Ollie Garchy
Active member
Who was the worst "commander" of WWII?
Even defining this question is tough. Is a poor general someone who is just defeated in the operational sense of the word, or does the manner of the defeat count? What if the victor has overwhelming numbers or just extreme luck? Is General "Murphy" (as in Murphy's law) a poor general? Probably, but there must be a list of poor commanders. Anyone know something about this issue?
I can name one moron. Göring. That oaf -- the head of the German airforce -- refused to listen to men like Adolf Galland and made strange decisions that clashed with both his own experience and any rational logic. Göring was a fighter pilot in WWI. He should have understood the importance of local air superiority. Yet, when men like Galland argued for a large expansion of the German fighter wing in 1940 at the expense of the Stukas and tactical bombers, he turned them down. Germany lost the air war, in small part, because of Göring's stand against the fighter arm. Galland was frustrated.
Even defining this question is tough. Is a poor general someone who is just defeated in the operational sense of the word, or does the manner of the defeat count? What if the victor has overwhelming numbers or just extreme luck? Is General "Murphy" (as in Murphy's law) a poor general? Probably, but there must be a list of poor commanders. Anyone know something about this issue?
I can name one moron. Göring. That oaf -- the head of the German airforce -- refused to listen to men like Adolf Galland and made strange decisions that clashed with both his own experience and any rational logic. Göring was a fighter pilot in WWI. He should have understood the importance of local air superiority. Yet, when men like Galland argued for a large expansion of the German fighter wing in 1940 at the expense of the Stukas and tactical bombers, he turned them down. Germany lost the air war, in small part, because of Göring's stand against the fighter arm. Galland was frustrated.