Biggest Idiots In War

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  • Опубликовано: 7 дек 2024

Комментарии • 787

  • @Simplehistory
    @Simplehistory  4 дня назад +64

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  • @kevindavidson8802
    @kevindavidson8802 3 дня назад +398

    This reminds me of the old joke, During WWII my grandpa downed 10 German fighters, worst mechanic they ever had.

    • @xvoidfight1889
      @xvoidfight1889 3 дня назад +5

      I don't get it

    • @brunozeigerts6379
      @brunozeigerts6379 3 дня назад +39

      @@xvoidfight1889 He was a German mechanic.

    • @nyxspiritsong5557
      @nyxspiritsong5557 3 дня назад +7

      That's hilarious! Love it!

    • @kevindavidson8802
      @kevindavidson8802 2 дня назад +17

      @@xvoidfight1889 I live in the US, most people assume when they talk about their grandpas in the war they were on the allied side, so when they say My grandpa downed 10 German fighters they think the persons grandpa as an allied fighter pilot. The joke ends up being one of those unexpected twist endings.

    • @xvoidfight1889
      @xvoidfight1889 2 дня назад +1

      @kevindavidson8802 Oh, now it sense 🤣

  • @ExtantPerson
    @ExtantPerson 4 дня назад +342

    Luigi Cadorna would be an excellent lesson for aspiring officers so that they can learn everything NOT to do.

    • @markstyles1246
      @markstyles1246 3 дня назад +10

      If you can't be a good example, try to be AN example?

    • @thingamabob3902
      @thingamabob3902 3 дня назад +4

      in the same way as aspiring tank designers are shown the british Valiant tank ( in Bovington museum ?) to try and find all of the many flaws.

    • @DonPatrono
      @DonPatrono 2 дня назад +7

      He is in fact studied in Italian military academies with a big red lettering of "Do NOT do this, it is dumb, and if you do it you are even dumber"

    • @mattiaproserpio1453
      @mattiaproserpio1453 День назад

      Haig is worse than cadorna

  • @Sandman10032
    @Sandman10032 4 дня назад +1046

    Okay but imagine going down in history as the man who saved the president who ended WW2, by shooting a moving torpedo with a pistol

    • @liamhashmi7750
      @liamhashmi7750 4 дня назад +11

      wait what??

    • @cartoonraccoon2078
      @cartoonraccoon2078 3 дня назад +119

      @@liamhashmi7750 Didn't watch the video and went straight to the comments, huh?

    • @cartraz1839
      @cartraz1839 3 дня назад +62

      Some guy tracked the torpedo with his pistol but didn't shoot

    • @liamhashmi7750
      @liamhashmi7750 3 дня назад +7

      @@cartoonraccoon2078 yea pretty much lol

    • @xCosmicMuffinManx
      @xCosmicMuffinManx 3 дня назад +14

      ​@@pfiction2453Technically he didn't, Truman did 🤓

  • @aleksandarvil5718
    @aleksandarvil5718 4 дня назад +725

    *_"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."_*
    - Napoleon Bonaparte

    • @linuxsuperuser
      @linuxsuperuser 4 дня назад +31

      i feel like he learned that from experience.

    • @PaintingWithLindy
      @PaintingWithLindy 3 дня назад +25

      @@linuxsuperuser Most likely from Russia 🇷🇺

    • @kingofohio5689
      @kingofohio5689 3 дня назад +10

      Goes still Hard 🔥🔥🔥

    • @julianmhall
      @julianmhall 3 дня назад +3

      @@PaintingWithLindy Unlikely as Napoleon allegedly said it or something very similar in 1805 at Austerlitz.

    • @fatdaddyeddiejr
      @fatdaddyeddiejr 3 дня назад +2

      I think Sun Tzu said that.
      And Napoleon you want to talk about mistakes? Let's have a war with Russia. How did that turn out?

  • @wilhelmvillagracia9670
    @wilhelmvillagracia9670 3 дня назад +544

    Luigi Cardona was the best Austro-Hungarian general ever.

    • @TC1YT
      @TC1YT 3 дня назад +45

      Best joke by far 😂 he helped Austria Hungary way more than his country italy

    • @lantruongtuan582
      @lantruongtuan582 3 дня назад +18

      They should made him a national hero lol.

    • @javierandreszunigagarcia8791
      @javierandreszunigagarcia8791 3 дня назад +14

      CadoRna, not CaRdona...

    • @RaltBoi
      @RaltBoi 3 дня назад +3

      Mama mia

    • @aliakber775
      @aliakber775 3 дня назад +6

      We must thank cadorna on failing 12 times on a insignificant river😊😊

  • @MTTT1234
    @MTTT1234 4 дня назад +562

    Not really an idiot, but more of an arogant fool, was Augustus Adolphus of Sweden, who was killed because he refused to wear glasses. During a battle he lost sight of his own troops and rode on his horse towards what he assumed were friendly soldiers. They were not.

    • @Scavneger776
      @Scavneger776 3 дня назад +61

      100% he was a very good leader that just made a fatal mistake that cost of him his life and more.

    • @simpro1756
      @simpro1756 3 дня назад +27

      To be fair, glasses with corrective lenses were just appearing at the time meaning he probably wouldn't have access to them and glasses before that were just not worth the risk of loosing your eyes if they broke during battle.

    • @Divano-qw2sb
      @Divano-qw2sb 3 дня назад +6

      He also did not wear his armor during that battle.

    • @jimqatnt
      @jimqatnt 2 дня назад +10

      I was taught that it was because of a thick fog that rolled in that made him get lost and accidentally ride into enemy lines.

    • @zero1zerolast393
      @zero1zerolast393 2 дня назад +2

      Guy sounds near sighted

  • @nizaralsaidi4279
    @nizaralsaidi4279 4 дня назад +381

    Letting soldiers take their families with them on a large-scale suicide mission is just peak idiocracy.

    • @fiyahquacker2835
      @fiyahquacker2835 4 дня назад +25

      1863 Civil War watchouts in a nutshell.

    • @Sorcerers_Apprentice
      @Sorcerers_Apprentice 3 дня назад +44

      Camp followers were common practice in pre-industrial wars. They took care of logistics - foraging/preparing food, repairing clothes/weapons/shoes, medical care, etc.
      The Romans also had relatively good relations with the Germanic tribes in the area at the time, they thought they were still in friendly territory.

