54 B.C.; Rome; Battle of Carrhae; Enemy - Parthian Empire General, following a local guide, marched 50,000 men into an ambush, in which he and 60% of his men perished, in one of the worst defeats in Roman History.
1346; France; Battle of Crecy; Enemy - English Sent 4000 Genoese mercenaries with crossbows against the English line of attack; English having longbows swiftly cut down this ‘attack'; a few Genoese crossbowmen retreated and the general ordered his forward knights to kill them; in the confusion, he then ordered 15 charges of mounted knights against the English line who were similarly stopped by the English arrows; the king survived but the battle was lost as he sacrificed 4000 men.
1770s; USA; American Revolution; Enemy - English At the battle of Saratoga this American commanding officer, cautious to a fault, ordered inactivity; Benedict Arnold, against orders, attacked; as the battle raged, this general refused to leave the safety of his fortified camp and sat in his tent speculating with a British prisoner about the revolution; Later, on losing the battle of Camden this general was dismissed from command and was only saved from an inquiry by politically influential friends.
1814; USA; War of 1812; Enemy - English Lost the battle of Stony Creek against the British despite having 3 times the personnel as his enemy and he himself was captured; the British, possibly realizing his value as an opponent released him; in 1814, he commanded the American forces with a clear mandate to protect Washington, D.C., against the British; He made no attempt to skirmish or slow down the advancing British and decided on an all-or-nothing set piece defensive battle at Bladensburg; a solitary charge by the British routed the American army, leaving the general to run for cover; Washington was exposed and British marched through and burned it.
1800s; Mexico; Texas War; Mexican-American War; Enemy - USA He wasted men & time storming the Alamo; then marched north and encamped with his army at San Jacinto River for water; a Texan army was only a few miles away and attacked while his troops were taking a siesta; The Mexican Army was destroyed and the general captured; In the Mexican-American War (1846 -1848), he had the dubious distinction of losing every battle he fought.
1860s; USA; Civil War; Enemy - CSA Antietnam, 1862, sent his men across a narrow bridge, Confederate gunmen shot them down for fun; the river was only waist high!; Fredericksburg, he embarked on a misjudged suicidal attack resulting in the deaths of 1,284 Union soldiers; three years later in Petersburg, he dug a tunnel underneath enemy trenches, filled it with explosives, the explosives detonated and left a large crater, he ordered his troops into the crater, whereby they became trapped and Confederate forces hailed them with gunfire; Abe Lincoln: ‘Only _____ could have managed such a coup, wringing one last spectacular defeat from the jaws of victory'.
1915; British; WWI; Gallipoli; Enemy - Turkey British & French forces landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula but never got off the beaches and evacuated 9 months later!; the General's strategy involved spending a great deal of time either on the Greek islands or aboard British battleships; total chaos reigned as he allowed subordinates to do as they pleased by giving no direct orders; when he finally summoned up a plan of attack if left everyone confused and failure ensued; the total campaign cost the Allied forces over a quarter of a million casualties.
1917; France; WWI; Enemy - Germany Despite the disaster at the battle at Verdun where the French Army was almost bled to death, upon being made commander-in-chief of the French Army, he immediately planned a great offensive; the offensive was a failure on a spectacular scale; over 200,000 troops lost their lives; 100,000 dead within the first 5 days; a mutiny was swiftly concluded in which the general was removed from his command.
1914; Russia; WWI; Enemy - Germany Despite never having been a front line officer, he was given the command of the Russian Second Army; as he pushed his army onto East Prussia he had no idea where the Germans were or quite what he was supposed to do; anarchy amongst his forces swiftly followed and Germans smashed through his disorganised unit at Tannenberg in 1914; given up all hope for his troops, he rode to the front to die in battle; remarkably he survived only to commit suicide.
1940; France; WWII; Enemy - Germany The commander-in-chief of the French Army kept his army safe and secure behind the Maginot Line; when the Germans launched their blistering quick & mighty air & land blitzkrieg through Belgium, for reasons known only to him, the general thought the Germans were employing a diversionary tactic so he didn't send troops to the Ardennes sector of the Belgian front; the Germans trampled through the region so that by the time the Germans had physically entered France, the general was immediately removed from his post; Germany acquired what it had failed to capture in the First World War, Paris.
Quiz Playlist
Details
Clickable: Select answers by clicking on text or image buttons
In order to create a playlist on Sporcle, you need to verify the email address you used during registration. Go to your Sporcle Settings to finish the process.
Comments