi5335]

​@@Bluepizza1684probably the Spanish Mayor.

[@lpedr0l]

@@Bluepizza1684 Sorry mate, I don't get what you meant by "that to tho"

[@derkaiser420]

The only positive of the Charge of the Light Brigade was the Russians thought the English Calvary were maniacs who would gladly die to advance on their positions and it scared them greatly. Also, it was not mentioned the gallantry of the French calvary who advanced to save their British ally and diverted a lot of the Russian fire which is how the Light Brigade escaped.

[@ryssa2409]

bongs made it up actually, russians probably thought british were retarded

[@officermeowmeowfuzzyface4408]

"Slaughtered by enraged Cretins." Never thought I'd ever hear that.

[@lemax6865]

"Cretans", but unfortunately the two words do sound basically the same.

[@SeanDahle]

Custer at Little bighorn, the British at Isandlwana, Operation Barbarossa, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the French at Dien bien phu, Lloyd ferdinandall at Kasserine pass, US entry into Vietnam, Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, the list goes on

[@StaffSergeantSigmon]

Well Confederates are idiot traitors, so not surprising

[@eaglesfan226]

The Zulus made their king proud. Amandla! 🇿🇦✊🏼🇺🇸

[@RestlessBogatyr]

The Soviets won both the Winter War and the Continuation war. Casualties don't come into it, wasn't "The loss outweighed the gain" the Soviets controlled the Finnish Economy and took alot of their commercial economy and resources for well over after the death of Stalin.

[@danny117fc]

@@eaglesfan226 and the 24th Regiment of Foot made their queen proud

[@retroand]

The Disaster of Annual

[@corymorimacori1059]

“You’re a superpower, but who paid the price with the endless destruction of Russian lives!” Rasputin

[@coolgamerkato4592]

ERB!

[@believeinmatter]

🌽

[@ethangotreaux2]

Idk but that kind of sounds cool.

[@BentleysUniverse]

Ok

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

"Hey, man, it's all about the consequences of power, right? Every superpower has its costs, and unfortunately, Russian lives paid a heavy price. History can be brutal like that."

[@afrikasmith1049]

The British Invasion of Spain is the only comedic one on the list because no one got hurt and even the most well trained and competent soldier can make a mistake.

[@taotao98103]

I understand not everyone is talented to lead, but I thought through climbing the military ranks, if someone is able to become a 4 star general or any senior level, he or she should be talented enough to lead. If not, then the problem is not the person at the position, but the system that puts him there.

[@wilsonweiseng6485]

Dumb luck

[@TheWoollyFrog]

Meritocracy is a relatively new invention. In the old days military commanders were appointed for having the right family name. The idea was that since elites had the means to educate their kids in a variety of subjects (including matters of war), those kids would grow up to be good leaders. That didn't always work out. And even with the meritocratic system of today, corruption still allows individuals to grab ranks they don't deserve due to family wealth or social capital.

[@wilsonweiseng6485]

@@TheWoollyFrog kinda explains why back in the day when the emperor would execute a who clan when it's one man's fault

[@christophercooper5843]

Got that right..probably paid for rank...or knew the right people

[@dravenocklost4253]

I think from Lt. Colonel on up its a Congressional approval. So most of those ranks are political in nature. Also, during times of peace and not life and death, complacency happens. It's a complicated situation and this is a simplified answer but here you are.

[@tootallforyou112]

Ah, the red cliff was more incredible than embarrassing. The masterful mind of zhuge liang predicted an un-seasonal southern wind as the army of wei came from the north. Had this wind not come the fire attack would have failed. Wei's strategists covered everything they could, but the weather is difficult to predict, especially back then. It is never embarrassing to lose to the sleeping dragon. The embarrassing part was cao cao and his significantly reduced forces running all the way back to north china and after this devastating loss, wei was never able to make a serious push south ever again.

[@MrAnonymous00100]

Some historians believe that the burning of Cao Cao's army isn't from failed into ruse, but due to plague occured in his army and old way to deal with plague is to burn the corpse and ship of infected. Cao Cao want to hid this issue so said his ship burned from enemy ruse which opponent choose to take credit from it.

