List of military disasters

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List of military disasters

A military disaster is when one side in a battle or war is unexpectedly and soundly defeated, and often changes the course of history.

A military disaster can range from a strong army losing a major battle against a clearly inferior force, to an army being surprised and defeated by a clearly superior force, to a seemingly evenly matched conflict with an extremely one sided result. A military disaster could be due to bad planning, bad execution, bad weather, general lack of skill or ability, the failure of a new piece of military technology, a major blunder

Blunder

A blunder is a particularly bad mistake. Specific instances include:* List of incidents famously considered great blunders* Blunder * Hopetoun Blunder, an event in Australian history...
, a brilliant move on the part of the enemy, or simply the unexpected presence of an overwhelming enemy force.

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Blunder

Ancient era

The Battle of Salamis
Battle of Salamis

The Battle of Salamis , was a naval battle fought between an Alliance of Greece city-states and the Achaemenid Empire of Persia in September 480 BC in the straits between the mainland and Salamis Island, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens....
in 480 BC where a huge Persian fleet is defeated by a united Greek force.
The Athenian expedition to Syracuse
Sicilian Expedition

The Sicilian Expedition was an Athens expedition to Sicily from 415 BC to 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure?political maneuvering in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a massive armada, and the expedition's primary propone...
in 415 BC.
The Battle of Cannae
Battle of Cannae

The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, taking place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy....
in 216 BC, where Hannibal destroyed the sixteen Roman and Allied legions, led by Lucius Aemilius Paullus
Lucius Aemilius Paullus

There have been several people named 'Lucius Aemilius Paulus':* Lucius Aemilius Paullus * Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, his son* Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, consul in 50 BC...
and Gaius Terentius Varro
Gaius Terentius Varro

Gaius Terentius Varro was a Roman Republic consul and commander. Along with his colleague, Lucius Aemilius Paullus , he commanded at the Battle of Cannae during the Second Punic War, in 216 BC, against the Carthage general Hannibal....
. In all, perhaps more than 80% of the entire Roman army was dead or captured (including Paullus himself).
The Battle of Carrhae
Battle of Carrhae

The Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC was a decisive victory for the Parthian Spahbod Surena over the Roman Republic general Marcus Licinius Crassus near the town of Carrhae ....
when Crassus with 40,000 soldiers marched into Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
expecting to be victorius chose to go through a more direct route through the desert instead of the mountains of the north and entirely anniliated by 9,000 Parthian soldiers
The Battle of Teutoburg Forest, where German warriors destroyed three Roman
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
legion
Roman legion

The Roman Legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire....
s
The Battle of Watling Street
Battle of Watling Street

The Battle of Watling Street took place in Roman Britain in AD 60 or 61 between an alliance of Indigenous peoples of Europe Brythonic tribes, led by Boudica, and the Ancient Romes led by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus....
in 60 or 61 AD, where 10,000 Romans, lead by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus
Gaius Suetonius Paulinus

Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, also spelled Paullinus, was a Roman Empire general best known as the commander who defeated the rebellion of Boudica....
, defeated 230,000 Britons, led by Boudica
Boudica

Boudica was a queen of the Iceni tribe of what is now known as East Anglia in England, who led an uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....
, inflicting 80,000 casualties, and suffering only 400 of their own.
The Battle of Adrianople
Battle of Adrianople

The second Battle of Adrianople , sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between a Roman Empire army led by the Roman Emperor Valens and Goths rebels led by Fritigern....
, in which the emperor
Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
Valens
Valens

Flamin Julius Valens was Roman Emperor , after he was given the Eastern part of the empire by his brother Valentinian I. Valens, sometimes known as the Last of the Romans, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Adrianople, which marked the beginning of the fall of the Western Roman Empire....
was killed while Gothic
Goths

The Goths were East Germanic tribes who, in the 3rd and 4th centuries, invasion the Roman Empire and later adopted Arian Christianity. In the 5th and 6th centuries, divided as the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, they established powerful successor-states of the Roman Empire in the Iberian peninsula and Italy....
heavy cavalry
Cavalry

The Cavalry is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces....
ambushed and decimated his Roman heavy infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
.
The Battle of Guandu
Battle of Guandu

