Top 10 Biggest Military Disasters of All Time
These failures showed that battles are not won by numbers or strength; they are won by planning and intelligence.A military disaster for both sides of the war. The Germans were initially successful during the early stages of the war, but as the war continued, supplies were lacking and the USSR began pushing back. The failure of the German armies to capture Stalingrad marked the turning point of the war. However, this was also a tragedy for the Soviet Union as it received 4,000,000 casualties during the course of the war.
Napoleon's invasion of Russia resulted in the destruction of French forces. Of the 680,000 men that participated in the operation, only 120,000 survived. 380,000 were killed and 180,000 were captured. The failure was mainly due to the bad weather.
The first Barbarossa before WWII. The French, like the Germans, were off to a strong start and even took Moscow. However, the Russians burned down Moscow while fleeing, making winter even more bitter because of the shelter and supplies being in ashes. This forced the French to retreat back to France to defend the country against the newly regrouped and restrengthened Russian army that marched across Europe to the gates of Paris, much like WWII, but with Paris being Berlin.
Attacks on the Somme proved fatal as the British Army suffered a total of 800,000 casualties and the German Army 540,000, with a combined total of 1,340,000 men killed or captured. The British victory was crucial for the Allies' success on the Western Front of the First World War.
Italy's attacks on Isonzo, in present-day Slovenia, proved tragic as Italy failed to take the area despite 11 attempts. This forced the combined German and Austrian forces to attack Italy, resulting in heavy casualties.
Failed joint attempt by Britain, the Commonwealth, and France to capture Istanbul, subsequently abandoned.
This campaign was rushed. It needed to be planned well. This led to the loss of many Allied lives. Atatürk and his men defended well.
General Custer's suicidal attack on an army of thousands of Native Americans resulted in the destruction of almost his entire command, with the only survivor being a lone horse that retreated successfully.
The British and French failure to defend France marked the beginning of German success. The French built a solid Maginot Line to keep the Germans at bay, but these defenses were ultimately bypassed as the Germans went through Belgium, the Netherlands, and even the Ardennes Forest.
The Newcomers
Everybody expected Karl XII of Sweden to steamroll Russia and end the Great Northern War. His loss shifted the balance of power in the Baltic and Europe, enabling Russia to become a powerhouse.
Confident in victory, Santa Anna and his Mexican army were resting at their camp, unaware of an oncoming Texan attack that would end the battle and the Texas Revolution in only 18 minutes.
Ah yes, the one where Britain refused to take part. Therefore, America was doomed to failure.
A small Scottish army of 7,000 men defeated a far superior British army of 20,000. Edward II of England and Humphrey de Bohun of Hereford barely escaped.
By far the most devastating defeat of the German Army in the Second World War and arguably the largest military disaster of the 20th century. On June 22, 1944, the Soviet Union launched their summer offensive, the Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation or Operation Bagration, named after a Russian prince who fought Napoleon at Borodino.
In two weeks, it had smashed its way through Army Group Center, destroying 28 divisions and retaking Minsk. In five weeks, it resulted in the killing and capturing of over 500,000 German soldiers. Alongside the destruction of Army Group Center, Army Group North had been trapped in the Courland Peninsula and Army Group North Ukraine had also taken horrific losses.
Alongside the human losses, there were over 2,000 tanks and 2,000 aircraft that Germany wouldn't be able to replace. Many of the soldiers killed and captured were veterans of the war, and the loss of these well-trained soldiers created a difficult vacuum to fill. Germany could only replace them with teenagers and reservists in their mid-50s. By August 1944, the Soviets had reached Warsaw, a total of 600 miles from their starting point. Thanks to the military expertise of Walter Model, the front line was reestablished, and reserves managed to hold the line of the Vistula River.
A Mongol army under the command of Baidar successfully defeated a combined force of Poles, Germans, and Bohemians. Their leader, King Henry II, was killed.
Total disaster. "Harold, don't run down the hill after them"!
Disastrous defeat of the Italian army by Ethiopian forces, signaling the independence of Ethiopia.