    • @standardgigachad3297
      @standardgigachad3297 3 дня назад +3

      Idiocy***

    • @critter30002001
      @critter30002001 3 дня назад +15

      All major nations did that back then.
      Look up the Briton’s revolt. They did the same thing when facing the Romans.
      Modern logistics did not exist back then. So having servants and families along allowed for maintenance and support for the Soldiers.

    • @collaborisgaming2190
      @collaborisgaming2190 2 дня назад +4

      Boudica did that and Lost 200,000 to 10,000 Romans trapped in a Ravine, in a Battle that would have made Nero Withdraw from Britannia if she Won.

  • @robertdacquisto6871
    @robertdacquisto6871 3 дня назад +169

    “Wheel him to the deck for a better view”, man they don’t make em like FDR anymore.

    • @dunbar9finger
      @dunbar9finger 2 дня назад +9

      Well if the threat to your life is that a torpedo might be hitting the ship you are on, up on deck is probably safer than inside. Going overboard and treading water until rescued is probably a better strategy for him than being stuck inside a room he can't get out of. He did a lot of swimming after his legs stopped working as a means of getting at least some type of exercise in.

    • @sergiojuanmembiela6223
      @sergiojuanmembiela6223 День назад +3

      To put things in perspective, I cannot think of any dreadnought that was sunk by a single torpedo hit.
      I mean, had the torpedo hit, it was not funny business and probably many men could have died. But it would have been very unlikely that the ship would have been sunk. And even in that case it was probably safe to assume that FDR could have been safely evacuated in a raft.

    • @Manco65
      @Manco65 22 часа назад +1

      If it was like most of the torpedoes we had at that time built by the lowest bidder it probably wouldn't have went off anyway.

    • @SavageGreywolf
      @SavageGreywolf 17 часов назад +2

      @@Manco65 All torpedo ordnance during WWII was designed by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and manufactured at government ordnance plants. The Mark 14 torpedo had some design flaws, but it was not because it was 'built by the lowest bidder', it was because of the technology at the time.

    • @timothyjburton
      @timothyjburton 16 часов назад +2

      I mean getting shot in the ear and standing up and yelling, "Fight Fight Fight"! is pretty Bravo Alpha.

  • @indianajones4321
    @indianajones4321 4 дня назад +225

    For the military: Luigi Cadorna and Conrad Von Hötzendorf
    In general: The Politicians

    • @aleksandarvil5718
      @aleksandarvil5718 4 дня назад +17

      Muhammad II of Kwarazm AND Francisco Solano Lopez are in
      BOTH categories!!!

    • @GageEsterly-us7xm
      @GageEsterly-us7xm 3 дня назад +2

      Hotzendorf is largely to blame for WW1

    • @hernanuliana9111
      @hernanuliana9111 19 часов назад

      Like Churchill, Roosvelt and Stalin?

    • @GageEsterly-us7xm
      @GageEsterly-us7xm 5 часов назад

      @@hernanuliana9111 that would be ww2...

  • @c.w.johnsonjr6374
    @c.w.johnsonjr6374 3 дня назад +65

    Stalin firing all his best generals right before Hitler invaded Russia deserves a mention.

    • @wildbill6976
      @wildbill6976 День назад

      "firing"... that's one way to put it...
      he had 90% of his military leadership killed...

    • @albertwolanski7688
      @albertwolanski7688 21 час назад

      How could he know Germany will invade him?

    • @nirghall2458
      @nirghall2458 14 часов назад

      Tuchachevsky's conspiracy. Google it idk

    • @elessartelcontar9415
      @elessartelcontar9415 6 часов назад +4

      Yeah, 'firing'; that's kinda accurate he had them shot. 900 officers in total.

    • @pascalpaps3139
      @pascalpaps3139 4 часа назад

      Stalin did that in 1937, Hitler invaded in 1941. 4 years is not exactly what i would call "right before". And those generals were plotting treason against Stalin so in that context it was a good decision. Besides..did Russia ever really had good generals? Zhukov is bassicaly the only Russian general that anyone can think of and even he won his battles by throwing waves and waves of cannonfodder against the Germans.

  • @jokodihaynes419
    @jokodihaynes419 4 дня назад +219

    "I'm surrounded by idiots"-Scar The Lion King

    • @Scrapyard24c
      @Scrapyard24c 3 дня назад +24

      "I've got morons on my team!"
      - Megatron, Transformers Generation 1

    • @TheOneManWhoBeatYou
      @TheOneManWhoBeatYou 3 дня назад +25

      "I'm surrounded by assholes!"
      -Dark Helmet, Spaceballs

    • @NicoBabyman1
      @NicoBabyman1 3 дня назад

      @@TheOneManWhoBeatYou
      “Keep firing, Assholes!”

    • @ShadowMark3_
      @ShadowMark3_ 3 дня назад +2

      I thought you were surrounded by gumdrops and ice cream!

    • @brunozeigerts6379
      @brunozeigerts6379 3 дня назад +1

      @@Scrapyard24c Actually, I thought that was Strother Martin in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

  • @TheEmolano
    @TheEmolano 3 дня назад +56

    Fun fact: Brazil and Argentina went to war multiple times over Uruguay before Paraguay decided to piss both of them. After that both countries never fought angain. Solano should at least have waited until the next war before atacking one of the larger countries.

  • @Ccdddttt
    @Ccdddttt 4 дня назад +155

    90% is crazy but at least he died in battle and not hiding inside a bunker.