The Battle of Guandu was a battle during the End of the Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history that took place at the Yellow River in the spring of 200....
, which the more powerful Yuan Shao
Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao was a powerful warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of China. He occupied the northern territories of ancient China during the massive civil war towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era....
army failed to guard its supplies, and was defeated soundly by Cao Cao
Cao Cao

C?o Cao was a warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of China of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during its final years in ancient China....
in 200 AD.
The Battle of Red Cliffs
Battle of Red Cliffs

The Battle of Red Cliffs, otherwise known as the Battle of Chibi, was a decisive battle at the end of the Han Dynasty, immediately prior to the period of the Three Kingdoms in China....
(also known as the Battle of Chibi), where Liu Bei
Liu Bei

Liu Bei , Chinese style name Xu?nd? , was a general, warlord, and later the founding emperor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of China....
's advisor Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang

Zhuge Liang was Chancellor of China of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
and Sun Quan
Sun Quan

Sun Quan , son of Sun Jian, courtesy name Zh?ngm?u , formally Emperor Da of Wu was the founder of Eastern Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China....
's advisor Zhou Yu
Zhou Yu

Zhou Yu was a famous and one of the most capable military strategists for Sun Ce and his successor Sun Quan during the Three Kingdoms era; the turbulent years leading to the end of Han Dynasty in China.Zhou Yu was the stratigist for Sun Ce and he was very well at his job....
utterly destroyed Cao Cao
Cao Cao

C?o Cao was a warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of China of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during its final years in ancient China....
's much-larger navy with fire in 208 AD.

Medieval era

The Battle of Yarmuk in 636. The Monophysite Ghassanid contingents in the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
army, brutally persecuted by the Orthodox authorities, defected en masse to the Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
side thus guaranteeing a Muslim victory.
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
Battle of al-Qadisiyyah

The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah was the decisive engagement between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sassanid Empire during the first period of Islamic expansion around 636 CE, which resulted in the Islamic conquest of Persia....
in 636 - The Arab Muslim army decisively defeated the larger Sassanid Persian army resulting in the Islamic conquest of Persia.
The Battle of Anchialus
Battle of Anchialus

The Battle of Acheloos , also known as the Battle of Anchialus, took place on August 20, 917, on the Aheloy River near the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, close to the fortress Tuthom between First Bulgarian Empire and Byzantine Empire forces....
in 927. An enormous 110,000 Byzantine army was tactically outwitted by a smaller Bulgarian
Bulgarians

The Bulgarians are a South Slavs people generally associated with the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language. Emigration has resulted in Bulgarian minorities or immigrant communities in a number of other countries....
force causing the death of 90,000 soldiers, 70,000 of whom were Byzantines in one of the bloodiest battles in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
. The bones of tens of thousands perished could be seen on the battlefield 75 years later.
The Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was the decisive Normans victory in the Norman Conquest of England. It was fought between the Norman army of William I of England, and the English people army led by Harold Godwinson....
in 1066. The Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people inhabiting parts of England during the Dark Ages* Anglo-Saxon architecture* Anglo-Saxon economy ...
King Harold
Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson also known as Harold II, was the last Anglo-Saxons King of Kingdom of England before the Norman Conquest of England. Harold reigned from 5 January 1066, until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October of that same year, fighting the Normans invaders, led by William I of England....
is slain in battle with the Normans
Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock....
led by William the Conqueror, resulting in the Norman Conquest of England
Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began in 1066 AD with the invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William I of England, Duke of Normandy , and his victory at the Battle of Hastings....
.
The Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert

The Battle of Manzikert, or Malazgirt, was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Great Seljuq Empire forces led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert ....
in 1071. The Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
suffers a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Seljuks, resulting in the capture of Emperor Romanos IV
Romanos IV

Romanos IV Diogenes or Romanus IV Diogenes was List of Byzantine Emperors from 1068 to 1071....
.
The Battle of Hattin
Battle of Hattin

The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty.The Muslim armies under Saladin captured or killed the vast majority of the Crusader forces, removing their capability to wage war....
in 1187, where overconfident Crusader
Crusader states

The Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century Feudalism states created by Western European crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and the Holy Land ....
forces from Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christianity kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. It lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, Israel, was destroyed by the Mamluks....
became trapped in a waterless desert area, and thus became easy prey for the Saracen
Saracen