[@wilsonweiseng6485]

Also Cao Cao had sent a spy to the Sung clan, an idiot who was supposed to learn of their secrets. Instead he took a letter, which was a trap by the Sung clan, and the letter describes the Cao cao' s navy trainers( or was it commanders) were secretly sabotages for the Sung clan, they're not but Cao cao' s spy was sure the information was genuine. So the Sung clan made Cao cao executed two of his men and found out the hard way

[@wilsonweiseng6485]

​@@MrAnonymous00100I heard it was ocean sickness or something like that since the troops weren't used to navy warfare

[@tootallforyou112]

@@MrAnonymous00100 well I am not some historians

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

Yeah, the Battle of Red Cliff was definitely a remarkable feat of strategy by Zhuge Liang. The unpredictable southern wind played a crucial role in the success of the fire attack. Losing to the sleeping dragon is no embarrassment, and it had long-lasting effects on Wei's ability to advance south. Impressive stuff.

[@fetidcreeper]

When you included an animation of a Union general being shot in the intro, I was ready to come in to General Sedgewicks defense, because you had previously made a mockery of him in a different video. Gen Sedgewick was a beloved general, and was extremely intelligent. His death was, to put it lightly, really unexpected, as rifled muskets weren't in wide use at the time. His death sent ripples throughout the army, and he was mourned by many, even by some Confederate officers who had known him.

[@kittylikemebluejay9723]

I like how the sponsor shows greece and when it ends it shows about crete.

[@Nicholas7137]

crete is apart of Greece lol

[@DespothLord]

@@Nicholas7137 Nope its part of Türkiye

[@kittylikemebluejay9723]

@@Nicholas7137 i know dude.

[@user-no4su7je2n]

@@DespothLord Turks are from central Asia they do not own Anatolia,Cyprus or the rest of Greece

[@NorthernDragon100]

@@user-no4su7je2nThat may be where they originated but the nation of Turkey does at least officially hold anatolia and arguably a part of cyprus…

[@MRFREAK177]

I was expecting a story about the former danish navy frigate HDMS Peder Skram, that during a training session, accidentally fired a live Harpoon missile into a summerhouse area, severing several powerlines on it's way and blew up 4 summerhouses and damaging additional 130. No people were killed or hurt.

[@Scrapyard24c]

Reminds me of the USS William D. Porter, a U.S. Naval Destroyer whose mistakes included shooting a live torpedo at the USS Iowa, which U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt happened to be on board.

[@KaptajnKaffe]

A Danish uboat also shoot a torpedo into a beach outside a summerhouse area by accident. It blew up, but only made a hole in the ground.

[@casterbong6707]

​@Scrapyard24c I remember that, this was covered by thefatelectrician

[@Emmanuel-ms8pr]

Of all the military fails that are on the list, the battle of karanzabes is probably the most craziest military fails that we have ever seen and how chaotic it really is, I mean it only happened only because of getting drunk.

[@Max-hn5fs]

and it's probably fake

[@Button123s]

The Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna, after winning the battle of the Alamo, set up a camp on the banks of the San Jacinto River and left this position without sentinels. In 18 minutes, 1,900 Texans defeated all the Mexican army due to an omission by their general.

[@dolphingoreeaccount7395]

Didn't help that the Mexicans were having a Siesta. The Texians (they called themselves that at the time) knew that. Also, the USA was definitely looking for a fight in the Mexican-American war, but Mexico clearly wasn't trying to avoid one either. Kind of an L on them

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

Oops! Santa Anna's omission of leaving the camp without sentinels was a major blunder. In just 18 minutes, the Texans took advantage and defeated the Mexican army. Talk about a costly mistake.

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

@@dolphingoreeaccount7395 haha, siesta or not, the Texans took advantage of the situation! And yeah, both sides were ready for a fight in the Mexican-American war. It was an L for Mexico indeed.

[@RaidenTheRipper950]

Man tried to be Napoleon of the Americas and Alamo was a Pyrrhic Victory, after that Sam Houston cleaned the Santa Anna mess.