    • @fiyahquacker2835
      @fiyahquacker2835 4 дня назад +21

      That kinda feels like put how good he is from 1 to 1.01

    • @tylerredforge5563
      @tylerredforge5563 3 дня назад

      @@fiyahquacker2835 truuuu lulllll

    • @PohEnYuDariusBsss
      @PohEnYuDariusBsss 3 дня назад +10

      Then again bunkers didn't really exist at the time

    • @SymphonyZach
      @SymphonyZach 3 дня назад +2

      @@PohEnYuDariusBssstrue but caves did and fortresses kinda do the same idea

    • @PohEnYuDariusBsss
      @PohEnYuDariusBsss 3 дня назад +1

      @@SymphonyZach fair point

  • @noHarmony1
    @noHarmony1 2 дня назад +32

    I kinda expected Konrad von Hötzendorf to be on this list, but when I saw Cadorna being there I remembered "Oh yeah, there was that one guy that made him look almost competent" XD

  • @flamethefirefox9006
    @flamethefirefox9006 4 дня назад +148

    I'm surprised you didn't include U.S. General George A. Custer, considering the fact that he was a glory seeking egotist.

    • @commonsenseking6386
      @commonsenseking6386 3 дня назад +19

      Yeah, or Santa Ana. Even Crassus, who just defeated Spartacus but met his end with the Parthian Empire. He was a very wealthy man it is like the owners of Tesla, Facebook, and Microsoft were given an army to do due battle.

    • @AutismTakesOn
      @AutismTakesOn 3 дня назад +15

      Well, at least Custer was never president and did some good work in the American Civil War before.... That

    • @thomassabino13
      @thomassabino13 3 дня назад +8

      Yeah you're clearly no history major lol pipe down

    • @IsaiahRichards692
      @IsaiahRichards692 3 дня назад +1

      Francisco Solano Lopez doesn’t belong on this list! He had a smaller, more elite force than Argentina and Brazil and his plan, on paper, was sound. Also, he suffered regular casualties for the time period but is seen as a butcher because Paraguay already had a small population!

    • @flamethefirefox9006
      @flamethefirefox9006 3 дня назад +1

      @@thomassabino13 ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

  • @knightingale9833
    @knightingale9833 4 дня назад +77

    Who was more stupid though, Cadorna or the people who took two whole years to relieve him 🤔

    • @skyripper2837
      @skyripper2837 3 дня назад +4

      Tbf 2 years is a reasonable amount of time to judge someone's ruling. Considering, you probably wouldn't want to deal with putting down rebellions in a middle of war.

    • @dallasjonpaulgrove547
      @dallasjonpaulgrove547 3 дня назад +5

      Cadorna was a General made by political friends in Rome, so he was first and foremost a Roman politician.
      A lot of people wanted him to stay in command just a bit longer in the hopes to prove that they were not incompetent for putting him in the position, much less about proving Cadorna's competency.
      The series of Isonzo was THE prime example of what not to do as a commander, he kept pressing his men into the same area that was getting increasingly difficult to push due to the ever-strengthening defenses.
      Also because Cadorna believed Trench warfare was cowardice he very rarely ever allowed the construction or entrenchments of proper defenses.
      It wasn't until Diaz came into command that the Italian front was finally stabilized and the Italians actually managed to preform so much more efficiently being able to use elastic defensive tactics and proper fortifications. Diaz basically put the life of an Italian soldier to hold more worth than Cadorna ever could.

    • @petergray2712
      @petergray2712 День назад +2

      The Italian political class was clueless about war. The general they sent to conquer Abyssinia in 1896, Oreste Baratieri, did a good job wearing down the numerically superior Abyssinian forces through a Fabian strategy, but the politicans demanded he fight and win a glorious victory so they would look good to the voters. Instead, he waged the most disastrous battle ever for a European army in Africa, the Battle of Adwa, losing 11,000 out of 17,000 men. Abyssinia would remain free from European colonialism until 1936 as a result.
      And if you think a Fascist would do better than these inept democrats, let's talk about Mussolini's shitshow during WW2.

    • @sergiojuanmembiela6223
      @sergiojuanmembiela6223 День назад

      Not stupidity, but:
      * You do not want to fire generals just because of lost battles. Sometimes battles cannot just be won. And sometimes even mediocre generals win battles through numbers and luck. Certainly a defeat should cause some concern and research, but then the people at the top would have been given information from Cadorna and his entourage.
      * It is not that other countries'offensives in the war were doing great, either. It was assumed that the defendant would have massive advantages.
      * And, even after you have realized the man is stupid, firing him reflects poorly on those who chose it. So they may try just to "wait a little more" to see if something changes and there is a victory that validates the choice, or even provides for an opportunity for replacing him without linking to his incompetence ("due to health reasons the General has asked to be granted leave.")

    • @tov.zheleznyakov7494
      @tov.zheleznyakov7494 День назад

      What's your problem??!! That was a decision of the king, it was not democratic or something

  • @cutlassken6194
    @cutlassken6194 4 дня назад +87

    Varus! Oh Quinctilius Varus! Give me back my legions!

    • @drankjehierdrankjedaar3822
      @drankjehierdrankjedaar3822 4 дня назад +10

      Damn varus

    • @lantruongtuan582
      @lantruongtuan582 3 дня назад +3

      "Armenius? A traitor? I think not"

    • @darth_yoda
      @darth_yoda 2 дня назад +3

      What they kinda forget to include is the reason WHY Varus trusted Armenius he might have grown up as a hostage but he had through LONG serviced shown him self as a loyal soldier of Rome through many campaigns so when warned by a stranger whom would you trust? The man whom have fought at your side for years and even saved your life a number of times. OR the stranger whom come in and tell you that he is a traitor?

  • @sankyu3950
    @sankyu3950 4 дня назад +179

    Atleast they didnt comitted martial law at 3am

  • @corymorimacori1059
    @corymorimacori1059 4 дня назад +125

    Theodore Roosevelt: You should be ashamed of your military honor!

    • @VivaLaEdits
      @VivaLaEdits 4 дня назад +6

      👏

    • @cowboys25489
      @cowboys25489 4 дня назад +5

      I won't find a better comment today this is it for sure....has never rolling ima go back and rewatch it

    • @wnc1129
      @wnc1129 4 дня назад +12

      "Everyone know you were back home saying Thank God for Pearl Hahbar!"

    • @ExtantPerson
      @ExtantPerson 4 дня назад +3

      You comment this on every video, and on this one it fits perfectly. I admire the perseverance.

    • @aaronfield7899
      @aaronfield7899 3 дня назад +2

      Did he really say that?

