perseus

Hi Ollie,

I would say in addition to Goring all the main 'political' chiefs had a strong case for being the worst senior commander. That is Churchill, Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. The removal of any of these from direct military control would have made it far harder for the opposition. Of these, only Stalin eventually handed over military control to his generals. American strategy was relatively sound because Roosevelt largely left the Military situation up to his top commanders, but was unsoundly influenced by Churchill.

Of the more direct Military commanders, the following would have been good contenders

(actually I have changed my mind on the Italians) there are several here including Graziani. However how about General Maleti who got lost inside his own territory, nearly ran out of water and had to abandon the offensive after running out of fuel going round in circles?

Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, with poor defensive preparations, particularly spreading his men too thinly in Malaya.

Major general Fredendall. He was amateurish, and too arrogant with a Hollywood mentality. He lived lavishly rather than getting up to the front line

However, if I had to choose a incompetent military commander (for want of a better name)

Marshal Semyon Budenny, with ideas rooted in the past and little military skill, charging at everything. Effectively a political crony of Stalin which is why he survived the purge

Of course all of these substantially underestimated the enemy

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Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. Herman Goering