[@marioneno]

'Two for Texas,' a movie that came out a while back about that battle. Also was included in the latest 'Alamo' remake, I think in 2005. Short and rather one-sided, but still intense, in my opinion.

[@juliovictormanuelschaeffer8370]

Napoleon's march to Moscow qualifies too. He basically destroyed his momentum and empire in a futile campaign against an enemy that was more interested in bleeding his army than fighting straight away.

[@perjand]

It reminds me of an incident a few decades ago. NATO was having an exercise and some US vehicles were going to take a civilian car ferry from Denmark to Norway. They ended up in Sweden and were met by Swedish police who rejected the squad. I don't remember which ferry they then took.

[@usagifang]

Ok. Accidentally invading an ally through training is too funny. Glad both sides had a laugh in that. 😂

[@smgdfcmfah]

Sounds like the movie Stripes!

[@certifiedgiggledog]

Your using the Term battleship, for a landing craft support ship, i feel there are a few mistakes in this bit. I don't mean this as hostile critisums but prehap when you write your script, verify the proper classes, because a battle ship and a landing craft support vessel are vastly different. You also use missles instead of torpedos, which are different even refering to missle in the general can cause confusion.

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

Also E-boats. Wtf are those?

[@Vsm426]

​@@alexturnbackthearmy1907boats made by tesla

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

You're right, battleships and landing craft support ships are indeed different. And I'll make sure to clarify the distinction between missiles and torpedoes to avoid any confusion.

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

@@alexturnbackthearmy1907 E-boats, also known as Schnellboote or S-boats, were fast attack craft used by the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. They were armed with torpedoes, Flak guns, and machine guns, and played a significant role in naval warfare.

[@alexturnbackthearmy1907]

@@SOLDAT_MENDES Thanks. Never heard them called that way, its either Schnellbort or torpedo boat.

[@lukeskinwalker922]

I thought Custer and The Battle of Little Bighorn would’ve been on here for sure.

[@kbo8029]

The Italian loss in Ethiopia is even worse when you consider it's about 1 combat soldier for every 2.5 support soldiers. So losing 9,000 captured or killed out of 20,000 amounts to losing nearly every combat soldier and significant numbers of support units captured. That force was virtually wiped off the map.

[@HeisenbergFam]

8:50 invading for just 5 minutes truly goes to show how successfully invasion was

[@JaBismarck]

Talk about top military successes

[@kiggs-piggs]

Bot

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

nah, bro, invading for just 5 minutes doesn't really make it a successful invasion. It's more like a failed attempt or a minor skirmish.

[@tonypeppermint5329]

​@@SOLDAT_MENDESYeah, and it was a embarrassing moment.

[@marvinmartinez898]

shocked in finally seeing the man behind the voice for such a long time now and on top of that. he mentions the game i have been invested in for the past 3 years. amazing game and nice to finally put a face to the voice

[@eithnemelee2997]

Non-combat but rather hilarious addition: In 1935 the Mauna Loa volcano of Hawaii erupted and lava flows threatened the town of Hilo. The Army Air Corps responded by dropping bombs containing 355 pounds of TNT on the volcano in an effort to divert them. This failed quite spectacularly. Not only did the bombs fail to divert the lava flows, but several failed to detonate, leaving the area with a combined erupting volcano/unexploded ordinance situation. So basically if anyone asks, the answer to “Has the US Army ever bombed a volcano?” is a resounding “Yes.”

[@ekparatrooperfilms9668]

The fallschirjager in 1941 were unable to carry their own weapons as the were to heavy so they were armed only with knifes of pistols and had to look for supply drops that contained their main weapons. Great video still

[@JRath905]

You gotta admit though, despite its weight, The FG42 Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 was a pretty innovative/ awesome firearm with its open / closed bolt design for single fire accuracy and better cooling for auto. I wish they were more common.

[@joshuajoaquin5099]

​@@JRath905The FG-42 may be advance in the time but does the gun will change the Battle of Crete even produced in substantial numbers? I think not since it will be dropped in separate weapon crates and the battle will be the same Plus this battle is the last hurrah of fallschirmjäger being airworthy. It was noted by Kurtz student that Crete is the graveyard of the fallschirmjäger

[@finnwedemann3658]

​@@JRath905the FG42 was being designed and built after Operation Merkur. Back then they were armed with pistols, Mp40s, k98k and MG34.

