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re: Worst US General of all time?

Posted on 5/29/19 at 7:22 am to
Posted by OleWar
Troy H. Middleton Library
Member since Mar 2008
5828 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 7:22 am to
quote:

Beauregard


Made mistakes at Shiloh but not even the worst Confederate General.
Posted by Teufelhunden
Galvez, LA
Member since Feb 2005
5582 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 7:27 am to
Tommy Franks
Posted by Vacherie Saint
Member since Aug 2015
39464 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 7:27 am to
quote:

I fired him because he wouldn't respect the authority of the President. I didn't fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.


Harry Truman also once threatened to punch a reporter in the face, among many other off-color comments and acts. I always chuckle and think of things like this when the sky screamers start to screech about how boorish and unpresidential Trump is.
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
65086 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 7:28 am to
Ambrose Burnside. And the man was so self-deprecating he probably would agree with that sentiment.

Posted by TigerFanInSouthland
Louisiana
Member since Aug 2012
28065 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 7:28 am to
quote:

Ricardo Sanchez, bad general and a coward too.


Wow, just read a little about him. What a son of a bitch.
Posted by CaptainBrannigan
Good Ole Rocky Top Tennessee
Member since Jan 2010
21644 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 8:09 am to
Lee. Gets overhyped by whites in the South. Grant made his arse quit.
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
65086 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 8:17 am to
quote:

Grant made his arse quit.


Grant made a lot of asses quit but that doesn't necessarily mean he was a bad general, certainly not WOAT. Was Napoleon overhyped simply because Wellington made his arse quit at Waterloo?

Posted by HueyP
Lubbock
Member since Nov 2008
3155 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 8:28 am to
Custer would have to be in this conversation.
He marched his men two days and immediately joins into a divided attack. He had two thoughts on his mind Custer glory and getting a presidential nomination.
His loss rate in the civil war raises an eyebrow too.
Posted by guydiamond
Arizona
Member since Jun 2017
555 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 8:43 am to
Has anyone said Robert E Lee yet?
Posted by RollTide1987
Augusta, GA
Member since Nov 2009
65086 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 8:47 am to
Custer wasn't a general at Little Big Horn. He was a colonel.

And his performance in the Civil War was actually fairly solid. There's a reason why he was mustered out of the volunteer army as a major general in 1866. He didn't achieve that rank through incompetence. He clearly impressed his superior officers - those officers being Sheridan and Grant.

Custer's downfall was his arrogance and belief that the enemy he was fighting out west was inferior to him.
Posted by MorbidTheClown
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2015
65907 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 8:48 am to
Posted by LB84
Member since May 2016
3348 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 8:58 am to
quote:

And his performance in the Civil War was actually fairly solid. There's a reason why he was mustered out of the volunteer army as a major general in 1866. He didn't achieve that rank through incompetence. He clearly impressed his superior officers - those officers being Sheridan and Grant.


The Union had too many people who just sat around and thought instead of taking action. Even to the smallest things like how deep a part of the Chickahominy River was.

Barnard mutter, "I wish I knew how deep it is." Custer dashed forward on his horse out to the middle of the river, turned to the astonished officers, and shouted triumphantly, "That's how deep it is, Mr. General!"

Men like Custer, Chamberlain, Sherman, and Grant took action instead of overthinking everything. Yes, it can lead to mistakes but sitting on your arse while the enemy is maneuvering circles around you is even worse.

Posted by DivotBreath
On the course
Member since Oct 2007
3506 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 9:00 am to
General Electric ... bought a front load washer from them that was a piece of shite.
Posted by LSUinMA
Commerce, Texas
Member since Nov 2008
4776 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 9:00 am to
Daniel Sickles, A political general with no military ability who damn near lost Gettysburg for the Union.
Posted by tigeraddict
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2007
11806 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 9:02 am to
General Custer.....
Posted by Mr Clean
New Iberia
Member since Aug 2006
49241 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 9:11 am to
Not Bobby Knight
Posted by Tigris
Mexican Home
Member since Jul 2005
12357 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 9:34 am to
quote:

explain to me how MacArthur didn’t uselessly throw his men’s lives away due to his arrogance.


They all do this at some point. Picket's charge is a pretty good example. Dan Carlin comments at one point that all generals have huge egos and the more I read the more I realize that this is true. They pretty much have to. McArthur was an egotistical arse and had his failings, some of them pretty large. The Philippines weren't properly prepared for the Japanese attack even though that was anticipated as possible, his insistence on returning to the Philippines is questionable, as was the drive to the Yalu and ignoring Chinese warnings. But he was also #1 in his class at West Point and had the third highest score ever recorded. He performed very well, maybe brilliantly in WWI. Inchon was brilliant. And maybe most importantly he was responsible for transforming Japan into the society there are today and largely wrote their constitution. So while he is often unlikable and needed to be fired he is no where near the worst.

McClellan was certainly worse and cost a huge number of lives due to his hesitance and ineptitude.
Posted by LB84
Member since May 2016
3348 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 9:40 am to
quote:

McClellan was certainly worse and cost a huge number of lives due to his hesitance and ineptitude.


My vote goes to McClellan on this list as well. Literally the only thing he was good for was training an army. He had no idea how to use one and was just trying to position himself politically.
Posted by TheFonz
Somewhere in Louisiana
Member since Jul 2016
20382 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 9:41 am to
I'll nominate my distant cousin, Confederate General Earl Van Dorn. A shitty general who didn't even have the decency to die on the field of battle - he was killed by the jealous husband of his side piece.

This post was edited on 5/29/19 at 9:43 am
Posted by fr33manator
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2010
124193 posts
Posted on 5/29/19 at 9:46 am to
quote:

Ethically he was a bastard.


Disagree. The US was still in its infancy so there was still a rebel spirit and less allegiance to Union. He had been snubbed by the United States quite a bit. Britain made him a better offer.

Maybe the government should have treated him better
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