  • @goldosprey
    @goldosprey 3 дня назад +22

    11:13 I love the fact that even when the Mongols were bloodthirty, they weren't shy to use a pen. Which makes the dumbass emperor killing their messenger even dumber

    • @CM26617
      @CM26617 3 дня назад +6

      Well, if there ever was a real-life case for 'Never kill the messenger' ...

    • @Taistelukalkkuna
      @Taistelukalkkuna 3 дня назад

      They needed to have excuse to invade. Shah provided it.

  • @cloud2389
    @cloud2389 3 дня назад +40

    “Don’t shoot we’re republicans!”
    Other ships in the Pacific fleet to the “Willie D”

  • @BensonCaisip
    @BensonCaisip 3 дня назад +13

    To this day, Varus still hasn't given back his 3 Legions.

  • @Gideon0215
    @Gideon0215 4 дня назад +16

    Honorable mention-Sir William Elphinstone

  • @isauldron4337
    @isauldron4337 3 дня назад +6

    Genghis khan when his trade offerers get massacred:
    Come on let's try again
    King: kills the diplomat
    Genshin khan: so you have chosen death

    • @michealklondike4049
      @michealklondike4049 20 часов назад +2

      Which is fair enough. The king was just being an A-hole at that point. They could have negotiated something 💀

  • @lygames_1027
    @lygames_1027 3 дня назад +8

    Uruguay was having a civil war, brazil intervened after rumours of brazillians being targeted by one of the sides, they didnt invade uruguay
    Then Solano invaded brazil and tried to send his troops to uruguay via argentina to help his allied side of the uruguayan civil war

    • @Vinlaand
      @Vinlaand 8 часов назад

      Uruguay was NOT having a civil war. Brazil provided support to a uruguayan general to start one, due to Uruguay trying to leave Brazil's sphere of influence. The rest is correct.

    • @lygames_1027
      @lygames_1027 7 часов назад

      @Vinlaand how so?
      What about the blancos vs colorados?
      It was a political unrest that then turned into a civil war.
      In wich Brazil supported the colorados...
      While Solano the blancos.
      He invaded Brazil becaused he feared that if the colorados won, uruguay would stop giving paraguay access to the sea by the plata river

  • @knightingale9833
    @knightingale9833 4 дня назад +21

    13:10 low end estimate indeed, I’ve heard the population of modern day Iran is still lower than it was before Ghengis Khan invaded

    • @Horologist-zu5vq
      @Horologist-zu5vq 3 дня назад +1

      Good.

    • @micg7282
      @micg7282 3 дня назад +1

      It is I think. Not to mention that all the advances in science, medicine and philosophy was lost. They put them back in the Stone Age. And the Middle East never really recovered.

  • @nematolvajkergetok5104
    @nematolvajkergetok5104 3 дня назад +6

    18:30 The battle of Caporetto was so terrible that even today, "una Caporetto" is used as an idiom for an unmitigated, terrible disaster in Italian language. Interestingly, Hungarians also have a similar, yet less common idiom, "a Doberdo" to a terrible mess or chaos, referring to another WW1 battle with Italy.

  • @arthurcardozo5369
    @arthurcardozo5369 2 дня назад +4

    Brazil did not exactly invade Uruguay, Emperor Pedro II supported the Colorados in the civil war and Solano Lopez supported the Blancos. The Colorados won and joined the Triple Alliance due to a debt with Brazil.

  • @Tripact_of_fire
    @Tripact_of_fire 3 дня назад +14

    Immediately when i saw the name of Varus i said oh no. "Quinctilius Varus give me back my legions"

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 2 дня назад +2

      It was a crunching defeat, but if you was in Varus situation, why wouldn't you trust a senior Roman-Germanic auxiliary pathfinder/scout leader, and his men, that served Rome faithful during 15 years time, with a excellent track record.
      Shall you carry out a campaign, without pathfinders/scouts with local knowledge?

    • @Tripact_of_fire
      @Tripact_of_fire 2 дня назад

      @kirgan1000 one word "Germanic"

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 2 дня назад

      @@Tripact_of_fire Rome have loots of auxiliary Cohorts, even the Emperor have a Germanic bodyguard.
      So your plane is to carry out the campaign, without pathfinders/scouts with local knowledge?

    • @Tripact_of_fire
      @Tripact_of_fire 2 дня назад

      @@kirgan1000 i know but i think it was a mistake to do so

  • @Goc4ever
    @Goc4ever 3 дня назад +12

    I agree Simple History, in war there are heroes and fools and these guys fit the the latter category.

  • @SirAsdf
    @SirAsdf 3 дня назад +10

    From what I remember from the Sam O'Nella video about the USS Porter, the entire ship's crew was utterly incompetent.

    • @GuyIncognito-111
      @GuyIncognito-111 День назад

      That whole ship was a comedy of errors

    • @zp6ri
      @zp6ri 10 часов назад +1

      that ship was just straight cursed.

  • @alexyswarjovaara3993
    @alexyswarjovaara3993 4 дня назад +30

    0:30 ”peabrained prat” 😂

  • @peterwhite6415
    @peterwhite6415 4 дня назад +44

    The Dawnson I think can be excused due to it being an acident and atempting to fix his mistake, but hes still an idiot.
    Everyone else on this list? Absolutly pathetic and infuriating, to the point they activly dont seem to think on the posisble consequences.

    • @Scrapyard24c
      @Scrapyard24c 2 дня назад +2

      Well, the William D. Porter is often referred to as one of the most incompetent ships in US Navy history for a reason as the torpedo incident wasn't the only one the crew was responsible for.
      When the Porter first left port to join in the Iowa's escort, the crew failed to raise anchor properly and ended up causing severe damage to the ship next to them.
      Later on, an unsecured depthcharge rolled off the deck and exploded, scaring the other three ships into taking evasive action before the Porter broke radio silence (this was before the torpedo) in order to tell the rest of the fleet what happened.
      The William D. Porter would eventually be partially responsible for its own demise.
      During the Battle of Okinawa, the Porter shot down a Japanese Kamikaze plane and ended up sailing right over the wreck, which then exploded.
      The damage would cause the Porter to sink around 3 hours later.