Saracen was a term used by Europeans in the Middle Ages for Fatimids at first, then later for all who professed the religion of Islam....
forces of Salah-ud-din (Saladin
Saladin

ala ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub , better known as Saladin in medieval Europe, was the Sultan of Egypt and Greater Syria. He led the Islamic opposition to the Second Crusade and Third Crusade....
)
The Battle of Stirling Bridge
Battle of Stirling Bridge

The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined England forces of John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth....
in 1297. English Earl John de Warenne
John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey

John de Warenne , 7th Earl of Surrey or Warenne, was prominent during the reigns of Henry III of England and Edward I of England. During his long life he fought in the Second Barons' War and in Edward I's Wars of Scottish Independence....
's well-equipped army were trapped on a narrow bridge by William Wallace
William Wallace

William Wallace was a Scotland knight and landowner who is known for leading a resistance during the Wars of Scottish Independence and regarded as a patriot and national hero....
's 15,000 unarmored, lightly-armed Scots
Scottish people

The Scots people are a nation and an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.Historically, as an ethnic group, they emerged from an amalgamation of Celts, Picts, Gaels and Brythons....
, bearing the traditional long spears of lowland Scotland. The bridge had been chosen as the point of engagement by Warenne, even though the river could easily have been forded just a few miles upstream.
The Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt

The Battle of Agincourt was an English victory against a much larger French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday 25 October 1415 ...
in 1415 - A large force of French knights were mown down by English longbowmen.

16th century

The Battle of Flodden Field
Battle of Flodden Field

The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scottish people army under King James IV of Scotland and an English army commanded by Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey....
- A Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
invasion of England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
is defeated, resulting in the death of the King James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland

James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the House of Stuart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last British monarch to be killed in battle....
The First battle of Panipat
First battle of Panipat

The first battle of Panipat took place in North India India, and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire. This was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder warfare firearms and field artillery....
- Babur
Babur

Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal Empire of Indian subcontinent....
sacked Delhi
Delhi

Delhi , sometimes referred to as Dilli , is the List of most populous cities in India metropolis in India and, with over 11 million residents, the List of metropolitan areas by population....
and defeated Ibrahim Lodhi
Ibrahim Lodhi

Ibrahim Lodhi was the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. He was an Afghan people who ruled over much of India from 1517-1526, when he was defeated by the Mughals, who established a new dynasty that would last some three centuries....
.
The Battle of Lepanto
Battle of Lepanto (1571)

The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a galley fleet of the Holy League , a coalition of the Republic of Venice, the Pope , Spain , the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights Hospitaller and others, decisively defeated the main fleet of Ottoman Empire war galleys....
in 1571. The Holy League's fleet defeated the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
fleet in the largest naval battle
Naval battle

A naval battle is a battle fought using ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers....
of human history. The Ottomans lost 240 ships (out of about 300), while the League lost 12 of their 210 ships.

The Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada

The Spanish Armada was the Habsburg Spain fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Alonso de Guzm?n El Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, leading to the Drake-Norris Expedition of 1589, also known as the English Armada....
in 1588. An English fleet sends fire ships into the Spanish invasion fleet destroying some and scattering the rest effectively ending the invasion threat. The Armada would later run into storms and almost half the ships never returned to Spain, as well as more than half the troops.

The Battle of the Yellow Ford
Battle of the Yellow Ford

The Battle of the Yellow Ford was fought in western County Armagh, Ulster, in Ireland, near the River Blackwater, Northern Ireland on 14 August 1598, during the Nine Years War ....
in 1598. An English force of 4000 is ambushed by Irish defenders under Hugh O'Neill and defeated. This temporarily put Ireland out of English control, allowing the rebellion to spread throughout Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
.