[@emberfist8347]

@@JRath905It was an overly complicated and over-engineered gun. It would be better if it was just a closed bolt only design.

[@Unown-mg1fj]

When you said led by their unit commander. I totally heard eunich commander and was like was that statement necessary 😂😂

[@borregoayudando1481]

"should we hatch a plan to frag the co?" "yeah" "how should we go about it, cut off his genitals?" "nah, he came out of the academy that way"

[@cgmason7568]

2:16 isn't a battleship, it's an LST

[@marioneno]

The American Civil War battle of Cold Harbor, 1864, would have made a good addition to this list. General Grant completely dropped the ball with his army, sending 5000 men to their deaths in less than 20 minutes, due to poor planning of all kinds, over confidence, and selfishness. The carnage that followed the 2 waves of attacking Union troops was so bloody, so quick, so complete, that the 3rd wave of infantry refused to charge when given the order. Then Grant would not allow the wounded to be evacuated from the field, because to him, that would imply he lost, and his ego would not have it. Ironically, though, some Confederate soldiers left their emplacements to rescue the nearest wounded Union soldiers. Only after the battle was completely over, and the Confederates had left, did Grant allow the evacuation of fallen soldiers, but it was too late - all but 2 of them had died. Later, however, Grant himself said he would always regret the attack at Cold Harbor. And he should. Perhaps that is where he earned the nickname 'The Butcher.'

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

Hello from Detroit Michigan brother thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and for taking us along with you on your adventure through time

[@jeffreywang3250]

Just to note, Cao Cao's clan name was not 'Wei' 魏 it was "Cao' 曹. Wei comes from his personal fiefdom, the Duchy [213 AD] and later the Kingdom [216 AD] bestowed on him by the then Emperor Xian of Han.

[@LukeCassidy]

Damn this makes me wanna play Dynasty Warriors!! Wei Yan was my guy!

[@50PullUps]

7:04 let the first person who never made a mistake at work cast the first stone.

[@MW_captain]

Army:"The army don't make mistakes son" Me: ._.

[@SilverFang2789]

The poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" inspired the 1983 Iron Maiden song "The Trooper."

[@strazed1]

really? i like that song it goes hard

[@furimindusties5736]

​@@strazed1it's a pretty dope song.

[@eaglesfan226]

I saw the movie

[@SilverFang2789]

@@furimindusties5736 pretty overplayed but yes definitely a dope song

[@azimisyauqieabdulwahab9401]

​@@eaglesfan2261936 & 1967

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

As for the Battle of Karansebes, that goes to show reality is often stranger / more ridiculous than fiction.

[@kiwifruit27]

I think this could become a series as there are so many examples 😮

[@hdakahidef]

These visuals are AWESOME, makes me enjoy history even more!

[@justovadiz1786]

We finally see the gentleman who narrates this great bits of history. Great job with this great channel! 👍

[@Wolfshalifi]

That is not at all what I thought u looked like

[@MrWright85]

I'm surprised that the Battle of Little Bighorn (AKA Custer's Last Stand) wasn't included in this list.

[@sharpshotm16]

That and the entirety of Vietnam. But y'know Americans won't talk about that.

[@emberfist8347]

@@sharpshotm16Vietnam was marked by multiple military successes. The battles were all victory. It was the South Vietnamese who lost the war.