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 2 дня назад +1

      @@Scrapyard24c Actually, only the torpedo incident and her sinking actually happened; the rest are 1990s fabrications.

  • @rafaellorentz6592
    @rafaellorentz6592 3 дня назад +3

    Even if some people say the estimate of Paraguayan loss is too much to believe,the minimum estimates of population lost ( in general, not only male) was around 30% , with most of it being male. To put into perspective, is a percentage bigger than the population loss of Germany and the Soviet Union combined in the Second World War. And remember, it was a xix century war. No machine guns, no air strikes. Just muskets, cannons and good old cholera and malaria casualties.

  • @casualobserver5183
    @casualobserver5183 День назад +1

    Dude, you did Varus dirty 😂. Varus was a reasonable competent administrator and general. The terrible reality is that there were many commanders it could have happened to.

    • @dude123nice6
      @dude123nice6 4 часа назад

      This is just a poorly researched clickbait piece.

  • @SwattyBoiPlays
    @SwattyBoiPlays 3 дня назад +12

    3:41 bro stood up for the torpedo man dawson

    • @blackfox7448
      @blackfox7448 3 дня назад +3

      I mean to be fair, he did order to make the simulation that eventually lead to the accidental firing of a live torpedo so i guess he felt somewhat responsible xD

  • @jacobzehner2004
    @jacobzehner2004 4 дня назад +6

    3:46
    A man unimaginative martinet who was ruthless with his troops and dismissive of his country's political authorities.

  • @jokodihaynes419
    @jokodihaynes419 4 дня назад +26

    "Fool of a took"-Gadalf the white

    • @TrevDri
      @TrevDri 3 дня назад +1

      Thought he was grey at that point.

    • @littleblackcat2273
      @littleblackcat2273 3 дня назад

      @@TrevDri ... well, everyone's hair changes as they get older.

    • @DOOM_Dwarf
      @DOOM_Dwarf 3 дня назад

      Guys give Gadalfs hair a break.

    • @TrevDri
      @TrevDri 3 дня назад

      @@littleblackcat2273 yea but your name usually doesn't thats pretty unique.

  • @time_warriors
    @time_warriors 4 дня назад +7

    The way history and animation are combined is brilliant, and the storytelling keeps you hooked until the very end. Thank you for making history this exciting! 🏛🔥good job man

  • @rensienator
    @rensienator День назад

    Bedankt

  • @lauratomaszewski7942
    @lauratomaszewski7942 4 дня назад +9

    The thumbnail is truly amazing

  • @seanmueller7125
    @seanmueller7125 3 дня назад +31

    Ngl, surprised Custer didn't make it on this list for his idiocy at Little Big Horn 😅

    • @inisipisTV
      @inisipisTV 3 дня назад +9

      In truth Custer was one the Union army most skilled commanders winning lots of battles. In the war against the Indians, Custer pushed for diplomacy and integration than outright hostility, but was overruled by the War office. In Little Big Horn, Col. Custer was leading the initial patrol group when he got surrounded by Sitting Bulls forces. He was expecting the main US Union forces down the hill to come and releave his trapped forces, as was planned, but the commanding General opt to stay put and sent a smaller group to try to rescue Custer, obviously it failed. Custer then ordered his remaining troops to try to break through from the encirclment and reach the main Army group. Only one survived.

  • @dallinn9164
    @dallinn9164 3 дня назад +2

    "There's a torpedo coming!"
    FDR: "My time has come."

  • @bruceanthony3357
    @bruceanthony3357 День назад +1

    Have you noticed some of the worst idiots placed in command are "daddy's boys". They never develop strategies nor are trained under harsh conditions. Their synonymous to the coach's son being the quarterback of the team. Lose every time.

  • @FinnishDragon
    @FinnishDragon День назад +1

    I would add British general William George Keith Elphinstone and his adventure to Kabul during 19th century to this list.

  • @martinrosschou
    @martinrosschou День назад +3

    I have a feeling we can soon add Putin to this list.

  • @mattiafrancesco
    @mattiafrancesco 3 дня назад +14

    It’s interesting that in Italy, many squares and streets are still named after Luigi Cadorna. Historians have mixed opinions on his contributions during the war.

    • @Tahitilover1899
      @Tahitilover1899 3 дня назад

      Italians are terrible at war so it makes sense they still honor a idiot

  • @Cheeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
    @Cheeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 3 дня назад +2

    The ONE thing I will say about Lopez is that at least he fought to the end and died with his men.

  • @Hathur
    @Hathur 3 дня назад +5

    Correction: Longbows did NOT exist during the Roman Empire. It was a Medieval era invention (about 1,200 years after Publius was even born). The best bow during the Roman Empire was the composite bow... considerably shorter range than the medieval longbow. In fact, Roman Legions rarely used bows at all and Publius would not have had many at all in his ranks, if any. The pilum and javelin were the preferred ranged weapon of Roman Legions in his time.

    • @jffry890
      @jffry890 3 дня назад +2

      Slings outranged bows anyways.

    • @lawrenceofarabia9219
      @lawrenceofarabia9219 3 дня назад +2

      The Romans had auxiliaries (non-citizen soldiers) who served as archers.

    • @Taistelukalkkuna
      @Taistelukalkkuna 3 дня назад +1

      If you are talking about Welsh Longbow, maybe yes. But bows have existed thousands of years. See Holmegaard Bow for example. You are correct that bow was not standard weapon in legions, yet.

    • @Hathur
      @Hathur 3 дня назад +1

      @@Taistelukalkkuna I referred specifically to the "Longbow". Historically they don't exist until around 633AD (Welsh) and not become more wide spread across some parts of Europe until 1,200 AD. Bows prior to that were short bows, composite bows, self bows, etc - all of which were substantially shorter in range than the earliest Welsh longbow and had drastically less armor penetration due to draw strength.
      Rome had NO longbows as this video stated. They had composite bows at best and archers comprised less than 5% of a typical Legion (Rome was still mostly using Pilums and Javelins for ranged combat as it was built into their tactics and formations. Archers were usually not legion soldiers themselves but mercenaries / peasants etc and were exceedingly uncommon at this point in history for Rome. It would be another 110 years before Rome began utilizing bowmen as a larger part of their army than they do here).
      It's important to differentiate because the Longbow is closer in time to history to Muskets (separated by only 500 to 600 years) vs 2,000+ years for Rome's composite, recurve and self bows at this time in history. The longbow to a Roman would've been almost as far fetched as the musket would've been, considering even their "artillery" mangonels would've struggled to match the range of a longbow.