18th century

Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden

Charles XII was the Monarch of Sweden from 1697 to 1718.Charles was the only surviving son of King Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark, and he assumed the crown at the age of fifteen, at the death of his father....
's disastrous wintertime march on Moscow
Moscow

Moscow is the capital and the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest European cities and metropolitan areas, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world....
during the Great Northern War
Great Northern War

The Great Northern War was a war in which the so-called Northern Alliance composed of Russia, Denmark-Norway, Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth and Saxony engaged Sweden to challenge them for the supremacy in the Baltic Sea....
marked the beginning of the end of the Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire

Sweden was, between 1611 and 1718, one of the great powers of Europe. In modern historiography this period is known as the Swedish Empire, or stormaktstiden ....
.
The Battle of Karansebes
Battle of Karánsebes

The Battle of Kar?nsebes was an early episode in the Austro-Turkish War . Different portions of an Austrian army which was scouting for forces of the Ottoman Empire fired on each other by mistake, in a self-inflicted disaster....
in 1788. A fight broke out between hussar
Hussar

Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry created in Hungary in the 15th century and used throughout Europe and even in Americas since the 18th century....
s and infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
men of the Austrian
Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austria branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918....
army campaigning against the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
s in Wallachia
Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia is a Historical regions of Romania and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians....
. An officer shouting "Halt! Halt!" was misheard as "Allah! Allah!" causing a mass panic which ultimately resulted in the death or wounding of over 10,000 Austrian soldiers.

19th century

The Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade

The Charge of the Light Brigade was a disastrous charge of British cavalry led by James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War....
. A British officer misinterpreted an order and led a suicidal charge against the Russian guns. ("Not tho' the soldier knew, someone had blunder'd"
The Charge of the Light Brigade (poem)

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" is an 1854 in poetry narrative poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson about the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War....
— Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular English poets.Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, including "In the valley of Cauteretz", "Break, break, break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade ", "Tears, Idle Tears" and "Crossing the Bar"....
)
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn—also known as Custer's Last Stand, and, in the parlance of the relevant Native Americans in the United States, the Battle of Greasy Grass Creek—was an armed engagement between a Lakota people-Northern Cheyenne combined force and the U.S....
. General George Custer attacks a superior force of armed Native American
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
warriors, gets himself and his entire command killed, the only survivor being a lone horse.
Battle of Isandlwana
Battle of Isandlwana

The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the opening, major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom....
. A Zulu
Zulu

The Zulu are the largest South African ethnic group of an estimated 10-11 million people who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa....
impi
Impi

An Impi is an Zulu language word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu....
armed mostly with spears destroys two British battalions armed with rifles in a Pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with devastating cost to the victor....
.
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia in the summer and winter of 1812 where Napoleon
Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte later known as Emperor Napoleon I, was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century....
lost almost all of his troops; it was the turning point of the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts involving Napoleon I of France First French Empire and changing sets of European allies and opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815....
.
William Elphinstone's disastrous retreat in 1842 during the First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War

The First Anglo?Afghan War lasted from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during The Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between Great Britain and Russia, and also marked one of the major losses of the British after the consolidation of India by the British East India Company....
led to the loss of almost his entire command.
Both the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major general Ambrose E....
and the Battle of Cold Harbor
Battle of Cold Harbor

The Battle of Cold Harbor, the final battle of Union Army Lieutenant general Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, is remembered as one of History of the United States bloodiest, most lopsided battles....
become horrible one-sided battles in which Union advances on entrenched Confederate units result in horrendous casualties during the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee against Major general George G. Meade's Union Army positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War....
by the Confederates in the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
was easily repulsed and, along with the cost of the previous two days of the battle, permanently crippled the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
.
HMS Victoria
HMS Victoria (1887)

HMS Victoria was one of two Victoria class battleship battleships of the Royal Navy. On 22 June 1893 she collided with near Tripoli, Lebanon, Lebanon during manoeuvres and quickly sank, taking 358 crew with her, including the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon....
collided with HMS Camperdown
HMS Camperdown (1885)

HMS Camperdown was a Victorian era battleship of the Royal Navy, named after Adam Duncan.She was a full sister to HMS Anson , and was an improved version of the earlier HMS Howe and HMS Rodney ....
and was sunk with the loss of 358 lives after the fleet commander George Tryon
George Tryon

Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, Order of the Bath was a Great Britain admiral who died when his flagship HMS Victoria collided with HMS Camperdown during manoeuvres off Tripoli, Lebanon....
ordered a sudden turn during maneuvres in 1893.
The Battle of Adwa fought between the Italians and Ethopians in 1896. The Italians were completely defeated and the battle confirmed the independence of Ethopia.

