List of military disasters

Last updated

Battle of the Little Bighorn known as Custer's Last Stand. Charles Marion Russell - The Custer Fight (1903).jpg
Battle of the Little Bighorn known as Custer's Last Stand.

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, often with 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]

Contents

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

Battle of Salamis, 480 BC.png

Medieval era

16th century

The fall of Spanish Armada in 1588 La batalla de Gravelinas, por Nicholas Hilliard.jpg
The fall of Spanish Armada in 1588

18th century

Surrender of General Burgoyne; this painting hangs in the United States Capitol Rotunda Surrender of General Burgoyne.jpg
Surrender of General Burgoyne ; this painting hangs in the United States Capitol Rotunda

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 Victory in Battle of Dien Bien Phu.jpg
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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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. 1 2 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

Further reading