    • @kenneth9874
      @kenneth9874 2 дня назад

      Composite bows outrange longbows

  • @seanlander9321
    @seanlander9321 2 дня назад +1

    General Dentz, he surrendered Paris to the Germans in 1940, then he surrendered Syria and Lebanon to the Australians in 1941. He was a buffoon.

  • @rpower1401
    @rpower1401 3 дня назад +4

    How did a guy who just missed the arming device on one of three torpedoes (and maybe a few other things) end up on a list with these far greater disaster makers? I'm not sure which side is to be insulted by the combination, but somebody is being snubbed!

  • @KingOfStopMotion
    @KingOfStopMotion 2 дня назад +1

    Respect to Segesties for trying to warn the Romans. A lot of Romans could've been saved and 3 Legions could've survived if not for Varros.

  • @llucas.M.O
    @llucas.M.O 3 дня назад +3

    Just for the Record. The lance that hurted "El supremo" was The lance of a brazilian soldier called "Chico Diabo" (Chico the Devil).

  • @HammerJammer81
    @HammerJammer81 4 дня назад +7

    LMAO .. The animation for the first "Idiot" ... hahahaha

  • @KyleShiflet13666
    @KyleShiflet13666 4 дня назад +6

    You need to do a solo episode on "The Willie D"

    • @michaelaustin334
      @michaelaustin334 3 дня назад +2

      Cracked already did it. Not a video hillarious.

    • @TheyCallMeDio
      @TheyCallMeDio 2 дня назад

      Sam O'Nella did a video about it

  • @BigislandEJ
    @BigislandEJ День назад +1

    The US Navy is very well known for placing blame on lowly seaman to cover for institutional idiocy, I wouldn’t be so sure the story is entirely accurate.

  • @Harikejn
    @Harikejn 3 дня назад +13

    Here are some couple of fun facts.
    Firstly, I'll say about Mongols two things. In Europe, Mongol Empire reached the Southern - East Europe, almost to the Danube (taking the Pannonian Plain in Balkan peninsula).
    Second thing is that Mongol Empire have defeated the Ottoman Empire in 15th century.
    Secondly, I'll say about French Empire (about the Napoleon here two things). First thing is, when he was invading Europe, he took the Dalmatia (also in Balkan peninsula).
    Second thing is that when the Napoleon tried to invade Russia, he firstly helped Turks with weapons, so the Turks could start to recapture territories from Serbs in 1813.
    Well also during the WWII when Germany was preparing to invade Yugoslavia in 1941, the Yugoslavian fighter planes and bombers had white cross with red an blue insignia. When the planes were moving Germans thought that those are their planes, no matter how does this color scheme of Yugoslavian planes was different.
    18:07 Nicola Tesla (awesome).
    Next time in Simple History print, put also following people. Those are: Michelle Pupin, Michelle Petrović, and Milutin Milanković.

    • @mingfanzhang4600
      @mingfanzhang4600 3 дня назад +2

      😊

    • @mattislindehag3065
      @mattislindehag3065 3 дня назад +2

      In world war one the British stoped using the union jack as the marking on their planes because it looked to similar to the german black and white iron cross. These symbols look nothing alike if you get even a halfway decent look at them... but on a moving aircraft you frequently don't. All you have time to recognize is a vague cross shape then your brain fills in the details.

    • @selimcardak7799
      @selimcardak7799 3 дня назад +1

      Mongol empire had already collapsed by 15th century, no way they can defeat the ottomans
      It’s the timurids who are a Turkic empire who defeated the ottomans

    • @Harikejn
      @Harikejn 2 дня назад +1

      @@mattislindehag3065 Here is one fun fact also. Believe it or not, ever reported shooting down of an airplane from ground to air, occurred in Serbia during the WWI. Radoje Raka Ljutovac was the first soldier who shot down the enemy plane.
      It all occurred on 30th of September 1915, when Austria-Hungary empire sent 3 planes to bomb Kragujevac. Army used pistols, machine guns, and rifles to shoot down airplane. Then Radoje Raka Ljutovac decided to use the old Turkish cannon that was in storage, since it was there. He aimed a cannon towards the plane, an fired at it. Then the cannonball or shell hit the plane, and the plane crashed. After that Radoje Raka Ljutovac went to the crash site, and he saw 3 dead pilots there. When he saw them, he saluted to them. After that people were gathering to see what's going on. Then Serbian army told the citizens these things: Noting to see; Show's over; Go back to your daily life activities.
      Also Serbian air force did also bombed the Austria-Hungary in 1915, so they can stop their advance.

    • @lesamar8611
      @lesamar8611 2 дня назад +1

      @@selimcardak7799 The Mongols did defeat the Turks on Angora in year 1402. You can see the details about that on internet.

  • @jagmarc
    @jagmarc 2 дня назад +1

    Paraguay had lost 90% male population. Maybe Hxmas 2023 should be a mention, though the good news is the population of Gaza had actually INCREASED by 2% since 10-7 !

  • @simonesilvestri7341
    @simonesilvestri7341 День назад

    Just few word in defence of Cadorna: 1) The Isonzo is 1 of the 2 passages throug the Alps, the second one were too tight for an army passage 2) On that front were the strongest, so make sense to attack the enemy in the only place just that large to support a campaign battle 3) Cadorna use the same strategy that every WW1 general uses (frontal attack with artillery), what other strategy he can use.
    With that im not defending Cadorna, but i want to show to you that, yes is cruel, very cruel, but is not entirely his fault.

  • @Lemmiwinks_The_Gerbil_King
    @Lemmiwinks_The_Gerbil_King День назад +1

    9:30 average german win
    11:15 smartest Muhammed

  • @jamesblossom-y1u
    @jamesblossom-y1u 23 часа назад

    "Pride goeth before disaster and a willful heart before a fall" -- Proverbs.