20th century

The Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima

The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the ?Sea of Japan Naval Battle? in Japan and the ?Battle of Tsushima Strait? elsewhere, was the last and most decisive sea battle of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904?1905....
- the Russian Baltic fleet was sent halfway around the world in a suicidal attack on the Japanese in the Tsushima Straits in 1905.
The Battle of Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli

The Gallipoli Campaign took place at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916, during the World War I. A joint British Empire and French operation was mounted to capture the Ottoman Empire capital of Constantinople , and secure a sea route to Russia....
in 1915 and early 1916. A combined British, Commonwealth and French attempt to capture Istanbul
Istanbul

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, List of metropolitan areas in Europe by population, and List of cities proper by population in the world with a population of 12.6 million....
fails completely at the Gallipoli
Gallipoli

The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east....
peninsula.
The Maginot line
Maginot Line

The Maginot Line , named after French Minister of Defence Andr? Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defenses, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in the light of experience from World War I, and in the run-up to World War II....
- although from a strictly technical viewpoint the line itself functioned as designed, it was emblematic of a deeply flawed defensive strategy.
The Battle of France
Battle of France

In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the Germany invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed from 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War....
in 1940 - the French Army moved to meet the Germans inside Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
, believing the Maginot Line would force the Germans to rerun the Schlieffen Plan
Schlieffen Plan

The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff's early 20th century overall strategic plan for victory both on the Western Front against France and against Russia in the east, taking advantage of expected differences in the three countries' speed in preparing for war....
, but was cutoff by a German advance through the Ardennes
Ardennes

The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and old mountains formed on the Givetian Ardennes mountains, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel....
, which the French had believed was impassable for tanks. Unlike World War 1 when trench warfare caused Paris to stay French for 4 years, the entire Battle for France was over in 2 months.
Operation Compass
Operation Compass

Operation Compass was the first major Allies of World War II military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during World War II. It resulted in United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations forces pushing across a great stretch of Libya and capturing almost all of Cyrenaica and over 113,000 Italian soldiers and over 700 guns with very few c...
in North Africa during winter 1940/41. The Italian army build there forts too far apart so they are not mutually supporting and lacked tanks or other mobile forces. A British force of 35,000 men is able to rout the Italian army of 150,000 forcing them back 800km and capturing around 3 times their own number for almost no losses.
Operation Typhoon, the failed German drive towards Moscow
Moscow

Moscow is the capital and the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest European cities and metropolitan areas, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world....
in 1941 was exacerbated by the German decision to not bring along any winter clothing and vehicle antifreeze
Antifreeze

Antifreeze is a cryoprotectant used in internal combustion engines, and for many other heat transfer applications, such as HVAC chillers and solar water heaters....
.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Empire of Japan Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, later resulting in the United States becoming militarily involved in World War II....
seemed a serious victory against the US Pacific Fleet for the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
on December 7th 1941. However, the attack came to be a long term strategic blunder that inflicted little significant lasting harm on American forces while provoking an overwhelming response that led to Japan's crushing defeat.
The fall of Singapore
Battle of Singapore

The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II of World War II when the Empire of Japan invasion the Allies of World War II stronghold of Singapore....
(believed to be an impregnable fortress) in February 1942 to two Japanese division was the largest surrender of British-led troops in history and destroyed the linchpin of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command

File:ABDACOM Map.jpg The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, code name ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II....
.
The naval Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle, widely regarded as the most important of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II. It took place from 4 June to 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and exactly six months after Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor....
. Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy attempted to invade the American navy base at Midway Island. US navy intelligence broke his codes and anticipated the attack. The Imperial Japanese Navy lost four fleet carriers in three days.
The Allied
Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers of World War II during the World War II. Within the ranks of the Allies powers, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States of America were known as "The Big Three"....
Dieppe Raid
Dieppe Raid