[@sharpshotm16]

@@emberfist8347 The south Vietnamese did lose the war, but so did the American populous. 282 thousand US and allied dead. Many more wounded. War crimes by both sides, US diverting funds to Vietnam rather than the ongoing civil rights issue, invasion of neutral countries (Laos and Cambodia) 168 billion dollars spent. And for what. You may have inflicted more deaths on VC and NVA (plus Chinese support) than they did on US or ARVN, but when the country falls almost immediately after you leave, with little to no progress from 1964 to 1972, and the deaths of countless civilians (See My Lai massacre) with 30% of US troops on hard drugs to cope, and many more with long lasting PTSD, are you really winning? Just because you pushed back the Tet offensive after a week, just because you suffered less casualties than the opposing side, does not mean a war was won. The US should not have been involved in Vietnam in the first place, should not have funded the French when it was under french control, should not have set up Diem as a tyrannical leader to the South Vietnamese, despite their protest, (See Quang Duc) and just to commit massacres, and I do not deny NVA / VC massacres of POWs, but to then abandon the country to save their own skin, abandoning Thieu after saying that Vietnamisation would work. The US fought a pointless ideological proxy war, starving the US citizens of funding for social issues, sentenced many to their deaths, and ravaged the Vietnamese with chemical warfare (see agent orange) and napalm that still cause cancer and saw the destruction of many civilians homes. That is not winning a war.

[@marioneno]

@@sharpshotm16 Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The promises of 'The Great Society' have shot down on the battlefields of Vietnam." He was right.

[@sharpshotm16]

@@marioneno Fully agree. That war cost US development many years

[@hobodarkness7696]

Videos like these are important because it helps us learn from our mistakes

[@adbsystemcj]

Way to go Simple History!

[@nikotheophanis8795]

Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake

[@cableyoutuber]

Honorable mention: Custard’s Last Stand

[@hoppegypuma2343]

Ouch... Joseph II. and his "superior" skills... 😆😆😆😆 He was called in my country as "King with a hat (instead of crown)". The only thing he did, was making trouble for the people... 😂😂😂😂

[@Glezed.]

This guy teaches me more about war than my history teacher

[@AutisticPlays]

Its not always war for history teachers to teach their students they need to follow the syllabus

[@SnickC13]

Thumbnail: "WE'RE SEIZING THIS NUDE BEACH!!!!...For freedom!"

[@skyborne80]

16:22 A new definition of the enemy conquering you without firing a single shot.

[@codyHEADSHOT]

“Perpetrated by hopeless half-wits claiming to be commanders of men.” …BARS

[@abcdefgh6143]

Ah yes, nothing like watching a video that released 4 minutes ago at 10PM after trying to book a cruise only to realise all of the rooms were booked ._.

[@bvllseye4068]

Mediterranean?

[@abcdefgh6143]

@@bvllseye4068 yep

[@jamesparson]

Where is the Emu War?

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Other examples: King Guy vs Saladin, Romania in 1916, WW2 Italy in Greece & Egypt, USSR in Finland, Pickett's Charge, Carrus vs Parthians, Battle of Teutoburg Forest, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Vaslui, 2nd siege of Vienna, King Harold vs William the Conqueror Final Battle, Battle of Agincourt, Dunkirk, France during the Ardennes campaign, Santa Anna's siesta, operation cottage, eagle claw, John Chapman's last stand, Bay of pigs, Paraguay during War of the Triple Alliance.

[@marioneno]

The Finns were amazing in their fight against the Soviet army. Even though they lost, the Finnish army used incredible tactics against their enemy, and it resulted in total chaos for the Russians: What was supposed to take 6 weeks (according to some sources) at the most, it took 6 months, and almost a million Soviet soldiers to finally achieve what they wanted. Also, from what I heard, Stalin was said to have lost his temper at his army's delay at some point, when the weeks started turning into months. One officer (or whoever) that bore the brunt of this verbal assault, was said to have responded angrily himself, reminding Stalin that he killed 90 percent of his officers - including his best generals. This did not go unnoticed by Hitler, and probably emboldened him even more to invade the USSR, and Stalin's military purges and complacency almost lost him his own country.

[@Blox117]

@@marioneno anyone who willingly implements communism is not the brightest of the bunch. in fact, they arent bright at all

[@rosaria8384]

Hopefully there's a part 2 of this video, showcasing more failures like the Bay of Pigs 1961.

[@linkfreeman1998]

Well, it starts with the classic mortar fails...

[@geordiedog1749]

The airborne invasion of Crete had far reaching consequences as it was ultimately the cause of the scraping of operation Herkules which meant that Malta got to fight on! Although, I think Herkules would probably have been an even bigger disaster had it gone ahead.