  • @jeremypope9534
    @jeremypope9534 3 дня назад +9

    Left out Soviet generals in the early years of WWII.

  • @SnakeonLSD
    @SnakeonLSD 2 дня назад

    Lawton Dawson: Too forgetful and careless
    Luigi Cadorna: Too stubborn and hot-headed
    Publius Quinctilius Varus: Too overconfident
    Muhammad II of Khwarazm: Too spoiled and self-important
    Francisco Sorana Lopez: Too reckless and over his head

  • @ben9724
    @ben9724 3 дня назад +3

    Should do a video about the most intelligent soldiers. I pretty sure that Canadian soldier Arthur Currie would be there since he studied the battlefields to limit the losses

  • @a.m.7165
    @a.m.7165 2 дня назад +1

    Pointing your pistol at a torpedo seems desperate but it's better than doing nothing. There is a microscopic chance you might achieve something.

  • @sabiant.lawson2909
    @sabiant.lawson2909 4 дня назад +10

    6:08 Far Cry 3! Let's go!

  • @rtyrsson
    @rtyrsson День назад

    When I saw "Biggest idiots in war" I expected it to be far longer than eighteen and a half minutes. History is replete with them.

  • @BaxterAndLunala
    @BaxterAndLunala 3 дня назад +5

    6:07: Is it any wonder why anyone would quote Vaas? He's one of the most iconic video game villains ever, up there with the likes of Senator Armstrong and Handsome Jack.

    • @skrahnha
      @skrahnha 3 дня назад

      Bro, the quote is way older than that game. It was even (most likely falsely) attributed to Einstein.

  • @AirJoe
    @AirJoe 4 дня назад +6

    7:09 I'd like to imagine he actually ran away like that 😂

  • @TridentAminations
    @TridentAminations День назад

    that luigi general is the perfect example of the sentence “so stupid even your enemy concerns”

  • @wnc1129
    @wnc1129 4 дня назад +4

    You sure know how to title a video for us to click on

  • @ViceN53X
    @ViceN53X 11 часов назад

    Never thought I'd hear the narrator say "Dude" in such a formal manner

  • @HRHooChicken
    @HRHooChicken 3 дня назад +2

    What about Winston Churchill? His list of blunders is impressive

    • @esajuhanirintamaki965
      @esajuhanirintamaki965 День назад

      Especially, when he suggested Gallipoli operation.

    • @HRHooChicken
      @HRHooChicken 22 часа назад

      @ yes. That nearly ended his career and he ended up as an officer on the frontline because of that. Other blunders in WW2 were Norway, Greece, Italy. He was too inept and too drunk to make any good big decisions.

  • @mattsilva8169
    @mattsilva8169 2 дня назад

    In my opinion Paraguay’s war against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay was 100 percent fruitless because of Paraguay’s size compared to Argentina and Brazil.

  • @subtlewhatssubtle
    @subtlewhatssubtle 2 дня назад

    "History may have its fair share of heroes, but it has twice as many fools" feels like a line from Oscar Wilde or Mark Twain. Something witty and cutting and more painfully accurate than we want it to be.

  • @ericlathan6178
    @ericlathan6178 3 дня назад +2

    I really hate that “definition” of insanity, is that what you do when you practice something??

    • @kenneth9874
      @kenneth9874 2 дня назад

      Yes, but you don't expect different results.....

  • @azazeldeath
    @azazeldeath День назад +1

    Okay so story 1 is waaaay more wild than anyone would believe. Seriously it was one screw up after another. Almost as comical as the Russian fleet in WW1 that turned into a zoo, that came "under attack" from torpedoes from numerous fisherman....

  • @EnergreenMiscellaneous
    @EnergreenMiscellaneous День назад

    I genuinely laughed when this dude took hotshots at the generals
    Timestamps: 4:28 5:42 6:03 (kinda) 6:29 7:31 11:20

  • @GuyIncognito-111
    @GuyIncognito-111 День назад

    Lopez: “If you can’t beat em, move on and try to beat someone else while you are also trying to beat the first guy. Throw a third in there, too.”

  • @Kat-amber-t2z
    @Kat-amber-t2z День назад

    I thought the first story was that they had only prepared 2 torpedos for the exercise, so when the captain ordered a third shot it was live because it had never been intended for the exercise.
    Oh, but then the same ship fired on a meeting of commanding officers in Alaska, right before it was supposed to be shipped out. Not surprisingly, they decided to say nothing and let it go for the sake of their own safety.

  • @marleegould542
    @marleegould542 День назад

    The whole career of the William D. Porter is hilarious, I highly recommend watching the many videos people have made about it. It was simultaneously the unluckiest and luckiest ship in the Navy.

  • @JoseHernandez-Mendez
    @JoseHernandez-Mendez 4 дня назад +6

    9:45 I'm Glenn Quagmire

  • @luisemoralesfalcon4716
    @luisemoralesfalcon4716 4 дня назад +3

    The guy who enlisted after exiting the bar.

  • @wombatsgalore
    @wombatsgalore Час назад

    That the Paraguayans followed Lopez despite such casualties does speak for his powers of persuasion, so calling him "idiot" may not be apropriate...

  • @ll_Chaos_ll
    @ll_Chaos_ll День назад

    I'm not sure if anyone tells you this but man your thumbnails are getting better and better, Makes me laugh everytime a new vid comes out.

