Tampilkan postingan dengan label Generals. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Generals. Tampilkan semua postingan

Minggu, 09 November 2014

The 5 Worst Generals in U.S. History

Photo: General Lloyd Fredendall. Wikipedia

Commanders of Chaos: The 5 Worst Generals in U.S. History -- Michael Peck, National Interest

It would be nice if all American generals were great. How might Vietnam or Iraq have turned out if a George Washington, a Ulysses Grant or a George Patton had been in command?

Alas, call it the laws of probability or just cosmic karma, but every nation produces bad generals as well as good ones—and America is no exception.

What is a bad general? Defining that is like defining a bad meal. Some would say that failure on the battlefield warrants censure. Others would say that it is not victory, but success in fulfilling a mission that counts.

But for whatever reason, some American commanders have lost the battle for history. Here are five of America's worst generals:

Read more ....

My Comment: It is easy to blame the Generals .... but it should be noted that it is the civilian political leaders who command them who really lose the wars.

Kamis, 07 Agustus 2014

A Historical Look At Five U.S. Generals Killed By Hostile Forces

Maj Gen Dillard, Maj Gen Greene, Gen Sedgwick

Five US Generals Killed In Action -- Annie Waldman, BBC

Maj Gen Harold Greene, killed by an Afghan soldier in an insider attack, follows a long line of US generals killed in war. And their deaths say much about the changing nature of warfare.

In the past decade, thousands of American soldiers have lost their lives to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet news this week of Maj Gen Harold Greene's death made headlines.

Gen Greene is not only the highest ranking US military official to have been killed since the start of the war in Afghanistan, his death also marks the first time in more than 40 years that a general has been killed in combat.

Although it's now a rare occurrence, before modern technology and tactics, the deaths of senior officers were far more common.

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My Comment: It should be noted that in past conflicts the U.S. has targeted Generals on the opposite side .... the most celebrated one being the assassination of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during World War II.

Selasa, 05 Agustus 2014

The Last U.S. General Killed In Action Was In South Vietnam



US General Killed In Battle Is Highest-Ranking Officer Killed In Conflict Since Vietnam -- IBTimes

A major general was killed on Tuesday at a military training academy in Kabul, Afghanistan, U.S. Rear Admiral John Kirby confirmed in a news conference. The general, who has not been identified, is believed to be the most senior U.S. military officer to be killed in conflict overseas since the Vietnam War.

At least seven major generals died in battle during U.S. military operations in Vietnam between 1967 and 1970. Among them were George William Casey Sr., whose helicopter hit a mountain in South Vietnam on July 7, 1970, and John A. B. Dillard, who died May 12, 1970, when his helicopter was shot down.

An article from July 1967 recalls the death of Robert F. Worley, deputy commander of the U.S. 7th Air Force in Vietnam, who died when “Communist gunners shot down his RF4C jet plane while on a photo reconnaissance mission over South Vietnam.”

Read more ....

Update: Maj. Gen. Harold Greene Is Highest Ranking Soldier Killed Since Vietnam -- ABC News

WNU Editor: U.S. generals and admirals being killed in action has happened many times before .... Maj. Gen. Harold Greene isn’t the first fatality: A history of U.S. generals killed in combat -- Washington Post