[@BartBe]

7:54 i like how the marines are portraid with fearless faces making the marines, while also drinking tea, making them British. 😂

[@amyross2364]

My grandparents live 45 minutes away from slapton sands, and there’s an old Sherman but but the thing is I found a piece of shrapnel from the torpedo!

[@daivam.9442]

Spanish fisherman:"You no come back ever. I don't like you British soldier. And all you British soldier look alike!" British soldier:"Huh? We all look alike, eh? Well, look who's talking!"

[@torodile9399]

It so rare to see simple history teaching about ancient chinese history

[@benmccullough7820]

Did anyone else notice instead of E-boat patrol area it says E-boat petrol range? And also they said missiles hit the ships but then showed torpedoes being launched

[@user-yg5yk2kg7d]

6:22 i know this is just an illustration but, cretan fighters pictured like that... made me laugh so hard!!!

[@finskiandguns8534]

I like how simple history means not knowing the difference between a missile and a torpedo

[@Wolfshalifi]

The civilians on Crete should’ve all received the Greek equivalent of the Medal of Honor

[@user-no4su7je2n]

Most who assulted German paratroopers didnt survive the war

[@user-oo8xp2rf1k]

As a Briton I would like to point out that this video demonstrates how we managed to persuade the world that we invaded Spain just by an innocent navigational accident. So we can't really be blamed. I see reputation-saving opportunity here. Now all we have to do is persuade the world we thought Egypt, South Africa, America, Canada, the Bahamas, India, Burma , Singapore, and Hong Kong were just misguided attempts by the Mersey ferry to find Birkenhead. Then maybe they'd let us off? 🤔

[@geoffreybennett8912]

Someone in the comments said the one sentence that nails all of this, and it's a quote from the art of war by Sun Tzu,and that is never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake. I think that sums up in 1 short sentence all the military debacles of history and the people who made them.

[@alexanderkidonakis9185]

I was lucky my grandfather was on the other side of the island of kriti (in the hospital) when the Nazis landed right next to his hometown But my grand uncles were some of the ones getting rifles from museums and using pitchforks

[@kelvinhow1965]

In red cliff movie cao cao beheaded both of his naval officers over some conspiracies treason thing and one of his guy said if they beheaded both there will be no one command the fleet and cao cao was too late to stop exercution and both get beheaded and the fleet command collapse and then get destroyed during battle started Ps: all of this was set up by Zhou yu and Zhuge Liang (Play by Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro in film) thinking that his officers donating the arrow and try to kill him But he realised he was being tricked

[@juliovictormanuelschaeffer8370]

8:24: wait, are we fighting the Spanish now? Nobody told us!

[@revanati222]

Due to the awkward weight of weapons and technicalities of the rules of war, most paratroops weren't given firearms until they landed. Before 1949, paratroopers were technically considered covered by the same Geneva Conventions laws that prohibited an airman from being fired upon while falling from an aircraft by parachute.

[@supersigma.9]

"Embarrasing military fails" the entire soviet military:

[@tforaodg]

Current Indian military ( sunk its own submarine, shot down its own helicopter, lots of planes crash...)

[@supersigma.9]

​@@tforaodgyes lol

[@1900OP]

@@AfraimAtta an exhausted Germany

[@supersigma.9]

@@AfraimAtta an exhausted germany that was having to deal with a real threat the allies and was fighting an enemy being supported by said allies and the allies having turned their resources and factories into Ash a union that only could hold because of germanys weakness and the allies and their human wave strategys

[@geckel2145]

At least they won WW2

[@FortnightForger]

You are like a history teacher for yong kids you are truly a good man

[@SNOWDUDE13]

Awesome to see an event from The Three Kingdoms. Even better when you got the names correct. 👍

[@oliversherman2414]

I'm from the UK but I've been living in southern Spain for the past year. I also happen to live a 20 minute drive from Gibraltar and I've visited the territory many times since my move. It's a nice little reminder of home and the people there are very friendly and pro-British 🇬🇧🇬🇮

[@zacharyballif3212]

One military blunder I can think of is the Battle of Little Bighorn. Custer lost not only his life but 5 of the 12 7th Cavalry companies were annihilated.