  • @petergray2712
    @petergray2712 День назад

    Honorable mention: Manuel Silvestre. Following the loss of their empire to the USA in the Spanish American War, Spain tried to colonize the Rif region of northern Morocco in an effort to regain prestige. The native Moroccans rebelled under Abd el-Krim, who successfully drove the Spanish back to the Mediterranean coast. The Spanish government responded by sending the magnificently mustachioed Silvestre with a sizeable force to crush the rebels.
    Silvestre was a man with a swaggering ego who owed his command to his lifelong friend, Spanish King Alfonso XIII. This episode in cronyism saddled the poorly fed and led Spanish troops with a monstrously arrogant commander. Silvestre dismissed his enemy as mere savages, underestimating the abilities of Moroccan soldiers and Krim. His Army consisted mainly of poorly paid and provisioned conscripts, led by officers that preferred partying, gambling, and whoring to actual fighting, and were subjected to draconian discipline and poor living conditions that sapped morale. Silvestre refused to study his enemy and his tactics and rejected the advice of soldiers who had fought previously the rebels and went out of his way to alienate the Muslim population through boorish behavior.
    In his pursuit of the Moorish rebels, Silvestre failed to build a stable logistical system to supply his troops, and what aupplies had reached his army were usually stolen and sold on the black market by the corrupt Spanish officer corps. He compounded all of his problems by stationing his troops in blockhouses that lacked adequate water supplies and were scattered and isolated from each other, which permitted them to be easily surrounded and captured by the rebels.
    On 22 July 1921, following several minor victories over the demoralized Spanish, Abd el-Krim and his army attacked the main Spanish military camp at Annual. After several hours of fighting and with supplies becoming critically low, Silvestre decided to retreat. Spanish Moroccan troops deserted and defected during the early stages of the retreat, and the poorly led Spanish troops routed into an undisciplined mob, and they were cut down like wheat by Moorish riflemen and horsemen. Silvestre suffered a mental breakdown, screaming to his men, "Run, run, the bogeyman is coming," as other officers were attempting to regroup and rally their forces.
    Of the 5000 Spanish soldiers at Annual proper, only 570 men aurvived, of whom 326 were taken prisoner by the Moroccans. Another 8000 soldiers would die during the long retreat of the entire army to the coast after the battle. Silvestre reportedly committed suicide by a gunshot to the head, but there is no definitive proof as his body was never recovered after the battle. King Alfonso XIII, whose love of swashbuckling men led to his patronage of Silvestre, was playing golf in Monaco when he received word of the disaster. His alleged reply was "chicken is cheap" in response to the heavy losses, a callous quote that would set in motion events leading to his overthrow almost ten years later.

  • @yallprettysus
    @yallprettysus 4 дня назад +5

    I always joked on these guys, but I understand now the urge to comment first😂 you just dont have any material to base a joke on but want to seize the opportunity.

  • @eliasofkeliwich1714
    @eliasofkeliwich1714 2 дня назад

    The story of the USS William D. Porter is amazing. The complete idiot is not only the torpedo man, but the whole crew during all the war. Beside the POTUS incident, it ramed another ship the first time it sailed, it accidently fired an artillery shell into the commander of a naval base garden in Alaska, shot down few US plane alongside japanese kamikazes and damaged another US waship by firing too low. It ended up destroyed by a kamikaze, but with no casualties.
    No US warship is allowed to be named William D. Porter ever again.

  • @Panzersoldaten
    @Panzersoldaten 3 дня назад +3

    3:48 yes Cadorna was a huge Baffoon. He literally tried to attack Austria in the worst places. Now if he attacked Tyrol that does bring up harder challenges due to the very poor terrain but Italy was not prepared to attack such a position on the isonzo. Cadorna could’ve possibly just waited for proper siege artillery then do anything but a frontal assault. One of his generals Armando Diaz and his army was the only one to make progress in the isonzo river battles but Diaz was able to bring victory

    • @mirceazaharia2094
      @mirceazaharia2094 3 дня назад

      I'm pretty sure I played a similar battle in Battlefield 1. It was a tough fight... Damn you, Cadorna!

    • @GPDermawan
      @GPDermawan 3 дня назад

      More like Italian idiot general

  • @Redwin34
    @Redwin34 3 часа назад

    Roosevelt was a cool dude for not having that dude arrested, I know I would probably be that navy guy if I was born a few decades earlier lol

  • @eddthehead123
    @eddthehead123 3 дня назад

    There is actually a story of a guy who blew up a torpedo with his rifle. It's a million to one chance, but not completely impossible.

  • @charjl96
    @charjl96 13 часов назад

    Imagine being one of the 10% of men left in Paraguay.

  • @CM26617
    @CM26617 3 дня назад

    Gods, can you imagine the waiting room these five would be in?
    TRPMN Dawson: "Well, hey. Look like as though I wasn't the worst after all."
    Varrus: "Er, you DID nearly kill your head of state. An accident, granted, but-"
    Muhammed II: "Pot, kettle. I heard Teutorborg went so badly, Varrus, that no Roman Legion bore the numerals 17, 18 or 19 again!"
    F.S. Lopez: *going on his latest Napoleonic diatribe to the neighbouring Cardona*
    GEN. Cardona: "Oh ..." *draws his sidearm* "SHUT!! UUUUP!!"

  • @txgunguy2766
    @txgunguy2766 2 дня назад

    There's also Colonel Johann Rahl, commander of the Hessian troops at the Battle of Trenton, NJ, on December 26th, 1776.
    Prior to the battle, a Loyalist sent Rahl a note informing him of Washington's impending attack on the Hessians at Trenton. However, Rahl couldn't read it since it was in english, and Rahl REFUSED TO INTERRUPT HIS CARD GAME to find somebody to read it to him. After Colonel Rahl died from mortal wounds relieved in the battle, the note was found still in his pocket.

  • @damocles8417
    @damocles8417 3 дня назад +1

    As a US Navy veteran, I’m not surprised the first guy was Navy. In my five years active, I met people dumber than I thought possible.

  • @nick53686
    @nick53686 2 дня назад

    I like how the first one was a simple soldier and then all the others were either world leaders or politically connected people from history.

  • @afrikasmith1049
    @afrikasmith1049 3 дня назад

    The first one is a prime example of why you should always be thorough with IQ tests.

  • @treybegood
    @treybegood День назад

    “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Sounds vaguely familiar to the incoming administration and the USA’s inevitable downfall.

  • @Activated_Complex
    @Activated_Complex 2 дня назад +1

    In this video, we'll be talking about egomaniacal dictators and generals who destroyed entire generations or entire countries. Now let's start things off with Feeble-Minded Seaman Schmuckatelli, who made a mistake that could've killed somebody, but didn't, but could've, but didn't. Yup, definitely belongs on the list.