List of military disasters

A military disaster is the defeat of one side in a battle or war which results in the complete failure of the losing side to achieve their objectives. It often, but not always, involves a high and disproportionate loss of life. The causes are varied and include human error, inferior technology, logistical problems, underestimating the enemy, being outnumbered, and bad luck.[1][2][3][4]

Battle of the Little Bighorn known as Custer's Last Stand.

Entries on this list are those where multiple sources dealing with the subject of military disasters have deemed the event in question to be a military disaster (or an equivalent term).

Ancient era

Medieval era

16th century

The fall of Spanish Armada in 1588
  • Spanish Armada (1588).[30][28] An English fleet sent 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 of the troops.

18th century

19th century

20th century

First World War

Second World War

Cold War era

Viet Minh troops plant their flag over the captured French headquarters at Dien Bien Phu

See also

References

  1. McNab 2005, pp. 4–11.
  2. Chrystal, Paul (2015-11-30). "Introduction". Roman Military Disasters: Dark Days & Lost Legions. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-7395-7.
  3. Withington, John (2016-09-23). "Introduction". Britain's 20 Worst Military Disasters: From the Roman Conquest to the Fall of Singapore. History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-8127-9.
  4. Spilsbury, Julian (2015-04-02). "Introduction". Great Military Disasters: From Bannockburn to Stalingrad. Quercus. ISBN 978-1-78429-215-7.
  5. McNab 2005, pp. 24–26.
  6. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Marathon". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  7. McNab 2005, p. 28.
  8. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Salamis". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  9. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Syracuse Expedition". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  10. Spilsbury, Julian (2015-04-02). Great Military Disasters: From Bannockburn to Stalingrad. Quercus. ISBN 978-1-78429-215-7.
  11. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Gaugamela". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  12. McNab 2005, pp. 32–34.
  13. McNab 2005, p. 38.
  14. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Cannae". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  15. McNab 2005, p. 42.
  16. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Zama". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  17. McNab 2005, p. 46.
  18. Chrystal, Paul (2015-11-30). "The First Century: the Social War, Spartacus, Mithridates, Crassus, the Parthians, and the Gauls". Roman Military Disasters: Dark Days & Lost Legions. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-7395-7. Carrhae was the worst Roman disaster, and Rome's darkest day, since the catastrophic Battle of Cannae in 216 BC some 163 years earlier.
  19. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Teutoborg Forest". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  20. McNab 2005, pp. 54–56.
  21. McNab 2005, p. 58.
  22. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Adrianople". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  23. McNab 2005, p. 72.
  24. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Tours". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  25. McNab 2005, p. 82.
  26. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Hattin". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  27. McNab 2005, p. 106.
  28. Parragon (2012). Great Military Disasters. Parragon. ISBN 978-1-4454-6436-7.
  29. McNab 2005, p. 123.
  30. McNab 2005, p. 136.
  31. McNab 2005, p. 174.
  32. Withington, John (2016-09-23). "The Charge of the Light Brigade, 1854". Britain's 20 Worst Military Disasters: From the Roman Conquest to the Fall of Singapore. History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-8127-9.
  33. McNab 2005, p. 206.
  34. McNab 2005, p. 210.
  35. McNab 2005, p. 214.
  36. Kuehn, John T. (2020-01-16). "Tsushima Strait". The 100 Worst Military Disasters in History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-6269-4.
  37. Eden, Steven (1996). Military blunders II : the twentieth century. New York, NY: MetroBooks. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-56799-388-2.
  38. McNab 2005, p. 228.
  39. Withington, John (2016-09-23). "Gallipoli, 1915". Britain's 20 Worst Military Disasters: From the Roman Conquest to the Fall of Singapore. History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-8127-9.
  40. McNab 2005, p. 256.
  41. Withington, John (2016-09-23). "The Fall of Singapore, 1942". Britain's 20 Worst Military Disasters: From the Roman Conquest to the Fall of Singapore. History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-8127-9.
  42. Sandler, Stanley (2001). World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia. Garland Publishing. p. 947.
  43. McNab 2005, p. 262.
  44. McNab 2005, pp. 260–262.
  45. Willmott, H. P. (1983). The Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Strategies, February to June 1942. United States Naval Institute Press. pp. 396, 518. ISBN 978-1-59114-949-1.
  46. McNab 2005, p. 268.
  47. McNab 2005, p. 292.

Works cited

  • McNab, Chris (2005). The World's Worst Military Disasters: Chronicling the Greatest Battlefield Catastrophes of All Time. Rochester: Grange Books. ISBN 978-1-84013-808-5.

Further reading

  • Military Intelligence Blunders and Cover-Ups, by Colonel Hughes-Wilson John (ISBN 978-0-7867-1373-8)
  • Geoffrey Regan's Book Of Military Blunders, by Geoffrey Regan (ISBN 978-0-233-99977-7)
  • Scottish Military Disasters, by Paul Cowan (ISBN 978-1-903238-96-7)
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