[@marioneno]

Battles of annihilation are indeed the worst! One I just thought of is The Battle of Halidon Hill, 1333, between the Scots and the English. After the murder of the son of a Scottish governor, a Scots army broke off their raid on England and re-entered Scotland to fight the English army sent there. The English took position atop a big hill and baited the Scots to engage. Unfortunately, the Scots had no real plan, and the cavalry dismounted and joined the foot soldiers, walking through boggy ground, and climbed up the hill. About half-way up, the English archers opened up, and began decimating the Scottish ranks. The Scots really couldn't fight back, and while some kept lumbering up the hill (only to be slaughtered), the rest started to retreat, only to be finished off by the English cavalry. Very few got away. One of the worst one-sided massacres of an army I've ever heard of. What were the Scots thinking?

[@user-ic8nl5xq6o]

5:30 I’m sorry but this was so funny how the germany soldier was trying to redirect himself

[@DescendingVelocity]

16:25 anyone know if they ever found the guys that did this? That’s absolutely insane

[@corymorimacori1059]

“Ohhh, what a humiliating defeat! Ik when I am beat, so of course take a seeeat!” Ivan the Terrible

[@believeinmatter]

Cringe

[@corymorimacori1059]

@@believeinmatterdude, so uncool

[@coolgamerkato4592]

Epic rap battles of history!

[@believeinmatter]

@@corymorimacori1059 signing in to your other profile to leave a comment on your own comment 😂

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

Haha, Ivan the Terrible had his fair share of defeats, no doubt, Taking a seat after a humiliating defeat is sometimes the best move.

[@FoxNation18]

9:08 The citizens whacking them with fishing poles😂😂

[@MrBlipman]

I like when you say "The southerners cooked up a dastardly plan" That was hilarious

[@TheEudaemonicPlague]

Operation Tiger was used as the basis for the plot of an episode of Foyle's War (British murder mystery series set in WWII). An American officer who had to count all the dead American soldiers harassed a British officer who'd screwed up and made it possible for the Germans to make their attack...to the point he committed suicide, if I recall correctly. I'd always wondered about the truth of the event the episode was based on. There's an excellent Chinese film that features the battle of Red Cliffs. If I could remember the title, I'd say, but that was a year or two ago I saw it (I think I have a copy, but I'm in the hospital, so I can't check right now.

[@oliviadifiori8238]

Fun fact, people read the whole sentence if you say fun fact 😮

[@GooberLord-dc1tp]

Fun fact I just said fun fact 😮

[@stephentitus7137]

I'm surprised the operation cottage wasn't included. That has to be the funniest military fail I've heard

[@IbocC64]

Lol, too funny. The horses at about 10 minutes in and at 10:45 look like chipmunks with their cheeks full. Now I can't unsee it.

[@stevemc01]

I feel the entire Russian Civil War and Chinese Civil War (the 1949 one, not the trillion other ones) fit in this category. Oh and maybe some of our wars in the Middle East, except those were more or less short term successes that collapsed hard over time.

[@leoli2450]

How are those "military fails" though? They are an entire conflict made up of hundreds of thousands of smaller battles that eventually decided the fate of billions of men, not a single battle that one side failed due to incompetence.

[@stevemc01]

@@leoli2450 incompetent heads of leadership that basically lost the war before any battle was fought. Victories on the field are useless if the momentum behind those can't shift with it.

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

russian civil war, chinese civil war, middle east wars - a whole lot of chaos and shifting fortunes, bro, Some short-term successes, but long-term stability can be a challenge.

[@SOLDAT_MENDES]

@@leoli2450 true, bro, The Russian Civil War and Chinese Civil War were complex conflicts with numerous battles and factors at play. It's more about the overall outcome and the impact on the nations involved rather than individual military fails.

[@stevemc01]

@@SOLDAT_MENDES we took the Middle East easily, but that was because we opened the war with conventional warfare. It was the guerilla war that followed that spelled our downfall.

[@brianf1132]

I love your channel. I hope those rip-off scum stop stealing your content.