The Dieppe Raid, also known as The Battle of Dieppe or Operation Jubilee, during the World War II, was an Allies of World War II attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe, Seine-Maritime on the Northern coast of France on 19 August 1942....
on German-occupied France in 1942 ended with ~60 % of the attacking force being lost in battle without any of the major objectives of the raid achieved.
The Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad was a battle between Nazi Germany and its allies and the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia....
in the winter of 1942/43 was one of the turning points of World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
. The German General Von Paulus failed to keep a mobile strategic reserve and the entire (and formerly invulnerable) 6th Army was surrounded on all sides by a rapid Russian flanking attack. The german troops in Stalingrad surrendered even though Hitler had promised that they would never leave the city.
Operation Bagration (1944) the soviet summer offensive sliced through the Germans and reached Poland within two weeks, the offensive also destroyed army group center, the backbone of German forces in the east.
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden

Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in World War II. It was the largest airborne operation of all time....
A British plan to encircle the Ruhr Area
Ruhr Area

The Ruhr Area, is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km? and a population of some 5.3 million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany....
and end the war by Christmas. The plan failed, costing over 15,000-17,000 Allied casualties.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh Communism Revolutionary....
, which forced the French to withdraw from northern Vietnam in 1954.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion

The Bay of Pigs Invasion, was an unsuccessful attempt by a U.S.-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba with support from U.S. government armed forces to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro....
, a 1961 attempt to overthrow Cuban President Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December 1976 and then president, premier until his resignation from the office in February 2008....
with 1,500 Cuban exiles. Not only were the exiles heavily outnumbered when they reached the bay, but the US-promised air support never came to aid the exiles.
USS Liberty incident USS Liberty incident

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a Neutral country United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty , by Israeli Air Force jet fighter planes and motor torpedo boats on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War....
, United States Navy Technical Research Ship attacked June 8, 1967 by Israeli armed forces, killing 34 and wounding more than 170 U.S. crew members.
1967 USS Forrestal fire
1967 USS Forrestal fire

The 1967 USS Forrestal fire was a devastating fire and series of chain-reaction explosions on 29 July 1967 that caused great loss of life on the aircraft carrier after an unusual electrical anomaly discharged a Zuni on the flight deck....
– John McCain
John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior senator United States United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 2008 United States presidential election....
was a US Navy pilot
Pilot

'Pilot' may refer to:Paper publications*Pilot by Stephen Baxter*...
aboard the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a navy force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations....
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
when a disastrous fire broke out, killing 134, injuring 161, destroying 21 aircraft and costing the Navy $72 million.
The Battle of Longewala
Battle of Longewala

The Battle of Longewala was one of the first major engagement in the Western Sector during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, fought between assaulting Pakistan Army forces and Indian army defenders at the Indian Army of Longewala, in the Thar Desert of the Rajasthan States and territories of India in India....
, a pivotal battle of the Bangladesh Liberation war where a 2,800 strong Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
Infantry Brigade
Brigade

A brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army....
and Armoured Regiment
Regiment

A regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. Depending on the nation, military branch, mission, and organization, a modern regiment resembles a brigade, in that both range in size from a few hundred to 5,000 soldiers ....
comprising of 55 tanks and 100+ military vehicles failed to take a lone Indian
Indian Army

The Indian Army is the largest branch of the Indian Armed Forces of India and has the responsibility for army military operations. Its primary objectives include defending India from external aggression, maintaining peace and security within the country, patrolling borders and conducting counter-terrorist operations....
outpost manned by a company
Company (military unit)

A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 soldiers. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure....
of just 120 soldiers before being finally decimated by the Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the airforce of the Armed Forces of India of India and has the prime responsibility of conducting aerial warfare and securing the Indian airspace....
.
Operation Eagle Claw
Operation Eagle Claw

Operation Eagle Claw was a Military of the United States military operation to rescue the Iran hostage crisis from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran on April 24, 1980....
, a US attempt to rescue hostages in Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
. This operation was marked by a series of mechanical and communication failures that lead to the deaths of 8 American servicemen, and failed to rescue the hostages.

Further reading

Military Intelligence Blunders and Cover-Ups, by Colonel Hughes-Wilson John (ISBN 0-7867-1373-9)
Geoffrey Regan's Book Of Military Blunders, by Geoffrey Regan
Geoffrey Regan

Geoffrey Regan is a military history. He is the author of many books including Military Blunders, Naval Blunders and Royal Blunders. He lives in Surrey, England....
(ISBN 0-233-99977-9)

List of military disasters

Ancient era

Medieval era

16th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

Further reading

See also